For whatever reason (Pandemic fatigue? Regurgitated film plot fatigue?) I wasn’t very impressed with most of the new releases I watched this year. Halfway through screener season I just gave up and stopped watching new movies because I was bored. Despite my misgivings about the year in general there were a handful of films released in 2020 that I really appreciated. Here are my Top … Continue reading World on Fire: Four Favorite 2020 Film Releases
A horror film renaissance is unfolding that’s largely being ignored or has gone unappreciated. While Hollywood continues to pummel us all with over-hyped, self-conscious and all too predictable and derivative movies like CABIN IN THE WOODS, Tim Burton’s recent DARK SHADOWS remake or the ongoing SAW and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY series, independent or smaller budgeted films made in Europe, Britain, Asia and Australia as well as the US are exploring new ground and … Continue reading “It’s my blood. I gave it to you.”
On Sunday many will be glued to their television sets watching the annual Oscar ceremony unfold. At this time of year I tend to contemplate all the new releases I’ve seen in the past 12 months and linger over the films that have captured my imagination, awed me, inspired me, or just made me think about old ideas and tired truths in new ways. When … Continue reading THE BRUTAL TRUTH: Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Many of my favorite horror and fantasy books are short story collections or compact novelettes. Some excellent examples of this include Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly, which contains his chilling vampire tale Carmilla among other fright-filled stories or Oscar Wilde’s classic The Picture of Dorian Gray that runs a mere 175 pages (give or take a few depending on what version you may own). … Continue reading Six Irish Tales of Terror & Imagination
I contributed a list of my 20 Favorite Films seen in 2017 to the annual Senses of Cinema World Poll in the form of an illustration scanned & cleaned up in Photoshop. I wanted to have fun with the process this year and didn’t feel much like writing about all the films on my list although there are a few I’d like to discuss further … Continue reading My Favorite Films of 2017
I’ve been inspired to write brief bits about some of the new films I’ve seen recently. I normally post my thoughts on Letterboxd but thought I’d start compiling them here every month or so depending on how much I write and if I have anything worthwhile to say. Breathe (2015) The worst bullies I’ve encountered in my life have all been women and some of … Continue reading The Return of Modern Mondays
* IMPORTANT: Before you read any further please remember that ALL films, directors, actors, etc. are listed ALPHABETICALLY on my LISTS and BALLOTS and not in order of favoritism/status. * Today the Oscar nominations were announced and it seems like a good time to share my 15 Favorite Films of 2014, which I recently posted at the Movie Morlocks along with detailed notes but I … Continue reading Favorite Films & Performances of 2014
I haven’t been online much the last few months for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I’ve been having some medical problems with my left eye and spending lots of time on my computer reading, watching vids and writing can often be problematic. My eyes get easily irritated and I’m prone to headaches, etc. The other reason is simple net fatigue, particularly on social … Continue reading June & July at the Movie Morlocks
Addendum #2 to my list of Top 10 Favorite Films of 2013. . . James Franco’s pitiful mating call battle cry from Harmony Korine’s SPRING BREAKERS (“Look at all my shiiiiiit!”) became a sinister mantra that echoed through many films in 2013 including Sophia Coppola’s THE BLING RING, Woody Allen’s BLUE JASMINE and Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. Both BLUE JASMINE and THE … Continue reading Girls Gone Very, Very Bad
Jess Franco 1930-2013 What follows is a collection of links to some of my posts at TCM’s Movie Morlocks from 2013. These are (in my estimation) the best and most interesting articles I wrote last year but you can read my entire output for 2013 at the Movie Morlocks if you peruse the archives. From this point onward on I’ll be collecting links to my … Continue reading 2013 at the Movie Morlocks
