By the time Fred Sears’ “Rock around the Clock” arrived, the Bill Haley and the Comets song “Rock around the Clock” was already a massive hit thanks to “Blackboard Jungle.” It’d been accepted already as the quintessential youth anthem about rocking out and partying to rock and roll until the broad daylight. Banking on the beloved anthem was a stroke of genius, with a film that puts Bill Haley and the Comets front and center and zeroes in on the appeal of rock and roll. Well—the Caucasian version of rock and roll, anyway.
Tag Archives: Comedy
Crackpot Christmas Movies
Santa teaming with Merlin the Magician to defeat Satan? Charlie Brown’s Christmas with a Rudy Ray Moore-worthy soundtrack? And why are the prehistoric Flintstones celebrating a holiday rooted in the birth of Jesus?
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Bumblebee (2018)
It took us over ten years, but hell, we finally got a great live action “Transformers” movie. The only thought that came to mind while I was watching the opening ten minutes of “Bumblebee” was: Why didn’t we get this in the first place? Why did Sony opt for such a moronic, nonsensical, incoherent mess of a franchise, rather than deliver what is easily the best live action representation of the franchise I’ve seen so far. Everything in “Bumblebee” is the antithesis of what Michael Bay’s movies were, right down to the lack of racial stereotypes, and the jingoism. Granted, there is a meat head military hero with John Cena, but that’s a miniscule nitpick in a movie that’s just such a great experience from beginning to end.
Book Club (2018)
Much like every trend, America jumps on to what the UK did much better in film. After the rousing success of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” films, America followed up with “Book Club.” There’s nothing wrong with a movie appealing to the older mature audiences in the mood for a good time that’s not centered on superheroes or animated characters, but “Book Club” is just such a waste of time. It takes a brilliant cast and wastes them in what feels like latter day Garry Marshall when he was trotting out awful holiday based ensemble films.
Some like It Hot (1959): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
If there was ever a movie that could be an introduction to the sheer indescribable beauty and sexiness that was Marilyn Monroe, it’s “Some Like It Hot.” My first introduction to the movie was when I was a pre-teen in 1997, in the middle of a busy classroom on a free day. The teacher slipped the movie on for everyone to watch, and every one of my classmates had run off to chat or goof around, but I sat and watched “Some Like It Hot.” Suffice to say Billy Wilder’s romance comedy was a first real taste of classic film I’d ever had and it sparked an interest I never really got over.
Camp Death III in 2D! (2018) [Sin City Horror Fest 2018]
This horror parody takes on the Friday the 13th franchise and other teens in the woods/camp in peril and gives it all a comedic spin. Here the campers are under threat from a copycat killer who is willing to go pretty far to get his kills, all in glorious 2D!
Continue reading[Holiday Gift Guide] Film Movement Plus Subscription Service
Fans of cinema both classic and arthouse are still stinging from the closing of “Film Struck” a few months ago. If you’re still aching for something completely different from the mainstream, I offer you the alternative of “Film Movement.” I’ve been cognizant of Film Movement for years now and have always intended to subscribe to the service. “Film Movement” was established in 2002 as mainly a DVD of the month club that mailed DVD’s to respective subscribers. These days while the DVD Club is still available, “Film Movement” is more of a subscription service that streams movies to subscribers much in the realm of Netflix, except the movies you’ll find here are nothing like you’ll find in the mainstream.