Day 997: Hollywood’s Original A-List, Part II

originally published September 23, 2014 Last year I penned a heartfelt tribute to Lilian Gish and that first generation of cinematic ladies who made male hearts swoon, back when it was still gentlemanly to swoon in mixed company. Alas, the big bold number at the top of this article threatens an accusation of sexism if […]

Day 969: Pound-For-Pound Performances

originally published August 26, 2014 If anyone asks, I’m currently beefing up for the lead role in the upcoming biopic about Orson Welles’ final days. I haven’t been cast yet, and to my knowledge no such movie exists, but when Hollywood finally comes around to making it, I’ll be ready. So yes, I will have […]

Day 943: Rolling Through The Revolting – Worst Films Part 8

originally published July 31, 2014 It can never be said that I do not sacrifice for my art. Just as my eyes have been manhandled by Manos: The Hands Of Fate, and later subjected to the probing fright of Deep Throat, I have once again endured one of cinema’s most masterful clusters of unmitigated celluloid […]

Day 937: Hollywood’s Hollywood Ending – USA vs. Paramount, 1948

originally published July 25, 2014 For those who wax nostalgic about the Golden Age of Hollywood, who swoon over the catchlights dazzling in Rita Hayworth’s dark chocolate eyes, who are pushed to the brink of their seat cushions by a stabbing violin score, or who treasure a film’s complete batch of credits before the story […]

Day 925: The Titanic’s First Cinematic Splash

originally published July 13, 2014 Mention the 1997 James Cameron film Titanic to someone and you’re bound to get one of these responses: “What an overpriced piece of CGI crap!” “I loved that movie!” “Not just a great film, but that Celine Dion song is the best!” (these are the people with whom I won’t […]

Day 914: Retching At The Wretched – Worst Films Part 7

originally published July 2, 2014 There are certain cinephiles – and I’m proud to call myself one of them – who take pleasure in the savory low-hanging fruit known as bad movies. This is my seventh (and most likely final) installment in my Worst Movies series, and I believe it to be an opportune moment […]

Day 909: The Real Grand-Daddy Of Motion Pictures – Louis Le Prince

originally published June 27, 2014 As an aspiring young (using the most broad and generous definition of “young”) film studies major, I was fascinated by the pre-Edison attempts at capturing moving pictures for subsequent viewing. Eadweard Muybridge used a long row of still cameras to capture a galloping horse’s stride, only to spurt the images […]

Day 908: It’s Hee-eere… This Article About Poltergeist

originally published June 26, 2014 Despite being physically nothing more than distortions of light and shadow on a few reels of tightly-wound celluloid, a movie can possess the power to frighten free the literal turds from viewers’ backsides. I was eleven or twelve when I first saw Poltergeist, and I remember clearly the electric squirms […]

Day 902: The Guy Who Made Movies Sound So Damn Good

originally published June 20, 2014 If I were to venture west (okay, mostly south and just a little west) to stake my claim on a Hollywood career, I might end up as Channing Tatum’s body-double (or, more likely, Danny DeVito’s), or if I’m lucky, as Steven Spielberg’s on-set beard-groomer. Either way, I’d be looking at […]

Day 885: Video Predates The Radio Star

originally published June 3, 2014 Now a haven for reality shows and programming that has little or nothing to do with anything resembling music, MTV was once the go-to station for the ubiquitously 80’s art form known as the music video. But flipping one’s video rolodex back to the Buggles singing “Video Killed The Radio […]