Category Archives: Josh Olson

New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE BABY

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Danny

A flurry of fetish.

Further proof the 1970s were (was?) the wildest decade in film history. ”Special needs” have never been so special as in this weirdo melodrama about a trio of women bringing up a fully grown man as a baby in diapers and a crib. Mainstream director Ted Post seems a little miscast as the ringmaster of this staidly-shot but crazy movie that never got much theatrical or tv play but has just been put out on dvd by Severin Films.

Click here to watch the trailer. Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE BABY

Posted in Commentaries, Josh Olson, More Movies You've Never Heard Of | Leave a comment

New at TFH: Josh Olson on CROSS OF IRON

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Danny

Peckinpah! Olson!

Compromised by a dwindling budget and production Euro-chaos, Peckinpah was not completely satisfied with this WW II story of a German unit at the Russian front in 1943. The climax was literally improvised by James Coburn and Maximillian Schell when the money ran out. But Peckinpah once claimed that “I had a telegram from Orson Welles and he said he thought it was the best anti-war film since All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Click here to watch the trailer.

Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on CROSS OF IRON

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New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE LONGEST YARD

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Danny

And it’s the good one, folks.

Along with Roger Corman, Robert Aldrich seems to be the director most represented on Trailers from Hell. This prison-set anti-authoritarian football movie has similarities to The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Burt Reynolds, who also appeared in the 2005 Adam Sandler(!) remake, plays a violent anti-hero who makes us root for him against the corrupt establishment anyway, but Sandler in the remake is pretty much of a wimp. Remade in England as Mean Machine in 2001.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE LONGEST YARD

Posted in Commentaries, Josh Olson, Monstrous Mama's Gridiron Ghosts | Leave a comment

New at TFH: Josh Olson on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Danny

Josh Olson makes an argument for remaking Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Or is that even Josh?

Generally considered at least the equal or maybe (!) the better of Don Siegel’s influential 1956 classic, Phil Kaufman’s 1978 update transposes Jack Finney’s paranoid original to a new age San Francisco setting. Some have pointed out that a story based on people becoming suspicious of their neighbors’ unusual behavior might be better set somewhere other than San Francisco, but it’s pretty widely accepted that this is the best of the remakes (1992, 1997).

Click here to watch the trailer.

Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Posted in Commentaries, Get To Know Your Invisible Body Snatcher!, Josh Olson | Leave a comment

CUTTER’S WAY returns to cinemas; Josh Olson loves it.

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Danny

The UK’s Park Circus Releasing is putting Cutter’s Way back where it belongs and Josh writes the film a love letter.

Read More… CUTTER’S WAY returns to cinemas; Josh Olson loves it.

Posted in Cool, Josh Olson, News and Notes | 1 Comment

Gurus at the LA FILM FEST: Josh Rants and Guillermo Presents!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Danny


The Los Angeles Film Festival is in full swing and a couple of our gurus are right in the midst of things!

Read More… Gurus at the LA FILM FEST: Josh Rants and Guillermo Presents!

Posted in Cool, Guillermo del Toro, Gurus, Gurus, Josh Olson, News and Notes | 1 Comment

New at TFH: Josh Olson on THREE ON A MATCH

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Danny

Josh gets a little superstitious and a little bit bawdy when he puts Three on a Match.

The largely forgotten Ann Dvorak sizzles in this snappy 63 minute  pre-code Warner Bros. melange of booze, drugs and gambling. Scarface star Dvorak still has a cult following, which has gotten a modern boost from recent dvd releases of her films by Warner Archive. As a result, Turner Classic Movies has scheduled a Summer Under the Stars 24 hour tribute, coming up on August 24.

 

Click here to watch the trailer, then follow on for a little bonus linkage.

Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on THREE ON A MATCH

Posted in Commentaries, Countdown to 600!, Josh Olson | 2 Comments

New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE HILLS HAVE EYES

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Danny

Josh brings us a terrifying tale. Then he tells us about cannibal mutants and The Hills Have Eyes.

Wes Craven’s version of Lawrence of Arabia? Ok, maybe not, but this is one of the best latter day uses of the metaphoric desert setting so familiar from 50s sci fi movies. The fan base it engendered resulted in a sequel and a 2006 remake which itself spawned a sequel. Originally rated X but cut to secure an R, there are various versions of the original in circulation. The Anchor Bay dvd release is the most complete.

 

Click here to watch the trailer, then follow along for some bonus content and random mental connections (without any typos, I swear it.)

Read More… New at TFH: Josh Olson on THE HILLS HAVE EYES

Posted in Commentaries, Gurus, Josh Olson, Spies Thighs and Hills With Eyes | 2 Comments

Annotations and Asides: The Guru Blotter

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Danny

The latest news, updates and multifarious ephemera, direct from our gurus and collected for you.

Read More… Annotations and Asides: The Guru Blotter

Posted in Brian Trenchard-Smith, Gurus, John Sayles, Josh Olson, Larry Karaszewski, News and Notes, Stuart Gordon | 1 Comment

NEW at TFH: Josh Olson on THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Danny

Look! Josh Olson marvels at the combined forces of Michael Caine and Sean Connery in The Man Who Would Be King. (Who wouldn’t?)

A long-cherished project of director John Huston, this memorable Rudyard Kipling adaptation finally came together with Sean Connery and Michael Caine on location in Morocco and Marrakech. Christopher Plummer, playing Kipling, immersed himself in every recording and picture of the novelist he could find. In the end Connery and Caine had to sue the overextended major-studio-wannabe Allied Artists for their percentages. A long-awaited Blu-ray is on its way from Warner Home Video.

 

Check out the commentary, then keep reading for some fresh bonus content.

Read More… NEW at TFH: Josh Olson on THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

Posted in Commentaries, Josh Olson, Sean Connery Week | 2 Comments