The Beauty Inside (2015, Baek Jong-yeol) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 31, 2016
Somewhere near the end of the second act, The Beauty Inside internally collapses. The film’s well-directed, well-acted, often quite well-written, but it’s got one heck of a MacGuffin and no one can figure out how to address it. The Beauty Inside is about a man who changes into a differe read more
[BASP] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper) / Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994, Kim Henkel) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 26, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seven The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper) / Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994, Kim Henkel) Originally posted: November 10, 2010 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
[BASP] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper) / Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994, Kim Henkel) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 26, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Eight The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Tobe Hooper) / Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994, Kim Henkel) Originally posted: November 10, 2010 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
The Bedroom Window (1987, Curtis Hanson) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 25, 2016
Given The Bedroom Window was part of my VHS EP collection, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. I do know I haven’t seen it in at least a decade and I also know this time is the first I’ve ever wondered about the source novel. The Bedroom Window is very busy; mayb read more
The Bedroom Window (1987, Curtis Hanson) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 25, 2016
Given The Bedroom Window was part of my VHS EP collection, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. I do know I haven’t seen it in at least a decade and I also know this time is the first I’ve ever wondered about the source novel. The Bedroom Window is very busy; mayb read more
Penthouse (1933, W.S. Van Dyke) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 23, 2016
Penthouse is a lean mystery masquerading as a class melodrama. Most of that class melodrama stuff comes at the front–and is only really ever alluded to later–making the film front-heavy. Unfortunately, so much time goes towards the melodrama, the mystery suffers. Luckily, there’s read more
Penthouse (1933, W.S. Van Dyke) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 23, 2016
Penthouse is a lean mystery masquerading as a class melodrama. Most of that class melodrama stuff comes at the front–and is only really ever alluded to later–making the film front-heavy. Unfortunately, so much time goes towards the melodrama, the mystery suffers. Luckily, there’s read more
Meet John Doe (1941, Frank Capra) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 19, 2016
There’s something off with Meet John Doe. Director Capra can’t find a tone for the film, but he also can’t find a pace for it. He tries to find the tone, over and over, usually with excellently directed sequences, but he just throws up his hands as far as finding the pace. If Robe read more
Meet John Doe (1941, Frank Capra) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 19, 2016
There’s something off with Meet John Doe. Director Capra can’t find a tone for the film, but he also can’t find a pace for it. He tries to find the tone, over and over, usually with excellently directed sequences, but he just throws up his hands as far as finding the pace. If Robe read more
[BASP] Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) / Piranha (1995, Scott P. Levy) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 18, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seven Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) / Piranha (1995, Scott P. Levy) Originally posted: August 14, 2010 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
Out for Justice (1991, John Flynn) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 18, 2016
I didn’t hate watching Out of Justice. I didn’t even dislike watching it some of the time. It’s never good, but it’s really dumb and director Flynn knows how to direct a dumb action movie. It feels like it could be a cheap seventies exploitation film–cop hunting gangst read more
[BASP] Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) / Piranha (1995, Scott P. Levy) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 18, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Seven Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) / Piranha (1995, Scott P. Levy) Originally posted: August 14, 2010 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
Out for Justice (1991, John Flynn) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 18, 2016
I didn’t hate watching Out of Justice. I didn’t even dislike watching it some of the time. It’s never good, but it’s really dumb and director Flynn knows how to direct a dumb action movie. It feels like it could be a cheap seventies exploitation film–cop hunting gangst read more
Marked for Death (1990, Dwight H. Little) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 17, 2016
The beginning of Marked for Death is nearly all right. It’s a prologue, with lead Steven Seagal–as a DEA agent–in Mexico, doing an undercover drug buy. Things go wrong. Until things go wrong, it’s not bad. Director Little has a lot of motion (which is fine when people are mo read more
Marked for Death (1990, Dwight H. Little) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 17, 2016
The beginning of Marked for Death is nearly all right. It’s a prologue, with lead Steven Seagal–as a DEA agent–in Mexico, doing an undercover drug buy. Things go wrong. Until things go wrong, it’s not bad. Director Little has a lot of motion (which is fine when people are mo read more
Ash vs. The DC Dead (2016, Brian Rosenthal) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 16, 2016
I don’t want to “geek out” when I talk about Ash vs. The DC Dead. It might be embarrassing someday. But it’s hard not to be impressed with director Rosenthal’s ability to find the perfect combination of source material to reference. While the short has David VonHippche read more
Ash vs. The DC Dead (2016, Brian Rosenthal) (1)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 16, 2016
I don’t want to “geek out” when I talk about Ash vs. The DC Dead. It might be embarrassing someday. But it’s hard not to be impressed with director Rosenthal’s ability to find the perfect combination of source material to reference. While the short has David VonHippche read more
[BASP] The Darkman Trilogy (1990-96, Sam Raimi and Bradford May) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 12, 2016
The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast: Episode Six The Darkman Trilogy (1990-96, Sam Raimi and Bradford May) Originally posted: June 30, 2010 Subscribe via iTunes. read more
Memories of the Sword (2015, Park Heung-sik) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 10, 2016
Memories of the Sword has two, very simple problems. The first is director Park. He’s bad at directing this film. It’s not clear he’s bad at directing films, but he’s bad at directing Memories of the Sword. He fundamentally doesn’t understand action scenes, which means read more
The Rules of the Game (1939, Jean Renoir) (2)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 6, 2016
There are two big sequences in Rules of the Game. There’s the hunting sequence, which concentrates on the rabbits and pheasants before–and as–they are killed for sport. The animals are hunted without motive or enjoyment. Until a line in the third act connects events, the hunt is m read more