Clichés and theft are nothing new in Hollywood, but they don’t typically build “original” summer blockbusters around them for good reasons. Apparently, Hollywood threw caution to the wind when creating Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to the 1996 mega hit….
Read more →Articles by: Nathaniel Cerf
A Marathon History of Cult Horror Films for Halloween
The blog post you are about to read is so terrifying, it might just kill you. If you have a heart condition or a fragile psychological state of being, please do not read any further. I implore you to step…
Read more →Karloff & Lugosi: A Friendship Between Rivals
They were two of the biggest boogeymen who ever lived: Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. They terrified millions with their signature roles as Frankenstein’s monster and Count Dracula. Even today, few horror stars have the name recognition that these two…
Read more →The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Revisiting Cult Movies
With the coming remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one wonders how today’s attitudes about sex and sexuality won’t completely kill all of the charm and fun that made the original great. In 1970s’ cult films, attitudes seemed to…
Read more →Woody Allen’s “Café Society” Drifts into Another Time & Place
Woody Allen’s 2016 film Café Society invites you to enjoy a warm fantasy of 1930s’ Hollywood and New York. Ostensibly, you’re there to follow the life and loves of a young New Yorker named Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) searching for his…
Read more →Ghostbusters: Still Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts
Grrl power, laughs and effects combine to make the no-holds-barred “spooktacular” 2016 reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise. Since the tepid 1989 sequel to the 1984 megahit, there has been talk of a new Ghostbusters flick. The potent kick of irreverent…
Read more →The Humphrey Bogart Classic “Deadline U.S.A.” Remains Surprisingly Relevant
In journalism school and ever since, I have heard about Deadline U.S.A. It was the legendary type of movie about journalism for real journalists. Unfortunately, it has been unavailable on VHS, DVD or Blu-ray for more than 30 years. You…
Read more →Spotlight Shines as Best Picture, Follows Great Tradition of Journalism in the Movies
Movies about scrappy journalists looking out for the people used to be a dime a dozen. Journalists were heroes and fighters for the masses. These days reporters and editors aren’t the fodder they once were for films. But newspaper movies…
Read more →“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” Captures the Life of a War Correspondent
It is easy to take war reporters for granted. You go online, scan the latest headlines out of the Middle East and then check out that video of kittens doing something ridiculously cute. Yet, that headline (and the actual story…
Read more →Revisiting Independence Day
As the aliens are set to reinvade the planet today in Independence Day: Resurgence, it seems like a good time to revisit the original action classic Independence Day from 1996. This sci-fi adventure exploded onto the big screen with all…
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