By Craig Leask Originating with the stresses surrounding the Post WWII Cold War, which was hitting an apex in the early 1980’s, self-proclaimed activist and gun collector John Milius was inspired to develop a “what if” scenario surrounding the premise of a Russian attack in middle America. That story became the film Red Dawn. In…
By Craig Leask The Last of Sheila is a brilliantly clever thriller which tries (and succeeds) beautifully in combining the best of a bitchy Hollywood self-satire, mixed with a traditional whodunit. Ultimately the film is tongue in cheek homage to both the murder mystery genre and the cutthroat world of movie making. It’s about playing…
By Craig Leask What started as an ego driven concept to market a camera system, developed into a very successful series of star laden road films, all of which are over the top travel films loaded with scenery, locations, and movie stars. What makes these films so entertaining is not necessarily the plot, but rather…
By Craig Leask In the early 1980’s a rash of new films were released focusing on the teenage demographic in hopes of establishing a new market. The success of Porky’s (1981), which earned $7.6 million on its opening weekend on its $2.5 million budget, launched a rash of teen sex comedies including The Last American Virgin…
By Craig Leask By the 1970’s, the American public had survived the shocking 1963 assassination of JFK with the implausible Warren Committee conclusion of a lone gunman having committed the deed – a simpleton by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald. Add to this: the murder of Oswald (televised live) by Jack Ruby (who perished…
By Craig Leask Note: The racial terms used in this article are included solely as reference to their use in book titles and poem lyrics as they were used in Christie’s book in 1939. The name Alfred Hitchcock became synonymous as the “Master of Suspense”, a well-earned title obtained through his direction of over 50…
By Craig Leask While there have been many, MANY movie and television adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple Mysteries with multiple women playing the lead character (Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan, and Julia McKenzie), I must admit my favorite by far playing the role is Margaret Rutherford as she brings her own…
By Craig Leask It Happened on 5th Avenue is one of those little gems that reappeared after having slipped into obscurity for several decades due to a series of unfortunate events, finally falling out of copyright in 1976. On Nov 11, 2008, Warner Home Video released the film on DVD, and in 2009 Turner Classic…
By Craig Leask What better way to celebrate Halloween than to sit back and watch a good old haunted house movie and, as soon as I hear composer Vic Mizzy’s scarily comical organ score, I know I’m in for a seasonally haunting treat. The fact that The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is more comedy than…
By Craig Leask In 2016 the film Carol which starred Cate Blanchett as a bored housewife who falls in love with an aspiring female photographer (Rooney Mara) earned six Oscar nominations. The following year Moonlight, a film ultimately about a gay black youth struggling to find acceptance and his identity in a world filled with…