The first time I saw Siege (aka Self Defense) was at Ex-Fest IX in Philadelphia. It was the first of eight films that played that day and it really set the tone for a pretty killer marathon. While you can sum it up as being a low-budget Canadian version of Assault on Precinct 13, it’s got a certain amount of charm that makes it stand out amongst the other B-Movie entries of the era. … Read More Every ’80s Movie: Siege (Self Defense) – 1983
I watched Night and the City while four-year-old Polly showed an utter lack of patience and demanded lunch become brunch. Now I want a Bloody Mary.… Read More I Watched Night and the City While Polly Ate Brunch
Like many film lovers, going to the movies is about more than just sitting in a dark room watching flashing pictures on a wall… it’s an experience we love and look forward to. To celebrate the cinema-going experience, we’re taking a look at some of the most interesting movie houses around. The Historic Dietrich Theater… Read More Cinema Series: The Dietrich Theater
I watched My Night at Maud’s while Polly revolted against the core principles of civility. This might not be the right millennium for an Eric Rohmer retrospective. Wrong decade. Wrong year. And certainly wrong month — a grand jury indictment of over 300 Catholic Priests who have sexually abused over 1,000 kids in Pennsylvania alone… Read More I Watched My Night at Maud’s While Polly Revolted Against the Core Principles of Civility
I watched Persona while Polly ate breakfast. I figure what better way to examine the mystery of the pug that refuses to eat from her bowl than the story of an actress who refuses to speak. I think it’s been about twenty years now since I really got into film. When I first started to… Read More I Watched Persona While Polly Ate Breakfast
Who are the heroes of today? The ones you would chapter a narrative based on? There are a billion people with a million followers, but is there a clear voice that can be distinguished through the static of a constant and rapidly shifting conversation? Isn’t this how we ended up where we are now, at… Read More Black, White & Blue: James Baldwin’s I am Not Your Negro
Can anyone love anything as much as Timothy Treadwell loved being amongst the grizzlies we see him with during his annual excursion into the Alaskan wilderness, trips he chronicled for educational purposes, posterity, and perhaps a stab at fame? Footage that shows him frequently venturing to within arms-length of these majestic creatures, acknowledging the dangers… Read More Chance is the Lifeblood of Cinema
From the moment the words left his mouth and he began gesturing with his hand a simulation of adjusting the mirror to see the scene he was leaving behind, we know that the filmmaker is interviewing the cold blooded killer of a police officer who had stopped him for a routine traffic violation one night… Read More I Watched The Thin Blue Line and Now I Get the True Crime Craze
Throughout the years, as science and technology continues to evolve beyond the boundaries of our imagination, a certain sect of the culture has taken it upon itself to examine the ethical, political and social implications of our discoveries. Most oftentimes operating within the genre of science fiction, these cautionary tales have run our amazing achievements… Read More Casting a Dystopian Gaze: Cynical Science Fiction Cinema of the 1980s
Six, sometimes seven, but almost never less than five times a day I find myself biting through my fist as I craft a hateful message to WILK, the local talk radio station, to tell them how idiotic they are, but alas, I never send them. By the time I’ve gone through the half dozen revisions… Read More I Watched Jesus Camp and Now I’m a Little Scared
Cinema Vertigogo 