Now that Avatar has won a Golden Globe for best movie and it has been nominated for an Oscar for best movie, I feel I should explain why it sucks. And, my God, are there a lot of reasons. And don’t even get me started on Avatar being nominated for best screenplay by the…
DetailsRoger Corman’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” is one of the all-time best rock & roll movies. Corman is revered in Hollywood for shooting films on a shoestring budget, for never losing money on a film, and for giving some of the best filmmakers their start. The list includes Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola,…
DetailsAs a long time fan of The Rolling Stones, I slipped Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light” concert/documentary into my DVD player, desperately wanting them to not suck. After all, rock and roll is thought of as a young man’s game, and their advancing age long ago became a stale topic for jokes. I was pleasantly…
DetailsTurner Classic Movies has recently restored the concert film/documentary “Elvis: That’s The Way It Is,” adding “lost” footage, and re-cutting the entire film. The new (2007) two-disc set includes the original DVD release augmented with the new, superior version and a few extras. The new film packs in more Presley by replacing fan footage of…
DetailsI’ve got a soft spot for low-budget, quickie rock and roll flicks that small studios rushed out to capitalize on the popularity of early rock and roll. Rock and roll music was seen as a fad until The Beatles legitimized it and, all these years later, its fun to look back on a time when…
Details“An American Affair” contains so many Christian themes and settings, that it could just as easily be called; “A Catholic Affair.” Being sent to see it is a lot like being sent to Catholic School; if you sit down, shut up, and face the right direction, no one gets hurt. The flick is pretty standard…
DetailsYou know when you used to hang with your friends and one would ask, “Would you rather…” and they would have to choose one horrific hypothetical way to die over another? Or they would ask “What would you do if you were in THIS terrible situation…?” Right, well, the movie Frozen is just that sort of idea put on film. Yeah, it’s a real simple concept. The problem is finding enough interesting things to fill it with.
Details“Cadillac Records” sounds like a film about a fictional record label, but it’s the story of Chicago’s Chess Records …sort of. The misleading title refers to co-founder Leonard Chess’ habit of buying cars for his artists. In reality, there were TWO Chess brothers, but in the film they’ve been rolled into one man, played by…
DetailsIf ever there was a film that I wanted to love, it is perhaps this one. And what amazing possibilities there are for a remake of The Wolfman, yes? In this time of incredible practical effects and improving CGI, this is a great opportunity to show those off while creating a moody, atmospheric horror film…
Details“The Girl Can’t Help It” is to rock and roll movies what “Cool Hand Luke” is to prison flicks. Simply put, it rocks, like a nymphomaniac’s trailer. Shot in 1956, when TV was still broadcast in black and white, it contains the only color footage of legendary rock and rollers Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran…
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