Category: Features
-
The Last Hurrah #3: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008)
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: The Last Hurrah #3: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008)Oh Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey! Was the elfin Toni Basil singing about Mickey Rourke, handsome, talented bastard that he was? Probably not, but after his terrifically understated performance in the 1981 classic Body Heat as a reluctant advice-giving arsonist I guess it’s possible. At that point…
-
Renfield
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: Renfield“Renfield” – All bite and no bark. Six years ago, Universal Studios attempted to start a franchise called Dark Universe that was supposed to feature a bunch of classic horror characters. The first movie, The Mummy, did exactly what I predicted it would do. Namely, it crushed the franchise in its infancy. With the Dark…
-
The Shining
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: The ShiningA hotel, bathed in blood, wrapped in a puzzle and stuffed up the keister of an enigma, The Shining relays the less-than-straightforward tale of a psychic boy helplessly trapped in a quagmire of perverted demons and murdered guests all wanting a fresh bite of whomever took the job of winter caretaker. That would be Jack…
-
The Last Hurrah #2: James Caan in Misery (1990)
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: The Last Hurrah #2: James Caan in Misery (1990)Caan did much better than a lot of actors, but his lengthy career still manages to give off a whiff of disappointment. There was never any doubt about his ability, typified by an early performance as a brain-damaged ex-ball player in 1969’s The Rain People. Here he’s very good at doing what he can with…
-
The Last Hurrah #1: Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979)
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: The Last Hurrah #1: Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979)It’s always a mystery when a gargantuan talent falls off a cliff. How can an auteur like Coppola, a man who ruled the cinematic landscape of the seventies by combining searing art with the most fantastic consistency, fail to make another great movie after 1979? A mesmerizing gift can’t just evaporate, can it? I mean,…
-
The Day Of The Jackal (1973)
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: The Day Of The Jackal (1973)“August 1962 was a stormy time for France. Many people felt that President Charles de Gaulle had betrayed France by giving independence to Algeria. Extremists, mostly from the army, swore to kill him in revenge. They banded together in an underground movement and called themselves the OAS.” This was the beginning narration of what would…
-
Air
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: AirNow that we are into the beginning of the blockbuster season, we have a lot to choose from. Super Mario, John Wick, Adonis Creed, Ghostface, and a Dungeons and Dragons party are all vying for our attention. Would you believe me if I told you your best option is none of those, but instead Air…
-
Memorable Movie Scenes: Part 44
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: Memorable Movie Scenes: Part 44Movie: Angel Heart Despite depicting one of the most animalistic sex scenes committed to celluloid, and a plethora of visual motifs on constant loop, Angel Heart is not remembered for any visual artistry. Impassioned tributes to any such moment of striking photography don’t typically litter the web for such titles. It did, however, feature its…
-
A Decade Of Chucking Up
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: A Decade Of Chucking UpDuring the groovy, Colosseum-set climax of 1972’s phenomenally successful Way of the Dragon, Chuck Norris took on the legendary Bruce Lee. Next to the lithe Asian superstar, he looked fat, slow, very hairy and curiously graceless. No matter, for he played his part in a terrific dust-up that fight fans still salivate over. He followed…
-
Starring Debuts #21: Jennifer Beals in Flashdance (1983)
Tag(s):
Author:
Read more: Starring Debuts #21: Jennifer Beals in Flashdance (1983)I’ve long acknowledged graduates from the Kelly McGillis Top Gun School of Absurd Roles and no one deserves a bigger pat on the back than Flashdance’s Alex Owens. I mean, name one other flick with a wannabe ballerina working as a welder in a Pennsylvanian steel mill. Not only that, but she appears to be…