Film Review Archive

  • We should be in the golden age of cinematic imagination, shouldn’t we? Computers should have unlocked the visual genius of dozens, maybe hundreds of filmmakers, who astonish us with incredibly […]

    Alien

    We should be in the golden age of cinematic imagination, shouldn’t we? Computers should have unlocked the visual genius of dozens, maybe hundreds of filmmakers, who astonish us with incredibly […]

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  • It’s not hard to see why the pornographers Kiyoshi Kurosawa was working for were none too pleased with his output. While it fits the parameters of the soft-core material – […]

    Kandagawa Pervert Wars

    It’s not hard to see why the pornographers Kiyoshi Kurosawa was working for were none too pleased with his output. While it fits the parameters of the soft-core material – […]

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  • Pre-dating the revisionist westerns we know and love, Ride Lonesome is that rare thing — a cheap chamber western shot in CinemaScope in Lone Pine, California, starring Randolph Scott.  Basically, it’s a […]

    Ride Lonesome

    Pre-dating the revisionist westerns we know and love, Ride Lonesome is that rare thing — a cheap chamber western shot in CinemaScope in Lone Pine, California, starring Randolph Scott.  Basically, it’s a […]

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  • Breaking into the movies, getting to actually do that for a living means, for many artists, doing whatever work you can get. In America, that generally entails that you make […]

    The Excitement of the Do Re Mi Fa Girl

    Breaking into the movies, getting to actually do that for a living means, for many artists, doing whatever work you can get. In America, that generally entails that you make […]

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  • A wry, lovingly detailed character piece with very little in the way of story.  Still, the movie has its own circular shape and (as far as I can tell) a […]

    Inside Llewyn Davis

    A wry, lovingly detailed character piece with very little in the way of story.  Still, the movie has its own circular shape and (as far as I can tell) a […]

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  • In Play Misty For Me (1971), Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, he plays Dave, a late-night disc jockey who has a fling with a crazy bitch (Jessica Walter) named Evelyn Draper.  Fatal Attraction (1987) […]

    Play Misty For Me

    In Play Misty For Me (1971), Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, he plays Dave, a late-night disc jockey who has a fling with a crazy bitch (Jessica Walter) named Evelyn Draper.  Fatal Attraction (1987) […]

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  • The Blob (1958) was “meh.”  What the remake gains in gore it loses in charm.  There are a few obvious but endearing bits that poke fun at a podunk town […]

    The Blob (1988)

    The Blob (1958) was “meh.”  What the remake gains in gore it loses in charm.  There are a few obvious but endearing bits that poke fun at a podunk town […]

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  • Perhaps this is snobby, I don’t know: As much as I love Indiana Jones, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg never gave him a perfect movie.  And perfect movies can be […]

    Jurassic Park

    Perhaps this is snobby, I don’t know: As much as I love Indiana Jones, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg never gave him a perfect movie.  And perfect movies can be […]

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  • Heavy on talk and short on stunts, Tequila Sunrise is an 80s crime flick that goes for a vibe – Casablanca, say, meets 8 Million Ways to Die – and […]

    Tequila Sunrise

    Heavy on talk and short on stunts, Tequila Sunrise is an 80s crime flick that goes for a vibe – Casablanca, say, meets 8 Million Ways to Die – and […]

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  • A downer.  Lost is the original author James M. Cain’s voice and wit.  He had a tough but light touch.  The Bob Rafelson adaptation is plumb grim.  It Mamet-izes the bare-faced […]

    The Postman Always Rings Twice

    A downer.  Lost is the original author James M. Cain’s voice and wit.  He had a tough but light touch.  The Bob Rafelson adaptation is plumb grim.  It Mamet-izes the bare-faced […]

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