My DVD Collection

"You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."

Ward Cleaver journeys to the center of the earth to do battle with a race of albinos living on mushrooms (I'm not kidding). This is science fiction at it's corny, campy best. I love this stuff (I'm not kidding).

*Kudos to the makeup and special effects artists at Universal Studios. Not once did I notice a single zipper.

For me, this is the quintessential sci-fi film, second only to 2001. It's got everything you'd ever want from a good science fiction classic. There is a menacing alien, ray guns, a space ship, the best robot ever to grace the silver screen (sorry C-3PO), and it's all set on a distant planet in a galaxy far, far away. Oh, and did I mention the beautiful damsel in distress (Anne Francis)? This is how William Shakespeare would do 'The Tempest', if he had grown up in the 50's reading Flash Gordon Comics and listening to 'Space Ranger' radio serials.

Arguably the best musical ever made.

High on my list of the best westerns ever made!!

Every other year or two I pull this one out of the DVD archives and 'rediscover' it. I know, I know, it's essentially a chic-flick cleverly disguised as a cerebral comedy but it never fails to lift my spirits, for one reason or another. This time it was the universal commonality of failed relationships.

There is a Tao to Woody Allen's humor that strikes a chord within my own neurotic, insecure self. I really can't sum it up any better than Allen does: [I'm paraphrasing here so bear with me] There is an old joke that goes something like this - a man goes to the doctor and says, 'Doc, you've got to help me. My brother thinks he's a chicken.' The doctor says, 'Well, why don't you have him committed?' to which the man replies, 'I would, but I can really use the eggs.'

As Allen points out, maybe this is the reason we keep seeking out relationships even though most of them are ridiculously impossible. Maybe we just really need the eggs.

It has somehow become "en vogue" to take any film that is widely considered a classic and tear it to shreds. It's common here on Flixster to read how 'over-rated' Psycho is or how Takashi Shimizu is a better director than Alfred Hitchcock.

EXCUSE ME?!?!?

From where I sit, such comments can generally be attributed to one of three major causes: 1) youth, 2) ignorance or 3) brain damage. In spite of what some seem to think, slaughtering a sacred cow is not going to impress your friends or raise your hellishly low self-esteem. Taking pot-shots at cinematic milestones (like Psycho) only exposes a person's complete inability to understand the rich history and complex evolution of American Horror.

A Peckinpah masterpiece. One of the best westerns ever made.

Not the first so-called 'spaghetti-western' but certainly the one that cemented the sub-genre into American pop culture. Easily my favorite of Sergio Leone's man with no name trilogy.

*see also: A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More.

Unpolished and gritty. Scorsese is obviously honing his craft here but it's still a fantastic piece of film making. I'm not crazy about the ending but it doesn't detract from the character of the movie. A must-see motion picture for Scorsese, Keitel & DeNiro fans alike.

I find it more than a little amusing when some young horror fan writes that he didn't find The Exorcist the least bit shocking or scary. Of course moviegoers today don't have the same visceral reaction, they're callused. And why are they callused? Because of groundbreaking films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Shock, horror and fright are emotions that can't be sustained without an ever-increasing amount of stimulus. Genre fans are like crack addicts, the dosage has to be continually increased in order to maintain the same high. It's a phenomenon most of us can relate to. Kids of my generation really didn't find Tod Browning's Dracula or James Whale's Frankenstein all that scary. We were building up an immunity of sorts. A resistance. A tolerance. The Exorcist was our new drug. It did what horror films were supposed to do, it served as a catalyst for that fantastic, exhilarating euphoria of being scared. So go ahead kids, watch your Hostel (wince!) and your Wolf Creek (cringe!). I'm happy with my head-spinning, pea-soup-spitting, bed-levitating, she-did-WHAT-with-a-crucifix!? classic.
I find it more than a little amusing when some young horror fan writes that he didn't find The Exorcist the least bit shocking or scary. Of course moviegoers today don't have the same visceral reaction, they're callused. And why are they callused? Because of groundbreaking films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Shock, horror and fright are emotions that can't be sustained without an ever-increasing amount of stimulus. Genre fans are like crack addicts, the dosage has to be continually increased in order to maintain the same high. It's a phenomenon most of us can relate to. Kids of my generation really didn't find Tod Browning's Dracula or James Whale's Frankenstein all that scary. We were building up an immunity of sorts. A resistance. A tolerance. The Exorcist was our new drug. It did what horror films were supposed to do, it served as a catalyst for that fantastic, exhilarating euphoria of being scared.

So go ahead kids, watch your Hostel (wince!) and your Wolf Creek (cringe!). I'm happy with my head-spinning, pea-soup-spitting, bed-levitating, she-did-WHAT-with-a-crucifix!? classic.

Today I got my Bickle on. I don't get my Bickle on every day. In fact, it had been a few years since I last got my Bickle on, but today I was on vacation, with nothing better to do.

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a bit obsessive. I can brain-lock on a subject and orbit it for days and days, weeks even! Bickle is like that. He gets obsessed with crime and moral degradation and pretty soon that's all he can think about. I can relate to that. Lucky for me I live in an area where the worst crime I see is my fat-ass neighbor encouraging her poodle to crap in MY lawn instead of her own. But hey, as psychotic as I am, I can even obsess about that. It won't be long before I buy a .44 magnum, shave my hair into a mohawk and then it's bye-bye Mister Fi-Fi...

One of the best film noir pictures ever made. Just look at the plethora of glowing reviews. Not much more can be said.

So...

Let us digress for a moment and delve into the rarely discussed realm of the subtext, the underbelly if you will, of this iconic American classic. There are certain realities concerning Sunset Boulevard that are inescapable. One of the more evident ones is the non-platonic relationship between 50-something Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and 30-something Joe Gillis (William Holden). To get the full effect of the circumstance one must, if only for a moment, visualize the two of them together... mono a mono. Personally, every time I try to wrap my brain around that I throw up a little in my mouth. My twisted imagination conjures up a Harold-n-Maude(ish) image. I know what you're thinking. It is an unsettling mental visage that no one (except of course ME) would ever dwell on. Still, its a crucial concept that must be grasped if you're to immerse yourself in the ambiance of the picture and fully appreciate its geriatric sexuality.

Not all monsters are grotesque and ugly, sometimes they are as beautiful and breathtaking as Barbara Stanwyck. Considered by many to be the best and most influential film noir ever made, Double Indemnity has become the standard by which all others are judged. For my money, from the cast and direction to the cinematography and scripting, it's a near perfect film. Definitely one of my all-time top 20 movies.

I've heard it said that Touch of Evil, NOT Citizen Kane, is Orson Welles' greatest cinematic achievement. While I'm not sure I would agree with that statement I do agree that it's clearly a masterpiece of film noir, especially in the camera work. If there is a detractor here it's buying into the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican lawman, for me that's a bit of a stretch. Otherwise, it's one of the best representations of movie making as an art form I've ever seen. Five stars.

I spent 8 years of my life in the U.S. Navy. Six of those years I was on active duty making FBM submarine patrols in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. If there is a grittier, more realistic submarine movie out there I've never seen it. Cinematically speaking, this is about as close as you'll ever get to knowing what the submarine service is really like (unless, of course, you enlist).

*Note: Skip this one if you're claustrophobic.

One of John Wayne's darkest and most complex roles. It's easy to see why The Searchers is widely considered to be the Duke's best film. Unlike many of his other characters where their disposition and development is set according to type, Ethan Edwards (Wayne) is blatantly racist and morally flawed. He's a walking, talking paradox in the sense that you applaud what he is trying to do but you're appalled by how he's doing it. For example: During the course of his career in the western genre, John Wayne must have shot and killed hundreds of American Indians. But how often have you seen Wayne, after killing an Indian, ride over and shoot out the eyes of the corpse? Not only did he want to kill the man, he wanted him to stumble around blind in the hereafter. That scene, as filmed, shows a level of contempt that no Wayne character possessed before or since.

This isn't the be-all/end-all of John Wayne's films, and neither is it the only time Wayne played a character with depth and substance, but it is arguably his most challenging and triumphant performance. A film deserving of it's status as one of the best westerns to ever grace the big screen.

This may be one of the most overlooked and under appreciated classics of all time. A box office flop when first released, this film was simply too far ahead of its own era.

Told in a manner that is part film noir and part Gothic horror, the story steadily becomes more nightmarish and less anchored in reality as it progresses. Sets, over the course of the film, become more stage than screen (some of the backdrops are obviously one-dimensional). They're often silhouetted with unnatural back lighting, adding to the overall ominous feel of the picture. Other scenes, most notably Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) at the bottom of the lake, are shot with an awareness of cinematography that is nothing short of brilliance.

Robert Mitchum is suburb as the villainous Harry Powell, rivaling his equally evil but dimensionally different character in Cape Fear. The Night of the Hunter ranks among my all-time top 100 films and should not be missed.

"Strawberries!"

The genesis of Universal's classic horror era, Todd Browning's Dracula has, sadly, not withstood the test of time quite as well as it's namesake. Even so, Lugosi's performance is nothing short of iconic and is still considered the definitive personification of what a vampire is supposed to be. This might be the most influential film ever made.

A Cinderella story that quickly turns into a nightmare.

Directed by Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick [Gone with the Wind], two of the giants of the golden age of Hollywood. Often times a collaboration of two such egos would result in a competitive struggle that would damage the end product but here there's just the right amount of Hitchcock's noir-ish suspense and Selznick's Hollywood pizzazz to make the whole thing work. There's not one illogical or nonsensical twist or turn in the entire screenplay. I sat, eyes glued to the TV, for an hour and a half, anxiously waiting to see what was going to happen next. Absolutely incredible, top to bottom, side to side.

I know that Lana Turner is the face that drew 1959 audiences to the theater but it's Juanita Moore's performance that anchors this film as a true American classic. Don't get me wrong, Lana is absolutely wonderful in her role, as are John Gavin, Sandra Dee and Susan Kohner, but Miss Moore is the person who you'll be thinking about and talking about long after the credits roll.

Juanita Moore - Imitation of Life

Imitation of Life is sentimental without being sappy. It's also boldly allegorical without being preachy. I'm tempted to say that it was ahead of it's time but, by 1959, it was long overdue.

Delightful! Hitchcock's dabbling in dark comedy featuring a young and absolutely beautiful Shirley MacLaine.

John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate, based on Richard Condon's novel, follows the lives of a group of Korean War veterans as they discover that their subconscious has been 'altered' in a covert mind-control experiment. Using a fictitious U.S. Senator (played by James Gregory) as an obvious stand-in for the fanatical Senator Joseph McCarthy, Frankenheimer is able to turn 'the communist threat' inside-out and use it to show that American's have as much to fear from their own politicians as they do from their cold war antagonists.

All politics aside, this one is worth seeing just for Angela Lansbury alone. She's arguably cemented herself as one of the most despicable screen villains of all time with her performance as the cold-hearted (and incestuous) mother-from-hell.

This is arguably the best of Universal's classic monster movies. It's also director James Whale's last horror film. Whale, who directed the original Frankenstein, returned with a very different approach for the sequel. Where the sets of Frankenstein were close to perfect in their European authenticity, sets for "The Bride" were essentially a hodge-podge of canted architecture and macabre facades. The director also reworked the characters. He reduced Henry Frankenstein [Colin Clive] to what amounted to be a minor supporting role, added Dr. Pretorius [Ernest Thesiger], a flamboyant mad scientist (providing dark comic relief), and gave voice to the monster [Karloff]. The result is a film that is entirely original and self-sustaining.

Aside from the opening scene and perhaps some later close-ups of the bride [Elsa Lanchester], there is little to frighten an audience here. Instead Whale achieves something much more rare. He creates a film that subtly pokes fun at itself while, at the same time, is very serious in it's approach.

If there is anything here to be critical of it is Whale's unabashed attempt at religious symbolism. The camera seems to love the cross prominently displayed in the hermit's shack, and the raising of the captured monster tied to a stake is an obvious and distasteful reference to the crucifixion. It seems to me that what we have here is a case of Whale's enormous ego getting the better of his good judgment. Otherwise, the film may be as close to flawless, in terms of direction, casting, makeup, and set design, as any production before or since. A true cinematic masterpiece.

I was absolutely engrossed in this story from beginning to end. The only knock on this film is that it most likely put a dent in Brazil's tourist trade. Simply outstanding cinema.

Underrated and all but forgotten. I'm not a "huge" fan of Mike Nichols but this is a satirical masterpiece.

Precursor to later episodic horror (i.e. TV's Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone). Five house guests recount their nightmares to each other with each one a little more sinister than the last. A spine-tingling horror classic that scared me as a child and still today creeps me out.

I tend to waffle on this one some, depending on my mood. Sometimes it's four stars, sometimes it's four and a half. I just can't seem to stomach Warren Beatty outside of Bonnie & Clyde unless I'm in a certain mood.

On the whole, this is a very good film. The cast is fantastic, especially Julie Christie, and even Altman seems to have reigned in his usual meandering style to give the story structure and purpose. Don't look for any heroes in white hats in this western, it's ripe with deeply flawed but interesting characters.

When it comes to The Big Lebowski you won't find too many critics that ride the fence. In fact, cinemaphiles generally fall into one of three categories. Either (1) they love the film, (2) they haven't seen the film or (3) they just don't get it. Count me among those in group number one.

The Dude - The Big Lebowski

The plot, like most Coen brothers' scripts, begins with a catalystic injustice (i.e. a case of mistaken identity) that starts a chain reaction of strange occurrences, eventually coming full circle to right a wrong. The plot is dark, hilarious and complex (hit the pause button if you get up to go pee). This is one of those rare movies that actually lives up to the hype.

Perhaps more so than any other movie I've ever seen, I can relate to and identify with this film. With just a few minor script changes you'd have a pretty accurate encapsulation of my childhood.

In case you haven't seen it yet, it's the story of four boys who set out on a weekend expedition to see a dead body. Along the way they encounter obstacles (a swamp, a railroad trestle, etc.), battle foes (bullies, leaches, a certain junkyard dog), and ultimately have one of those storied, episodic adventures that only 12 year old boys seem to have. It's a scaled down, Americanized version of Homer's The Odyssey, a metaphoric journey laced with ideological symbolism. Four young knights on a quest, if you will, to locate a grail (the lifeless body of Ray Brower).

I can see aspects of my own adolescent self mirrored in each of the four main characters. Until I was about 14 years old, I was always "the fat kid" (Vern). My father had a violent temper (Teddy). I was forever writing stories for the amusement of my friends (Gordie). And, I aspired to rise above the expectations of those presumptuous arrogants who based their assessment of me solely on the unfavorable aspects of my pedigree (Chris). It's as though Stephen King crawled inside my head and did a character study on all those voices I keep hearing. :)

Stand By Me is really just a simple little film that's deceptively deep and, at least for me, very personal.

One of the all-time great war films. High marks for drama, technical accuracy and, best of all, Gregory freakin-Peck!

A daring, ahead of its time gem that thinly veils premarital sex and illegitimate pregnancy with a phantom marriage and bust-a-gut humor. A milestone in American comedy and a covert triumph for director Preston Sturges.

*Note: Betty Hutton is simply fantastic!

Groundbreaking horror that opened the door for films like Night of the Living Dead.

Where Frankenstein's creation is always a monster, and the Wolf Man is a monster only when the moon is full, the Mummy is, as Universal Studios puts forth here, not a monster at all - the Mummy is a man. True, he initially makes his appearance wrapped head to toe in bandages, but throughout the vast majority of his screen time he's a walking, talking, breathing fellow in dire need of moisturizer. In later incarnations, such as those produced by Britain's famous Hammer Studios, the mummy is little more than a mindless fiend intent on destroying everyone he meets, but here he's a character of depth, sophistication and dark ambition. Film fans expecting to be frightened out of their wits by this picture are bound to be disappointed. Instead they'll find a presentation that, with a few exceptions, is more thriller than horror. All this is more observation than critique. I love this movie, but not for the same reasons that I love other Universal Studios horror classics. The brilliance here lies in the dialog, in the intent, and in the performances. Where Frankenstein is unbound and the Wolf Man is unleashed, the Mummy is simply unwrapped.

Released at the height of the cold war, Stanley Kramer's On the Beach is the story of a submarine crew forced to deal with the post-apocalyptic realization that the human race is about to become extinct. As with most of Kramer's endeavors, this one is forceful and direct. Casting is spot-on perfect with Hollywood legends Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Anthony Perkins and Fred Astaire. By my reckoning, this is one film that is vastly under-appreciated

Great films distinguish themselves in a number of different ways. Some of them are perfectly cast. Others have tremendous cinematography. Still others may have great scripting, direction or editing. I Want to Live stands out for one reason, Susan Hayward's performance.

Hayward shines in this true story about a woman convicted of murder and sentenced to die in California's gas chamber. There are numerous supporting characters in this dramatization but it's Susan Hayward's heart-wrenching portrayal that will haunt you even after the credits roll.

This one is disturbing for all the right reasons. Watching Andy Griffith play a money-grubbing, amoral, unlikeable bastard is like watching Mister Rogers play Hannibal Lector. After all, this is the same Andy that kept the streets of Mayberry safe for all those years and the same Andy that taught Opie how to fish and throw a curve ball. Its even more unnerving that Griffith does it so well. He's completely believable!

What a powerful performance by Miss Davis in a very unflattering role. All the elements are present for a great motion picture (casting, direction & screenplay) and The Letter delivers in spades

Of note is the presence of Gale Sondergaard as the silent but ominous Malaysian widow who speaks volumes without ever uttering a word. Yes, this is the same Gale Sondergaard who was originally cast as the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz before (thankfully) turning the role over to the talents of Margaret Hamilton. Sondergaard's appearance might seem stereotypical and offensive today, but there's no denying her screen presence. Simply brilliant.

Well written, fantastically constructed film that, no doubt, is destined to be poorly imitated by some profit-driven Hollywood studio in the very near future.

Min-sik Choi - Oldboy

I had heard that Oldboy was violent and gory. I suppose that is true, but it's relative to your point of reference. Yes it has violence, but most of it is so over-the-top that it is actually comic. Yes it has gore, but, much like Hitchcock's Psycho, good editing tricks you into 'seeing' more than you actually do. Plus, like I've said many times before, I don't mind a little blood and guts if it advances the story and isn't just for shock value. This is smart horror done right.

Hard to find on DVD. In my opinion, it's the BEST Titanic film ever made.

Most films that are long on special effects are short in other areas, not James Whale's The Invisible Man. True to his unique style, Whale delivers a motion picture rich in character depth, narrative and substance. That is not to say that John Fulton's effects aren't astounding, they most certainly are, but Whale was never one to rest on someone else's laurels. Add to that the genius of R. C. Sherriff's screenplay and the boundless talent of star Claude Rains and you've got a movie that's timeless. A true classic.

Playing in real time, The Set-Up is the story of a washed up prizefighter looking for one last shot at glory. According to IMDb, the screenplay was actually based on a poem about a black boxer named Pansy Jones. The author, Joseph March, was reportedly unhappy about his character being changed to Stoker Thompson, a white man.

Unlike most films about boxing, the fight scenes here seem raw and unchoreographed. Robert Ryan (who, by the way, was a boxer at Dartmouth) is completely believable in his portrayal and director Robert Wise manages to make the dark tension of the piece tangible. You can almost feel the punches and smell the sweat.

Top notch science fiction with mind blowing special effects, especially when you consider that this film was released in 1957!

Finally, a noir film where the title actually makes sense! Classic psychopath meets girl love story. If you can find it on DVD be sure to check out the commentary from author and noir expert Eddie Muller. Muller's insight into the character and personality of Lawrence Tierney is priceless.

It wasn't so long ago that I couldn't even tell you who Robert Wise was. Now I find myself, like a sponge, wanting to soak up every film he ever directed. If I come across one I dislike I'll let you know.

Now two years after it's initial release, a rewatch does nothing to lessen my admiration and respect for this film. Inspired by actual events, Letters from Iwo Jima is an emotionally powerful epic from a unique perspective.

If you contrast Universal's The Wolf Man with Val Lewton's The Cat People you'll see two distinctly different styles that both work extremely well. Where Lewton's "evil" is conveyed in shadowy silhouettes and off-screen transformations, Universal's formula called for extreme close-ups, protruding fangs and loads & loads of yak hair. Where one is artistically sophisticated the other is courageously blatant. Both are horror classics and revered staples of the genre, arriving at the same destination via their own distinct path.

This one is hard to find on DVD but well worth the effort to search it out. Gary Cooper is absolutely fantastic but it's the ensemble of Albert Dekker, Brian Donlevey, Broderick Crawford and Ray Milland that makes the whole thing work. Oh, and don't forget to check out a very young and very beautiful Susan Hayward in a supporting role.

Old fashioned Hollywood style war film with lots of shooting and dramatic (bloodless) deaths. There's nothing quite like watching Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum and Sean Connery storm the beaches at Normandy!

One of my all-time favorite sci-fi flicks. A classic!

I'm beginning to wonder if Kirk Douglas ever gave a bad performance. If you only know him from Spartacus then you don't know what you're missing. His lesser known films, like Ace in the Hole, Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful, Paths of Glory, and Lonely are the Brave are a testament to his talent and his enormous contributions to the art of movie making.

Underrated, under appreciated little jewel of a film with outstanding performances all around, especially DiCaprio.

The camera work alone creates a stunning visual work of art, but add to that a remarkable script adapted from Ballard's epic novel, great performances from Christian Bale, John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson and the usual superb Spielberg direction and you've got a film that seems to only get better with time.

I recently finished reading Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and felt compelled to revisit Smoke Signals for about the 8th or 9th time. I love this film a little more every time I view it, which is easy to do considering that the first time I saw it I just wasn't that impressed. I had felt that, in their quest to have the first "All Indian" movie, they had sacrificed a little quality and technical expertise. Maybe I still feel that's true, but it's not something I notice much any more. Now I find myself engrossed in the rich characters, especially Arnold (Evan Adams). Arnold is a misfit, and yet he might be the 'most indian' in the entire ensemble. He's bright, he's introspective, and he's terribly, terribly honest. Even when he's embellishing stories he is still exposing truths.

Much like it's screenwriter, Smoke Signals is deceptively deep, intelligent and philosophical, even if it's not perfectly crafted. .

Sometimes, even Texas oil billionaires have to stop and smell the seaweed.

A clever little morality tale about Scotland and meteor showers and women with webbed toes. This one is really starting to grow on me.

Terrific war film that plays like a big budget studio release without all the big name talent.

Underrated classic. Robert Duvall at his best.

Terrence Malick has crafted two characters that treat robbery and murder as incidental mishaps and necessities. Martin Sheen's character is sociopathic and cold-blooded but yet still likeable. Sissy Spacek, as his young accomplice, is fully aware of his atrocities, yet she retains her innocent charm. This bizarre intermingling of murder and manners, of the brutal and the benign, is why Badlands is unnerving and unforgettable.

This film does what most other so-called "chick-flicks" couldn't do. It celebrates women without bashing men. Yes, the male roles are secondary, but they're all moral, upstanding, intelligent characters that are supportive of Ana. Real Women Have Curves may be intended primarily for female audiences, but it's one that guys can watch without feeling belittled or apologetic.

This film is one of my guilty pleasures. I love it but I'm not sure I want the rest of the world to know that. I've seen this picture several times and I never tire of the performances. Dreyfuss is exceptional, Mercedes Ruehl is WONDERFUL, but its the younger actors, Brad Stoll and Mike Damus, that steal the show. It might not be great cinema but it sure is fun to watch.

In my own defense, it takes a little moxie to post a favorable review of this movie when every "critic" and their brother panned it.

So, do I have the moxie to do it? Do I have the big brass kahunas it takes to stand up and be counted? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do have is relative anonymity and that, my friends, is worth a pound and a half of moxie any day.

I like this film.

There, I said it.

Neil Simon's stage-play may have lost a little 'umph!' in the translation to the big screen, but if you've never seen the Broadway production then you'll never know the difference. Park Overall is good, Christopher Walken is great and Matthew Broderick is fantastic.

If you like Neil Simon's unique brand of comedy or if you like nostalgic takes on 1940's Americana or even if you just enjoy films about psychotic drill sergeants with plates in their heads, I think you'll get a kick out of Biloxi Blues.

Arguably Eastwood's most underrated western. Had it been made at the end of his career, as was Unforgiven, I dare say that THIS might be the film everyone talks about.

Charming and VERY funny. The story of a boy who struggles to be his own man, even if it means sneaking off to join a girls ballet class.

This is one of those gems that few have seen and hardly anyone ever talks about. I liked this film the first time I saw it, loved it the second time, and now, after three viewings, I'm thinking about asking it to marry me.

This one could have easily been titled Mexican-American History X. It's a little less polished but every bit as captivating.

This is one of those little gems that almost escaped my notice. Outstanding and highly recommended!

These are the armies of the night

The Furies

The Boppers

The HighHats

The Lizzies

The Turnbal A/C's

The Gramercy Riffs

...and these are The Warriors

They're from Coney Island

Now they're in the Bronx

27 miles behind enemy lines

Between them and safety stand twenty thousand cops and a hundred thousand sworn enemies

They've got one way out

They've got one chance

They've got one night

The Warriors

As much as I like this film I still can't shake the nagging suspicion that someone else could have brought a little more depth to the part of Colonel Robert Shaw. Broderick does a good job but his portrayal doesn't entirely ring true. It's as though his 20th century sensibilities keep him on the cusp of the character without completely melting into it. I'm never unaware that it's an actor playing a part, and that is a distraction (albeit a minor one) from a richly engrossing story.

"The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" -Bette Davis

It's a simple fact of life that you will meet people who are likable and those who are not. In most circumstances when an actor or actress is asked about someone they dislike they will just refuse to comment. Its called "taking the high road". I've seen this time and time again. Debra Winger hated Richard Gere so much that after the filming of An Officer and a Gentleman had wrapped she refused to appear with him on press junkets and talk shows. To this day Diane Keaton will not talk about her Godfather co-star Al Pacino, stating only that she disliked working with him. Herein lies one of the reasons why I love Bette Davis so much. If Miss Davis disliked you, and by all accounts she disliked a great number of people, the whole world knew it. Her feud with Joan Crawford is the stuff of Hollywood legend and the quotes that are attributed to Bette are priceless:

"Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies."

Personally, I have never once watched a Bette Davis picture and been drawn out of the story by an awareness that she was acting. Her portrayals are nothing if they're not honest and sincere. I can't say the same for Joan Crawford. This holds true for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. There is a subtle but noticeable difference here between Crawford (the movie star) and Davis (the actress). In some cases this would be a detriment to the feel of the picture but, for this script, it works perfectly. Don't misunderstand me, I have enormous respect for Joan but, as an actress, I think she's a tier (or two) below Bette.

All told, this is a good film that becomes a GREAT film once you know the back-story.

Hitchcock-Lyte. Combination of Cary Grant's screwball-ish comedic style, Grace Kelly's timeless beauty, and Alfred Hitchcock's unmatched mastery of suspense. This isn't nearly as serious as Rear Window or North by Northwest but it was never intended to be. Comedic romantic thriller. (Comromiller? Thrillcomance? How about Romthrilledy?)

It might not be great cinema but it's great fun!

One of my favorite WWII dramas.

If you only know Robert Mitchum from his villainous roles (Cape Fear, Night of the Hunter, etc.) then this one is a must-see.

The pursuit and persecution of "the wrong man" is a reoccurring theme in many Hitchcock productions. Here, in I Confess, a young catholic priest (Montgomery Clift) is falsely accused of murder. Clift knows exactly who the real killer is but cannot divulge the information because of the sanctity of confession.

The pairing of two legends like Montgomery Clift and Alfred Hitchcock is, in my opinion, a match made in heaven. It undoubtedly works here. What a shame that these two didn't combine forces more often. Perhaps it was Clift's infamous persistence and devotion to 'method acting' that confounded his director (?). Whatever it was, I would have certainly liked to have seen more collaborations like this one.

This is the kind of classic war film that I loved as a kid. It's full of heroics, non-stop battle sequences and no yucky girls! Well, there is one girl, but she's a North Korean soldier and nobody ever kisses her so she doesn't count. :)

When it comes to putting monsters on film, there is a certain 'natural order' of things. When a monster is new to the medium and still relatively unknown in the minds of the audience, just his mere presence is frightful enough. As the creature becomes more familiar to movie goers he/she/it becomes proportionally less scary, thus directors employ the talents of 'special effects' artists to add shock value (blood, guts, gore, etc.). Eventually and inevitably the market becomes so saturated with the monster's presence that no amount of red corn syrup or rubber intestines is going to illicit the desired effect. This is when the once terrifying beast becomes an effigy of comic relief. We saw it with Frankenstein ["Frankenstein" to "Horror of Frankenstein" to "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"]. We saw it with werewolves ["The Wolf Man" to "The Howling" to "Teen Wolf"]. Now we're seeing it with zombies ["Night of the Living Dead" to "Zombie Holocaust" to "Fido"]. Films like Fido and Shaun of the Dead are graphic reminders that the end may be near for those of the 'undead persuasion'. :'(

One of the few remakes that actually work. Maybe that is because, instead of trying to be a copy of the original film, it took the same story in a different direction (?). Or... maybe it's just great casting (?).

Good stuff. It's been quite a few years since the last time I saw a Harry Belafonte film, I had forgotten just what a tremendous actor he really is (was). This is a noir classic that will hold your attention wire to wire.

Note: Did the ending remind anyone else of White Heat? ("Top of the world, Ma!")

This film is single-handedly responsible for about 90% of my childhood nightmares. Suposedly based on actual events that happened not far from where I grew up, Legend of Boggy Creek is a series of reenactments and staged interviews with eye witnesses. Here it is, almost 40 years later, and I STILL like watching this one late at night with all the lights off.

This is one of those films that you HAVE to watch with about five or six inebriated friends.

Underrated little film that was inspired by John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. If you haven't yet read the book you'll love the film. Director Mark Steven Johnson took the story in an entirely different direction.

Revisiting this one some seven years after it's theatrical release I find that time has neither lessened nor strengthened its impact. Historically speaking, the events portrayed here are immensely important and heroic. From a technical/theatrical point of view, We Were Soldiers is just off the mark. Instead of depicting the events honestly and unbiasedly, there's an aire of propaganda here that's hard to shake. The film makers could have been a little less preachy and let the gallantry of the soldiers (on both sides) speak for itself, .

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Episodic horror-fest in comic book form. Good, clean, creepy fun!

Jack Palance tries to lead an infantry company in the waning days of WWII. He battles tough German resistance and an enormously incompetent commanding officer (Eddie Albert).

A classic anti-war film of the 1950's that's weakened a bit by a couple of one dimensional characters. Albert's extreme cowardice is countered by Palance's uber-heroics. Their conflict is so all-consuming it makes the German army seem minor and incidental.

Dr. Alexander Thorkel has discovered a way to use radiation to shrink pigs, horses and other assorted animals to a fraction of their former size. Obsessed with this new discovery and paranoid that his colleagues will steal his invention, he decides to shrink them as well.

I caught this one on late-night television many, many years ago and absolutely loved it. Albert Dekker is the ultimate "mad scientist" in this Technicolor extravaganza of campy dialog and extraordinary special effects.

Campy but oddly charming in a low-budget 50's/60's horror film sort of way.

A new doctor arrives at an institution for the incurably insane and sets about the task of identifying which of the inmates is the hospital's former administrator. Along the way we're treated to four episodic tales of horror. A mistress who's lover chopped his wife up in separate pieces and stored her in a freezer. A tailor who is contracted to construct a suit that will raise the dead. A disturbed woman tormented by her beautiful but murderous 'best friend'. And finally a man of medicine who is convinced he can transfer the souls of men in to the tiny toy robots that he himself constructs.

For low budget English horror this really isn't bad stuff. If you're a fan of such films as Tales of Terror and Creepshow then this might be right up your alley.

For a Universal Studios B-picture, this one isn't bad. It's about a group of American soldiers in "Asia" (the sets look like a cross between India and Morocco) who sneak into a secret snake ritual. One of the soldiers attempts a little flash photography and the group barely escapes with their lives. Soon afterward, the men return to the states and, one by one, they meet their demise under strange circumstances.

*Note: Did anyone else notice the bizarre similarity between Cult of the Cobra (1955) and To Hell and Back (1955)? The two films have virtually the same cast (minus Audie Murphy of course). Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly and David Janssen all play soldiers in both films. What an odd double feature this would be!

The discovery of a "prehistoric fish" in the waters off the coast of Madagascar proved to be enough fodder to inspire this obscure b-movie. Apparently, any contact with the fish's blood will force a creature to genetically alter itself back to it's evolutionary roots. A dog, for example, will revert back to a primitive wolf after ingesting the blood of the fish. A man, should he come in contact with prehistoric fish fluids, will transform into a murderous caveman who will kill attractive female lab assistants and hang them by their hair in trees because, as we all know, that's what cavemen do.

Inspired by actual events, Indigenes is the story of Arab soldiers serving in the French Foreign Legion in WWII. Director Rachid Bouchareb oversees a talented cast that brings to light the exploits of these obscure, almost forgotten heroes. A history lesson that everyone should see.

Citizen Kane may have been Orson Welles' biggest blessing but it was also his biggest curse. Having such a masterpiece as your very first film is a hard thing to follow-up. It's understandable that everything Welles did post-Kane was a step down. The problem is, at least in my estimation, that Welles sometimes tried too hard. He wanted all his characters to be interesting and what resulted was often surreal. Here, his narrated and self-portrayed main character was supposed to be a sap, a sucker, but he's so insightful and introspective that I have a hard time understanding how he falls for such an obvious set-up. Without giving too much away, the Welles character is framed for murder in a plot that has about as much subtlety as an oncoming freight train. Strangely, watching Welles play the patsy for a beautiful woman made me appreciate Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity) even more.

Having said all that, I still feel that The Lady from Shanghai is a work of art and a landmark in classic noir cinema. The climatic final scene in the deserted fun house is pure Wellesian genius, even if it is a bit of style-over-substance.

I know, I know, it's campy and corny. Still, this one is a lot of fun. Plus, if you're a fan of the great stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen (like me) you'll enjoy the detail and the art form that all but died with the advent of CGI. The interaction between live action cowboys and prehistoric dinosaurs is, in my opinion, some of Ray's best work.

One could argue that it was Frankenstein, not the earlier Dracula, that cemented Hollywood's stake (pun intended) in the horror genre and ultimately saved Universal Studios from pending bankruptcy.

No single person can be credited for the success of this classic. James Whale, Boris Karloff, Mary Shelley, Jack Pierce, Carl Laemmle Jr., all should be praised for bringing Frankenstein to life. Having said that, there is one person who deserves a share of the praise and, to this day, goes virtually uncredited for the picture's success, French writer Robert Florey. Florey was the one who took Shelley's unfilmable novel and carved out a treatment that met Universal's time and budget requirements. It's a shame that Florey goes without recognition because without him there would have been no Frankenstein and thus no Bride of Frankenstein and, quite possibly, no Universal Studios.