Animal House is a movie that was not taken seriously when it was made. The expectations were low, and Donald Sutherland, the one big star, (Kevin Bacon’s first movie!) took a paltry lump-sum of $30,000 for his role in the movie. No university or college would let them shoot the movie at their campus until…

“Tom and Jerry” – Sorry, grandpa. Before we get to my son’s thoughts about Tom and Jerry, I’m going to weigh in a bit. When I was a kid, whenever we went to my grandparents’ house, we watched Tom and Jerry cartoons with my grandpa. It was the best part of the visit and I…

Bullitt is an award-winning film that showcases one of the most exciting car chases ever. The 1968 fast-back Mustang used in the chase scene recently sold at auction for 3.4 million dollars, and it was in rough condition. I will be reviewing the 2-disc Special Edition DVD of this movie. Steve McQueen was one of…

For over 30 years now, ever since his debut feature She’s Gotta Have It in 1986, Spike Lee has been one of the most innovative and provocative filmmakers of our time. As expressed numerous times throughout his many films, Lee’s highest goal is to “wake up” and uplift all oppressed and deluded people, but he…

I recently watched Goodfellas for the third…and final time, not because I intend to retire to eremitism, join a cult or end my life soon, but—to see how it held up. Seeing it first in 2004 while a twenty-year-old, English-as-a-second language twit enamored with mob flicks centered around New Yawk, big-city, third-world, streetwise culture; and,…

As anyone who has read my in-depth review of Beethoven knows, family movies from the 1990s are often covert founts of darkness and despair, sometimes to the point that it is nigh impossible to see them any other way. Another great example of this curious phenomenon is the 1994 film Baby’s Day Out, which depicts…

In his autobiography LittleWilson and Big God, Anthony Burgess ( for those of you who did not know, his complete name was John Anthony Burgess Wilson. Furthermore, for those of you who do not know, he was author of A Clockwork Orange, Tremor in Intent, The End of the World News, among many other  novels,…