Necktie Party: Alfred Hitchcock’s FRENZY (Universal 1972)

Posted on February 9, 2019 by gary loggins

Alfred Hitchcock’s previous two films, TORN CURTAIN (1966) and TOPAZ (1969) weren’t well received by critics, who claimed The Master of Suspense was too old-fashioned and had lost his touch. One wag even suggested that, after fifty years in films, it was time to put Hitch out to pasture! But Hitchcock wasn’t quite ready for a life of tea and crumpets in the garden, and came back with 1972’s FRENZY, complete with all the blatant sex, nudity, gore, and profanity of other early 70’s auteurs, proving he could not only keep up with the times, but surpass them by giving us the blackest of horror comedies.

Hitchcock had returned to his native England before to make a few films, but always with actors who had box office appeal in America (Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten in UNDER CAPRICORN, Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman in STAGE FRIGHT). This time around, he…

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Big, Bad Mama Monster!: GORGO (MGM 1961)

Posted on February 7, 2019 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

When Melanie at The Film Detective offered me the chance to watch and review GORGO for them, I immediately said yes! GORGO was one of my favorites growing up as a little Monster Kid, a Saturday afternoon staple on Boston’s Channel 56, and the opportunity to see it without all that UHF “snow” was too much to resist (and if you don’t know about The Film Detective, I’ll clue you in a bit later).

Producers Frank and Maurice King were a pair of slot machine magnates turned low-budget movie moguls who had success with 40’s films noir like WHEN STRANGES MARRY (with Robert Mitchum), DILLINGER (making a star out of Lawrence Tierney), and the Joseph H. Lewis classic GUN CRAZY . When the stateside release of Japan’s Giant Monster Movie GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS proved a hit, the Kings decided to secure the American rights to another kaiju eiga

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4 Shots From 4 Films: Happy 88th Birthday, Mamie Van Doren!

Posted on February 6, 2019 by gary loggins

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

The irrepressible sex bombshell of the 1950’s and 60’s, Mamie Van Doren, is celebrating her 88th birthday today, and in her honor, we present 4 Shots from the films of Mamie Van Doren!

Untamed Youth (1957, D: Howard W. Koch)

High School Confidential (1957, D: Jack Arnold)

Vice Raid (1960, D: Edward L. Cahn)

3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964, D: Tommy Noonan)

Happy birthday, Mamie, and here’s to many more…

Mamie in 2018

…you still got it,kid!

Man of the People: John Ford’s THE LAST HURRAH (Columbia 1958)

Posted on February 5, 2019 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

This post has been preempted as many times as tonight’s State of the Union Address!

John Ford’s penchant for nostalgic looks back at “the good old days” resulted in some of his finest works. The sentimental Irishman created some beautiful tone poems in his 1930’s films with Will Rogers, and movies like HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY and THE QUIET MAN convey Ford’s sense of loss and wistful longing for simpler times. The director’s THE LAST HURRAH continues this theme in a character study about an Irish-American politician’s final run for mayor, running headfirst into a new era of politics dominated by television coverage and media hype instead of old-fashioned boots-on-the-ground handshaking and baby-kissing. It’s not only a good film, but a movie buff’s Nirvana, featuring some great older stars and character actors out for their own Last Hurrah with the Old Master.

Based on Edwin O’Connor’s 1956 novel, the…

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Here’s The Super Bowl Teaser for Toy Story 4!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Right after the game ended, PIXAR snuck in this little teaser for Toy Story 4. I have to admit that I nearly changed the channel and missed it. I’m glad I didn’t!

Anyway, it looks like Buzz is still getting into trouble and Woody is still trying to hold it all together. To be honest, I thought Toy Story 3 ended the series on a perfect note so I’ll be curious to see what they do with Toy Story 4. But you know what? It’s PIXAR and it’s Toy Story so I have faith!

Here’s The Super Bowl Spot For Alita: Battle Angel!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This Super Bowl spot from Alita: Battle Angel aired earlier in the game and I somehow missed it. (I was probably talking about that Game Of Thrones/Bud Light ad.) So, here it is now!

This film was produced and written by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez. According to this spot, if you don’t see this film in a theater, the world will end and it’ll be all your fault. So, I guess you better make the time.

Here’s the spot:

Here Are The Other Super Bowl Teasers For Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

That commercial with the exploding zit wasn’t the only Super Bowl teaser for Guillermo Del Toros’ Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. There was also this:

And this:

And, of course, this:

AGCK!

Here’s The Super Bowl Teaser For Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

AGCK!

This film, from Guillermo Del Toro, will be coming out this summer and I can’t wait! There’s nothing like terrifying, mind-bending horror to liven up the summer months.

Seriously, I totally screamed when I saw this.

Here’s The Hobbs and Shaw Super Bowl Spot!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Leonard already shared the first trailer for Hobbs and Shaw!

Here’s the new Super Bowl spot, which just dropped while I was writing about the Captain Marvel spot.

This one looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to me but then again, I have a weakness for big men who drive fast cars.

Here’s The Captain Marvel Super Bowl Spot!

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Marvel Studios is being a little bit mean this Super Bowl, offering us intriguing hints of what’s to come, as opposed to full scale trailers. Earlier, they gave us about 19 seconds of Avengers: Endgame. And now, here’s 30 seconds of Captain Marvel.

If you don’t have 30 seconds to spare, this teaser features Brie Larson being a badass and Samuel L. Jackson with hair and two eyes.