Tag: cinema
Brian Yuzna’s Society: Satirical Body Horror at its Best
Embracing the issue of class-consciousness with aplomb, and thankfully devoid of contemporary horror’s current preoccupation with CGI, Society (1989) is not only a divine slice of body horror, but also a fascinating polemic on the social mores of Reaganite America. Billy (Billy Warlock) is a basketball jock, festooned with an obligatory mullet, who despite enjoying…
Scary Movies: 11 Classic Films to Watch on Halloween
With Halloween on the horizon, I thought it might be a good time to revisit a number of classic flicks that would be appropriate to view on the holiday. All of these movies rely on atmosphere to underscore their frissons, providing sufficient creepiness for the occasion. Some of them are more well known than others,…
The Three Quarter Mark: The Best (And Worst) Films and Performances of 2014 Thus Far
I tried. No one can say I didn’t try. In the waning days of September, I travelled across Australia. I visited the strange, mythical Cheesebridge, England. I pretty much toured the whole damn world with Simon Pegg. No one can say I didn’t go out looking for movies that would let me conclude the first…
Pulling Punches: Kill Bill, Movie Violence and Bringing Eyeballs to the Screen
So my wife Trudi and I are watching Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) on TV the other day. The fight scene involving Daryl Hannah and Uma Thurman. Thurman’s “Bride” plucks out the eye of Hannah’s hitwoman. Then steps on it as her adversary writhes. Trudi squirmed. And I thought: Did I really have to see…
Thrillers Reviewed: ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ and ‘Septimo’
I really like Scott Frank. The writer of such sharp screenplays as Get Shorty (1995), Dead Again (1991), and Minority Report (2002), Frank has worked steadily in recent years on some popular movies, but has sadly not written anything I have been interested in for a long time now. And I really like Liam Neeson.…