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A very wise person once said, “It’s not what you know. It’s who you know.” Extraction proves the adage still holds. Director Sam Hargrave has been an enduring presence in Hollywood ever since 2005 when he did stunts for the WB TV series Supernatural. However, I suspect it was his connections as a stunt coordinator […]… Continue reading Extraction — Fast Film Reviews

You wouldn’t think a movie whose plot could easily be summarized as “The Bad Superintendent” would be a compelling saga but it is. Based on the 2004 New York magazine article by Robert Kolker with the aforementioned title, Bad Education is a true-life tale about one Frank Tassone. This release may have debuted April 25 […]… Continue reading Bad Education — Fast Film Reviews

The Photograph is living proof that a compelling story matters. Gorgeous cinematography, a soothing jazz score (by Robert Glasper), and a pair of charismatic stars are indeed appreciated. Yet, all of those lovely ingredients ultimately come up short. The screenplay is the most important component of a movie. A drab tale can tank a film […]… Continue reading The Photograph — Fast Film Reviews

If nothing else, this movie will be an answer to the trivia question: What was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. during the Coronavirus pandemic? The Wretched is a box office hit. Theaters are still mostly closed in the U.S. But thanks to around 60 drive-ins that have been allowed to operate across the nation, […]… Continue reading The Wretched — Fast Film Reviews

Selecting John Carradine for this month’s A to Z feature should pose plenty of problems narrowing each letter of the alphabet to just one topic. According to the IMDB this hard working actor born in New York City in 1906 had a total of 352 acting credits to his name. Making a selection for the […]… Continue reading John Carradine In the Movies : From A to Z — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past

Just prior to becoming a house director for Cannon Films, J. Lee Thompson, reunited with his Guns of Navarone leading man of 1961, Anthony Quinn, for another WW2 thriller. It’s actually their second collaboration in a row having just completed The Greek Tycoon in 1978. This time Zorba himself stars as a Basque mountaineer looking […]… Continue reading The Passage (1979) — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past

As if borrowing a page from Hitchcock’s television show or Karloff’s Thriller, this black and white “B” predates the intros to those shows with Sir Cedric Hardwicke delivering a tongue in cheek intro to this tale of greed and lust. Sir Cedric will introduce himself as the Devil prior to the opening credits and informs […]… Continue reading Bait (1954) — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past

Lesser known “B” titles need love to so when I see the names Cameron Mitchell and Allison Hayes starring in a low budget effort from Edward L. Cahn, I’ve just got to check it out and hope for the best. In the end it’s not overly memorable but it does offer a short 67 minutes […]… Continue reading Pier 5, Havana (1959) — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past

Serving as a fine follow-up to his 1929 success The Virginian, Gary Cooper, once again takes center stage in an all talking motion picture. Joining him under John Cromwell’s excellent direction is lovely Fay Wray as a south of the border dark haired beauty. To kickstart this 79 minute adventure, in silent film fashion the […]… Continue reading The Texan (1930) — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past

Italian born director Mario Bava represents one of those film makers that it took years to finally see the majority of his movies growing up here in Canada. I’m referring to the days of reading magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland and maybe dog eared copies of Castle of Frankenstein I’d find at a local […]… Continue reading Directed by Mario Bava : The Film Posters — Mike’s Take On the Movies ………. Rediscovering Cinema’s Past