Welcome to BlogHub: the Best in Veteran and Emerging Classic Movie Blogs
You can rate and share your favorite classic movie posts here.
You can rate and share your favorite classic movie posts here.
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Orson Welles)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 9, 2016
Unfortunately, I feel the need to address some of the behind the scenes aspects of The Magnificent Ambersons. Not because I plan on talking about them, but because director Welles’s career is filled with a lack of control. There are always questions–what did editor Robert Wise do on his read more
Trancers II (1991, Charles Band)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 8, 2016
Without its cast, Trancers II couldn’t possibly succeed. It’s an unfortunately limited success as is, but without everyone’s enthusiasm–regardless whether they have a good role or not–the film just couldn’t work. There’s a whole bunch of charm to Trancers I read more
The Sheik (1921, George Melford)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 7, 2016
The uncredited editor of The Sheik had a thankless task–during the first act, director Melford is packing in so much expository information all the cuts to introduce new information. The Sheik’s silent, the editing of the first act is always important in a silent film. There needs to be read more
Intruders (2015, Adam Schindler)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 3, 2016
Should Intruders be good? It should be better, no question, but should it be good. It’s about an agoraphobic (who’s an agoraphobic solely as part of the film’s gimmick) who has to fend off intruders into her home. Beth Riesgraf plays the agoraphobic. She’s quite good in the read more
[BASP] Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie) / Fletch Lives (1989, Michael Ritchie)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 2, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty-one Fletch (1985, Michael Ritchie) / Fletch Lives (1989, Michael Ritchie) Originally posted: December 7, 2012 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
Heaven Help Us (1985, Michael Dinner)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 2, 2016
In its hundred minute run time, Heaven Help Us does a number of things well. It’s beautifully edited, photographed, directed, acted. Charles Purpura’s screenplay offers a number of fantastic scenes, which director Dinner does a great job with. Overall, however, the screenplay is where t read more
Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979, Ivan Nagy)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 1, 2016
Captain America II: Death Too Soon, although it actually doesn’t have an onscreen subtitle, could just as well be called Captain America II: The Show No One Wants to See. I don’t even mean the eventual show (Death Too Soon is the second, Reb Brown-fronted CBS pilot), I mean this pilot m read more
Captain America (1979, Rod Holcomb)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 27, 2016
Captain America is almost loveably dumb. It’s never good, it doesn’t even have a good performance–at least, any good performances have caveats attached–but it’s so painfully obvious it ought to be lovable. It even has a lovable oaf of a lead–Reb Brown–who j read more
Ordinary People (1980, Robert Redford)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 25, 2016
Two really big things to talk about with Ordinary People. The technical filmmaking–John Bailey’s beautiful, muted photography, Jeff Kanew’s actually peerless editing, Redford’s direction in general–and then Timothy Hutton’s performance, his place in the film, Red read more
Darth Maul: Apprentice (2016, Shawn Bu)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 24, 2016
Darth Maul: Apprentice is a fan film. It’s an excellent fan film. Director Bu has a wonderful vision sense–he goes for grandeur and drags it out (the short is an extended fight sequence) but it never gets boring. It should get boring, because absolutely everyone in the short except Ben read more
[BASP] The Blues Brothers (1980, John Landis) / Blues Brothers 2000 (1998, John Landis)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 19, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Twenty The Blues Brothers (1980, John Landis) / Blues Brothers 2000 (1998, John Landis) Originally posted: September 7, 2012 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
The Fire Within (1963, Louis Malle)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 18, 2016
Director Malle sets up The Fire Within as a series of events. They don’t feel like events–or even vignettes–because protagonist Maurice Ronet is so transfixing. As the film progresses and the viewer gets to know Ronet better, gets to understand him better, Fire changes. The film i read more
D.O.A. (1950, Rudolph Maté)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 18, 2016
D.O.A. is a wonderful example of a gimmick having nowhere to go. Edmond O’Brien is a small town accountant who decides to spend a week in San Francisco drinking and carousing (leaving girlfriend and secretary Pamela Britton back home). Out of the blue, he gets poisoned and has to solve his ow read more
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991, Russell Mulcahy)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 18, 2016
Highlander II: The Quickening has had a reputation as a sequel disaster since its release. Outside of “Starlog” write-ups, did anyone ever pretend to be excited about this film? But since its initial release (and multiple home video re-releases with different editing), The Quickening ha read more
[BASP] I Married a Witch (1942, René Clair) / Bewitched (2005, Nora Ephron)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 12, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Nineteen I Married a Witch (1942, René Clair) / Bewitched (2005, Nora Ephron) Originally posted: June 27, 2012 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991, Ohmori Kazuki)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2016
Not much goes right in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Director Ohmori has a strange way of being boastful about really lame ideas and even worse technical executions. He spends a lot of time–and the film’s not short, it runs an hour and forty-three–trying to show off the film’s read more
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992, Okawara Takao)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2016
Godzilla vs. Mothra ain’t bad. It ain’t bad at all. While Ohmori Kazuki’s script leaves something to be desired in general, it doesn’t leave anything in specific to be desired. It doesn’t fail to do something. It sets forth its concept and fulfills it. I’m thinki read more
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993, Okawara Takao)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2016
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is outrageous spectacle. The film has the perfect combination of story, director and special effects. The film allows its giant monsters limited personalities, feasible motivations. It even manages to raise questions of morality as this version’s Mechagodzilla is pi read more
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995, Okawara Takao)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2016
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah does a lot. It mixes an Aliens rip-off into a Godzilla movie, then tries new things for the giant monster fight, all while finishing off the series. Destoroyah is meant to close off the franchise, giving director Okawara plenty of opportunities to tug at heart strings. Okawa read more
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000, Tezuka Masaaki)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2016
To say Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is good for a while might be a stretch, but it’s definitely okay for a while. It’s a Godzilla movie with a lot of CG, whether it’s the giant monster itself swimming or the millions of prehistoric dragonflies out to sting him. Director Masaaki tries h read more