Shaken, Not Stirred takes a (brief) look at the James Bond canon from Eon Productions. Twice a month, Chris and Jon share their impressions of each film, both on its own terms and in terms of the cultural landscape as well as the genre it helped to create, not to mention its intersection in the... Continue Reading →
Hooptober X #3: Sputnik
The 2020 Russian film Sputnik starts off in a manner familiar to anyone who has watched a movie in a post-Alien world. Two cosmonauts in 1984 sit in a capsule ready to return home to the Soviet Union. They talk about what they’re going to do once they land. As they begin their descent, the... Continue Reading →
Hooptober 10.0 – Night of the Comet (1984)
Being Film #1 for Hooptober 2023 Sometimes suspending your disbelief can be a chore, but sometimes - if the tone is just ridiculous enough - it can be a delight. There was a lot to suspend in Night of the Comet, a sci-fi horror comedy that's more "Valley Girl survives the Apocalypse" than anything else,... Continue Reading →
Revisiting E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
A few disclaimers before I get into this. First, I am 8 days older than Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Second, my first memories of seeing a movie are my dad taking me to see this probably during the 85 rerelease. Third, I am of the generation whose parents, when they needed 2 hours to themselves, would plop us in front of the tv and put this in the VCR. This is a a film that I have very vivid memories of seeing. This is a film whose scenes and beats that I know intimately. It’s a film that I feel a connection to on some level.
