For our Friday Favorites this week, the first Friday in October, I thought it might be a fun idea to hear if there is a film out there that you bust out every Halloween season. One that is a staple in your household that at some point during the season, you know you’ll be watching it. And if you do, is it one from your childhood that brings back fond memories of the holiday? Or is it simple a favorite that just makes you feel nice and scary!
So let’s here your Favorite Halloween title and why?
Yes, after a month sabbatical, Friday Favorites is back! I’ll do my best to keep this up on a regular basis, but one of the things that helps keep this alive is the participating from you, the reader. The last few Friday Favorites post only had a few responses. The whole reason for this idea to get start the conversation. Until the whole plague happened, during the after-hours at conventions, we would have these long conversations about a variety of subjects, but mainly movies and those that worked in the business. That is what I’m trying to replicate here, a place for fans to give their two cents worth and maybe start a little bit of dialogue. So if you have time, please take a few minutes to post a thought or two, or make a comment on someone else’s comment. With social gatherings being few and far between, let’s make one thing in social media a good thing and talk about the horror genre! Continue reading
In honor of heading out to the Skyline Drive-In this weekend for their Super Monster Movie Fest, featuring an array of movies dealing with bugs, we thought that this Friday we’d go with one of the tried and true themes back in the ’50s were ordinary insects or spiders that were somehow cause to grow to enormous sizes. That’s right, let’s celebrate the tiny beasts that we all know someday will take over the planet! Now we’re looking for your favorite bug movie, so it doesn’t have to be a giant one, like Them! (1954) or Deadly Mantis (1957), but could be just intelligent cockroaches like in William Castle’s Bug (1975), or maybe killer bees, like in The Swarm (1978).
As a kid, I loved all of these kind of movies. Even remembering being terrified watching The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) as he battled the normal size spider that had become a giant monster to him! But from giant tarantulas, to praying mantis, to even grasshoppers, they were always so much fun.
So? What about you? What is your favorite BUG movie!
Yes, Friday Favorites is back. Been a very busy these last couple of weeks working on a project but that is done so I can get back to rambling on here! I would also blame WordPress for changing their editing format for their site, making me have to learn new stuff. I’m old now dammit, so I don’t have time to try and learn new things! Change is bad. Anyway, let’s get to why we’re here, and to discuss a favorite.
Yesterday was the birthday of Howard Philips Lovecraft. An American writer that created new worlds of gods and monsters, just giving his readers a glimpse here and there, only to save their sanity. My first introduction to the works of his literary master was due to Stephen King’s Danse Macabre, where I quickly started seeking out stories from Lovecraft and wondered where this guy was coming up with this stuff?!?! But the movie world has not been too kind to his work when it comes to faithful adaptations, mainly because it is one of those things that is really the reader’s interpretation of what lies on the pages. But even with all of that, I think there have been several filmmakers that have taken Lovecraft’s inspiration and vision enough to create some damn fine features and a ton of different short films.
In honor of this master of the unsaid, the indescribable, the unexplainable, let’s hear what your favorite feature or short film adaptation of a H.P. Lovecraft story. I’m not talking what you think is the most faithful (because we all know that is about as subjective as you can get), but a personal favorite of yours, for whatever reason. So what say you?
This Friday, we’re going to talk about one of the most amazing Italian directors in our movie history. One that truly painted the screen with color, even if it was in black and white. Today, we celebrate the birthday of the late, great Mario Bava. Even before he was “officially” directing, he gave us incredible looking films, such as I, Vampiri (1957) and Caltiki, The Immortal Monster (1959). When he finally took the director’s chair, we were even more of a treat, with a stunning debut with Black Sunday (1960), then giving the world the first real giallo film with The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963). When he moved to color films, he showed them like we’d never seen before, with some much style, with Blood and Black Lace (1964) being a perfect example. Even in Planet of the Vampires (1965), which may seem a bit cheesy now, the look of it is incredible, not to mention giving a little blueprint for the future creators of Alien (1979). Continue reading
Sort of keeping in the same vein of last Friday’s topic, pre-internet, the one thing that a lot of us film fans used to learn more about and seek out different titles was usually a particular volume or two that we considered our bible… a film reference guide. These were the books that we’d consult as soon as we heard of a certain title to try and learn more about it. Or one that we would page through, reading the little synopsis of the different titles and adding them to our Need-To-See list. Continue reading
Okay, so the title is a little misleading. I’m not looking for your VERY FAVORITE VHS memory, but a good one. Let me explain a bit.
For those of us that grew up in the video age, going to the video store was a wonderful and magical time. Most of the time, at least for me, I wasn’t going for a particular title but just to wander the aisles to see what might jump out at me. There were those times when we took a complete chance on a tape just because of the box art, which was pretty easy with some of those Wizard Video or Super Video titles. Sure, sometimes they could be a real dud, but other times, the film would just blow you away. Maybe it was seeing a title on the rack that you’d been hearing/reading about forever but never had come across a copy before, where the excitement to finally get to see this movie, hoping it lives up to your expectations! Then again, sometimes it was all about how cool the box art looked.
That is what I’m looking for. Now is the time for us old timers to sit in our lawn chairs, and in between yelling at the kids to get off our lawns, let’s reminisce about the good old days of video stores!
What was one of your favorite VHS memories?
This Friday we’re going to talk about the one of the greatest directors that ever said “Action!” The one and only Alfred Hitchcock. Unlike most fans, my first introduction to him wasn’t any of his films, but his television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. But once it came to movies, Psycho was definitely the one I remember as being one of the first, if not the first. But way before we were introduced to Norman and his domineering mother, Hitchcock gave us so many great titles, from The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 and then remade in 1956), Lifeboat (1944), Rope (1948), I Confess (1953), Rear Window (1954), and so many more.
So for this Friday Favorites, let us hear what yours is from our friend Sir Alfred.
For the July 4th weekend, we know a lot of people are busting out Jaws to watch, since it is a favorite this time of year. As it should be. But there are so many other great monsters out there waiting under the water’s surface, so what better time to celebrate those!
From barracudas, killer whales, piranhas, octopus, crocs, gators, and all sorts of other nasty beasties out there, we want to hear your favorite… except for sharks! Let’s take sharks off the menu, so to speak, since most will be posting about Jaws anyway. But there are so many other great titles out there, let’s put the spotlight on them for now.
So what cinematic underwater adventure featuring one of the many (non-shark) terrors of the deep is your favorite?
For this Friday Favorites, we’re going to do something a little different. On this day in 1922, Richard Emerson Smith was born, in Larchmont, New York, and would grow up to become one of the greatest makeup artist of all time. When it comes to the horror genre, while he did work on a few, it was nowhere near as many as some of his contemporaries or the next generation of artists, such as Rick Baker, Stan Winston, or Tom Savini. But the ones he did work on, literally changed movie history. For the longest time, I thought 44-year old Max Von Sydow was a much older man because of the old age makeup Smith did on him for The Exorcist (1973). Not only did he do the character makeup for Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972), but also the realistic bullet hits as well. Continue reading
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