Remaking The Magnificent 7
The trailer for The Equalizer – the reboot of the 1980s TV show reuniting director Antoine Fuqua with his Oscar-winning Training Day lead, Denzel Washington – debuted this week; judging by the preview footage, Fuqua and Washington could have another…
The Gremlins Trend
There’s no better sign of success for a horror movie than it inspiring multiple shameless rip-offs. By that measure, the creature feature Gremlins, which came out 30 years ago next month, ranks among the greatest scary movies of all time….
Faraway – Review
Audrey, a determined young American woman, arrives in the Philippines with a mysterious mission, little money, and no chance of success. But when she enlists the help of two friendly locals, Hazel and Rey, and an extremely unfriendly American expatriate,…
Valley Of The Gwangi
As an adult, you visit the corporate cinema complex, eat hot dogs which taste like underpants, lose yourself for just under three hours, then step back out into a world of social hypocrisy and mortgages, car repairs and medical bills,…
Replikator
A great science fiction movie causes our brains to whirl around with a frenzied cacophony of questions—What does it mean to be human? How will we deal with the stark inevitabilities of our species’ continuing existence? Why would that smart,…
The Shape of Things to Come
Geoff Pevere once observed that science fiction, insofar as it was concerned cinematically, is not traditionally in Canada’s dramatic domain. “Chiefly a nation of naturalists and documentarists,” Pevere wrote, “Canadians are more likely to put their arts in the service…
Near Dark (1987)
In filming “Near Dark”, Kathryn Bigelow creates a masterpiece of counter-cinematic art. Counter-cinema in its simplest definition is cinema that through its own cinematic practices, questions and subverts existing cinematic codes and conventions. Counter-cinema usually lies in independent film-making, but…
The Grand Duel (1972)
Prolific Spaghetti western scenarist Ernesto Gastaldi penned the script for this Lee Van Cleef continental western “Grand Duel,” directed with competence by Giancarlo Santi. Although he doesn’t appear to have helmed any Spaghetti westerns aside from “Grand Duel,” Santi served…
Screwballs
In Canada, the early 1980s saw a run of juvenile comedies, influenced indirectly by the more political “maple porn films” made in Quebec. The maple porn movies filled a niche, delivering naughty comedy films that Quebec audiences had not been…
Wolfman
It is remarkable that Earl Owensby has made as many b- grade low budget action films as he has. More amazing is the fact that this likable but paunchy and balding 30-something-ish producer stars in many of them. It is…
Without Warning
This very weird drive-in flick directed by Greydon Clark is pretty creepy, in a brainless sort of way. Predating the “Predator” concept by a number of years, “Without Warning” involves a mysterious alien presence lurking in the woods, claiming campers…
John Chambers
John Chambers was a legendary make-up artist who became a veteran in both television and film. One of the most imaginative and resourceful of makeup artists, Chambers was born in Chicago, Illinois of Irish background, and was a commercial art…
Wynorski On Dvd
‘The Lost Empire,’ Directed by Jim Wynorski (Polyscope Media/MVDvisual, HHH) These two April 22 DVDs feature B-movies with commentary tracks, trailers and more. “The Lost Empire” is B-movie legend Jim Wynorski’s first film. This blurb says it best: “In a…
On the Cheap: My Life in Low Budget Filmmaking-Greydon Clark
During four decades Greydon Clark has worked in front of and behind the camera to bring some of the most memorable exploitation movies to life. “On the Cheap” is an in-depth, first person account of a lifetime spent in this…
X-Men is a mutant mash-up
Days of Future Past Direction: Bryan Singer Actors: Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence They have seen a lot of action since their cinematic debut in 2000. Reassembling for the seventh installment of the titular franchise, the familiar band of mutants strives…
Rock All Night (1957)
This quickie from AIP is basically two films rolled into one but fans of Corman and his cast of characters will probably find themselves entertained. The first half of the movie is a “rock and roll” picture as we countless…
Quentin Tarantino declares ‘death of cinema’
Director Quentin Tarantino declares the death of cinema as we know it during a news conference at the 67th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 23, 2014. The outspoken U.S. director, at Cannes to celebrate the 20th anniversary…
B Movies For Memorial Day
With Memorial Day rapidly encroaching upon us this weekend, Olive Films has seen fit to reissue a dandy double-feature of semi-classic World War II films that bravely straddle the line between unironically jingoistic and brutally self-aware, both creating a strange,…
Americans’ Love Affair With B Movies Goes Digital
On an October morning in 2008, a truck loaded with VHS cassettes pulled away from Distribution Video Audio’s warehouse in Palm Harbor, Fla.—and made history: It was the last major shipment of movies on VHS bound for retail stores….
Butt-Sucking Lampreys
If you’ve ever had an irrational fear that something could attack you from the toilet bowl, this clip is not for you. But If you think this sounds incredibly funny in a trashy, campy, B-movie kind of way, you’re in…