One of the most fascinating aspects of cinematic history is how often key elements of second run and B studio products are later appropriated by mainstream studios in billion dollar movies, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Hammer Studios, a British B...
No, this is not the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme adaptation of the famous video game series. We don’t even get a Ryu cameo, though I guess expecting characters not yet created would be rather unreasonable. This trio of films, kicked...
Ideally, animation showcases the best of what cinema as an art form has to offer – unmoored from the typical physical and monetary limits, the camera sees what it will, constrained only by the imagination of the filmmaker. In a...
At the start of the early James Ivory film Shakespeare Wallah (1965), filmed in a long tracking shot over a beautiful, ornate table laden with food, a Maharajah (Utpal Dutt), at ease amongst the riches of his palace, relays to...
There’s little left to be said regarding The Way of the Dragon (released in the U.S. as Return of the Dragon), the only film written and directed by Bruce Lee, as well as featuring him as its star. However, for...
At their weakest, horror movies can be boiled down to one or two “gotcha” elements, thematic or environmental springboards which carry the weight of the vulnerabilities and anxieties supposedly expressed in the piece. TVs in The Ring, showers in Psycho;...
Czech That Film is an annual traveling festival showcasing the best in contemporary Czech cinema in theaters around the U.S. A schedule of showings and events can be found here – www.czechthatfilm.com Nazi movies are a dime a dozen and why...
If your documentary subject is the famous music photographer Mick Rock (yes, that’s his real name and yes, nobody can resist talking about it), creator of some of the most iconic pop culture images of the twentieth century, and you...
Now suddenly evoking the San Bernardino shooting, the holiday party setting in John McTiernan’s action film masterpiece Die Hard (1988) took on a much more somber tone in my family’s annual Christmas viewing last year. The film’s subject matter was...
Following the credits, Nicky’s Family begins with a small disclaimer – “The film is a free dramatisation of real events from the years 1938 – 2010.” (sic), the sight of which immediately informed me that, at best, I was going...
