Inside: You’re Better Off Staying Outside

Inside is about an art heist gone wrong but audiences are better off just saying outside rather than watch very horrifying images on screen. Things you should know about Inside before reading any further: A pigeon is left for dead just outside an unbreakable window. After depleting the food in the kitchen, Nemo (Willem Dafoe) has no choice but to eat dog food, which is cringe-worthy enough as it is. He takes a fish out…

"Inside: You’re Better Off Staying Outside"

Tetris: The Social Network of Video Game Movies – SXSW 2023

Tetris might be a popular computer and video game but the game’s origin is a non-stop thrill ride that nobody could have guessed. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) first discovered Tetris back in 1988 during the Consumer Electronics Show. He was hooked immediately and knew it would but popular but there was a question of who held the rights. His journey took him to find the game’s rightsholders in Moscow. This was towards the end of…

"Tetris: The Social Network of Video Game Movies – SXSW 2023"

Where There’s Life: A Bob Hope Comedy Thriller

An American radio announcer finds out that they are the new king of Barovia in Where There’s Life but a secret society has other ideas. It’s hard to watch this film and not think about a similar film, The Princess Diaries. Unlike Where There’s Life, the Julie Andrews/Anne Hathaway vehicle doesn’t feature any assassination attacks on the Queen of Genovia or her newly identified heir. They do feature people that want a change in the…

"Where There’s Life: A Bob Hope Comedy Thriller"

Santa Fe Trail: What Was Warner Bros. Thinking?

In watching Santa Fe Trail, one starts wondering if this Western was the consolation prize for Warner Bros. after losing Gone with the Wind. In the first moments after pressing play, my first question was just what the hell was Warner Bros. thinking? It’s not just the studio. Michael Curtiz is a filmmaker that is better than this pro-Confederate propaganda. Leave it to him to read into the history of the Santa Fe trail but…

"Santa Fe Trail: What Was Warner Bros. Thinking?"

The Sea Hawk is One of Errol Flynn’s Best Performances

The Sea Hawk reunites director Michael Curtiz and swashbuckling star Errol Flynn, resulting in one of their best collaborations together. This film might be a period adventure film but it was an allegorical film about Hitler and the need to fight back during WWII. King Philip II of Spain basically stands in for Hitler in the 1940 swashbuckler. While the film takes place in the late 1500s, one can definitely see how they use the…

"The Sea Hawk is One of Errol Flynn’s Best Performances"

Captain Blood Made Errol Flynn A Star

Errol Flynn was only a small contract player for Warner Bros. going into Captain Blood but the swashbuckler propelled him to stardom. The film takes us to England 1685 where Irish doctor Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is just performing his duties as a doctor. Next thing you know, he is being arrested for treason against King James II (Vernon Steele). But rather than follow through with the death sentence from Judge Jeffreys (Leonard Muddie), the…

"Captain Blood Made Errol Flynn A Star"

Adventures of Don Juan: Errol Flynn’s Swashbuckler Return

Adventures of Don Juan marks Errol Flynn’s return to the swashbuckler genre after a nine-year absence and it was a hit with audiences. Well, it depends on the continent. The film did better with European audiences than it did domestically. Flynn was still a popular actor but the studio would lower budget on his films. This was his first film under a new contract with the studio for $225K per film through 1961. But because…

"Adventures of Don Juan: Errol Flynn’s Swashbuckler Return"

The Dirty Dozen: An Epic World War II Thriller

The Dirty Dozen is an epic Oscar-winning World War II thriller and features a star-studded cast in the 1967 big screen adaptation. When the Academy Awards took place in 1968, the film’s only win was for Best Sound Effects aka Sound Editing. It earned three other nominations for Supporting Actor (John Cassavetes), Film Editing, and Sound. In 2001, the film would be honored as one of the top 100 thrillers by the American Film Institute.…

"The Dirty Dozen: An Epic World War II Thriller"

A Disturbance in the Force – SXSW 2023

A Disturbance in the Force is the Star Wars Holiday Special documentary that Star Wars fans have been waiting years to watch. November 17th will mark the 45th anniversary of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Thirteen million viewers would tune into the 98-minute disaster in the making on CBS. What better time than now than to present a documentary? At long last, fans might begin to get answers. How did this happen? Why did this…

"A Disturbance in the Force – SXSW 2023"

Another Body – SXSW 2023

Another Body follows a college woman and her search for justice after finding deepfake pornography of herself circulating the internet. You know how you’ll sometimes get those suspicious links in a Facebook message from a friend. In this particular instance, it’s easy to see why it might be a suspicious link. But as it turned out, someone used deepfake technology to take her face and place it in a porn video. Why people are so…

"Another Body – SXSW 2023"