After the death of their daughter by drowning, John and Laura Baxter (played brilliantly by Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) decide to go to Venice as John has an assignment there restoring a church. It's here that Laura crosses paths with an elderly pair of sisters named Heather and Wendy, one of whom claims to …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Don’t Look Now (1973)
With all of this talk of the original Jaws in 3D I got to thinking about the other Jaws in 3D. This was, of course, the third film in the franchise starring the then unknown Dennis Quaid and a shitload of dolphins. I actually got to see the film in 3D at the National Film …
Out of all of the cinematic genres, I'd say apart from horror, that of the documentary is my favourite. A fantastic true story told brilliantly is worth it's weight in gold. Which leads us onto my Top 10 favourite documentaries of all time. Hold onto your hats- these aren't your average examples of the genre... …
I first heard about the opus Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! when I bought a book that still remains like a cine-bible to me, Re:Search's Incredibly Strange Films. There was a chapter on Russ Meyer (as there should be in any self-respecting book on cult cinema) and I was instantly taken with the huge picture of …
Amongst the slew of Stephen King film adaptations that were released in the 80s was the film version of his fantastic 1981 novel, Cujo. Cujo is the St Bernard dog who is bit by a rabid bat whilst he chases a rabbit. Slowly but surely he transforms from a loveable family dog into a slobbering, …
It's 1990. I'm tuning into the excellent Moviedrome series of films on BBC2 with each cult film in the series being introduced by director Alex Cox. The film being shown that night was John Carpenter's second feature film Assault on Precinct 13, his reworking of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo and my mind was blown. I …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
I've always been fascinated by the writing of, and indeed, the legend of playwright Joe Orton. It was so refreshing to discover someone who was, shock horror, a confident homosexual in the 60s rather than some simpering, guilt-ridden closet case. I remember when I arrived in London to study film, a friend told me about …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
I was brought up in Yorkshire and still live here (I just got lucky, I guess...) but even I have a problem with the Barnsley accents in Ken Loach's masterpiece, Kes. Thank God for subtitles and online Yorkshire dialect translators. Billy Caspar is a 15-year-old youth who is due to leave school soon. He is …
So I reinvestigated The Running Man last night. The last time I had watched it was in the 80’s on VHS. I remember it as not being one of Arnie’s best efforts. On watching it now I found some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen from Arnie (which is REALLY saying something), hamfisted attempts …
One of the best things about Yorkshire Television, when I was growing up, was the eclectic fare that made up their schedules. At night they showed the most wonderful and unexpected films you could ever imagine. They also showed films you had never heard of before that were either unavailable on video because of some …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Slithis (1978)
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