The Texas Chain Saw Massacre vs The Happening: Comparison of Two Scenes
I compare a cheap but effective scene in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to an expensive but ineffective scene in The Happening.
Technique
The Ending of City of the Living Dead
City of the Living Dead is one of my favorite films. But the ending is confusing. I provide a couple of explanations and argue it isn’t necessary.
Anniversary Post: Tom Howard
On this day (March 27) in 1910, the iconic special effects artist Tom Howard was born. He is especially known for his use of front projection.
Bohemian Rhapsody, A Thousand Clowns, and the Dangers of Film Enthusiasm
I visited my sister over the weekend and we went to see Bohemian Rhapsody. It wasn’t a thrilling idea for several reasons. I don’t like biopics. I rarely like big-budget Hollywood films. I’ve never been a huge Queen fan. But going to lame films is something I have always done for my family. (They have … Read more
What Is an Exploitation Film? Most People Are Wrong
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song launched the genre known as blaxploitation (can anyone explain that term to me?), which brought a slew of heroic black enforcers and sexy black women to the screen for the mass consumption of a large, previously ignored black audience. —Marilyn Ferdinand I can! But first we have to discuss what an … Read more
James Cameron: No Actor’s Director
I have had various connections to Hollywood in my life. And I’ve come to see it as an awful place. It is offensive that “normal” (non-Hollywood) people get so excited about celebrities. I was once a minor celebrity, so I saw it from the inside. And it was pathetic. These people thought I was super … Read more