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A Slight Case of the Turkey Trots
On the surface, there was nothing unusual about last year’s Thanksgiving plans. I was going to be cooking, the family was coming over, and a few friends as well. It should have been old hat to me by this point, just a matter of going through the standard operating procedure. However, I wasn’t feeling it. […]
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Shampoo
Director Hal Ashby’s 1975 film “Shampoo” was the director’s first giant commercial success. Ashby cut his teeth in Hollywood first working as an editor for Norman Jewison—winning an Oscar nomination for his work with the director on 1966’s “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” and an award proper for best editing for 1967’s […]
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Village of the Damned
I wonder what was going on the media zeitgeist in the early 1960s where two prominent works of media focused on creepy children with terrifying powers. In December 1960 MGM released “Village of the Damned” a big screen adaptation of the 1957 John Wyndham novel “The Midwich Cuckoos.” Then in 1961, Rod Serling’s seminal TV […]
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Queen of Outer Cyclops
Those Cinematic Crate Diggers over at Warner Archive have over the last two years been releasing a number of classic B movie gems on blu-ray. Two of their most recent releases of 1950s sci-fi tinged schlock are 1956’s “The Cyclops” and 1958’s masterpiece of camp “Queen of Outer Space.” Both films from studio Allied Artists, […]
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The Beast With Five Fingers
With October here and Halloween on everyone’s minds, I’ve been trying to squeeze in as many seasons movies as I possibly can. Since it’s going to be a rather movie centric month there in Andyland, it’s also going to be a movie centric month in this column, This week I’d like to tell you about […]
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My Man Godfrey
Director Gregory La Cava’s 1936 film “My Man Godfrey” is often, rightfully, heralded as one of the best screwball comedies ever made. If you’ve never seen “My Man Godfrey” you owe it yourself to check it out. The film’s reputation is well deserved. For one thing, the cast is a dream—it was the first movie […]
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A Descent Into First World Madness
Author’s Note: I wrote this piece back during the summer shortly before The Loafer closed, going through my files last week I had forgotten about this one and wanted to share it with you this week. Despite Summer being over, I hope you’ll still find this one amusing. Thanks! ____________________________ It had been a rowdy […]
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A Matter of Life and Death
The collaborative efforts of British filmmakers Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger are some of the most celebrated films ever made. In their homeland, the films the pair made are often considered to be among the finest film to ever come out of Britain. The pair together shared the credits of producer, writer, and director on […]
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2 Stupid Dogs? 2 Stupid Dogs!
The 1990s is considered to be a golden age for TV animation. Spearheaded by the 1992 debut of Nickelodeon’s animation line up, TV cartoons changed. Gone were the shows designed to sell toys, “Transformers,” “GI Joe,” replacing them were a new wave of creator-driven shows that were smart, funny, and all innovative in their own […]
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Back From the Grave
Hello, it’s me. I’ve thought about us for a long, long time. OK, apologies to Todd Rundgren—but hello. How are you? It’s been a while. You look well, you haven’t changed. Is that a new haircut? Looks great on you! Yes, The Loafer was away for a while. It looked like it wasn’t going to […]
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Summer Vacation
My wife and I were sitting around the other night playing a game of Scrabble. Scrabble, has it has been for many years, is our love language. We take it very seriously and our games can sometimes become tense. Scrabble has almost caused us to divorce thrice. This was not one of the occasions when […]
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Female Trouble
Female Trouble What would the world of cinema be without the works of Baltimore’s favorite son, John Waters? From his early works like “Pink Flamingos” to his more popular and mainstream titles “Cry Baby” and “Hairspray”—the latter of which spawned a popular Broadway musical that just had a production done by Johnson City Community Theater—movies […]
