Tom Cruise was already an international superstar when he assembled a team to adapt Mission: Impossible for the big screen. Ever since he slid across the floor in his tightie-whities and blossomed into an A-list actor, Cruise aimed high, teaming up with the likes of Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Tony Scott, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, … Continue reading Summer of ’96: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, The Masterpiece of 90s Summer Cinema

It never really mattered whether or not tornadoes could effectively, realistically, be cinematic villains because they're sporadic and they never last long. That made no difference when you saw that first teaser and first trailer for Twister, Jan de Bont's parade of CGI cyclones, flying cows, and Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt leading a ragtag … Continue reading Summer of ’96: TWISTER Ushers in a New Era of CGI Storytelling

Which man are you? Are you the new family man just looking for a night out with the fellas? Are you the irresponsible brother with a short fuse and a Camaro in need of a serious paint job? Are you the best friend who might be too cocky for his own good? Are you the … Continue reading JUDGMENT NIGHT (1993): What Kind of Man are You?

In this new version of the old world, things are certainly different in just about every walk of life. For some of us out there - some of us who cherish film, the history of the movies, and the movie theater experience - we have been forced to come to the realization that movies may … Continue reading RUN HIDE FIGHT: The Daily Wire’s First Feature is a Scorcher

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

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)

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