In the early days of this blog, I featured the trailer for Basket Case--perhaps the most underrated horror filck of the 1980s. Even though Duane and his mutated, basket-dwelling psycho brother Belial seemingly perished at the end of their first adventure, they returned for Basket Case 2 in 1990. As the above trailer proves, the film manages to establish its own identity while still having enough cheesy thrills to please fans of the original.
Taken in by their aunt, Granny Ruth (portrayed by a scenery chewing Annie Ross), the siblings encounter other societal fugitives and refugees. The increased budget means that the film doesn't quite recapture the delightful sleaze of the first film. But what it may lack in grime it more than makes up for with such new characters as golden-voiced mutant Lorenzo and Eve, Belial's newfound love interest. The house of freaks aspect to the film is largely responsible for its enduring popularity. Here's an introduction to Basket Case 2's supporting players:
Director: Mark Robson. (Significant films as director: The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Trial, The Harder They Fall, Peyton Place, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Von Ryan’s Express)
Cinematographer: Franz Planer (Golden Globe winner for this film, Academy Award nominee.)
(Significant films as DP: Criss Cross, Cyrano De Bergerac (1950), Death of a Salesman (1951), Roman Holiday, 99 River Street, The Caine Mutiny, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.)
Screenplay: Carl Foreman, based on a story by Ring Lardner.
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Arthur Kennedy, Marilyn Maxwell, Ruth Roman, and Paul Stewart.
Released by: United Artists
Running time: 99 minutes Champion is usually described as a cautionary tale about the bitter price of success and the perils of ruthless ambition. Rubbish. The character of Midge Kelly is heroic, admirable, and downright glorious. A son of a bitch? Certainly. But I envy him, and you should too. Read More »
The royal messenger in medieval costume dramas; the Pony Express rider from all those B-westerns; the telegraph delivery boy in most every type of ‘30s and '40s movie: All are ways that filmmakers have depicted communication through the ages. A once-common site on street corners around the world--the venerable pay telephone booth--is on the brink of joining these now-obsolete modes, a victim of technological advances and the omnipresent cell phone. Read More »
Damon. Pattison. Brosnan. Kinnear. Baruchel? These are just some of the stars featured in this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases. Let's take a look at the latest and greatest offerings vying for a place in your home viewing collection.
Matt Damon reteamed with "The Bourne Ultimatum" director Paul Greengrass for this action-packed thriller set against the backdrop of the United States' liberation of Iraq in 2003. Tasked with finding Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, Army chief warrant officer Damon finds evidence of a cover-up and embarks on a dangerous crusade to uncover the truth--encountering mysterious CIA agents and a determined journalist along the way. Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson co-star.
Set in early 2001, this moving and romantic drama stars "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson as a sullen NYU student who, on a dare, asks out classmate and fellow New Yorker Emilie de Ravin. As they're drawn together, the duo find the strength to deal with tragedies in their pasts, but this newfound happiness will eventually face an unimaginable test. Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Tate Ellington co-star.
Guest contributors Bob Campbell and Victoria Balloon write:
Under the old studio system movie moguls groomed promising new stars by first creating for them a new name. Today we look at the curious screen career of a B-movie star who acted under three different names, but is remembered today mostly for his many roles as cowboy star Tom Keene.
Keene was born in New York State in 1896 and eventually began an acting career in live theater and the movies using his birth name, George Duryea. Following a dozen worthy film roles in Hollywood, RKO Radio Pictures developed Duryea into a popular B-movie cowboy star after first changing his name to Tom Keene. Read More »
June 24, 1916: Mary Pickford signs Hollywood's first "million-dollar contract," guaranteeing her at least $10,000 a week over its two-year term.
June 25, 1951: After 27 years at the helm of MGM, Louis B. Mayer resigns following a heated feud with his eventual successor, producer Dore Schary.
June 22, 1961: The Guns of Navarone, starring Gregory Peck, leads off with a bang at its London premiere and will go on to be the year's box office champ.
There's nothing scarier than being in the dark of a huge movie theater while monsters roam the screen and screams arise from all around you...unless, of course, it's being in the dark of your own home while the walking dead, toothy clowns in sewers, possessed toys, and other creepy crawlies invade the comfort of your living room! Ghouly Irv has risen from his grave to tell us all about the most frightful classic flicks and TV shows to ever grace the small screen:
Traditional movie Newsreels, produced between their theatrical debut in 1911 and their demise in 1967, are wondrous windows on the world that once was, and collectively serve as a perpetual record of our shared history and popular culture.
Today we have instant and worldwide access on our televisions, computers and hand-held devices to witness news in real time as it happens. Prior to the advent of the newsreel, Americans primarily depended on radio and print media for news and information. Only by going to the movies and watching the newsreels could one see and hear history in relatively real time. The newsreels superbly fulfilled that important purpose until television came along and access to filmed news went from twice weekly on the silver screen to daily broadcasts on the TV screen.
Maybe you’ve already heard about the concept guiding the much-talked-about indie horror mini-sensation The Human Centipede (First Sequence). If so, you’ve probably already decided whether or not you’ll a) go out of your way to see it on the big screen at an art house midnight show, or b) safely download it via on-demand and then never cop to your friends and family that you ever laid eyes upon it, or c) steer yourself way, way clear.
Most people are going to choose “c.” Good for them. Truly, this is a movie for a small audience, one to be found within the confines of those who are on the lookout for films that shock the most completely jaded.
In that regard, the picture succeeds rather inventively. If you know about the movie, you already know the concept, so it’s safe for me to reveal there will be no specific “spoilers” involved from here on out. Those with delicate sensibilities are advised to move on, because I chose “a,” and feel compelled to react to the film. So, much like that unforgettable Sesame Street tome The Monster at the End of This Book, I’m imploring you. Don’t turn the page. Don’t turn the page. Read More »
Debra Granik comes a long way from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, where her new film Winter’s Bone is set. The writer-director currently resides in Manhattan, but has also lived in Boston, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The life of the mountain people depicted in her film is something new to her. But you could never tell that, based on the film’s authenticity and almost documentary-like feel.
Winter’s Bone, shot in the Ozarks, was a real challenge for Granik, who wasn’t sure she had it in her to capture the people and places and sights and sounds of the location.
“It took a lot of trips down there to get the confidence to make this,” the director admits from the comfy lobby of a Philadelphia hotel. “A flag went up at first. Initially, we thought we were not the people to make this. Things could go wrong when you are an outsider who wants to make a film about a place you don’t know.”
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The royal messenger in medieval costume dramas; the Pony Express rider from all those B-westerns; the telegraph delivery boy in most every type of ‘30s and '40s movie: All are ways that filmmakers have depicted communication through the ages. A once-common site on street corners around the world--the venerable pay telephone booth--is on the brink of joining these now-obsolete modes, a victim of technological advances and the omnipresent cell phone. 
Damon. Pattison. Brosnan. Kinnear. Baruchel? These are just some of the stars featured in this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases. Let's take a look at the latest and greatest offerings vying for a place in your home viewing collection.
Under the old studio system movie moguls groomed promising new stars by first creating for them a new name. Today we look at the curious screen career of a B-movie star who acted under three different names, but is remembered today mostly for his many roles as cowboy star Tom Keene.
June 24, 1916
Traditional movie Newsreels, produced between their theatrical debut in 1911 and their demise in 1967, are wondrous windows on the world that once was, and collectively serve as a perpetual record of our shared history and popular culture.
Maybe you’ve already heard about the concept guiding the much-talked-about indie horror mini-sensation The Human Centipede (First Sequence). If so, you’ve probably already decided whether or not you’ll a) go out of your way to see it on the big screen at an art house midnight show, or b) safely download it via on-demand and then never cop to your friends and family that you ever laid eyes upon it, or c) steer yourself way, way clear.
Debra Granik comes a long way from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, where her new film Winter’s Bone is set. The writer-director currently resides in Manhattan, but has also lived in Boston, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. The life of the mountain people depicted in her film is something new to her. But you could never tell that, based on the film’s authenticity and almost documentary-like feel.