Clinging to physical media for movie collecting has become an increasingly difficult prospect in this age of plentiful and convenient video streaming. First and foremost, the very idea of collecting movies for permanent ownership has fallen out of favor with the general public. Even for those of us hardliners who refuse to give up our… Read More First Impressions of a Second 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Similarly to how the film’s lead character returns to the same events over and over, the 1995 sci-fi thriller 12 Monkeys represents filmmaker Terry Gilliam circling back on his own career in a few notable ways. Firstly, and most obviously, it’s another time travel story, familiar in theme to (if very different in tone from)… Read More Science Ain’t an Exact Science | 12 Monkeys (1995) 4K Ultra HD
I thought I’d have a slam dunk watching the original 1982 Tron with my son Thomas for the Film at 11 podcast this week. The kid plays frisbee and loves video games, so how could he not like a movie that combines the two things? I probably should have guessed that wouldn’t go over as… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 37 | Tron (1982)
The choice of movie to watch with my son for the Film at 11 podcast came right down to the wire this week. This is another Halloween-themed episode, and until just about two minutes before recording, I was all set to run with the original 1982 Poltergeist. Those plans shifted when I decided that Thomas… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 35 | Hellboy (2004)
“We all sell out every day. Might as well be on the winning team,” says a character in John Carpenter’s They Live, a movie originally sold as a sci-fi/horror flick but that has become more famous over time for its blunt political satire. Originally produced at the height of the Reaganomics era, the film’s messaging… Read More Obey, Consume, Conform | They Live (1988)
What happens when you ask an 11-year-old who knows absolutely nothing about Star Trek – who’s never seen a single TV episode, much less any of the movies – to jump directly into Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? A little confusion is expected, but my son Thomas kept up with the film well… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 31 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
For this week’s edition of the Film at 11 podcast, I not only introduce one of my sons to Apollo 13 as the movie celebrates its 30th anniversary, I also force myself to rewatch and re-evaluate a picture I think I judged unnecessarily harshly in the past. I’ve long found myself out of step with… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 30 | Apollo 13 (1995)
Despite its PG rating (PG-13 didn’t exist at the time) and 50-year age, Jaws may not be an appropriate movie for an 11-year-old viewer, no matter how smart and otherwise mature he or she may be. That’s a big takeaway I got from this week’s Film at 11 podcast viewing with my son. Perhaps that… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 26 | Jaws (1975)
Ghostbusters II has one truly inspired, nearly iconic line of dialogue, when Dan Aykroyd’s character Ray refers to a bunch of bratty kids at a birthday party as “ungrateful little yuppie larvae.” I love that phrase and think of it often whenever I’m harassed by too many annoying children. (Ironically, most of the kids in… Read More Everything You’re Doing Is Bad | Ghostbusters II (1989) 4K Ultra HD
I saw Ghostbusters in the theater when I was ten-years-old in the summer of 1984. I loved the movie while watching it, but had some scary dreams afterward about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Yes, of all the ghosts and demons and other monsters in that picture, it was the cuddly-looking product mascot with a… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 24 | Ghostbusters (1984)
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