Brian VanHooker for Polygon: An oral history of The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Netflix’s quirky sci-fi masterpiece. I don’t know how long an article needs to be or how many people need to be involved for it to qualify as an oral history, but this ain’t it. Still, it is about one of our family’s favorite movies so I felt obligated to link. For sampling of a true “oral history”, check out The Ringer. Nick Schaden: Discs versus digital: A buyer’s guide. Discs, of course, which are no less digital…

Universal Pictures on YouTube: Christopher Nolan’s next film, The Odyssey, is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX® film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX® film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026. Okay, so — from the first teasers, the little bit of IMAX preview footage, and well, that it’s from Christopher Nolan, I was sold. But…this really looks incredible. We knew the cast was stacked, we knew…

People are listing their top ten science fiction films to "celebrate" Star Wars Day. I "celebrated" Star Wars Day in my own way yesterday, but here's my list anyway. I'm discounting superhero films in general, although some of them certainly count as science fiction; I was very close to just sticking Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel in anyway. Ghostbusters also was very close to making it

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

My newest Western RoundUp column has been posted at Classic Movie Hub.In this month's column I share one of my periodic tributes to Western filmmakers via visits to their final resting places.Please click over to Classic Movie Hub to read the column, which includes a number of photographs, and many thanks for reading!Previous Classic Movie Hub Western RoundUp Column Links: June 2018; July 2018; August 2018; September 2018; October 2018; November 2018; December 2018; January 2019; February 2019;…

The Lombard invasion of Venetia in 568 — from "Historia Langobardorum" by Paul the Deacon.

Today’s recording is Mythbusters – Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercing. One myth today is whether a body piercing like a tongue piercing would make it more likely for you to be struck by lightning. In aid of this, Adam gets a tongue piercing. They have to test using ballistic gel heads, and a lightning generator. The next myth is whether it’s possible to make a cannon out of a tree trunk. They consult a cannon expert, who sets off cannons in his front garden. He must be popular with neighbours.…

I watched as time ticked away – eight, seven, six. At the five second mark, I placed my bid on Ebay. It was a whopping $4,247 for the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me script containing Script Supervisor Cori Glazer’s handwritten notes from 1991. When I saw the item posted by Studio David Lynch several days... The post Call For Help: Seeking Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Script with Script Supervisor Notes appeared first on TWIN PEAKS BLOG.

It’s been decades since I Iast watched this film so, in a nostalgic mood, I watched it again recently. So many problems… I’ve always had mixed feelings about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the 1968 fantasy-musical film, improbably made by the folks who made James Bond films. Perhaps not that improbably, since Ian Fleming created the both iconic spy and the titular car of the children’s adventure story, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car. And both feature capers and gadget-enabled cars. Fleming…

A new book is out.Lost: Amelia Earhart’s Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Lifeby Rachel HartiganI found this review of the Hartigan book fascinating for reasons that apply to Earhart, but also to hundreds of “mystery” topics. It remarks on the speculation and searches that have been going on for decades that are fueled by the “chatter-driven, nonfactual celebrity culture”. It cites how “social media turned speculation into a participatory sport” – what I call “mass opinionation”…

Tonight's Dick Van Dyke episode was originally scheduled to air on March 16, but was preempted by CBS News's coverage of the emergency splashdown of Gemini VIII. (In case you don't know all the details about the emergency that caused the early splashdown, you can read about it at the always-reliable Wikipedia.) It wasn't just a case of playing it safe; I remember watching this live, and there was a real question as to whether or not the astronauts would be OK. Predictably enough, there were…

In a famous episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Darmok” — an episode I previously wrote about here — Captain Picard finds himself trying to communicate with Dathon, the captain of an alien vessel whose mental framework is incomprehensible to that of Picard and, indeed, the entire Federation. Dathon’s people communicate solely through allusion to their inheritance of story. They say things like “Shaka, when the walls fell” or “Temba, his arms wide” with the expectation that the people…

It’s like one of those Sunday movies that leave you with a warm and cozy feeling inside. I like that they brought back a lot of references from the prequel, but without feeling forced.

A side effect of watching Damian Mc Carthy’s first three feature films back to back — Caveat, Oddity, and now Hokum — is that it makes it all but impossible to avoid seeing recurring ideas and patterns. That’s not entirely a good thing. Not every artist’s work is intended to be taken as a companion set, and it’s reductive to keep expecting them to iterate on the same thing over and over again. But in this case, it’s turned me into a big fan of Mc Carthy. He’s already one of my favorite…

The parade of cameos and guests on the final season of HBO Max's Hacks included Phil Keoghan, Amazing Race co-creator Elise Doginieri, and the actual TAR camera operators. And it was perfect!

To warm up my idea muscles and celebrate May 4th, here’s why Star Wars is the best saga: #1. A proven story. A constant fight between good and evil, light and darkness, bright side and dark side. We see that in almost all religions. #2. Full of action, alien species, locations, futuristic weapons. You’d never imagine how diverse life is in a galaxy far, far away. 3. A story for all family members. It’s a war saga, but no matter the battles, treason, and plots, there’s no blood or sex on screen.…

The audacious, hilarious, delightful and exciting Trouble In Paradise was a huge hit with audiences and critics upon its release in 1932. Unfortunately its mature treatment of sex, relationships, and unrepentant – as well as unpunished- criminal activity didn’t half make the bores and prudes at the Hays Office(the censors)clutch their pearls and reach in unison for the smelling salts. In 1934, killjoy -in- chief, Joseph L. Breen, assumed position as head of the now enforceable Motion Picture…

The Great Film.

Gregory Peck with Sophia Loren on the set of Arabesque (1966) Vitals Gregory Peck as David Pollock, American hieroglyphics professor London, June 1965 Film: Arabesque Release Date: May 5, 1966 Director: Stanley Donen Tailor: H. Huntsman & Sons, London WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Background The stylish espionage-themed romantic comedy thriller Arabesque was released sixty years ago tomorrow on May 5, 1966. Producer and director Stanley Donen had hoped to replicate Charade‘s success with Cary Grant…

During the Summer of 1990, television viewers and reporters descended on Snoqualmie Valley, Washington in search of damn fine coffee, cherry pie and the locations where Mark Frost and David Lynch filmed their groundbreaking series Twin Peaks. St. Louis-born Eric Mink from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was one of those reporters who penned this trip report... The post Eric Mink’s ‘Tracking Down the Twin Peaks Mystique’ from Sept. 30, 1990 appeared first on TWIN PEAKS BLOG.

The Almeida Young Company have really gone from strength to strength, and in a period in which Rupert Goold’s 13-year tenure is being celebrated ahead of his departure from the venue, it is likely that the brilliant Young Company performances in response to main house shows might be overlooked given they usually run for only […]

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 →

We love classic cinema throughout the year, but Saturday, May 16th, is a special opportunity to share that love with others. It's the 12th annual National Classic Movie Day! Here are 12 ways that you can celebrate this wonderful day:Host a Watch Party: Gather friends or family to watch a favorite classic film. You can make it special by creating a "theatrical" atmosphere with dim lighting, cozy seating, and classic snacks like buttered popcorn and candy. You could even encourage guests to dress…

The embellishment of memories is a widespread phenomenon. Sometimes, the distortion of memory goes beyond embellishment and becomes fabrication: false memories are common, and they can be easily induced. Simply put, memory is prone to distortion. Research shows that human memory is constructive (or reconstructive) rather than purely reproductive; we fill in gaps in memory… The post How Much Do We Embellish Our Memories of Psychedelic Trips? appeared first on Sam Woolfe.

On February 1st, 2021, we learned that the musician Sophie had died the night before, a simple slip and fall. The news hit everyone I know like a shockwave. In part this is because Sophie was a trailblazing trans musician. Her sound is harsh, synthetic, and bright; with the exception of the human voice, every sound is constructed from thin air, yet reminiscent of some industrial bubbling or banging noise. Seeing how much influence she had on her successors, it's hard not to feel that she should…

I recently watched the 2023 movie Anatomy of a Fall. I thought it was an excellent mystery / crime drama show, and really enjoyed the great acting and intense plot. If you like slow burn movies with lots of cerebral tension then I suggest you give this one a try. Anatomy of a Fall came out in 2024, and I remember seeing the trailer in a theatre, which made me want to watch the whole show. I hadn't gotten around to seeing it yet, but when I saw Project Hail Mary last month, with Sandra Hüller's…

Hollywood Homicide (2003)

My favorite Icelandic musical twins, Jófríður and Ásthildur Ákadóttir, have made the big time, being featured on the PBS show Great Performances, shown above with host Scott Yoo performing in a turf house.The show is beautifully shot, in addition to the musical segments there is lots of Icelandic scenery and culture—it could have easily been two hours, or four, or even a miniseries!

Michael: “As a popcorn musical, “Michael” is an undeniable Thriller. As a work of biography, however, it’s Bad — and quite possibly Dangerous.” — Oscar Goff, Cambridge Day Animal Farm: “Some adaptations, it seems, are far less equal than others.” — Liz Declan, Screen Rant Super Mario Galaxy II: “We all have a finite amount of time on this Earth, and I cannot think of a single reason why you should spend any of yours on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” — Kristy Puchko, Mashable Lee Cronin’s The…

Today’s only recording is Mythbusters – Buried Alive. The first myth looks at the stories of people who have apparently been buried alive. One part of this involves Jamie being buried in a coffin (with a lot of monitoring). As it’s being covered in earth it gets quite scary when he can hear the exterior of the coffin buckling, so they have to get him out. Another myth they test is the efficacy of Cola for cleaning lots of things. Can you survive a fall from a great height into water if you…