Our last Shamedown of 2023! Yipe--hard to believe 2024 is right around the corner. Did 2023 feel long to anyone else? It did to me, but anyway... As always, if anyone is coming in late on this Shamedown business and wants to know what it's all about, CinemaShame's 2023 statement can be found here. Past … Continue reading Shamedown #12: Trapeze
Four Hundred Years Ago
2023 is the four-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio, and I can't believe I forgot to commemorate it. Oh well, it's December, obviously, so we're still in the ballpark. Phew. Anyway, the First Folio was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, by Henry Condell and John Heminge, two friends of … Continue reading Four Hundred Years Ago
During World War Two: Christmas Anytime
Due to wartime shortages, Christmas was leaner than it otherwise might have been. Kids were given toys made out of paper and wood instead of metal, and the public was encouraged to give war bonds as Christmas presents. Christmas movies, however, were not in short supply, only they could come out at any old time … Continue reading During World War Two: Christmas Anytime
Judy and Sid vs. Warner Bros.
What's up, Doc? As the cliche says, "Money makes the mare go." That metaphorical mare is often a picky eater, especially when art and money meet, and not even one of the greatest purveyors of the art we call film, Warner Bros., is immune. Judy Garland's 1954 movie, A Star Is Born is at once one … Continue reading Judy and Sid vs. Warner Bros.
Five Reasons To See “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
The Nightmare Before Christmas turns thirty this year, which is hard to believe. I first saw it at a friend's house back in college, and bless him, he knew he was taking a chance. We had already braved Dark City together, well, I braved it whereas he'd already seen it, and The Nightmare Before Christmas was the natural next … Continue reading Five Reasons To See “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
It Wasn’t Terrible
How was everyone's November? In terms of the movies I saw, things went from meh to less than meh to not bad to not too shabby, with a slight dash of What the Heck Did I Just Watch (Looking at you, Freelance). In fairness, though, November's offerings could have been much, much worse. For one thing, I tried to review Netflix's All the Light … Continue reading It Wasn’t Terrible
Page To Screen: Emma
While it's hard to touch Pride and Prejudice in terms of screentime, Jane Austen's 1815 novel, Emma comes pretty close. Like Pride and Prejudice, one of Emma's major themes is marriage, but unlike that august work, there isn't the looming spectre of home passing to someone else in the event of Father's death. There is, however, the looming spectre of … Continue reading Page To Screen: Emma
Don’t Go Upstairs
Back in the Hammer-Amicus universe... I'm still a relative newbie to the Hammer-Amicus universe, but anthology movies seem to be a staple of that universe, and in 1972 audiences were treated to the simply-titled Asylum, four tales within a tale that likes its twists and turns. The movie opens with young Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) approaching … Continue reading Don’t Go Upstairs
Eight Years Now
Whoa. Eight years, guys. And as of this writing I'm less than twenty away entries from my thousandth post. I gotta sit down...oh, wait. I already am. Cool. 2023 has been really fun. Lots of great blogathons from my fellow bloggers, lots of changes, lots of sameness, including the bad movies that always seem to … Continue reading Eight Years Now
Taking Up Room 