‘Scream’: Another stab at relevance

I was recently asked to participate in a “Scream” retrospective podcast in anticipation of the latest installment of the franchise. To brush up, I revisited the original and its two sequels after not having seen them for years. What I had noticed was that, after years of sequels, spoofs, sequels to those spoofs, rip-offs and [...]

Phoning it in for ‘Scream’ series

Since I have been rather preoccupied to record our own podcasts here, I’ve decided to leech onto others, so that they may do the heavy lifting (read: hours of editing). This coming week, head over to The Avod (http://theavod.blogspot.com/) and hear a rather lengthy dissection (which ultimately becomes a vivisection) of the ‘Scream’ series with [...]

Two great tastes that taste great together

I would like to talk about this trailer, but that would be breaking the first rule…

Go with what you know…

Two former box-office titans battled for relevancy doing what they are known best for in a market that has, at times, met their new releases with utter indifference. For Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups,” he herds up his usual suspects for a comedy about embracing (?) their ages. For Tom Cruise’s new vehicle, “Knight and Day,” [...]

I’ve got another Woody; is that wrong?

Damn you, Pixar! How am I supposed to uphold my tough-guy image when you reduce me to such a mess with virtually every release. ‘Field of Dreams‘ used to be the benchmark in getting choked up for a film, then came Toy Story in 1995. After that, an endless parade of heart-in-the pictures followed that [...]

‘My Cousin Vinny’ with director Jonathan Lynn

Title: My Cousin Vinny (PG-13) Written by: Dale Launer Directed by: Jonathan Lynn Starring: Joe Pesci as Vinny Marissa Tomei as Mona Lisa Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Ralph Macchio as Billy Mitchell Whitfield as Stan Austin Pendleton John Gibbons Lane Smith as Jim Trotter III Bruce McGill as Sheriff Dean By Scott Knopf from [...]

‘Lionheart’ with Harrison Page

Title: Lionheart (1990) Rated: R Directed by: Sheldon Lettich Written by: S.N. Warren (story) Jean Claude Van Damme (screenplay) Starring: Jean Claude Van Damme as Leon Harrison Page as Joshua Debra Rennard as Cynthia Lisa Pelikan as Helene Ashley Johnson as Nicole  By Count Vardulon Pre-screening memories: I was old enough, when seeing Lionheart for the [...]

‘Nightbreed’ with Simon Bamford

Film: Nightbreed (1990) Rated: R Written and Directed by: Clive Barker Starring: Craig Sheffer as Boone/Cabal Anne Bobby as Lori David Cronenberg as Dr. Decker Charles Haid as Cpt. Eigerman Hugh Ross as Narcisse Doug Bradley as Dirk Simon Bamford as Ohnaka Kim Robertson as Babette By Count Vardulon Pre-screening memories:  Like many teens, I went [...]

‘Demolition Man’ with Glenn Shadix

Film: Demolition Man (1993) Rated: R Directed by: Marco Brambilla Written by: Peter M. Lenkov Robert Reneau Starring: Sylvester Stallone as John Spartan Wesley Snipes as Simon Phoenix Sandra Bullock as Lenina Huxley Nigel Hawthorne as Dr. Cocteau Benjamin Bratt as Alfredo Garcia Glenn Shadix as Associate Bob Denis Leary as Edgar Friendly   By Scott Knopf from [...]

‘Popcorn’ featuring lead Derek Rydall

Film: Popcorn (1991) Rated: R Written by: Alan Ormsby (screenplay) Mitchell Smith (story) Directed by: Mark Herrier Starring: Jill Schoelen as Maggie Tom Villare as Toby Derek Rydall as Mark Dee Wallace as Suzanne Tony Roberts as Mr. Davis Ray Walston as Dr. Mnesyne By the Divemistress from Pre-screening memories: When I was a kid [...]