Have you ever sat through a film that was so awful that you were willing to shove a coat hanger up your nose to try and gouge out the memory from your brain? Welcome to “Kiss Me Monster,” a 1970 clunker that also masquerades as “Castle of the Doomed.” Read the rest of this entry »

I went on a wild trip the other night, and I didn’t have to ingest the bad acid at a Grateful Dead Concert. Instead, I had to sit through “Goodbye 20th Century,” a Macedonian film with obvious western influences. Read the rest of this entry »

While driving home cross country, brothers Fuller (Steve Zahn) and Lewis (Paul Walker) pass the miles away by having a little fun on their CB radio. Older brother Fuller, whom Lewis has just bailed out of a Salt Lake City jail for drunk driving, goads Lewis into pretending to be a woman. Read the rest of this entry »

In the bonus materials for “The Thing: Collector’s Edition,” there’s an archive of photographs from the film’s premiere in Hollywood. It happened in June of 1982 at the Pacific Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. The premiere was hosted by Elvira. Even though you can’t see me in the photos, I was at that premiere. If you dressed as your favorite “thing,” you got in free. Read the rest of this entry »

The heart of rock and roll is still beating in writer-director Cameron Crowe’s affectionate, knowing nostalgic nod to his teenage years as a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Anyone who was old enough and conscious to appreciate the early 1970s will totally fall in love with Crowe’s glorious Valentine to rock and roll. This film couldn’t have come from someone who wasn’t there. His observations are so passionate you feel like you’ve been transported back to 1973.
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It was raining the night I saw “The Sons of Katie Elder” with my mom at the Drive-In back in 1965. She didn’t care. It was a John Wayne movie, and she had to see it. My mom was a huge John Wayne fan, and even got to sit in his lap when she was younger. When I was growing up she would always pull out a box of photos and show me the one of him that he autographed to her. Read the rest of this entry »

Even if you don’t like his films, you have to admire director Kevin Smith’s Hollywood sensibilities. As budgets skyrocket towards the heavens, Smith is able to make entertaining and engaging films for less than most mainstream film’s advertising budgets. His first film, “Clerks,” cost nothing to make. When Gramercy Pictures offered him $6 million to write and direct “Mallrats,” Smith asked them why. Read the rest of this entry »

“My Dog Skip” is a swell movie, a winning tale of a boy and his dog. Based on Willie Morris’ fond recollection of his childhood, “My Dog Skip” is rich in nostalgia and feel good moments. Read the rest of this entry »

As a film, “The General’s Daughter” is as conflicted as its characters.

At first glance, the film looks like another one of those John Grisham Southern thrillers. It’s images are soaked in a golden honey hue, and you can literally feel the humidity and smell the sweat that permeates each and every scene. Read the rest of this entry »

With a sinister smirk in his smile and a wicked glint in his eye, Willy Wonka betrays the spirit of the confections bearing his name. Those expecting the same milk chocolate rush of 1973’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in director Tim Burton’s remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be in for sour balls. Read the rest of this entry »