Written by James M. Tate / 12/25/2020 / No comments / action , cult , dana andrews , drive-in , gene kirkwood , george ives , jeanne crain , laurie mock , mimsy farmer , race , road movie , sixties
DANA ANDREWS CRASHES CHRISTMAS FOR 'HOT RODS TO HELL'

Michael Caine in GET CARTER Year: 1971 Rating: ***1/2 "The horns blowing, the lights, the brakes," says a jaded Dana Andrews to wi...
Written by James M. Tate / 12/20/2020 / No comments / bruce humberstone , dana andrews , david white , drama , eddie albert , eleanor parker , howard st. john , jeanne crain , kathleen freeman , romance , sixties , wall street
DANA ANDREWS & JEANNE CRAIN RETURN FOR 'MADISON AVENUE'

Dana Andrews & Jeanne Crain in Madison Avenue Year: 1961 Based on the novel The Build-Up Boys, Dana Andrews is similar to a resilient, ...
Written by James M. Tate / 12/19/2020 / No comments / action , crime , escape , fabio testi , italian , oliver reed , seventies , teamup , thriller , wrong man
OLIVER REED DOES ITALIAN CRIME IN 'REVOLVER' W/ FABIO TESTI

Oliver Reed in Revolver Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2 A promising, clever premise of a government official, played by the genuinely tough Oliver...
Written by James M. Tate / 12/18/2020 / No comments / 2021 , arsenio hall , comedy , eddie murphy , john amos , new , sequel , shari headley
EDDIE MURPHY 'COMING 2 AMERICA' (BACKPOSTED FROM 3/5/2021)

COMING 2 AMERICA Year: 2021 Rating: *1/2 The original COMING TO AMERICA was no accident. It took experienced filmmaker John Landis to pull o...
Written by James M. Tate / 12/09/2020 / No comments / action , beach , deborah shelton , eighties , exploitation , horror , james earl jones , jaws-clone , jose ferrer , lydia cornell , martin kove , mary-louise weller , thriller
UNEARTHING 'BLOODTIDE' AKA 'DEMON ISLAND' AKA 'BLOOD TIDE'

Title: BLOODTIDE Year: 1982 Rating: ***1/2 New marrieds Martin Kove and Mary-Louise Weller visit a Greek island to find his missing sister ...
Written by James M. Tate / 12/07/2020 / No comments / e.g. marshall , espionage , history , japanese , jason robards , martin balsam , richard fleischer , seventies , war , wesley addy , world war II
DECEMBER 7TH POST OF RICHARD FLEISCHER'S 'TORA! TORA! TORA!'

Title: Tora! Tora! Tora! Year: 1970 Rating: **** American director/producer Richard Fleischer mans only half of TORA! TORA! TORA! centering ...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/23/2020 / No comments / cult , donald sutherland , exploitation , hilary mason , horror , julie christie , massimo serato , mystery , nicolas roeg , renato scarpa , seventies
DONALD SUTHERLAND & JULIE CHRISTIE IN 'DON'T LOOK NOW'

Julie Christie in Don't Look Now 1973 Rates: ***12 Never let your young daughter play outside, around water, and if she plays with dolls...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/15/2020 / No comments / ben cross , dan curtis , franchise , horror , joanna going , joseph gordon-levitt , nineties , roy thinnes , TV , vampire
JOANNA GOING AND REBECCA STAAB IN A NEWER 'DARK SHADOWS'

Joanna Going in Dark Shadows Year: 1991 Rating: ***1/2 Dan Curtis turned his daytime soap DARK SHADOWS into a nighttime soap/miniseries that...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/14/2020 / No comments / anton diffring , body count , british , circus , donald pleasence , erika remberg , exploitation , horror , sixties , thriller , yvonne romain
ANTON DIFFRING WITH ERIKA REMBERG IN 'CIRCUS OF HORRORS'

title: Circus of Horrors Year: 1960 rating: **** Anton Diffring's England-exiled German plastic surgeon character Dr. Schuler is really ...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/10/2020 / No comments / bette davis , exploitation , haunted house , horror , seventies , sian barbara allen , ted bessell , tovah feldshuh , tv movie
SIAN BARBARA ALLEN IN THE TV-HORROR 'SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY'

Sian Barbara Allen & Ted Bessell Year: 1973 Rates: ***1/2 Sian Barbara Allen is one of those artsy-looking actresses that could only der...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/09/2020 / No comments / adrienne barbeau , eighties , george buck flower , ghost ship , horror , james canning , jamie lee curtis , janet leigh , john carpenter , john houseman , nancy loomis , thriller , tom atkins
JOHN CARPENTER'S UNDERRATED GHOST STORY OF 'THE FOG'

The Fog autographed DVD Year: 1980 Depending how you look at it, John Carpenter's THE FOG is a zombie flick since the titular weather-pa...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/08/2020 / No comments / bert i. gordon , cult , exploitation , fifties , horror , john agar , john hoyt , june kenney , ken miller , science-fiction
JOHN AGAR AND JUNE KENNEY IN 'ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE'

Attack of the Puppet People Year: 1958 Rates: **** A better-suited title for ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE would be A CASE OF DOLLS, and liter...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/07/2020 / No comments / action , gene nelson , jerry summers , joanna barnes , kent taylor , maury dexter , russ bender , western
MAURY DEXTER WESTERN 'THE PURPLE HILLS' WITH KENT TAYLOR

The Purple Hills Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2 Another Maury Dexter Western following WALK TALL that Kent Taylor played a character that tries c...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/06/2020 / No comments / alan arkin , alex rocco , comedy , drama , exploitation , harry dean stanton , mackenzie phillips , road movie , sally kellerman , seventies
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS DRIVES 'RAFFERTY AND THE GOLD DUST TWINS'

Charles Martin Smith & Mack Phillips Year: 1975 Rates: ***1/2 Combine the personalities of Sally Kellerman and Mackenzie Phillips... one...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/04/2020 / No comments / action , ben johnson , cop , crime , eighties , eli wallach , kathryn harrold , steve mcqueen , tribute
STEVE MCQUEEN'S FINAL LIFETIME BOUNTY FOR 'THE HUNTER'

Debbie Miller & Steve McQueen Year: 1980 Rates: ***1/2 Steve McQueen began his career as a bounty hunter on television's WANTED: DEA...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/03/2020 / No comments / action , al bright , al lettieri , ali macgraw , ben johnson , bo hopkins , crime , exploitation , heist , modern western , road movie , sally struthers , sam peckinpah , steve mcqueen
STEVE MCQUEEN LITERALLY STEALS SAM PECKINPAH'S 'THE GETAWAY'

Ali McGraw & Steve McQueen Year: 1972 Rating: **** The machine-pounding prologue/montage of Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY embodies cag...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/02/2020 / No comments / action , classic , cop , crime , cult , don gordon , peter yates , robert vaughn , simon oakland , sixties , steve mcqueen , thriller
PETER YATES GIVES MORE THAN CHASE IN THE CLASSIC 'BULLITT'

Steve McQueen as BULLITT Year: 1968 Rating: ****1/2 The iconic car chase is the only thing that seems to matter in BULLITT, and not just for...
Written by James M. Tate / 11/01/2020 / No comments / alex rocco , crime , heist , neo noir , peter boyle , peter yates , richard jordan , robert mitchum , seventies , steven keats
PETER YATES DIRECTS A SLOWBURN 'THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE'

Steven Keats in EDDIE COYLE Year: 1973 Rates: ****1/2 The miracle of Peter Yates's Crime Thriller THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE is how inte...
PETER YATES STAGED THIS 'ROBBERY' BEFORE TAKING A BULLITT

ROBBERY Year: 1967 Rating: **** Best known as the little obscure crime film that gave English director Peter Yates his big game-changing opp...
Written by James M. Tate / 10/31/2020 / No comments / arnold schwarzenegger , crime , cult , david arkin , elliott gould , gumshoe , mark rydell , mystery , neo noir , robert altman , seventies , thriller
ELLIOTT GOULD & STERLING HAYDEN DRINK TO 'THE LONG GOODBYE'

Sterling Hayden as Roger Wade Year: 1973 Rating: ***** Although Sterling Hayden's semi-senile has-been writer never says anything as cra...
SEAN CONNERY IN JOHN BOORMAN'S EXPERIMENTAL 'ZARDOZ'

Sean Connery as Zed in ZARDOZ Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2 After scoring big with DELIVERANCE, adventurous and intrepid director John Boorman w...
Written by James M. Tate / 10/30/2020 / No comments / action , adventure , everette sloane , film noir or melodrama , forties , glenn anders , orson welles , rita hayworth , ted decorsia , thriller
ORSON WELLES DIRECTS AND STARS IN 'THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI'

Title: The Lady From Shanghai Year: 1947 Rating: ***1/2 THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI is famous for the ending, but there are some worthy middle p...
Written by James M. Tate / 10/29/2020 / No comments / ann lynn , british new wave , comedy , david hemmings , drama , ensemble , jane merrow , john alderton , melodrama , michael winner , oliver reed , sixties
OLIVER REED TINKERS WITH MICHAEL WINNER'S 'THE SYSTEM'

Title: The System Year: 1964 Rates: ****1/2 THE GIRL-GETTERS is really THE SYSTEM as the other title makes little sense — although the Briti...
Written by James M. Tate / 10/26/2020 / No comments / action , body count , crime , don siegel , drugs , eli wallach , fifties , film noir or melodrama , richard jaekal , robert keith , TV adaptation
DON SIEGEL'S THEATRICAL 'THE LINEUP' STARRING ELI WALLACH

Eli Wallach and Robert Baily Year: 1958 Rating: ****1/2 Brazen and bizarre crime flick beginning with a police investigation of what turns o...
Written by James M. Tate / 10/17/2020 / No comments / 3D , adventure , fifties , melodrama , rhonda fleming , robert ryan , survival , thriller , tribute , william lundigan
QUEEN OF TECHNICOLOR RHONDA FLEMING GOES 3D FOR 'INFERNO'

Poster for Ronda Fleming INFERNO Year: 1953 Rating: *** Robert Ryan could be difficult to root for since he played contentedly bitter types ...