Poison Ivy

If you were alive but below the drinking age in the 80's, this one's for you. And if you weren't, this one is still for you. Poison Ivy is the quintessential 80's TV teen movie- a ridiculous, groan-inducing yet ironically fascinating window into what Hollywood believed America represented during the Reagan years: sex, sex, money, …

Pathogen

Professionally-made films can be amazing, breathtaking works of art, or they can be boring, plodding disasters you regret every second of. Amateur films, on the other hand, are always interesting, even when (and usually because) they are terrible. B-Movie icon Ed Wood's films are still compelling today not because they're bad, but because they're bad …

Will Eisner – Profession: Cartoonist

Hopefully, you are aware that there's a lot more to comic books than Spiderman and Batman. But if you don't, consider yourself lucky- there's an entire world of art out there ready for you to explore. American Comics may still be linked with caped crusaders in the minds of many, but around the world, the …

Tord och Tord / Simhall (Bathhouse)

It's exciting when you discover a new filmmaker that has a truly fresh take on the world we live in, mostly because it doesn't happen that often- the older you get, the harder it is to be impressed by anything. Which is why Swedish animator Niki Lindroth von Bahr is such a delight- her short …

Small Town Girl

Screwball comedies officially began in 1934 with the advent of the Hayes Code- a self-censoring list of things movies could not show, as a response to the rapid increase of both sex and violence in Hollywood (and the big public outcry that came as a result.) Not being able to talk about sex maturely, filmmakers …

Enter Laughing

Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans might be the latest in a long legacy of artists making thinly-veiled autobio pics about their humble beginnings, but it's worth noting the great works that came before (and are mostly forgotten.) First and foremost is the late, great Carl Reiner's debut feature comedy, Enter Laughing- a sweet and hilarious look …

Nothing Lasts Forever

Saturday Night Live, for all of the hours of comedy it has given Americans since the 1970's, has very little to show for itself beyond overdone sketches with one-note jokes belabored to death by rotating casts of "up and coming" comics who may or may not go on to have big careers. But one thing …

Les Oiseaux de Passage (Birds of Passage)

It's not often you find a great film that is truly meant for all ages and works; most kids' films these days are a formulaic combination of a dumbed-down plot (the assumption being that kids can't handle anything more complex) and a tacked-on moral about believing in yourself, with a bunch of pop-culture references to …

Who Wants To Kill Jessie?

For all the billions of dollars poured into it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't have much to show other than a bunch of bloated CGI effects and really dumb plots and twists stuffed into a 2 hour movie. Which is why it's so refreshing to go back in time to 1966, the year Adam West …

Muppet Guys Talking

The art of puppeteering is a strange one, requiring a unique set of skills. To be great, you're part introvert (hiding from the world behind the mask of your puppet,) part extrovert (letting out your inner crazy via said puppet,) part skilled mechanic (navigating the physics of foam and fur to create the illusion of …