Legendary, ultra violent western from director Sam Peckinpah. A group of aging outlaws plan just one more big heist before “peacefully” riding off into the sunset. OK. That was really lame! But it’s a familiar tale of thieves taking down one more score before disappearing with the loot and presumably staying out of any more trouble. The really electrifying action takes place at the end of the film when the four man bunch takes on a Mexican stronghold of soldiers numbering in the hundreds. You will witness tons of graphic blood splattering, grenade tossing, and Peckinpah’s patented usage of slow [More]
Very cool compilation of different zombie types that are found in movies and TV. We find that there may be multiple ways to be turned into a zombie including plagues, solar flares, voodoo, etc. The general consensus is, though, that in order to end a zombie’s miserable existence is to your advantage to severely wound or damage the head area of said zombie. If your aim is steady and accurate enough, use a gun or rifle to shoot the zombie in the head. Seems to do the trick in most cases. Always nice to watch these cats shamble around on [More]
It is with a heavy heart that I comment on the passing of our very dear friend, Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy proved to be a man of many talents. Among his accomplishments were successful turns as actor, director, writer, singer, and photographer. We all best remember him for his iconic portrayal of the Vulcan First Officer aboard the starship Enterprise, Mr. Spock. The “Star Trek” role endeared him to fans and established his place as one of the most beloved fictional characters in the history of, well, the world! Nimoy’s work as psychologist Dr. David Kibner in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is to me [More]
My favorite episode from the cinematic horror comic, “Creepshow”. This movie captured the flavor of horror comics infamously represented by the line put out by EC Comics in the 1940’s and 1950’s. There are flourishes of garish, saturated colors which permeate several chapters of this episodic anthology and some transitions from live action to cartoon graphics. Genre heavyweights George Romero of “Night of the Living Dead” fame and writer Stephen King lent their talents to the weird goings on here. This clip details a murderous act of revenge enacted by a jealous husband upon his unfaithful wife and her lover. [More]
Cheap Trick giving a rousing performance of their classic, “Surrender”, live at the Houston Astrodome. Lovely 5-neck guitar action and a grand tour of the grounds in a flatbed truck. Featuring the late, great Bun E Carlos on drums. He is definitely missed.
Great song from a great band. This number appeared on their concept album, “Schoolboys In Disgrace”. Haunting “lost love” song. From the fertile imagination of their prolific songwriter/genius Ray Davies.
There has been a lot of discussion lately involving Clint Eastwood’s new film, “American Sniper”. But Eastwood has had a couple brushes in the past with sniper related elements in his movies. “Dirty Harry” featured a psycho killer who dispatches a lovely swimming in a pool from long range with a sniper rifle. “Joe Kidd” contained a character who uses a high powered rifle with a scope in the Old West to pick off victims. “The Enforcer” was the third picture in the “Dirty Harry” series. It ends up that Eastwood’s unorthodox cop, Harry Callahan, resorts to utilizing a laz [More]
Mid 1970’s “music video” featuring the great original lineup of the Canadian prog rock power trio, F.M. “Phasors on Stun” to me is their masterwork. One of my favorite songs of this and probably any lifetime, it highlights mandolin genius Jeff Plewman AKA Nash The Slash. The group manages to pull off a faithful rendition of the uplifting tune with the instruments at hand but I would highly recommend you seek out the original studio recording or song collection, “Black Noise”, and absorb its multi layered synth textures. If you enjoy that sort of thing. To me, the song is energizing and [More]
OK. I am a sucker for this type of flick. Soldiers outgunned, outnumbered and trying to hold off a technologically advanced invading alien army. Plenty of firepower and pyrotechnic displays on hand to liven things up. What could be better? Anyway, the trailer looks promising. Of course, so did the one for “Battle: Los Angeles” and it ended up being only alright in my book. Here’s hoping for the best!
After spending a couple of days at Disneyland during the Christmas holiday season, I was reminded of this ecological disaster movie from the 1970’s. Witness people packed in to a space like sardines, witness the repeated equipment breakdowns and infrastructure collapse. And the air ain’t that great to breathe. I don’t think I ate anything remotely resembling the type of swill the people in “Soylent Green” are reduced to consuming though. Check it out. Another fine Charlton Heston performance is in store for you. 2024 UPDATE: What I should have commented on back in time, when this post was first [More]
Brief interview with the late Dennis Hopper discussing his troubled time on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”. Listening to Hopper in this interview, it is amazing how much more lucid he was at the time as compared with his binging days of the Late Seventies/Early Eighties when “Apocalypse” was made. I highly recommend seeking out “Hearts of Darkness”, a documentary on the making of “Apocalypse Now”. “Hearts” includes a longer take of the snippet of Coppola trying to communicate with a seemingly deranged Hopper on the set of “Now” shown at the end of this interview. Coppola [More]
This immortal classic has been making the cable TV rounds this holiday season and “Alien”, for me, still holds up as my favorite science fiction/horror film EVER! I have always been partial to the first part of the film where the crew find out about the strange “distress” signal they are sent to investigate, up until Kane (John Hurt) is brought back to the ship from the surface of the planetoid with a “guest” attached to his face. There is nice cast interaction and an effective depiction of a trek across a rather hostile planet. The rollercoaster ride of horror aboard ship which [More]
Charles Dickens’ classic literary work is converted to silent cinema form by inventor Thomas Edison’s film studios. Rather “stagey” in appearance but that is to be expected from early cinematic works. The language of film had yet to be developed and filmmakers relied on the conventions of the stage (all action taking place in a static location such as a stage set, minimal usage of close up or shot variation , etc.). By today’s standards, the film may seem a bit plodding and “stationary” but the multiple exposure materialization of the ghosts Scrooge encounters are generally effective. Get out the popcorn and [More]
“An American Werewolf in London” gets my vote for the best realized hybrid of the horror and comedy movie genres. But, to be sure, the emphasis is clearly on the horror of the entire situation. Two young Americans are on a backpacking trek across the lonely expanses of Britain when they encounter the completely unexpected. Both are savagely attacked by a giant wolf creature. One is killed but the other unlucky soul lives to experience the nightmare of werewolf transformation. Humor in the style of “Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers” but what would you expect from the director of all three [More]