Another Little Shout Out on May 27th, 2017

Today is, somewhat appropriately, a double feature. A birthday shout out to two fantastic men that have been sending everyone behind the sofa and under the bed in fright. Sir Christopher Lee of the Hammer horror fame and the legendary Vincent Price were born on this day, May 27th. I am exceptionally fond of these actors because of how impressive they could be, both with fangs and without. Lee was a man with a wonderfully chilling baritone voice that could strike fear in the bravest, but also could be so eloquent in such odd films from the minds of directors such as Jess Franco. And Vincent Price is a man of versatility as well, whether it was his early years in films like The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex and Laura, or his team-ups with men like Roger Corman for a grand night of frightening people with the power of Poe. And so today, I salute you two terrifying gents today. Happy birthday.

Comments

Double Feature: Clearwater Features's TUGS (1989) & Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows (1983 - 1988)

INTRODUCTION It's probably best that we dial things down and finally get around to talking about something I mention in the description of this godforsaken blog: TV! Namely 80s British children's programming! There's one major reason why I've chosen this unnaturally specific arena of the small screen...I grew up on it. Through the power of the internet, DVDs, and even syndicated broadcasts in the US in some instances, I was able to experience what kids from London to Lancaster watched during the days of Thatcher and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And I ate that stuff right up as a tot. There was something unique about English programming in general at the time. There was a certain homeliness to it. It was as if you return to your house or flat, turn on the tube, but it was catching an episode of Last of the Summer Wine or Only Fools & Horses that truly made you feel like you were at home. When it comes to kid's programming, I find that the UK is...

Review: Fantastic Planet - 1973

INTRODUCTION As a fan of animation, I have found a bizarre safe haven of sorts in Europe. I have been shocked find some of the most creative, enchanting, and thought-provoking works of this medium in Europe. Anything, from the warped world of Jan Svankmajer to the dreamlike lands of Yuri Norstein. But the film for this review hails from France. Rene Laloux's La Planate Sauvage is a 1973 Franco-Czech animated science fiction film featuring the design work of imaginative illustrator Roland Topor. With the English title of Fantastic Planet , Laloux's cinematic debut is a truly fantastic tale. On the planet known as Ygam, Oms (or humans) are enslaved and toyed with by the planet's natives, large blue creatures called Draags. However, one Om by the name of Terr escapes his owner and finds himself in the company of radical Oms who defy the Draags. THE PROS La Planete Sauvage is film is chock full of allegories. From fighting oppression to the basic pleasures of gett...

Review: The Color of Money - 1986

INTRODUCTION When I first saw The Hustler on TCM, the 1961 pool hall drama starring a young Paul Newman alongside legends like Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott, I was rather impressed. I loved its mustiness, Kenyon Hopkin's snazzy score, and the knockout performances by all, and I shall hopefully get around to taking a stab at The Hustler at a later date. So when I learned of a sequel, decades later, but helmed by the one, the only, the cinematic titan Martin Scorsese, my curiosity was more than just peaked. And so I come today to divulge my thoughts on the story of Paul Newman, back at it again as now former hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, his surprise protégé Tom Cruise, and Cruise's girlfriend, the fiery Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, in Scorsese's 1986 flick, The Color of Money . PROS So there's is a lot to unpack with this film. Does Newman still have it in him to bring back to life the "Fast Eddie" Felson character? H...

The Offbeat Marquee: Film and TV Reviews

Search This Blog