Category Archives: Film Criticism

State of the Art: Isn’t Brie Just Another Name For Cheese?

       At a recent celebration of the annual Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards (which once again demonstrated that [1] all of the good names for award presentations have already been taken, and [2] if there were … Continue reading

Posted in books, Culture, Film Criticism, movie reviews, Movies, racism, women, writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Out to Pasture: “Rio Lobo” (1970)

     “Rio Lobo” reeks of exhaustion. The final film in the lengthy and often illustrious career of director Howard Hawks, this western is a continuation of a pattern of laconic narrative drifting that has increasingly characterized the greater number … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's movies, Film, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, westerns, writing | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

State of the Cinema: Why Movies Seem as Bad as They Probably Aren’t

They Shoot Bad Movies, Don’t They?     First of all, if we follow the general route of the Internet and limit our discussion on the current state of Cinema by primarily spotlighting the most commercial and (not coincidentally) the most … Continue reading

Posted in 3-D MOVIES, blogging, blogs, cinema, Culture, Film, Film Criticism, Movies, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

Hard to Swallow: “Inside Deep Throat” (2005)

    Regarding sexuality in popular culture, if there’s anything more annoying (and dishonest) than priggish cultural puritanism, it’s sanctimonious moral liberalism masquerading as open-mindedness when, in fact, the canonical emphasis diverges into a campaign of ulterior agendas. With this … Continue reading

Posted in Documentaries, Film, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, History, Linda Lovelace, movie reviews, Movies, sex | Tagged | 1 Comment

Baby Love: “Gorgo” (1961)

    There comes a time in the evolution of every genre where ideas become genre tropes, which in become familiar redundancy, which in turn become tiresome clichés, eventually mouldering into blanket creative exhaustion. With commercial success comes the irresistible urge … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's movies, British films, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Criticism, London, movie reviews, Movies, science fiction, Science fiction films | 1 Comment

The Best Laid Plans of Mice: “Colossus: The Forbin Project” (1970)

    The computer running amok in SF film is a natural extension of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel in which the creator is challenged by what is in essence a mirror image of himself (explicitly depicted as such in the initial cinematic … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's movies, drive-in cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, movie reviews, Movies, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Scrambled Eggheads: “This Island Earth” (1955)

    “This Island Earth” may be the first American SF film to be firmly grounded in the not-so-scientific concept of hubris. If there is a central theme to the film, it is that the scientific mind might be regarded as … Continue reading

Posted in 1950's movies, drive-in cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Criticism, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Changing Times: “There Was a Crooked Man…” (1970)

    If there were ever a film which demonstrates the confusion of veteran Hollywood studio directors in adapting to the then-newly found freedom afforded filmmakers with the abolition of the Production Code, it’s Joesph L. Mankiewicz’ 1970 serio-comic western, “There Was … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's cinema, cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, Films, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, westerns | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Days of Living Dangerously: “The Most Dangerous Game” (1932)

   When adapting a literary work, filmmakers are presented with a daunting list of problems not always easy to surmount. Being mindful of the original materials, the adapter must judiciously snip and paste together a generalization of the printed work, … Continue reading

Posted in 1930's movies, fay wray, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, Films, Joel McCrea, Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A LOST AND EPIC GRANDEUR: “THE BIG TRAIL” (1930)

In the late ’20’s, movie mogul William Fox envisioned a leap in motion picture production with the technological breakthrough of 70mm film in WIDESCREEN. Teaming with director Raoul Walsh, the result of this dream was the truly monumental 1930 Western epic … Continue reading

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POE IN THE CINEMA: “HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES” (1968)

The cinema is rife with literary adaptations and the works of Edgar Allan Poe have fared surprisingly well as a good number of films have captured, if not the essence then the spirit of the writer. Considering Poe essentially limited … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's movies, Brigitte Bardot, Edgar Allan Poe, Entertainment, Federico Fellini, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, Poe in the Cinema, Roger Vadim, Terence Stamp | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment