Stone Classics: THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948).

    One of the greatest American movies yet made, there’s no doubt very little that I can add to any discussion of this much-discussed 1948 film. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the run-down:     A down-and-out drifter (Humphrey Bogart) and his young partner (Tim Holt), team up with an unpredicable white-haired prospector [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #20: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954).

The Creature From The Black Lagoon is the last of the major Universal monsters.  Creature From The Black Lagoon was released in 1954, over twenty years after Universal introduced Frankenstein’s Monster, his Bride, the Mummy, the Invisble Man, and Count Dracula, and over ten years later than the Wolf Man (longer if you count the [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #19: CARRIE (1976).

For a very long time, Carrie has been a noticeable empty spot on the list of major horror movies I’ve seen.  There’s actually a pretty good reason for it:  Carrie is so entrenched in pop culture by now that it’s one of those movies that everybody knows, with or without seeing it.  If you’re a [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #2: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935).

“I hope her bones are firm.” – Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger). Some creative endeavors tell you something about their creators just by watching them.  If a guy named Sam makes a movie like The Wild Bunch, or a guy named Russ makes a movie like Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, well, we kinda know what kind [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #1: FRANKENSTEIN (1931).

Of the classic Universal movie monsters, my favorites have always been the Wolfman and the Gill Man.  I love them all, don’t get me wrong – Count Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and his Bride – they’re all great.  It’s just personal taste: since I was a little kid I’ve adored animals, [...]

Stone Classics: THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980).

The Blues Brothers is actually a very hard one to write about, for me anyway.  Writing about this movie is exactly like writing about music: It can be interesting to do, to a point, but eventually you really just need to listen to the song.  As much as I enjoy reading about and writing about movies, ultimately movies are made [...]

SCREENING IN NYC: Ghostbusters (1984).

One of my top three favorite movies ever is also one of the best-made comedies of all time.  I’m speaking of course – again – about Ghostbusters, which is playing tonight in Brooklyn. The screening begins tonight at sundown, as part of SyFy’s Movies With A View, an outdoor film series which runs through September.  Obviously I recommend that [...]

Screening In NYC: THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979).

  I could write about The Muppet Movie all day, but I have a date later and that would be a really weird excuse for missing it.  So this is just a brief note to let you know that The Muppet Movie is playing at 1pm this weekend, Saturday July 16th and Sunday July 17th, [...]

Stone Classics: PLANET OF THE APES (1968).

  Film Forum has an all-new 35mm print of Planet Of The Apes which is screening all this week. It’s a classic and the important kind of classic, and though I don’t return to it all that often, you can be sure I have some thoughts about it. Here are some: What do you say [...]

Stone Classics: PURPLE RAIN (1984).

Prince turns 53 today.  53!  Try looking for signs.  An aging Prince feels like a geometric impossibility.  He’s still working, still recording and performing, and while we can debate whether or not his best work is behind him, we cannot debate that his best work still sounds as vivid as it ever did.  I can’t [...]