September - 2019

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ICYMI: The Long Good Friday (1980)

Sep 30, 2019

ICYMI: The Long Good Friday (1980)

Bob Hoskins didn’t exactly have “movie star looks.” Yet, anyone who watched him perform for more than five minutes could easily understand what a gifted actor he was and why his film career lasted almost forty years. Hoskins was a multi-faceted talent who was capable of embodying brutish intensity, working class likability, and infectious joy. From his Oscar-nominated turn in 1986’s Mona Lisa, to his surprisingly underrated work in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as well as b

Review: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix)

Margaret A. Robbins, PhD

Sep 27, 2019

Review: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix)

One of my favorite moments at DragonConAtlanta this year was getting to see The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance previews, courtesy of the panel moderated by Brian Henson that included several creators of the show. Like most kids born in the 1980s, I loved Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal movie, even though it terrified me. One of the first things I did when I got home from DragonCon was to watch the original movie, so I could be fully prepared to watch season one of the Netflix

Clear the Queue Review: Before Sunrise (1995)

Sep 25, 2019

Clear the Queue Review: Before Sunrise (1995)

One of the most simultaneously rewarding and frustrating things about living in the golden age of easily-accessible media is the phenomenon known as "the queue." Formerly just a fancy way for Brits to say "line," the queue has taken on new resonance in the era of streaming media and the 'bottomless bowl' that is Netflix. Or Hulu. Or YouTube. Or your drug of choice. In my case, that drug is the ever-growing stack of cheap, probably deteriorating DVDs that I've collected over t

ICYMI: The Fourth Protocol (1987)

Sep 23, 2019

ICYMI: The Fourth Protocol (1987)

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I was raised on the James Bond films. The fantasy of being a secret agent, with endless charm, inventive gadgets, and romancing dangerously vivacious women was very hard to resist. But the Bond films tended to be light and superfluous when it comes to the hard-boiled world of international espionage. A good Bond film may be as enjoyable as fast food, but a good espionage film is the real meal and potatoes. Films that I would include on a list of so-

ICYMI: Outland (1981)

Sep 17, 2019

ICYMI: Outland (1981)

The box office success of 1977’s Star Wars and 1979’s Alien didn’t just lead to respective billion-dollar franchises: they both became inspiration for Hollywood to find any reason to take audiences into outer space. In the case of Star Wars, it inspired the producers of the James Bond pictures to put off For Your Eyes Only until 1981 and move forward with the 1979 space adventure Moonraker (Fun Fact: at the end of 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me it specifically states 007 will re

ICYMI: Code of Silence (1985)

Sep 9, 2019

ICYMI: Code of Silence (1985)

The career of Chuck Norris would never be mistaken for “high art.” Following in the footsteps of Bruce Lee, he took a karate championship background and parlayed it into a successful string of B-action flicks in the late 70’s/early 80’s like Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One, The Octagon, and An Eye for an Eye. He always carried himself with a solid screen presence and provided plenty of high-kicking excitement in the numerous fight scenes that his films were built around.

ICYMI: Best Seller (1987)

Sep 2, 2019

ICYMI: Best Seller (1987)

Back in the day, Roger Ebert would often be dismissive of sequels and remakes. I could imagine the intensity of his eye rolls in a 2019 that includes sequels to First Blood and The Terminator as well as the live action remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King. By no means did he dislike every sequel and remake on face value. He actually enjoyed his fair share like Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Lethal Weapon 2 as well as 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven and 2004’s The Manchurian Candidate. Ebert w

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