What is it about quaint mountain top resorts that attracts ancient evil? Horror writers love the premise. Stephen King explored the theme in “The Shining,” and now comes Dean Koontz’s “Phantoms.” This is why I gave up snow skiing. Read the rest of this entry »

A year before “Star Wars” came out, MGM delivered “Logan’s Run,” an expensive, futuristic saga based on William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson’s novel. Set in the 23rd Century, “Logan’s Run” was considered cutting edge for it’s time. Read the rest of this entry »

As I begin this first column, I think back to the days when I was a little girl growing up in Beaverlick, Wyoming, and to what my mother always used to tell us. “Don’t put that in your mouth.” Words to live by. Mom was right. Read the rest of this entry »

First off, if you didn’t like “Kill Bill, Volume 1,” then move along. There’s nothing to see here. Skip on down and find a DVD to watch. Read the rest of this entry »

Stealing $35 million in gold from an Italian villa and staging a breakneck escape through the canals of Venice was the easy part. Retrieving the booty from a turncoat partner who obviously doesn’t believe in honor among thieves is the real “Italian Job.” Read the rest of this entry »

In my opinion “Hilary and Jackie” was one of the best films of the 1998. It comes with all the obvious Oscar trappings: two strong female characters, accomplished writing and direction, it’s a period piece that spans four decades, and it’s British. It stars the vivacious Emily Watson, whose knock-out performance in her film debut, “Breaking the Waves,” garnered her an Oscar nomination. Read the rest of this entry »

There are several jobs, for one reason or another, I would never take. Teacher at an inner-city high school. Shelley Winter’s gynecologist. Roberto Benigni’s interpreter. Martha Stewart’s cleaning lady. And an air traffic controller. Read the rest of this entry »

As the legend goes, every twenty-three years, for twenty-three days, an ancient evil rises up to prey on the flesh of unsuspecting victims. No, we’re not talking about Joan Rivers at the Academy Awards, but the Creeper (same thing), a winged devil who swoops down on his victims like the flying monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz” and carries them off to an unimaginable horror, and we’re not talking about front row seats at a Coldplay concert. Read the rest of this entry »

The Grotowski home is not the house that love built. Three generations of Grotowski men live under the same roof, but they’re not really a family. There’s patriarch Buck (Peter Boyle), who laments he’s so old he “can’t even remember what a woman smells like.” His son Hank (Billy Bob Thornton) has been raised to follow in his father’s loveless and prejudiced footsteps. Read the rest of this entry »

THE BANGER SISTERS (R)

In Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” Kate Hudson, daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, plays a 1970’s rock and roll groupie, excuse me, a Band Aid, named Penny Lane. Because “Almost Famous” took place in the moment, we only got to see a small sliver of Lane’s life. Read the rest of this entry »