IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM

For decades screaming was often the weapon of choice for women in action, science fiction, and horror films. We were expected to shriek, shout, yelp, whimper, squeal and squawk in the face of serious danger and (hopefully) a man would eventually come to our aide. So you can imagine how frightened I was when I …

Japan’s Home Alone: ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (1969)

Forget the overplayed John Hughes comedy HOME ALONE (’90). If you want to watch a fun family-friendly film during the holidays look no further than ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (’69) now streaming on the Criterion Channel of FilmStruck. This kinder and gentler Godzilla sequel was designed to appeal to kids of all-ages and features a young …

6 Months of Film Writing

I'm afraid I've been neglecting Cinebeats again but I've been busy with various personal projects and obligations. I've also recently started writing for Publishers Weekly but I thought I'd finally update with some highlights from TCM's Movie Morlocks. Here's some of the more interesting (in my estimation) film related writing & entertaining babble I've produced …

April & May at The Movie Morlocks

Highlights from my April & May contributions to TCM’s Movie Morlocks. You can read all the articles by following the links below: - Happy Birthday Doris! Excerpt: "The legacy of this vivacious movie star, popular vocalist, television personality and animal rights advocate is truly unparalleled. And knowing Doris Day’s is still here with us doing …

H.R. Giger 1940-2014

I was disappointed to learn that H.R. Giger has died at age 74. He was a brilliant man and one of my favorite artists. In recent years he was still active and his work has been on my mind a lot following the release of PROMETHEUS (2012). I hoped that we'd get the opportunity to …

January at the Movie Morlocks

Had planned on posting this a few weeks ago but it slipped my mind. Still trying to get back into the swing of things around here. What follows is a list of my January posts for TCM's Movie Morlocks blog: - Peter O’Toole: A Hellraiser Remembered Excerpt: "I can’t speak for my fellow Morlocks but …

Going Under: Revisiting COMA (1978)

I recently re-watched Michael Crichton‘s COMA (1978) and was pleasantly surprised by how effective the film still was.

Prometheus Unbound: Ridley Scott & Me

How much did I love Ridley Scott's ALIEN (1979) after seeing it at the tender age of 11? Too much. The commercials for ALIEN terrified me and the film's tagline ("In Space No One Can Hear You Scream") sent unprecedented chills down my spine but I was determined to see it. I can't remember how …

Do the Jellyfish!

STING OF DEATH (1965) tells the strange and tragic story of Igor Egon (John Vella), a horribly disfigured loner who just might be Oliver Reed's ugly American cousin. Egon works for a scientist (Jack Nagle) in the Florida Everglades who is studying jellyfish, in particular the extremely dangerous Portuguese Man of War. Egon also happens …

Reinventing Lolita

Top: Sue Lyon in Murder in a Blue World (1973) Bottom: Sue Lyon in Lolita (1961) From my latest post at The Movie Morlocks: One of the most iconic images to emerge from the cinema in the 1960s is the figure of a young Sue Lyon, peering over her sunglasses at a leering James Mason …

Our Primal Fear of the Primordial Ooze

Yumi Shirakawa in The H-Man (1958) This week at the Movie Morlocks I discuss our primal fear of the primordial ooze and highlight some of the slimy scares to be found during TCM's Drive-In Double Features tonight. Some of the movies being played during this evening's line-up are personal favorites and include THE BLOB (1956), …

Comic Book of the Week: Land of the Giants

Land of the Giants was a short-lived comic book series published between 1968-1969 by Gold Key Comics. I'm not sure who the artist and writer were because there are no credits in the comic but it was based on the television show of the same name. The series only lasted two seasons and I think …