Problem Child arrived on home video today in 1991, after a July 27, 1990 theatrical tantrum. I first rented this when I was probably as far from the target audience as you can get – I was 17, and this felt like the VHS equivalent of watching a kid poke an anthill with a stick … Read more
Of Odysseys and pomade obsessions. There’s something about O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001) that feels like a half-remembered tall tale you might have heard your great-grandparents tell you when you were a kid. A vague impression where everything is dipped in sepia, everyone talks like they just stepped out of an old-timey radio broadcast, … Read more
Don’t take the ring, Laura. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me rolled into Home Video this week in 1993, after an August 28th, 1992 US theatrical garmonbozia. This one’s for you, Mr. Lynch. I was definitely into the whole Twin Peaks Chic during its ’89-91 run on ABC. However, the series’ popularity waned heavily with … Read more
60’s slapstick hadn’t quite run it’s course… At the turn of the millennium, the idea of the ultra-rich pulling the masses’ strings for their own amusement wasn’t exactly fresh – then, as now, it’s almost easier to laugh than to cry about it. Jerry Zucker’s (Airplane!, Ghost) gleefully ridiculous ode to 60s slapstick mayhem leans … Read more
Part vampire, part human. All edge. Some mofos are always trying to ice skate uphill. Back in ‘73, writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan introduced the Daywalker in issue 10 of Marvel’s moody Tomb of Dracula comic. While the character’s roots weren’t far removed from the era’s blaxploitation mould of Shaft or Superfly, the … Read more
Spy games and bonding agents The early-to-mid 80s really were a golden age for kid-led adventure films. Cloak & Dagger (1984) often finds itself overshadowed by the other video-game-adjacent titles like The Last Starfighter or Tron, but the film delivers a deft mix of fantasy espionage and 4 bit nostalgia that feels uniquely its own. … Read more
Still lurking in the hearts of Fans. The Shadow landed on home video today in 1995, after a lukewarm July 1st, 1994 theatrical release. The shadow cast by 1989’s Batman loomed large in the 90’s, and Hollywood spend most of the decade scrambling for the next big super-hero-esque blockbuster franchise. While Underoo A-listers like Superman … Read more
Mr. Savage Steve Holland’s Opus. Ah, How I Got Into College (1989) – a little slice of late-80s life that somehow manages to bottle teenage anxiety, awkward romance, and the crushing spectre of societal expectations into a brisk 86 minutes. Directed by THE Savage Steve Holland (Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer), it’s got his … Read more
A darker shade of Noire. To say this movie was controversial is putting it mildly, a few too-many seconds of Mickey Rourke’s thrusting posterior earned it an X rating – but a little editing wizardry knocked it down to an R before its theatrical run. Not that it benefited at the box office. Still, Alan … Read more
Surf’s up, Big Kahuna. Back to the Beach surfed onto Home Video this week in 1988, after an off-the-lip August 7th, 1987 theatrical trick. After decades spent deep in midwest suburbia, former beach blanket teeny boppers Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello head back to Los Angeles – only to discover the 80’s happened. A lot. … Read more