We’re all gonna die. It’s a sobering thought, but we cling to the hope it’ll be relatively painless and perhaps even dignified. But what if it isn’t? What happens if you end up like one of those Pan Am passengers in the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing perched atop a Scottish roof still strapped into a seat […]
Can Rich Strike Do It Again?
May 15, 2022 by
Kentucky Derby 148 was one for the ages. Even if you, like so many, had tickets keying basically everyone except Rich Strike, you couldn’t help but cheer on this unknown little chestnut as he zipped through on the rail, masterfully guided by equally little-known jockey Sonny Leon. You laughed when you realised that the winner […]
Online Slot Machines Players Can’t Help But Play
May 14, 2022 by
I decided to set myself a challenge, that being trying to work out which are the most popular and therefore the most played online slot machines, but also discover why they get so much attention from players too. One person I did chat to was Stephen from best sister sites who knows all there is […]
Starring debuts #17: Gene Wilder in The Producers (1967)
May 13, 2022 by
Film Title
The ProducersSynopsis
A movie that shows ‘the true Hitler, the Hitler with a song in his heart’
Director
Mel BrooksCast
Gene Wilder
Zero Mostel
Kenneth Mars
Dick Shawn
Christopher Hewett
Comedians often suck when they try their luck on the big screen. They might be established stand-ups able to sell out 3,000-seater venues or a much-loved part of Saturday Night Live, but something invariably starts to stink during their feature-length stuff. To be fair, it’s very difficult for any performer to make consistently funny flicks. […]
The Shawshank Redemption
May 13, 2022 by
Film Title
The Shawshank RedemptionSynopsis
The Magical Negro falls in love with The Big Tall Guy
Director
Frank DarabontCast
Tim Robbins
Morgan Freeman
Bob Gunton
Clancey Brown
James Whitmore
William Satler
I despise Stephen King, his novella of Rita Hayworth, and The Shawshank Redemption. It was anun-readable blot of blueberry mustard smeared on a Maine tourist map from 1973. Why ’73? Well, that’s the last year of Maine’s state pride as it is the last year it WOULD NOT be associated with this human cowlick with […]
Hold The Dark
May 12, 2022 by
Film Title
Hold The DarkSynopsis
Russell Core is hired to investigate the death of children in Alaska
Director
Jeremy SaulnierCast
Jeffrey Wright
Alexander Skarsgard
James Badge Dale
Riley Keough
Beckam Crawford
Michael Tayles
With Hold the Dark, Jeremy Saulnier’s third such endeavor and fourth feature, the director’s reputation as a state-hopping connoisseur of America’s backwoods is well and truly confirmed. A reputation not so much for achievement as inclination; mainly an infatuation with subcultures situated at the peripheries of mainstream society. His penchant for uncompromising and violent depictions […]
Imaginative Bursts of Sadism
May 11, 2022 by
Do you ever do that thing, perhaps while life hasn’t been treating you too brilliantly, when you start reading up on sicko Nazi and serial killer shit? You don’t mean to (perhaps you’ve got a spare half-hour between charity commitments) but somehow you’re disappearing into the bowels of the internet consuming blood-drenched pages about medieval […]
Escape From Alcatraz (1975)
May 10, 2022 by
Film Title
Escape From AlcatrazSynopsis
Four men try the impossible-Escape from The Rock
Director
Don SiegelCast
Clint Eastwood
Patrick McGoohan
Robert Blossoms
Jack Thibeau
Fred Ward
Paul Benjamin
Larry Hankin
Bruce M. Fischer
We have discussed this many times, the separation of the actor from the person and the person’s politics and religion. In the movie review world, except for rare occasions like the aging Queen Rex Reed, an actor or director’s greatness overwhelms whatever personal shenanigans that he or she might harbor in real life. Nevertheless, Clint […]
The Amusingly Bonkers: Part Two
May 8, 2022 by
Switchblade Sisters AKA The Jezebels (1975) Normally if a movie contains knife fights, rape, pimping, drug dealing, nudity and shootings, you can safely assume it’s a drama. Not Switchblade. It’s pure comedy from start to finish. It’s so OTT there’s not one ounce of dramatic tension to be found, but wander into its overheated, estrogen-fuelled […]
I Went With What the French Call: les apeshit
May 8, 2022 by
Excuse me, you say, Oh sagacious and inerrant Mr. Cobb–however do they market our movies overseas? One word: Badly. –So it’s just a direct translation, then? Two words: You wish. Or, as they would translate that sentiment in Malaysia: Of Terrible Consequence to Original Things Super-Duper High-Five. “They called this movie ‘Little Jew I Want […]
