My best movie screen memory of Brian Dennehy is playing Will Teasle, the hardheaded small town sheriff who sets off a war when he pushes Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo, ex-Green Beret character, too far in “First Blood” (1982). What a fantastic performance. Definitely worth checking out. Dennehy was a great actor!
There were news items circling around where the plot from Steven King’s “The Stand” has been compared to the current global pandemic featuring the irrepressible COVID-19. King denied that there were really any similarities. As we progress through this mess, more details emerge as to the origin of the coronavirus. Did it begin in one of the “wet markets” in Wuhan, China, where a varied selection of animals are sold for consumption? It has also been mentioned that there are a couple of virology labs close by the wet markets where tests were being made on bats for who knows [More]
Allen Garfield, a great actor known for some villainous acting roles, passed away from the Coronavirus. My favorite bad guy he portrayed was the loathsome “Rizzo”, a crime boss featured in “Busting” (1973). An unforgettable sleaze! Garfield had memorable turns in “Nashville” (1975) and “The Conversation” (1974), as well. Garfield will be missed.
Actor Robert Conrad recently passed away. I know him best from his role as super government agent, James West, from “The Wild, Wild West” TV series. He played a crime fighter in the mold of James Bond but in an earlier century, namely the Old American West! James West was an avid fan of hidden gadgets, throwing daggers, multiple firearms, explosives, what have you, that he sprung on the maniacal criminal masterminds that he confronted on a weekly basis. This was pretty exciting stuff for a young kid. I caught many of these TV episodes when they eventually went to [More]
Kevin Conway recently passed away. He has two roles that remind me of his involvement in the fright/fantasy movie field. Conway appeared in Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse (1981). He appears as three different barkers in a carnival (!!!). These are pretty seamy characters and lend a creepy air to the bizarre goings on at the rundown attraction. Lawnmower Man 2 (1996) saw Conway acting as an unscrupulous, corporate scumbag who is pushing the boundaries of the virtual reality world. Nice work. R.I.P., Kevin.
“The Satan Bug” (1965) has an intriguing concept, the world could possibly end if a germ warfare agent known as the Satan Bug were to be accidentally exposed to an unknowing public. Well, in the desert, there exists a germ warfare lab and it appears that a vial of the Doomsday Drink is missing. Ah…..Espionage is afoot. This is all well and good but I must say that trying to follow all the clandestine activity and all the bodies involved in the nefarious deeds and double crosses (TODAY’S HEADLINES, ANYBODY?) was a bit migraine inducing. What I find very alarming [More]
This time of year with the holiday season upon us can be a stressful time. We are getting all our last minute shopping done, we are battling traffic, going to work, and juggling a lot of other life necessities and the damned weather is completely sticking its foot out and tripping up our good outlooks on life. The video clip linked here shows the people who have to deal with the elements on a daily basis: the TV weather people. Sometimes, the wind, rain, blizzards get them down too. Watch some hilarious meltdowns! Merry Christmas!
Madman, comedian, writer, director, actor, humanitarian Jerry Lewis, a show business legend, passed away this year. My best advice to see the man in action is to seek out his movies on cable and video on YouTube to get an appreciation for his zany style. Check out the live stage act vids of him with his partner Dean Martin, too. The included clip demonstrates the chaos inducing style he brought to talk show appearances.
Legendary boundary pushing movie. What did it bend out of shape? This movie is bursting with plenty of acts of extreme cinematic violence and nastiness. Back in the early 1970’s, this Sam Peckinpah directed movie made censors’ heads swim. Dustin Hoffman portrays a brainiac who marries a local British girl and elects to live with her in the English countryside to quietly do his work and make her happy. The old house they live in requires a bit of upkeep so the couple decide to employ some local handymen to fix the place up. Seems that Hoffman’s wife, Susan [More]
“What is this place?” It is not as if we haven’t been here before or heard this particular line repeated over and over again in a multitude of movies. I would have to categorize this sample of dialogue as one of the quite often imitated exclamations of myriad characters who become the mouthpieces of unimaginative script writers. Call it dependence on cliché, simple laziness or a belated regurgitation of all of the media crap they have ingested over the years but this particular example of puzzled profundity pops up a lot. Here’s just one example from one of The X-Men movies. [More]
Another sad passing. This time it is Keith Emerson. A maestro and master of the keyboard instrument if ever one existed. His bands included The Nice, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 3, and The Keith Emerson Band. Emerson fully integrated the newly emerging performance synthesizer into his already stellar piano and Hammond organ on stage arsenal. A true virtuoso and legendary performer, Emerson’s style and compositions will continue to influence far into the future. Seek out other clips on you tube and marvel.
Always a favorite Valentine’s Day view, “Fatal Attraction” documents a married man’s fling while the wife’s away that turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life. Rather than obediently disappearing after their wild weekend, Michael Douglas’ love interest, Glenn Close, chooses instead to hang around and try to become a more permanent fixture in his life. Of course, this was not a part of the plan in Douglas’ mind. Close is very single minded in her pursuit and will not think of hearing “no” as a response in her quest top become Douglas’ primary love interest. There is [More]
We have lost another Great One. We now live in a world now without Lemmy Kilmister and that void will never be filled. Lemmy was a well known, larger than life personality. He played a very distorted, loud, bass guitar with his rock and roll band, Motorhead. He was also a key figure for many years in the space rock outfit, Hawkwind. In the distant past, Lemmy was renowned for his large drug intake. It probably is amazing that he lasted this long! He was outspoken, crude, hilarious. Lemmy was a true believer in the spirit and power of rock and roll. [More]
Very sweet documentary covering people who shape sound in any manner or way they see fit. Call these noise practitioners, the new Punks. Some of those shown performing describe what they do as a new form of punk rock, a DIY mindset of artist creation, made with whatever musical instrument, effect pedal, electronic device or mechanical apparatus is at hand. Whatever label you put on these sounds, the end result is a collection of unique individuals who are producing, performing, and espousing noise. It is all very liberating and refreshing. Granted the documentary is seven years old by this date [More]