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]
Interesting action/suspense/monster movie that at first appears to feature the messy handiwork of a werewolf on the loose in New York City. Albert Finney investigates a rash of gruesome murders and has to piece together what is causing all the havoc. Well shot cityscapes and some nice tension inducing scenes played out in some desolate, derelict locations around New York. Curious visual effects are employed here that are supposed to enable us to see the movie namesake’s point of view at various times during the film. Gregory Hines adds a nice turn as a member of the coroner squad. This feature [More]
A rousing, electrified musical number from ’70’s supergroup, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I always play this song around Christmas time because it just radiates that time of year for me. The song itself is an ode to England and its majesty but ignoring the lyrics and listening to the music itself is a Christmas time treat. If that makes any sense. Swirling organs and flavorful synthesizer phrasings from Keith Emerson. Percussion professor Carl Palmer adds his intricate drum fills. String whiz Greg Lake also provides the shimmering, powerful vocals. A delight. Break out the cordials!
This clip is a masterfully staged study of the shark hunter Quint from Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”. Quint, played by Robert Shaw, recounts his earlier in life run in with man eating sharks. The profound horror of this life threatening event probably played no small part in his decision to hunt sharks for a living. “Jaws” is still an amazing thrill ride of a movie after all these years. I think it may be Spielburg’s best picture. This scene is eminently creepy and evocative.
I came home wiped out after a lousy day at work and wanted nothing more than to dissolve into bed with a little TV action to numb me. After checking the programming guide, there was nothing on! Figures. One last check and I stumbled upon “Frogs” being shown on Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network. Saved! El Rey has been showing some cool movies recently. Call them grindhouse features or exploitation or fantastic cinema films, whatever, you will find a wide range of cinema treats to keep you entertained. So, “Frogs” is a Seventies flick that touches on the theme of [More]
A harrowing account of a collection of dubious characters involved in a drug deal that goes bad. A counsellor, in need of some heavy cash, agrees to go in on a deal with some of his drug connected buddies. Little do they know that they are being set up by a member of their inner circle. Visually stunning work with an equally stunning cast. Ridley Scott directs a cast that includes Michael Fassbender ( who took a turn as a sadistic artificial person in Scott’s “Alien” prequel “Prometheus”), Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem. Incidentally, the screenplay [More]