‘John Wayne: The Fox Westerns’: A look back at 4 of The Duke’s movies
John Wayne would have been 115 years old this month (what do you want from me? You come up with these reviews after a 2-week bender).
Author: Movies & Drinks
‘Top Gun’ (1986): A lesson in mid ’80s Hollywood moviemaking
Hey: there are red flags in even the best relationships. I should have understood that right away when I started dating my wife all those years ago. Now, I let it slide when she said The French Connection and Bullitt were “boring.” And I said, “Fine, whatever,” when she wouldn’t let me hang up my Shaft’s Big… Read More ‘Top Gun’ (1986): A lesson in mid ’80s Hollywood moviemaking
‘Old Dracula’ (1974): Enjoy some 70s vampire humor, jive turkey!
So over Easter weekend I get an email from my editor who, rather than watching a religious epic the way you’re supposed to (I was right in the middle of Anthony Quinn grunting something when he texted), says he’s enjoying a vampire flick (I gave up a long time ago trying to figure this stuff… Read More ‘Old Dracula’ (1974): Enjoy some 70s vampire humor, jive turkey!
‘Zero Hour!’ (1957), ‘Hot Rods to Hell’ (1967), ‘Skyjacked’ (1972): A terrorized travelers triple feature
So the other day I had to take out an unsecured loan to put gas in my lawnmower, and it made me think of my old man, who whenever he lent me his ’81 Caprice Classic always stipulated I had to fill the tank…which he would first run dry (How’s it goin’ down there, Dad? Hot… Read More ‘Zero Hour!’ (1957), ‘Hot Rods to Hell’ (1967), ‘Skyjacked’ (1972): A terrorized travelers triple feature
‘Puppet on a Chain’ (1972): A forgotten gem of action-suspense
Tough, atmospheric Alistair MacLean thriller.
‘Follow Me Quietly’ (1949): Creepy, unsettling noir is worth revisiting
Strange, unsettling film noir mystery, with a disturbing subtext.
‘Devil’s Angels’ (1967): A well-written, thoughtful, lurid piece of exploitation
“Violence is their God… and they hunt in a pack like rabid dogs!”“Get out of their way…if you can!”
‘The Deadly Tower’ (1975): True crime thriller brings Texas killer to the screen
In a post-holiday mood for something light, I happened upon an older Warner Bros. Archive Collection disc of The Deadly Tower, NBC’s 1975 made-for-TV movie with Disney alumnus Kurt Russell starring as infamous University of Texas sniper, Charles Whitman.
‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969): The best Bond, the best Bond girl, the best Bond movie
Recently having endured the latest—and I pray to God last—James Bond abomination (no, I didn’t pay to see it, and yes, that DVD screener was later used as target practice), I was in desperate need of some corrective movie therapy. Stat. So…since that particular abortion, No Time to Die, decided to lift elements of an earlier… Read More ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969): The best Bond, the best Bond girl, the best Bond movie
‘Christmas on the Coast’ (2018): NYC novelist returns to hometown to spark ideas – and romance
They say you can never go back home. But sometimes, it’s just what the doctor ordered to find yourself again.
Movies & Drinks 