Although Tony Curtis’ character loses everything he owns — twice! — in this light comedy from 1967, he’s so distracted by the hubbub of swingin’ SoCal activity around him, he doesn’t seem too terribly put out. And neither will you. “Don’t Make Waves” is exactly the kind of film that made-on-demand outfits like Warner Archive […]
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Posted inArts & Culture
Scream / Scream 2 / Scream 3
To make you feel old, Wes Craven’s “Scream” will turn 15 this year. With the latest chapter, “Scream 4,” hitting theaters Friday, the original trilogy has made its Blu-ray debut, so you can see — with greater clarity than ever — how well it holds up. The short answer: In contrast to human aging, the younger […]
Posted inMusic
El Topo
I say this to note that just because a film is a cult classic doesn’t make it good, and his debut — a “hit” only by midnight-movie standards of the early ’70s when filmgoers had their mind expanded by more than what was happening onscreen — is more weird than wonderful, although visually interesting. From […]
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Elemental bond
Never before did I expect to see the Civic Center Music Hall awash in bits of floating foil. And that’s not even close to being the most outlandish element of “The Aluminum Show,” which made its Oklahoma City debut last night. What audiences saw was so different — a mix of dance, visuals, illusions and […]
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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt / While the City Sleeps
Neither has enjoyed as lasting an impact as “Heat” — not to mention Lang’s other masterpieces, from “M” to “Metropolis,” or his string of pulpy Dr. Mabuse features — but are by no means worth ignoring. The two are now available as manufactured-on-demand DVDs from Warner Archive, in remastered editions. As the “Reasonable” hero, Dana Andrews […]
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Murder Investigation Team: Series One
But it’s also a spin-off to a series called “The Bill” that premiered nearly two decades before CBS started co-opting The Who catalog for its enormously successful franchise. From 2003, “MIT” is not as successful, at least in terms of flashy visuals and absorbing storytelling (and it’s not like Britain can’t do that, if you’ve […]
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Stan Lee’s Superhumans: Season One
Stan Lee hasn’t dreamed up anything of value recently: “Stripperella,” “Condor,” “Mosaic,” anyone? (Don’t get me started on “The Governator,” which reeks of desperate failure.) Irony: Along comes the History Channel series “Stan Lee’s Superhumans,” which is reasonably entertaining, but Lee hardly has anything to do with it. Its real host is Daniel Browning Smith, […]
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Sex & the Single Mom
Just imagine: “Here, Mom, I bought you this movie about an unmarried, middle-aged woman who gets herself knocked up. Hope it inspires you! Love ya!” Gail O’Grady of “NYPD Blue” is the paralegal who allows herself to be seduced by an expert witness in one of the cases she’s working on. He’s a heart surgeon […]
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Dinoshark
That’s all the setup given by the Roger Corman production, and really all a Syfy-weaned audience asks of it. Before we proceed, allow me to explain the complex concept: Dinoshark is half-dinosaur, half-shark. Please re-read that as many as needed for your mind to grasp. The glorious, sun-soaked Puerto Vallarta is the site of many […]
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Soylent Green
Look at its images of a rioting populace fighting against heavily armed authorities, and tell me you can’t see the same on the nightly news. And that’s without touching upon the elephant in the room: its theme of dwindling resources in an exploding population. That’s no longer the stuff we have to stop worrying about […]