2019 Year End Review – Part 2: In Rememberence

January 3, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace, Year End Reviews and tagged Albert Finney, Billy Drago, Bruno Ganz, Carol Lynley, David Hedison, Dick Miller, Eddie Garcia, Edith Scob, Freddie Jones, George Hilton, Javier Augirre, Joe Pilato, John Carl Buechler, Julie Adams, Katherine Helmond, Larry Cohen, Michael J. Pollard, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Peter Fonda, Ringo Lam, Robert Forster, Rutger Hauer, Sid Haig, Steve Hawkes, Tadao Takashima, Virginia Leith | Leave a comment

Tears in rain

“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”

The famous line above is from the ending of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), from the replicant Roy Batty, played by Rutger Hauer, just moments before he stops functioning, or “dies”. This was a line that Hauer added without Scott’s knowledge and it not only stayed in the film, but has referenced quite a bit since then, as it is now. The reason I bring it up here is twofold. First and most obviously is because Hauer is one of the names listed below that we lost in 2019. But secondly, this line may be about Batty’s memories, but when it comes to movies, and fans like us, they never will be lost, but will live on for decades to come. For each new generation of film lovers, they will discover these “moments”, some becoming etched in their psyche, while some even changing their lives. Continue reading →

Music Box of Horrors 2019

September 27, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Alligator, Bloody Muscle Body Builder from Hell, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Demons 2, Dog Soldiers, Event Horizon, Halloween 2, John Hancock, Larry Cohen, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Music Box of Horrors, Music Box Theatre, Neil Marshall, Office Killer, Retribution, Tetsuo, The Fly II, The Man Who Laughs | Leave a comment

Music Box of Horrors 2019 The Music Box of Horrors has unleashed its final lineup for this year’s 24-hour marathon. And as always, they have gathered together one hell of lineup with some amazing titles in there, as well as a couple of great guests. Director John Hancock will be on hand for a screening of his highly underrated film Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. Very creepy and a must see. They will also be screening Dog Soldiers, one of the best werewolf movies to come out in the last two decades, with director Neil Marshall in attendance!

Taking place on Saturday, Oct. 19th, starting at noon and running to noon on Sunday the 20th. As we mentioned before, this will be the very first Music Box marathon that we will be missing and it really bums me out. But I’m guarantying those that come out to this will have a great time, just like the previous years. Continue reading →

Larry Cohen – Rest in Peace

March 24, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Black Caesar, Fred Williamson, Hell Up in Harlem, It's Alive, King Cohen The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen, Larry Cohen, The Stuff | Leave a comment

Larry Cohen - RIP Two weeks in a row now, the world has lost another talented person from the movie industry. And it’s really starting to suck.

Larry Cohen passed away yesterday at the age of 77. He was a writer, director, producer who made movies his way. It didn’t mean he wasn’t successful. Just the opposite since a lot of his films, whether they were ones he directed or just wrote, did well at the box office. But Cohen was one of the kings of B-Movies, and that is meant as a huge compliment to this very talented craftsmen. Or as writer/director Edgar Wright called him, “an independent freewheeling movie legend.”

The recent documentary King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (2017) is a perfect example of not only his work, but of Cohen himself. When you have someone as talented as he was, but wanting to work on the outside of Hollywood, you have to give the man credit. “You’ve gotta make the picture your way and no other way, because it can’t be made otherwise.” Because of statements like that, he was a hero to independent filmmakers.

He started writing for mainly episodic television shows before he moved into the film world. In 1972, he wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film, Bone, starring Yaphet Kotto. He then made two blaxploitation movies in 1973, Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, both starring Fred Williamson. He then moved into the horror genre with the widely successful It’s Alive (1974), which would then spawn two sequels.

Even though we have lost this incredible talent, his movies and attitude will always be there for the next generation of filmmakers to watch and realize that you don’t have to go to Hollywood to make the film you want to.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.