Schlock-Optic
STREETWALKIN’: A Neon-Sleaze Gem Sparkling In The Concorde Twilight
Feb 6th
In the 1970’s, Roger Corman brought a hipness to b-movies by training young filmmakers to deliver the goods while bringing their own thematic concerns into the mix: Jonathan Demme and John Sayles are just two examples of successful filmmakers who got their start doing exciting yet socially conscious b-movies for Corman. Things changed in the More >
AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE: Through The Sleaze-Cinema Past, (A Little Too) Briskly
Feb 3rd
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez didn’t succeed in making a box-office hit with their b-movie tribute Grindhouse but they did succeed in making the term “grindhouse” a buzz word amongst cult movie aficionados. It even established a certain level of awareness with the multiplex moviegoing crowd and became a handy marketing term for businesses trying More >
Digi-Schlock: MONSIGNOR (Shout! Factory DVD)
Feb 2nd
You have to give Shout! Factory credit: when they took on 20th Century Fox’s back catalog, they didn’t hesitate to dig out the obscurities. Lesser-known films like 99 And 44/100% Dead and The Last Hard Men have been exhumed for a new generation of cult movie types. Monsignor is another noteworthy entry in this lineup More >
MONSIGNOR: From Superman To Soap Opera Sinner
Jan 30th
Christopher Reeve achieved instant international stardom with his performance in Superman but that stardom came with a cost: namely, he’d forever have trouble stepping out of the shadow of that iconic role to do other work. Despite some strong performances outside his Superman role — Somewhere In Time and Deathtrap, for instance — he was More >
Digi-Schlock: LETHAL LADIES COLLECTION VOL. 2 (Shout! Factory 2-DVD Set)
Jan 27th
By this point, it seems like Shout Factory has covered most of the key gems in their dvd/blu-ray tour through Roger Corman’s New World Pictures filmography. Key films like Death Race 2000, Piranha and Battle Beyond The Stars have all been treated to deluxe editions that offer newly stellar picture quality and a host of More >
THE ARENA: Swords & Sandals, Drive-In Feminist Style
Jan 26th
One of the great things about producer Roger Corman was that he was willing to let women tackle the kind of cinematic fare that was usually left to men. Part of it was commercial calculation: he knew that women were underrepresented in genre fare and that both women and men would get a charge from More >
FLY ME: The Head-Spinning Thrill Of Devil-May-Care Schlock
Jan 25th
One of the magical experiences in schlock filmmaking is seeing a throwaway film that catches you off-guard with its sense of adventure. Even if a film is ground out purely for profit motives, it can be exhilarating if the right blends of energy, guttersnipe invention and likeable cast members are involved. Fly Me is a More >
Digi-Schlock: SKY RIDERS/THE LAST HARD MEN (Shout! Factory DVD)
Jan 19th
At a time when most major studios are either phasing out catalog title releases or just shunting them off to new DVD-R divisions, it’s nice to see some companies are still willing to give the collector their due with real, pressed discs of vintage material. Shout Factory is one of those companies and their line More >
THE LAST HARD MEN: The Angry Autumn Of The Hollywood Western
Jan 17th
If you look at the western as a genre that explicitly comments on America then its 1970’s period is fascinating. It was an era when American society was at its most turbulent and unpredictable on multiple levels. During this time, a new breed of moviegoer arose that demanded more from Hollywood than the light escapism More >
SKY RIDERS: Return To The Era Of The Mature Tough Guy
Jan 16th
Believe it or not, there was a time when a leading man could be pushing AARP age and still get prime roles in commercial genre films. In contrast to the youth-driven mania of today’s Hollywood casting, it was actually considered cool to have older stars in your action films. Their presence could lend a gravitas More >
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