For the generation that cut their teeth on classic Universal horror movies, Boris Karloff is, was, and will always be the definitive Frankenstein monster. What “The Man Behind the Monster” seeks to do is act as an appetizer for the aspiring horror buff who hasn’t quite been lucky enough see much of Karloff’s work. Karloff was a man who was powerful on-screen even in to his old age; “The Man Behind the Monster” explores the powerful actor, and his tumultuous career that survived through political controversies, and the Hays Code.
Oscar-Winning VFX Studio DNEG Is Going Public
Fans of big-budget special effects movies who are eager to get a piece of the financial action from these epics might be interested to learn that the Oscar-winning visual effects studio DNEG is going public. Continue reading
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s surprising that in a film climate where extended universes fail from the starting gate, that the Kong/Godzilla modern film universe has been a quiet success. The crown jewel so far is “Godzilla vs. Kong,” a pretty great monster clash that pits monkey against lizard, and delivers some great rumbles between the pair. Director Adam Wingard is more than up to the challenge of giving fans the long awaited movie clash, and as expected, “Godzilla vs. Kong” met every expectation that I had.
Indie Film Focus: Arjun Yadav, An Up-and-Coming Producer
On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” the spotlight is on Arjun Yadav, a bright young producer who is making a name for himself in the indie film world.
Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis (Metoroporisu) (2001) – Steelbook Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I saw Osamu Tezuka’s “Metropolis” back in 2002, and I vividly remember not being a fan at all. Maybe it was because I was more ignorant toward anime, then, but either way disliked it and openly avoided it for years. It was until recently I had to sit down to re-watch it. I don’t know what I was expecting then, but today I can safely describe it as merely an okay anime film.
The Bootleg Files: Half Baked Alaska
BOOTLEG FILES 792: “Half Baked Alaska” (1965 animated short in the Chilly Willy series).
LAST SEEN: On B98.tv.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Included in an anthology of Walter Lantz cartoons that is now out of print.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No one is rushing to get it into home entertainment release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It was briefly available, and hopefully it will come back.
Among the cartoon characters from the Golden Age of animated short subjects, Chilly Willy occupies a strange niche. This Walter Lantz-created penguin was cute and mischievous, but the character’s films were rarely laugh-out-out hilarious and Chilly Willy never truly occupied the iconic status of other creations of that era. Most people would point to the Oscar-nominated, Tex Avery-directed 1955 short “The Legend of Rockabye Point” as being a peak in the Chilly Willy series, although most of the humor in that short does not come from the penguin himself.
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Back Rooms (2021)
“Back Rooms” was born from the digital age, among the 4Chan and Creepypasta realms. It’s a pocket within our world that is completely cut off from the rest of what we could rationally consider reality. It is a series of endless rooms and hallways that stretch for a nigh infinite space, all of which are typically a noxious yellow, completely void of any life, and filled with the annoying, deafening hum of florescent lights. I’m only vaguely familiar with the meme of the Back Rooms, but it’s been widely circulated and explored much in the vein of other digital legends like the Slenderman and Sirenhead.