When I was compiling my list of cult films for this year’s blindspot series, my way of thinking was “the weirder, the better.” That said, I’ve been purposely holding off on some of the more unusual films for the second half of the line-up. As such, it is only appropriate that my next film to…
Marking the halfway point of my yearlong look at cult films, this month I chose Walter Hill’s 1979 gang thriller The Warriors. The film takes place in a dystopian version of New York City, where street gangs outnumber the police five to one. One night, all the gangs of the city are called together in…
All it took was the animated opening credits and techno score sell me on Tom Tykwer’s 1998 German cult hit Lola Rennt (better known to English audiences as Run Lola Run). The film stars Franka Potente, in a career-making performance, as the titular Lola, who receives a desperate call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). …
We are right around the corner from the Hot Docs Film Festival, so I thought that it would only be appropriate that I choose the classic mockumentary This is Spinal Tap as the latest entry of my “Cult of 2013” blindspot series. The film was directed by Rob Reiner and chronicles the tour of a…
Based on the off-Broadway musical of the same name, Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), a transsexual rock star from East Berlin. Born as Hansel Schmidt, Hedwig underwent a botched sex change operation, which left her with the titular “angry inch.” She eventually meets and falls in love…
The 1950s and the cold war signalled the true rise of the science fiction genre, with the films often being used as metaphors for the fear of nuclear war. One of the most well-known 1950s science fiction film was The Blob, which was one of the earliest film roles for actor Steve McQueen. The film…
Even though I still plan to watch and write about the film I planned for the “Cult of 2013” blindspot series, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write about a film that has seemingly forever held the top spot on my “films that I’m shamed to have never watched” list. That would of course…
Edward D. Wood Jr. is infamous for being the “worst director of all time” and his magnum opus Plan 9 from Outer Space does indeed qualify as a “bad” film. As the narrator Criswell appeared in the opening moments to introduce this tale of grave robbers from the stars, I knew that this film was…
I figured that for my second year doing the blindspot series, I would go for a theme. A few months ago, I purchased the book 101 Cult Movies You Should See Before You Die and I figured that I would choose every film I see this year for the blindspot series from that book. In…
Merry Christmas! Since the timing is right, I thought that I would make my final film of this year’s blindspot series a holiday film. I’ve seen many adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol over the years. However, I am ashamed to say that I never before saw the 1951 film Scrooge, which starred Alastair…
