In 1968 five documentary films were nominated for an Oscar but you’d never know that from looking at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website. The site claims to feature a complete list of all the Oscar nominees and winners, but on the official web page for the 41st Oscar ceremony there are [...]

Comic books and movies seem to be synonymous these days but both industries share a long and fascinating history that can be traced back to the 1930s. One of the many interesting offshoots of this unusual association was the publication of Movie Love in 1950. At the time comic publishers like DC and Fawcett had [...]

Marlene Dietrich in MOROCCO (1930) Two of the most intriguing performances that were nominated for an Oscar this year can be found in ALBERT NOBBS (2011). In the film Glenn Close and Janet McTeer play women who decide to dress as men in order to find work in 19th century Dublin. I haven’t had a [...]

One of the best films I saw last year was Tomas Alfredson’s TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY (2011) based on John Le Carré’s novel of the same name. It stars Gary Oldman in a career defining performance that’s earned him an Oscar nomination. I hope Oldman takes home the award but I’m not here to talk [...]

I love a good horror anthology so you can imagine how thrilled I was when I recently sat down to watch THREE CASES OF MURDER (1955) for the first time. This unusual British film seems to have gone relatively unnoticed by numerous horror film historians and if it does warrant a mention it’s usually dismissed [...]

By the early 1960s American International Pictures (AIP) had established itself as a purveyor of popular teen films. From rock and roll dramas to hot rod thrillers and teenage monster movies, AIP made a lot of money making cheap films that were quickly cobbled together and rushed into production. These films appealed to young people [...]

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Sean Connery’s debut as James Bond in Terence Young’s DR. NO (1962). In honor of the event Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios along with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment recently announced that they have a program of exciting events planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the longest running film [...]

The holidays are over and like many folks I did a lot of shopping in the last few months but I didn’t frequent many shopping malls or major retail outlets. I spent most of my time and hard earned dollars in secondhand stores and antique shops. This wasn’t just a budget conscious choice. It was [...]

2011 marked the 40th anniversary of Masterpiece on PBS and I couldn’t let the year pass without making note of the show’s accomplishments and sharing some highlights from their current schedule. After 40 long and impressive years Masterpiece is better than ever and if you’re not watching you’re missing some of the most thoughtful, well-written [...]