On this episode, “The Online Movie Show” takes a look at Edgar G. Ulmer’s 1945 film noir classic “Detour.” The guest commentator is writer and film noir expert Jeffrey Cintolo.
The Legend of La Llorona (2022)
La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is the basis for this attempt at a scary movie about family, roots, and curses.
Five Great Video Store Scenes in Movies
Movie fans continue to celebrate the video store to this day, and for good reason. Once upon a time if you wanted to watch a movie that you didn’t own, you’d have to get dressed, go out, and peruse aisles upon aisles of movies looking for the right movie to take home for a few days. Although it seems kind of like a chore, there was a sense of community and camaraderie with the very good video stores. You communed with others to find the newest release on video, and always pretended not to sneak a peek in to the Adult movie section.
Movies still have a tendency to pay homage to the video store era, and these are five of my favorite video store scenes from feature films.
King Car (2021)
A young man who can hear what cars want creates a new way to build and care for cars. As these become more and more evolved, things take a turn for the humans in their lives.
Mediocrity and Peril at Action Park
Seth Porges’ fantastic documentary “Class Action Park” recently debuted on cable, prompting me to think back at the time I survived Action Park. I say survived, and not visited, because as a kid I had no idea how utterly absolutely dangerous and deadly the theme park had a reputation for being. On its surface it looked like a wonderful place to have some good summer time adventure, and the ads that played non-stop on television during the summer season made the place look amazing. But like “Itchy & Scratchy Land,” it was a death trap in disguise with horrendous hazards capable of maiming and or killing you.
Sans the robots, of course.
Maniac Cop 2 (1990) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
One thing you have to give it to the “Maniac Cop” movie series (as well we William Lustig and Larry Cohen) it that it tends to off the more interesting characters without much preamble amounting to some great plot twists. I never expected Tom Atkins to die in the original “Maniac Cop,” and it’s kind of a surprise to see Bruce Campbell, the dashing hero from the original movie, murdered brutally by the titular Maniac Cop. It’s a great entry way in to such a weird, zany slasher series.
The Bootleg Files: The Big Fisherman
BOOTLEG FILES 791: “The Big Fisherman” (1959 Biblical epic starring Howard Keel).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No one is rushing to get it into home entertainment release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
During the 1950s, Biblical epics came back into vogue with a vengeance. Some of these films were monster box office hits – widescreen epics such as “The Robe” (1953), “The Ten Commandments” (1956) and “Ben-Hur” (1959) generated millions of dollars in ticket sales.
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