Movie Rewind

•A-Ron’s Film Rewind Series takes you back to 1999 for the 20th Anniversary of director David Fincher’s “Fight Club”. Let’s ignore the first two rules of “Fight Club” and let’s talk about it and how this October marks the 20th anniversary of director David Fincher’s brilliant film. I was at the age of 14 when “Fight Club” was released in …

•A-Ron’s Film Rewind Series takes you back in time to 1958, for director John Huston and “The Dukes” best film you’ve never seen, “The Barbarian and the Geisha”.  Director John Huston who is best known as the filmmaker behind four of Humphrey Bogart’s best films: “The Maltese Falcon”, “The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre”, “Key Largo” and “The African Queen”. …

•A-Ron’s Film Rewind Series takes you back to 2008 to look back on one of the best films you’ve never seen. Baz Lurhmann’s “Australia”, a sweeping throwback epic of old Hollywood.  Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann broke out in America with his punk rock take on “William Shakespeare’s: Romeo & Juliet” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. It failed at the …

•A-Ron’s Film Rewind Series takes you back to 1959 for the 60th Anniversary of legendary filmmaker Robert Wise’s heist, noir, thriller drama “Odds Against Tomorrow”.  Robert Wise is a filmmaker of legendary proportions. He has had a fascinating and hugely successful career, unfortunately he isn’t as respected a filmmaker as he deserves. Starting his career off as the film editor …

The marijuana-fueled sequel, “Harold and Kumar Escape From Gunatanamo Bay,” carries on the tradition of late 20th century stoner buddy comedies, starting with Cheech and Chong, up to Bill and Ted (not drug users, but definitely dumb) and Wayne and Garth (whose drug use was presumably off-camera, as there is no way those guys were EVER sober!). Whether you’re against …

My father taught a class on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” and his notes, handouts and worksheets provided me with my initial education on the novel. So did the terrifying and gorgeous illustrations by Greg Hildebrandt, whose work for the 1985 The Unicorn Publishing House edition is forever etched into my imagination. On film, my first Dracula was Frank Langella, who played …

Eddie Murphy was celebrating a serious victory lap when his 1997 vehicle, “Metro,” opened nationwide. After years of films that either under-performed, left his enormous fan base unhappy or deemed him no longer in his element, he made a big comeback with the 1996  “The Nutty Professor.” Over a decade into his film career, Murphy’s multiple performances in, of all …

Of all things, the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” has emerged as one of the most definitively American of comic book heroes. The blend of surfer dude personas, a constant diet of pizza, a passion for martial arts and the spectacle of giant, talking turtles plays simultaneously like a spoof and celebration of American pop culture. The Turtles, with their vigilante …

Bill Kroyer’s 1992 animated feature, “Ferngully: The Last Rainforest,” feels like a direct response to the horrific 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. This occurrence, in which 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled into Alaskan wild life, stands as one of the greatest environmental disasters on record. Images of surviving wild life drenched in black goo or the wild life …

In the similar manner that Peyton Flanders sneaks up on the Bartel family, “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” crept up on moviegoers in early 1992 and firmly insinuated itself into pop culture. How under the radar was this movie? Hollywood Pictures (the Disney label that, like Touchstone Pictures, was intended to distribute adult minded movies) had a national sneak …