By Nick Maylor On this episode, John and I talk Spielberg. Need I say more? Check out our YouTube channel for more shows. Nick MaylorNick is an actor/writer/comedian/musician from Hamilton, ON Canada. Having been a film nut since the early days of his life, Nick has had an obsession with cinema and popular entertainment. Nick…
By John H. Foote Comedy is a genre all its own consisting of ten subgenres, and they evolve and expand as the years slip past. It is also, along with horror, the single most personal of the cinematic genres. I saw Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979) with my wife, howling as the film…
By John H. Foote (**) Jack London wrote the great adventure novel “The Call of the Wild” in 1903 to great acclaim and it has been filmed many times since, both for the big screen and television. The best-known version is still the 1935 film starring Clark Gable as Jack Thornton, though that might change…
By John H. Foote Sequels achieved their greatest popularity through the seventies and eighties and beyond, though in fairness they have existed since the thirties and the Universal monster series. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) stands among the greatest sequels ever made, a wonderful film that preceded a series of increasingly bad films meant to…
By John H. Foote Crazy to be even talking about next year’s Oscars, right? Not really. I promise you the studios are already in full swing setting up release dates, marketing campaigns, festival screenings and for your consideration campaigns for when the films are screened. Next year’s Oscar race is already in motion, the wheels…
By John H. Foote During the first press screening of Hook (1991) I remember spending a great deal of the time shaking my head in disgust. When the film was over I felt nothing but relief, but oddly could not move from my seat. I hated it. On so many levels I hated the film.…
By John H. Foote (****) Simply said, Under Fire (1983) is among the greatest films ever made about American involvement in a war-torn country, a startling political work which includes a real-life event, the killing of ABC News reporter Bill Stewart by Nicaraguan forces while gathering news information. The first time I saw Under Fire…
By John H. Foote (****) Paul Mazursky was a fascinating director-screenwriter who emerged in the great American cinema explosion of the seventies. His finest films were humanist dramas sprinkled with light comedic moments, slice of life films. Best of all his films was the exquisite An Unmarried Woman (1978), a raw and stunning work about…
By John H. Foote (BOMB) If I see a worse film this year than Fantasy Island, which is even worse than Dolittle somehow, I will be amazed. Beyond stupid, it is insipid, empty of imagination of any kind and vile, a complete about face from the silly TV series from which it has been adapted.…
By John H. Foote (****) In 1977 my younger brother Steve and I made the trip into Toronto to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) opening day at the old York Cinemas. Over two hours later we emerged from the theatre into the warm winter sun, stunned by what we had just experienced.…