It was 50 years ago today that, on September 22, 1976, that Charlie's Angels debuted on ABC. The show would prove to be an immediate hit, ranking no. 5 during its first season and continued to do well for its next few seasons. While ratings for Charlie's Angels would eventually falter and it would be cancelled after five seasons, it would not only prove to be a success in syndication, but would lead to feature films and even reboot series.Charlie's Angels centred on three female private…

Planet Hollywood, reflected in the glass façade of the nearby Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The post Planet Hollywood Reflections appeared first on 75CentralPhotography.

The 1967 Paul Newman film Hombre is a classic revisionist western. It was based, as many brilliant westerns are, on the 1961 short story by Elmore Leonard, which has been reissued recently by Penguin as part of their short Western Classic series. The book has an unusual protaganist in John Russell (played by Newman in the film). Russell is white, but grew up and lived with Apaches. Despite

I want to see the films Valerio Zurlini wrote but did not direct, but unfortunately only one, GUENDALINA (1957), is available to me with subtitles. Zurlini is a great director. Intense and serious, elegant and stylish, vigorous and mysterious. Although he was an excellent writer he always wrote with collaborators, in that peculiar Italian system […]

NOTE: I'm traveling this week so while I'm gone, please enjoy the first day of fall with this seasonal photo post from half a decade ago.Happy Autumn!In honor of the season, here are a few fall movie magazine covers featuring favorite classic film actresses. Enjoy!Ann Sheridan on Photoplay in November 1943:Jeanne Crain, Photoplay, October 1948:Gene Tierney on Screen Album in 1941:Lana Turner in an October issue of Photoplay:An October issue of Movie Mirror with Olivia de Havilland:Lizabeth…

Poetry in motionSurprised to see Dave Kehr interviewed on Movie Morlocks; was even more surprised to see that Kehr is a fan of Paul Anderson--W.S., not Thomas--and that he loved Resident Evil: Retribution. Did not know Kehr was an Anderson fan. Not a big fan, myself (thought Anderson's Death Race was a mere shadow of Paul Bartel's 1975 satiric original), but did like Soldier, Anderson's science-fiction remake of George Stevens' Shane which, taking its cue from Kurt Russell's expressionless…

When I showed my kids the Road Runner cartoons on DVD years ago, I concluded that the Bat-Man sequence is the funniest 52 seconds of animation ever committed to celluloid. So, like generations of Looney Tunes fans, I was dismayed when Warner Bros. Discovery unceremoniously cancelled a Wile E. Coyote movie in 2023 to write it off against tax. Coyote vs. Acme, a mix of animation and live action along the lines of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, was based on a 1990 New Yorker column by Ian Frazier,…

The Boys in the Boat (2023) is about as feel good as they get these

Some 30 years ago this week, the ultimate Prohibition-era anti-hero hit the screen in Walter “every film I’ve ever done has been a Western” Hill’s Last Man Standing, featuring Bruce Willis as dual-1911-equipped John Smith, passing through the off-map Texas town of Jericho. Twin shoulder holsters, 1911s, three-piece suits, and fedoras should be sold in sets John/Bruce duly becomes caught between two rival bootlegging gangs, Strazi and the Italians vs. Doyle and the Irish. The ensuing 1920s take…

“We become ready only when we have to be.” | Katara, Avatar: The Last Airbender Truth

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

What a horrible cliffhanger from Bravo to leave Below Deck Med season 16 on, especially knowing what we know now about the violence Nathan was convicted of committing.

Set in 1978 Denver, this is one of those movies where the bulk of the effort was put not into scares or the story making sense, but in lovingly recreating 1978 Denver. Young “Albert” Finney is a bullied baseballer schoolkid with a typically drunk/abusive dad (Jeremy Davies of Spanking the Monkey), when all the kids in town start getting abducted by Ethan Hawke, who then grabs Finney. Now the kid has to escape from the basement before he gets murdered. Best part of the movie is Grabber’s mask,…

One of the films I was most interested to see at Cinecon last Labor Day was WOMAN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY (1952).This Republic Pictures film was another real rarity. To my knowledge, it's never had an authorized release for home viewing.Going into the movie "cold," I expected a film with actors like Rod Cameron, Jim Davis, and John Agar to be a Western, but while it had a "Western" setting, WOMAN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY proved to be more of a melodrama, centered around the title character.Ruth Hussey…

An exploration of every facet of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with his parody songs to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle. In classic Weird Al fashion, this movie is totally not a serious biopic, but it does a great job at telling a good story. Filled with good actors in small roles, the cake is taken by Daniel Radcliffe in the role of Weird Al. The writing is also gread, although it’s made to look like a serious movie, it’s actually…

I want to thank everyone for a successful 13th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon. Provided no unforeseen circumstances occur between now and next September, I can guarantee the blogathon will return next September!

Disney have decided to end Daredevil: Born Again after its third season airs in early 2027. The show completed shooting several months ago.Daredevil, starring Charlie Cox as the titular Man Without Fear and Vincent D'Onofrio as his arch-nemesis, Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk, originally aired three seasons on Netflix in 2015, 2016 and 2018, with the character also playing a key role in The Defenders in 2017. With the Netflix-Marvel deal ending in 2020, it was assumed that was it. However, the character…

Lieutenant Troy Brennan’s reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes awry, forcing him to crash-land and survive in Russian wilderness while evading capture or rescue. When an American spyplane crashes in Soviet Russia, an unlikely alliance forms between two unlikely individuals. Ryan Reynolds is naturally funny, while Kenneth Branagh is stellar as always. A light, easy movie set at the end of the 80s that entertains properly. Five popcorns. To see all 15 photos, visit the article page.…

Man there’s so much of this movie that rules, but there’s also so many checkhovs guns that are set up and then politely holstered that I didn’t feel the tension of the setups concluded. The ending truly sucked.

I’ve begun making my way through Alias. This was the show that made Jennifer Garner famous back in 2005. Up until the pilot, she had just done some bit parts in Felicity and Pearl Harbor. The show ran for five seasons and 100+ episodes.Sydney Bristow is a UCLA graduate student recruited by a secret branch of the CIA. I remember the sweries being the classic format of a relatively self-contained episode in service of a larger story. The larger story here is whether the “secret branch” of the CIA…

I love Michael Palin! Like many GenX nerds, Monty Python is deeply embedded in my

There are many reasons why I love David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. One reason on my list is the appearance of David Bowie as Special Agent Phillip Jeffries who suddenly returns to the F.B.I. Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after going missing for two years. Granted, his screen time in the theatrical release is... The post Twin Peaks Publicity – Spelling Films International – Phillip Jeffries Visits FBI Office appeared first on TWIN PEAKS BLOG.

Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally… (1989) Vitals Billy Crystal as Harry Burns, sarcastic political consultant and recent divorcée New York City, Fall 1988 Film: When Harry Met Sally… Release Date: July 14, 1989 Director: Rob Reiner Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Background Rob Reiner’s 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally is often (deservedly) included on lists compiling the greatest fall movies. As tomorrow will be the first day of autumn here, I return to…

Panning for Frontier Gold: Gun Fury, 3:10 to Yuma, The Deadline, and The Lonely ManOften (always?) matters less who directed a western that who wrote it. That applied even to what Ford, Hawks, most famed and associated with the genre, did. I see particular names in credits and know there will be much ahead to like. All movies compel for good story and dialogue, westerns the more so. Or maybe I like them enough to sift continually for sleepers. For sure there are diamonds amidst much that is…

Tonight represents a landmark in the history of televised sports. No, it's not the inaugural season of Monday Night Football; that was last year. It's close, though: for the second season debut, Frank Gifford replaces Keith Jackson as play-by-play announcer, a move that has twin ramifications. In joining Howard Cosell and Don Meredith, Gifford helps form one of the most memorable broadcasting teams in television sports history, one that would earn the praise and ire of millions around the…

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is … Continue reading →

‘Things of tinsel and sawdust,’ Noel Coward’s perspective on acting, on stardom and the demands of the profession remain relevant even 87-years after Present Laughter was written. Revived often by companies in the last decade with two quite different national tours including this Theatre Royal Bath production staring Tracy-Ann Oberman, along with a major and […]

McGoohan as the ambitious Johnny Cousin.William Shakespeare's plays have provided the source material for science fiction films (Forbidden Planet), Westerns (Jubal), musicals (Kiss Me, Kate), and dramas (Ran). One of the most intriguing contemporary updates is All Night Long (1962), which is set against the backdrop of the 1960s London jazz scene.The story unfolds in one evening at a jam party hosted by a wealthy jazz aficionado (Richard Attenborough). Patrick McGoohan stars as Johnny Cousin, a…

1964 war/comedy, dir. Stanley Kubrick, Peter Sellers, George C. Scott: IMDb. After the bombs fall, only three people are left alive… and they can't get on.