The smoke alarm sounded while I was in the shower. I continued lathering, but the alarm was still alarmed thirty seconds later. … [read more]

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

Don’t let the schlock-sounding title fool you into thinking this is schlock. Maybe that’s what fooled me, and kept this movie from my eyeballs or even my awareness in the 61 years since it was made, but believe it or not, The Day the Earth Caught Fire is worth watching. … [read more]

Why would a family of eight — momma, poppa, and six kids ranging from two to twelve — have a picnic where the sidewalk meets the parking lot of a Dollar Store? … [read more]

Avalanche (1977)

With their careers sliding downhill, Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow probably didn’t have many offers, so they made Avalanche for low-budget impresario Roger Corman. … [read more]

The bathroom door was open, and that’s how we know when the bathroom is empty. But wait, the light and fan were on, and they’re never on unless someone’s in the bathroom. … [read more]

Cat People (1942)

Dame and Dude meet at the zoo, and she invites him to tea. She shows him her freaky statue of King John of Serbia stabbing a cat, but explains that the cat getting stabbed isn’t really a cat; it’s supposed to symbolize her village’s evil past. … [read more]

A Hispanic woman got onto the bus, and she was pushing a stroller with a baby in it. … [read more]

Badlands (1973)

This is the slow-burn twisted love story of a teen girl who falls for an older boy she shouldn’t. … [read more]

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

This is a John Carpenter movie, so before hitting ‘play’, I’m gonna get some John Carpenter gripes off my chest. … [read more]