Burt Kennedy directed this workmanlike adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic novel. It sure does take its sweet time getting going, but it does gather a modicum of steam as it reaches its inevitably downbeat conclusion. While Michael Winterbottom’s recent remake captured the essence of the novel better, Stacy Keach embodied the spirit of its ( Read more... )

Kong: Skull Island is the best Vietnam Allegory by way of a Giant Monster Movie I’ve ever seen. At first, the idea of putting King Kong into what essentially is a war movie seems a bit odd. However, it makes perfect sense if you think about it. Instead of fighting the Cong, our soldiers are fighting KONG ( Read more... )

Of all the mondo movies released in the wake of Faces of Death, this is probably the best. It’s more in your face than Faces of Death, but it somehow feels less exploitative, if that makes any sense (probably because none of the sequences are fakes). There’s an unapologetic cynicism that runs throughout the picture that is unrelenting. You’ll ( Read more... )

Kook’s Tour was originally intended as a television special starring The Three Stooges. Unfortunately, Larry suffered a stroke and the film was instead shopped to collectors in the early days of consumer video. While it’s fun to see The Stooges in their final film together, it’s more of a curiosity item than a must-see. Even die-hard Stooges fans ( Read more... )

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AFTER DARK, MY SWEET (1990) *** ½

Collie (Jason Patric) is a punchy ex-boxer who is drifting through life. One afternoon, he goes into a bar and his constant rambling irritates the bartender. When he gets fresh with Collie, he knocks the bartender’s lights out and takes off. One of the barflies, a lonely lush widow named Fay (Rachel Ward), ( Read more... )

Jesse James (Audie Murphy), his brother Frank (Richard Long), The Younger Brothers (James Best and Dewey Martin), and Kit Dalton (Tony Curtis) go down south to join up with Colonel William Quantrill (Brian Donlevy) and his army of raiders during The Civil War. They already have a way with robbing a bank, so they figure they can make a killing by ( Read more... )

Kubo is a small boy who is on a quest to find his father’s suit of armor. He is pursued by his sinister aunts and evil grandfather, who have murdered his parents and plucked out one of his eyes. Kubo is a hard kid to keep down though. Protected by a talking monkey and a beetle samurai, Kubo begins to perfect his living origami technique (which ( Read more... )

A few years back, Michael Dougherty directed the cult classic Trick ‘R Treat, one of the more fun Halloween-themed horror films in recent memory. Because of that, the prospect of him directing a horror movie set at Christmas had the potential to be awesome. While it’s nowhere near as fun as Trick ‘R Treat, Krampus certainly has its moments ( Read more... )

Kung Fu Trailers of Fury is two solid hours chockfull of chopsocky trailers. That in itself is enough for me to give the film ***. However, as a connoisseur of trailer compilations, I have to get a few caveats out of the way. First of all, like I said, it’s two hours. It’s good at that length, but I imagine it would’ve been great at 90 minutes ( Read more... )