Noirvember: “Key Largo” (1948)

“Key Largo”, the fourth and final film pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is significantly different from their previous movies together. The film does have elements of noir, but neither actor plays their typical character, and, in fact, much of the movie’s focus is on another character entirely. Bogart plays Frank McCloud, a World War II veteran who travels […]

Noirvember: “Double Indemnity” (1944)

In honor of Noirvember—a celebration of the film noir genre created by @oldfilmsflicker on Twitter—I wanted to take some time throughout this month to highlight some classic films noir that I love. Film noir is probably the most intriguing and unique of all film genres; they can sometimes be difficult to characterize. These stylized, black-and-white crime […]

Streaming Movie Recap: October 2020, Part 3

Happy November everyone! I’m looking back on some October releases one more time with the last part of my streaming recap. Read on for mini reviews of the movies “Clouds,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Witches,” “On the Rocks,” “Over the Moon,” “Yes God, Yes,” and “His House.” “CLOUDS” (Disney Plus) For a supposedly faith-based movie, […]

Spooktober: “Mystery of the Wax Museum” (1933)

A couple weeks ago I featured 1953’s “House of Wax” as one of my Spooktober picks, and today I’m going back to a previous version of the story, 1933’s “Mystery of the Wax Museum”. The plots of both films are quite similar, but while “House of Wax” plays up the horror elements, “Mystery of the […]

Streaming Movie Recap: October 2020, Part 2

Here’s the second part of my mini reviews for October! Six reviews follow, of the films “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” “American Murder: The Family Next Door,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “A Baby-Sitter’s Guide to Monster-Hunting,” “The Mortuary Collection,” and “Rebecca.” All of these films are currently available on streaming services, so be sure to […]

Spooktober: “House on Haunted Hill” (1959)

“House on Haunted Hill” is famed horror director William Castle’s best movie. It’s got all the campiness of classic Castle, but with an intriguing, twisty plot that makes for a genuinely thrilling tale. Vincent Price, who also teamed up with Castle that year for the horror thriller “The Tingler”, stars as millionaire Frederick Loren, who […]

Streaming Movie Recap: October 2020, Part 1

This month has felt pretty busy, hasn’t it? In terms of movies, there have been a lot of new releases, from spooky films for Halloween to the first rumblings of potential awards season contenders. I wanted to get this out as soon as possible because my mini reviews will be split into at least three […]

Spooktober: “Eyes Without a Face” (1959)

The French-Italian horror film “Eyes Without a Face” is a prime example of how opinions on films can change drastically over time. At the time it was made, British horror films from Hammer Studios were quite popular, and French produced Jules Borken decided to capitalize on this by bringing in Georges Franju—primarily a documentary filmmaker—to […]

Spooktober: “The Bat” (1959)

“The Bat” does not contain any of the cheesiness normally associated with horror films of its era. Despite being a low budget thriller, “The Bat” is a taut, suspenseful film that will keep you guessing from start to finish. Based on a 1920 Broadway play of the same name, “The Bat” was put on film […]

Spooktober: “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931)

One of the greatest special effects ever put on film are the transformation sequences in 1931’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde“. Fredric March, who plays the kind scientist who changes into an evil man when he takes a potion, looks right into the camera in these scenes as his face undergoes dramatic changes. The cuts […]