Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

From Spotlight on Science Fiction, published 2022

Without the title card, the beginning of Panic in Year Zero! could be mistaken for a family road trip comedy. It has a hip jazz score by Les Baxter and features a long-married couple who tease and flirt with each other while their teenage kids complain about being stuck in the car all day.

But as they leave Los Angeles and head to their mountain camping spot, they see a blinding flash of light. Then another. Then a mushroom cloud over the city.

The groovy music sticks around. The happy family doesn’t.

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June 4, 2022 0

Before the Living Dead: Zombie Cinema Pre-Romero

From We Belong Dead, Issue 24, published 2021

Ask anyone to define “zombie” and you’ll probably get the same answer: A dead person, reanimated, hungry for human flesh. After more than 50 years of pop culture saturation, it’s hard to imagine another response. Such is the influence of George A. Romero’s 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead.

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March 4, 2021 0

Midsommar (2019)

From Spotlight on Horror: Classics of the Cinefantastique, published 2020

Find on Just Watch

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January 18, 2021 0

A decent crowd-pleaser made the Oscar cut a couple of years ago…

January 13, 2020 0

In which I advocate for a sci-fi Best Picture

January 13, 2020 0

Another one to look for

This terrific documentary has a regional connection for KC readers, but it’s pretty universal.

December 16, 2019 0

The Ghosts of Favorites Past

Since I’m only seeing movies when/if I want to now, I’m not feeling qualified to pick a Top Ten this year. Instead, I’m going to fill in my review archives with some choices from previous years. First up is a great noir from J.C. Chandor that didn’t get nearly enough attention when it came out in 2014 (locally in 2015).

December 16, 2019 0

Long Live the People’s Film Department

From 1989-1993, I was part of a ragtag collective of aspiring artists who worked under the guidance of Adolfas Mekas, Peter Hutton, and John Pruitt. We were the People’s Film Department of Bard College, and they were our id, ego, and superego. Or, as my nerd friends and I called them, the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

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