Hundreds of movies are released every year, and for every movie that’s released, there’s a movie poster to go along with it. While these movie posters typically do a great job of advertising the film for a few weeks prior to release, very few of them end up being remembered for more than a few …
#20. The Exorcist (1973) Lost to: The Sting Crammed in between two Best Picture wins for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” films was an interesting little year that rewarded another pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman (trivia: “The Sting’s” Julia Phillips is the first time female producer to ever win Best Picture). The other big landmark …
The basement was where my older brother went to watch movies. When the door was closed, it meant don’t go downstairs. EVER. Now I had my fair share of entertainment upstairs, where my room was, but just knowing that my presence was forbidden made me want to go downstairs even more. After countless of days …
** Spoilers ahead ** I am not a horror film fan. I appreciate the genre but considering that my over-amped imagination will turn a sight of a little girl with long hair in ghostly white attire into a full epileptic seizure within me, I try to stay as far away from scary films as much …
In 1973, William Friedkin directed The Exorcist and frightened a generation, creating a horror movie classic. Three years earlier, before The French Connection launched Friedkin onto the A-list, he directed The Boys in the Band, an adaptation of an off-Broadway play about a group of gay men at a birthday party. The Boys in the …
In the world of horror cinema, the best way to fight a monster-be it a supernatural, human or natural one-is with a character that possesses special knowledge and skills. These experts-recruited into battle by other characters or colliding with the conflict intentionally-are the Savants of the horror world. Examples of Savant characters include David Warner’s …
There’s a wonderfully maddening moment early on in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining where Danny Torrance is perusing the corridors of the Overlook hotel on his tricycle. He swings round corners, the camera obsessively following him in a locked in third person perspective angle. The skin crawling score by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind swells up …
Beyond the Hills Directed by Cristian Mungiu Written by Cristian Mungiu Romania, 2012 Dreadful anticipation, the kind that most mainstream horror films strive for and fail to achieve, permeates every second of Beyond the Hills, a new film from Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu. The film, a patient, uneasy drama about the nature and presence of …
Ever since the release of the Academy Award nominated The Exorcist, back in 1973, Hollywood has benefited quite a bit from movies about exorcism, and the box office numbers show no signs of recession. With the release of The Last Exorcism 2, I decided to spotlight three films that are criminally overlooked, and that I …
A Haunted House Directed by Michael Tides Written by Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez USA, 2013 Opens Jan. 25 in Toronto Have you ever opened up a history textbook and found that every single image of Josef Stalin was defaced with some sort of phallic or scatological graffiti? Or that his pictures were accompanied by …
The Possession Directed by Ole Bornedal Written by Juliet Snowden, Stiles White USA, 2012 The ‘Eddie’ is an award given by the American Cinema Editors for achievement in film editing. The ‘Razzie’ is an award given by disgruntled moviegoers for recognition in the worst of filmmaking. If the two ever joined forces (the ‘Readdies’?), Ole …
In the ensemble tour de force that is John Luessenhop’s Takers, Idris Elba masterfully says, without a hint of irony, “We’re takers, gents. That’s what we do for a living. We take.” Apparently, along with being a competent actor by day, Elba also moonlights as Captain Obvious by night, but in addition to being heavy …
At a time of the year that’s all about picking the best of the best among movies, it seems singularly appropriate to talk to someone whose year-round profession is assaying the good and the bad up on the big screen. “I’m one of the few people on the paper who’s never had a journalism class, …
Going into the final day of the competition, I was trailing by two films. Things didn’t bode well for me, because time just was not on my side. Though I’ve taken every year by a landslide, I am more than satisfied with the results here. I may not have won, but my record is still …
Though primarily a literary figure, Stephen King has enjoyed one of the most successful symbioses between publishing and Hollywood of any popular author, if not in box office and critical respect (those trophies would most likely have to go to Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling) certainly in terms of sheer quantity. King’s first novel, …
I recently sat through the clumsily titled “Version You’ve Never Seen” cut of The Exorcist, only to conclude that it should have remained unseen. Another 10 minutes of footage, including the laughable spider-walk scene and a feeble new ending have done nothing to improve William Friedkin’s horror classic. But, as the DVD market is flooded …