I described "Conan the Destroyer" as PG-for-1984, well, "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" is rated G-for-1973, so Caroline Munro's wardrobe is barely there and Tom Baker's evil wizard draws blood from his arm to make liberal use of "the demons of darkness." John Phillip Law, of "Barbarella" and "Danger: Diabolik" fame, stars as the titular sailor, and he certainly looks the part of a matinee idol, but the real star here is Ray Harryhausen's dynamite stop-motion animation. I was particularly…
Favorite films
Recent activity
AllRecent reviews
More-
-
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022
I'll never say a bad word about Sam Raimi—the filmmaker grew up not far from me and he's the definition of "Michigan boy made good"—but if you had told me that Scott Derrickson had directed this film, I would believe you. I also can't imagine a multiverse in which it's possible for me to still give a shit about the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think introducing a bunch of fan favorite characters and then killing them…
Popular reviews
More-
Cat People 1942
"But I love silence. I love loneliness. And they—they are in me. Their strength, warmth. They're soft, they're soft." A Jungian fever dream of life in the urban jungle. Pop psychology, sexual repression, and marital regrets stir in the film that kicked off Val Lewton's string of RKO greats. Might be the most effective use of light, shadow, and fog in the history of its genre. The Criterion Blu-ray looks incredible.
-
DragonHeart 1996
Whew, boy! I wanted to rate this one on a curve because, outside of the 80's fantasy boom, the fantasy genre has always been underserved by Hollywood, particularly during the 90's, when studios just didn't know what to do with the material—hence "Dragonheart," ostensibly a PG-13 action film featuring a fire-breathing dragon. Only, the movie feels aimed at the littlest ones in the audience, with a campy tone and slapstick humor (maybe "The Fast and Furious" director Rob Cohen is…
