Mystery Photo 1-10

January 10, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Mystery Photo and tagged Mystery Photo

If you ever wandered the video store aisles back in the ’80s, then you most likely came across the box for our photo from last week. A big box case with one of those monkeys with the symbols on it, almost like it was watching you as you walked by! The film is The Attic (1980) starring Carrie Snodgress and Ray Milland. A little slow but definitely worth seeing, if only for Snodgress’ performance and to see how much of a jerk Milland can be! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Kevin Hart, Gary Miller, & William Wilson. Well done.

Okay, this week’s photo might be pretty easy, or a little tougher than you think. Let’s see how good you are. Take a peek and see what you can come up with. Remember, just send your answer to me through email (so I don’t forget) to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Peter Bogdanovich – Rest in Peace

January 8, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Boris Karloff, Peter Bogdanovich, Targets | Leave a comment

While Mr. Bogdanovich wasn’t prolific in the horror genre, on one of his first films he worked with on the horror greats on one of their last films. The film was Targets (1968), and the star was Boris Karloff. Bogdanovich not only directed the film but starred alongside him as well. The story is about an old aging horror icon tired of the old ways, that beautifully (and terrifyingly) blends the old fictional horror with new and real horror of the day when a young man goes on a killing spree for no apparent reason.

Bogdanovich gave Karloff a chance to show once again that he was a much more talented actor than most would ever give him credit for. But Bogdanovich was a true lover of cinema in every sense of the word, and when you hear him talk about movies, you understand a little more the power of cinema.

Our thoughts go out to him and his family in this difficult time. Gone, but not forgotten.

Mystery Photo 1-3

January 3, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Mystery Photo and tagged Mystery Photo

Welcome to the new year! Hopefully everyone stayed safe over the holiday and is ready to start the new year right! And what better way to do that than get that brain working on a little pictorial puzzle? But first, our last photo from 2021 was from Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972). Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron AuBuchon, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Alan Tromp, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Well done!

For our first photo of the year, we decided to pick something a little obscure, but not too much, especially if you were one that was constantly browsing the video aisles back in the ’80s. You definitely would have remembered the box for this one. Just a little hint to start off the year right! As always, just send your answer to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

2021 Year End Review: Best Viewings

January 2, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Year End Reviews and tagged Al Adamson, All the Haunts Be Ours, Andy Milligan, Bill Rebane, Black Box, Boys from County Hell, Caveat, Don't Leave Home, Impetigore, Larry Buchanan, The Dungeon of Andy Milligan, The Power, The Screaming Woman, The Unseen, Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters | Leave a comment

Compared to my movie-watching totals from last year, I really was slacking off! In 2020, I clocked in 422 titles! Not sure how I did that, but that really set the bar high for me from then on. But in 2021, I only got through 278 titles, but at least 160 of those were new viewings. My goal for this year is to hit at least 300, but we’ll see how that goes!

Below are the 10 films that I thought stood out amongst the rest and are definitely worth seeking out. These are listed in alphabetical order, and as always, these are all new viewings to me, so it doesn’t matter what year they actually came out. Enjoy!

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2021 Year End Review: Part 2 – Those We Have Lost, But Not Forgotten

January 1, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace, Year End Reviews and tagged Anne Rice, Barbara Shelley, Christopher Plummer, Claudia Barrett, Dean Stockwell, Desiree Gould, Enzo Sciotti, Felix Silla, Ginannetto De Rossi, Hal Holbrook, Joan Weldon, John Bud Cardos, John Richardson, Lou Cutell, Marilyn Eastman, Mary Collinson, Monte Hellman, Norman J. Warren, Richard Donner, Robert Hall, Shane Briant, Sharon Moffet, Sonny Chiba, Tanya Roberts, Tawny Kitaen, Tommy Kirk, William Smith, Yaphet Kotto | Leave a comment

As a movie fan, the older we get, the more names and faces we lose that have helped entertain us throughout our lives. Whether they are directors, actors, makeup artists, cinematographers, or set designers, they all helped create something magical to entertain us, whether it was scaring us, making us nervous or filled with anxiety, laugh, cry, or even enlightening us, making us want to be better people. For those brief moments of their work, we are forever grateful. Thankfully, most of those memories are permanently recorded and can be experienced time and time again, whenever we want, as well as them being there to do the same thing for newer audiences every single year. While we are bound lose such great talent through the passage of time, as movie fans, we can rest assured that we will help keep their memory, and their work, alive for decades to come.

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