The Fastest Guitar Alive” is one of those rock’n’roll movies that rock’n’roll would probably like to disown. In fact, it may have driven rock’n’roll to drink – and it was doing all right in that department before this film came along in 1967. It’s Roy Orbison’s only acting role – for a clue as to…
In “The Beast With Five Fingers,” the severed hand of a dead piano player comes back from the grave to… play the piano some more! There’s plenty of melody in those ghostly tunes, even though the hand appears to be a left hand. If that were true, wouldn’t it just be playing the bass notes? Aah, I…
In Martin Scorsese’s “King of Comedy,” Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a demented fan obsessed with the late-night talk show host played by Jerry Lewis. If De Niro’s digs in Taxi Driver creeped you out, what did you think of his basement room in this movie? The fake talk show set – complete with…
When we talk about wine, the talk always turns to Pinot Noir. It’s considered by many wine snobs to be the grape that’s hardest to get into the bottle, but the most expressive of the conditions from which it comes. If you’d like the full-length lecture, just ask the nearest wine snob. Make sure you…
When Ron Howard’s first film, “Grand Theft Auto,” was made, I thought great wine was the Spanada my mom kept in the fridge. I don’t know how mom would feel about her favorite beverage being relegated to the category of “bum wine,” but at $7.70 for a magnum, it would seem to come in on…
In honor of the post-Christmas euphoria that accompanies those new toys (a week or so before you tire of them), here’s a few look-backs at the commercials that made us want them in the first place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-QrIDAWUag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXiZVOPOJZM And our thanks to Johnny Legend for passing along these yuletide leftovers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYdlYl3Icbc
As an alternative to the usual yuletide TV fare, we’ve put together a few festive goodies that should nicely compliment the egg nog, gingerbread cookies and (eek) fruit cake. First up is a cartoon from the studio that gave us Frankenstein, Dracula and other monsters we know and love, Universal. It’s Toyland Premiere, a 1934…
Kim Novak and James Stewart may have been feeling a bit dizzy from “Vertigo” when they teamed up again less than a year later for “Bell, Book and Candle.” This romantic comedy is set in Manhattan, during the Christmas season. The story revolves around a subculture of witches there. Despite the beautiful cinematography, the backdrop…
For the Trailers From Hell gang, nothing gets us in the mood for the holidays like a yuletide slasher movie. “Black Christmas” was directed by Bob Clark in 1974. Nine years later he would settle in to a more conventional view of the holiday season with “A Christmas Story.” Ralphie would have peed in…
Wine Goes to the Movies with Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell In “Cat People,” a man marries a woman who is afraid she will become a killer cat if she has sex with her husband. That’s right, she thinks if she lets herself be a “panter,” she’ll turn into a “panther.” Maybe a…
If you’d prefer to watch Boris and Bela duke it out rather than those two guys in aisle C wrestling each other to the ground over an iPad Air, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s 1940’s Black Friday! Karloff stars as an ethically-challenged scientist who transfers the grey matter of a brutal gangster into…
In Martin Scorsese’s “King of Comedy,” Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a demented fan obsessed with the late-night talk show host played by Jerry Lewis. If De Niro’s digs in Taxi Driver creeped you out, what did you think of his basement room in this movie? The fake talk show set – complete with…