Screening in NYC: ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976).

Assault On Precinct 13 is screening this weekend as the IFC Center’s midnight movie.  It’s a stone-cold must-see if you’ve never had the pleasure, and a terrific choice to watch in the middle of the night, its most natural habitat. With respect to fans of Dark Star, Carpenter’s first major credit as director, Assault On Precinct [...]

Screening In NYC: BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (2009).

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans is screening tonight at BAMcinématek, as part of their New Orleans On Film series (which also features Down By Law and Disney’s The Princess And The Frog and as such is recommended across the board.)  This movie is straight-up crazy and it demands to be seen.  Seriously.  It’s [...]

From The Archives: PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009).

Today is Michael Mann’s birthday.  I celebrate by re-watching (and re-posting) my initial thoughts about his most recent, and apparently most controversial, feature film.  The following is what I wrote about Public Enemies on July 3rd, 2009.  Public Enemies, I still maintain, has plenty to recommend it, but its unconventionality makes it a point of debate.  [...]

Cult Classics: PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008).

      PUNISHER: WAR ZONE & THE SAD STATE OF THE CINEMATIC SHIT-KICKER. So I was one of those strange people who watched Punisher: War Zone during its brief theatrical run.  If you’re a fan of left-field action flicks and intentional unintentional humor, I’ll tell you it’s definitely worth that late-night rental.  If you like [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #4: THE UNHOLY THREE (1925).

Today I’m spotlighting a movie all the way from 1925.  Don’t let that scare you off.  Give me two paragraphs and trust me, you’ll want to stay. The Unholy Three was a massive hit in its time, and critically well-received, which makes it one of the most successful movies to be barely remembered by history. [...]

Movie Review: DRIVE (2011).

I’ve been thinking about something lately, and seeing Drive recently turned out to be a bit of synchronicity since, in its own way, Drive is largely an illustration of the concept: Just because something isn’t true doesn’t mean it isn’t real.  And vice versa.  Drive isn’t something that happened.  It started as a terrific, mean little novel by James Sallis, and was [...]

The Mickey Rourke Archive: KILLSHOT (2008).

  Originally posted on 6-15-2009, this is a column I hope to resurrect one day soon.   By the time The Wrestler was released last year, my Netflix queue became scattered with random Mickey Rourke films of yesteryear. I’ve always liked Mickey Rourke, and his filmography is a pretty damn interesting place to wander around. [...]

From The Archives: MIAMI VICE (2006).

#10.  Miami Vice (2006) I’m sure that there are people who will roll their eyes or sneer at my inclusion of Michael Mann’s Miami Vice feature in my top ten of the entire decade, but that’s fine.  I never started compiling this list with the intention of sounding smarter or cooler than anyone else. These [...]

From The Archives: COLLATERAL (2004).

I’ve posted about this movie before, but since I’m doing my ten of the decade, it’s never a bad time to revisit #4.  Collateral (2004) After Punch-Drunk Love, this is another movie that quite honestly captures the feeling of Los Angeles, the way I experienced it throughout the past ten years, only now we’ve gone [...]

From The Archives: 25TH HOUR (2002).

Continuing my list of favorite movies from the last decade, here’s #2.  25th Hour (2002) This is a movie that warrants an entire essay.  One day, I’ll give it one.  In the meanwhile, my abbreviated commentary will have to do. Personally, I’m a filmgoer who tends to generally agree with what the mainstream defines as [...]