A bit of a departure from the usual British saucy seaside postcard romps, Carry On Screaming took the formula of both Hammer Horror and spooky American sitcom favourites The Munsters and The Addams Family, and created a weird hybrid with an actual storyline. Wait… Sophistication creeping in? Not quite. It’s still Carry On, after all.Continue reading “Vintage Films: Carry On Screaming (1967)”
Category Archives: Film
Film Review: Cat Nation
This quirky documentary, created by film maker Tim Delmastro and You Tuber Chris Broad, an Englishman who has lived in Japan for over five years, follows the Japanese fascination with the domestic felines. From a station master’s cat (below, in jaunty hat) to a temple festooned with Neko beckoning lucky cats, to a slightly OTTContinue reading “Film Review: Cat Nation”
Overlooked Classics: Prevenge (2017)
Alice Lowe is an often overlooked comic genius, and Prevenge isn’t always held up in high regard in the horror genre. Possibly it’s because it doesn’t have the usual tropes audiences expect. Written, directed by and starring Lowe, it’s kind of bonkers, with her character Ruth believing her unborn baby is telling her to goContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Prevenge (2017)”
Vintage Films: Cat People
For Samhain, forget Freddy, Jason or The Human Centipede. I’m going vintage all the way. Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 classic for RKO, Cat People, is still a stylish, strange little gem. Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) is a Serbian illustrator who believes she’s descended from panthers, as she turns into a cat when she’s sexually aroused. ThisContinue reading “Vintage Films: Cat People”
Film Review: It’s A Rockabilly World
… Except it’s not,not really. This Brent Huff documentary from 2016 looks great on paper, purporting to look at the rockabilly subculture in all its sassy glory. Instead, it focuses on the Viva Las Vegas convention, with lots of hipster types with sleeve tattoos, blue hair and brothel creepers. It’s colourful enough, and everyone looksContinue reading “Film Review: It’s A Rockabilly World”
Overlooked Classics: Hail The New Puritan (1987)
“Michael! Michael! “ I’m trying not to get too nostalgic here, as any nostalgia suggests there’s nothing worth dipping into in contemporary culture, but Charles Atlas’ fictionalised account of Michael Clark was like a firework going off in my soul. Something just sparked within me. Epiphany is an understatement. This was something I wanted inContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Hail The New Puritan (1987)”
Put Blood In The Music: Sonic Youth and John Zorn
This film, directed by Charles Atlas for The South Bank Show in 1989, was what made me fall in love with SY, and admire Zorn. Using a fanzine type approach to his montage – talking heads floating in front of New York street scenes, it’s a typically playful approach from Atlas (more of whom, later).Continue reading “Put Blood In The Music: Sonic Youth and John Zorn”
Worth Revisiting: Wild Man Blues
‘Grumpy Old Man B!ues’, more like. What a miserable old git Woody Allen is. That’s the takeaway from Barbara Kopple’s 1997 documentary on the legendary but controversial film director. Holding forth on his favourite subjects: New York; himself, jazz, himself, Paris, himself, travel, himself, and, mostly, himself, the camera follows him, alongside his very youngContinue reading “Worth Revisiting: Wild Man Blues”
Favourite Cover Versions: Tonight You Belong To Me (The Jerk)
The Jerk is in essence a silly film, showcasing the slapstick comedy of Steve Martin. He’s Navin, a classic doofus, a guy who, raised by a poor Black family, believes himself to be Black also. But also central to this runs the relationship between Navin and Marie. Bernadette Peters is Marie, and is a ClaraContinue reading “Favourite Cover Versions: Tonight You Belong To Me (The Jerk)”
Overlooked Classics: Niagara
Henry Hathaway ‘s 1953 thriller was a radical departure for rising star Marilyn Monroe. She portrays Rose, an ice cool newlywed just hitched to George (Joseph Cotten) who’s just been discharged from an army mental hospital, having served in Korea. She befriends the sweet if vapid Polly and Ray (Jean Peters and Casey Adams) alsoContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Niagara”
Hit The North 