‘Dark Star’ (1974) smartly but too slowly makes fun of ‘2001’
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): A bare expansion of a student film from Carpenter and O’Bannon, this SF satire previews the grimy futures to come.
‘Dark Star’ (1974) smartly but too slowly makes fun of ‘2001’
‘The Producers’ (1967, 2005) maximizes its one joke, and then some
Mel Brooks Monday (Movie reviews): It’s too much for me, but the one joke (you can get rich from a flop) is funny, and the films are nice bookends to Brooks’ career.
‘Long Goodbye’ (1973) brings a skewed Marlowe into a scary L.A.
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): Don’t look to Altman’s adaptation for faithfulness toward the 1953 novel. But it’s a prime illustration of the flexibility of Chandler’s sleuth.
If you like your stake medium-well, check out ‘Vampires’ (1998)
Frightening Friday (Movie review): In a decade of bloodsuckers, John Carpenter checks in with his own respectable vampire-Western.
‘Volcano’ (1997) not groundbreaking, but it’s a hot time at the movies
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): The lava CGI still looks good, and while you might not erupt with applause, you’ll wish all city officials were like Jones and Heche.
‘Undertone’ makes small scares into a big deal
Movie review: This Canadian film gets a lot out of a little, with new angles into supernatural horror and cinematographic cliches.
‘Darker Than Amber’ (1966, 1970) is first McGee novel to darken screens
Sleuthing Sunday (Book and movie reviews): The plot’s relative simplicity makes it a good choice, and the casting is solid. But MacDonald’s introspection can’t be mimicked.
Horror-comedy ‘Deadstream’ (2022) doesn’t sacrifice scares or laughs
Frightening Friday (Movie review): Joseph Winter’s found-footage parody threads a needle by being funny and spooky in equal measure.
Not the peak of disaster films, ‘Dante’s Peak’ (1997) nonetheless sizzles
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): The chemistry between Brosnan and Hamilton is almost as hot as the lava.
‘C.B. Strike’ Seasons 1-6 (2017-24) in no danger of striking out
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): The adaptations – at six seasons and counting – are treats for fans of Rowling’s mystery novels, and “Troubled Blood” even improves on the source material.