As much as I love cinema, it is perhaps a bit sad that I have waited until my late 40s to view the wonderful Fellini films 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita.  In fact, the only Fellini film I had seen prior to either of these films was Fellini Satyricon, and… Read full post »

I was on one of those message boards they have on IMDb, where people can post topics and start online discussions about the movies they love.  On a board devoted to the Swedish film Let the Right One In, which I and many others have dubbed "Twilight for grown-ups," one of… Read full post »

My wife and I seek out movies on Netflix that are off the beaten path.  This doesn't mean they aspire to be "different" in the Donnie Darko sense but that they are little movies seen by few, usually pretty straightforward for their genre, but somehow swept under the rug due to… Read full post »

Up until September 1989, I had no interest in sports.  None.  I knew about sports; I just didn't care for them.  As a child, the predominant sports memory I had was being forced to attend my brothers' high school football games in freezing drizzle, shivering under a wet blanket in the… Read full post »

It was my intention going into this new year to write a review of every film that I see, regardless of whether it is a new release or an older film, a fillm in a theater or a TV movie, a movie I had previously seen or one I am seeing for… Read full post »

In the late 1980s, a forgettable pop singer named Corey Hart (he of "Sunglasses At Night" fame) released a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You."  It was awful.  I have no problem with Hart's music as a whole or with any artist choosing… Read full post »

I started my lists of Best and Worst Films of the Decade as an exercise to sort of cleanse my palate before going into the New Year.  As my lists are based on personal choice, and as my personal choice are based on personal experience, I decided to continue with one… Read full post »

I started my lists of Best and Worst Films of the Decade as an exercise to sort of cleanse my palate before going into the New Year.  As my lists are based on personal choice, and as my personal choice are based on personal experience, I decided to continue with one… Read full post »

The following blog was started out to address the rather petulant Donnie Darko fans who apparently took issue with my listing of Darko as #8 on my Worst Films of the Decade.   Clearly, none of them have bothered to read this particular blog entry yet, because as of this update (December… Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  Up until the end of the year, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as… Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For the rest of the month, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well. … Read full post »

I was born in 1963, the same year Federico Fellini released his ninth film, 8 1/2.  Growing up in small town Kansas, the parameters of my world were narrow, but my imagination was limitless.  The television was our window to the rest of the world, of course, and what an unreal… Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For the rest of the month, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well. … Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For a period of 3 weeks, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well. … Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For the remainder of the year, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well. … Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For a period of 3 weeks, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well. … Read full post »

Currently, Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of At the Movies are each counting down their lists of the best films of the decade.  For the next 20 days, I will be offering my own lists, not only my 10 "best" list but also my 10 "worst" list as well.  As… Read full post »

It's all about the ultraviolence.

Coined by Anthony Burgess in his novel A Clockwork Orange, the term ultraviolence became a catchword of sorts for any violence deemed excessive or unjustified.  Films of the 1970s ranging from The Exorcist to The Hills Have Eyes were dubbed as ultraviolent beca… Read full post »

There is something delicious about being prurient and sneaky.  Such was the case my junior year in high school when Cinemax (or as my mother called it, Sinamax) began its 4-star series of foreign films.  It was then that I discovered three films that would go on to rank among my… Read full post »

It was a perfect Monday night at Edison Field, and the Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners were in the bottom of the ninth.  The Mariners had gone into the inning leading 5-0, but after Pinella sat Freddie Garcia down after eight solid innings, set-up guy Ray Rhodes had been asked to… Read full post »

I have been thinking about the film Romper Stomper for awhile, so much so that I am itching to pull the DVD out of my closet and watch it again.  Sadly, we're in the midst of a busy season, and I am quite distracted, and even when I do have the… Read full post »

Casino Royale (2006)
Directed by Martin Campbell

His name was Mark W, and he was unlike any man I had or have ever met.   To see him presiding over that comic book club at the ripe old age of 26, one would think he looked every bit the comic book geek one… Read full post »

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Directed by Joel Schumacher

So I already broke my commitment of a movie a day by going three days without a post.  I have no excuse for this, although I could certainly make up a few.  Basically, I because distracted by other things -- work, the… Read full post »

This is David Bennent circa 1970, a few years before he starred in Die Blechtrommel.   Damn, but this kid is creepy, and sure enough, Die Blechtrommel is kind of a creepy movie.

Now, some will read the title and without knowing German might skip this blog right by.  That… Read full post »

Once Were Warriors (1994)
Directed by Lee Tamahori

A lot of bad things happen in Once Were Warriors.  We're talking major bad things, the kind of things that spawn real nightmares in children.  If you have not seen this film and are interested in seeing it, know that all the major touchstone… Read full post »