If you were a theater patron in the 1990s, odds are you bought a ticket for a Joel Schumacher film somewhere along the way. For fifteen years, give or take, the costume designer turned filmmaker had his finger on the pulse of pop cinema. He made big hits in all different genres, until Bat Nipples … Continue reading Joel Schumacher (1939-2020): Five Essentials
Author: Larry C. Taylor
I am a nonfiction author whose first two publications cover director John McTiernan and Tony Scott, respectively. I am a self-made film historian, and I believe film is the one true art form, from the epic majesty of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, to the heartfelt horror of midnight drive in dreck.
Forgotten Films Archive, #2: FANDANGO (1985)
Once in a while a film full of stars, loaded with promise and equipped with a wide release plan, will come and go without making so much s a ripple in the zeitgeist, lost in the infinite growing back catalogue of cinema. Sometimes, these flippant dismissals are warranted; other times, they're confounding. Occasionally, but rarely, … Continue reading Forgotten Films Archive, #2: FANDANGO (1985)
The Search for Authenticity: URBAN COWBOY at 40
Time and time again, in the early days of his stardom, matinee idol John Travolta used his newfound celebrity completely dismantling the idea of the matinee idol. The Irish-Italian from New Jersey with the cleft chin, the broad smile, and the endless charm, figured out a way to subvert his golden looks by diving headlong … Continue reading The Search for Authenticity: URBAN COWBOY at 40
TENET Needs to Stay Put
The scenario is too enticing to ignore: Christopher Nolan, one of the most vocal proponents of the cinema - and an outspoken fanboy of the value of the cinematic experience in general - is set to release an epic, time-bending thriller in a few weeks, in a future that is unknown, at a moment where … Continue reading TENET Needs to Stay Put
Make No Mistake, CAPONE Flirts With Greatness
SPOILERS: I plan on discussing certain elements of this movie that should be seen without any prior knowledge. There isn't much to spoil, but just be warned that I will be discussing the magic tricks that are part of this unique experience. There is a fifteen-minute dream sequence early in the second half of Capone, Josh … Continue reading Make No Mistake, CAPONE Flirts With Greatness
Defending THE BEACH (2000)
As the 20th century came to a close and the world waited anxiously for the Y2K calamity that never happened, there was no bigger movie star - no bigger celebrity - in the world than Leonardo DiCaprio. As a 23-year old with cutting eyes and matinee idol hair, DiCaprio stormed the cultural landscape in 1997 … Continue reading Defending THE BEACH (2000)
Forgotten Films Archive, #1: Jonathan Glazer’s BIRTH (2004)
Once in a while a film full of stars, loaded with promise and equipped with a wide release plan, will come and go without making so much s a ripple in the zeitgeist, lost in the infinite growing back catalogue of cinema. Sometimes, these flippant dismissals are warranted; other times, they're confounding. Occasionally, but rarely, … Continue reading Forgotten Films Archive, #1: Jonathan Glazer’s BIRTH (2004)
25 Years of BAD BOYS, 25 Years of Michael Bay
It's been an interesting quarter century of action cinema. Ever since the white heat of Jean Claude Van-Damme and Steven Seagal began to cool in the mid-90s, the genre has gone through a variety of phases. For a brief moment, the end of the millennium belonged to John Woo, who brought his balletic gunplay and … Continue reading 25 Years of BAD BOYS, 25 Years of Michael Bay
