Retro Reviews

Released on May 21, 1994, Quentin Tarantino’s crime thriller, Pulp Fiction, follows a bunch of character’s lives interconnect in a complex narrative filled with themes of petty revenge vs. divine retribution, fate vs. freak occurrence, and other ideas such as loyalty. ***Spoiler Alert!*** Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield …

Alas! Released on May 13, 1988, the heavy sleeper of the F13 franchise turns 35 this year, and it’s not just the infamous heavy sleeping bag kill that makes Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood so great. We received an unmasked Jason for a full 5 minutes, the makeup …

Willow is a fantasy film directed by Ron Howard originally released on May 20, 1988. The story was conceived by George Lucas (already famous for Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films), and he also served as the film’s executive producer. The movie combines elements of fantasy, adventure, and fairy …

Ah yes, the early aughts slashers. Chock full of underdeveloped characters, and horror cliches with disenchanting scripts. – and I ate them up! Twenty years ago, the birth of the Wrong Turn franchise graced us with its presence. It falls under a fun sub-genre of Horror: vacations gone wrong. Plus, …

The final chapter in the OG sci-fi/fantasy franchise beloved by millions, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi turns 40 this month. Volumes have been written about the first three films in George Lucas’ brilliant exercise in world-building, with Empire widely considered to be the best, and Jedi normally …

“The truth is……I am Iron Man” The line uttered by Robert Downey Jr (Back To School 1986) at the end of the first movie in a series that culminated in one of the most highly anticipated movies ever nine years later capped off an amazing thrill ride for IRON MAN. …

Fun Fact: Not Just Slang for Nethers, Tehachapi is Also a Town! 35 years ago the sequel to Critters was released. Critters 2: The Main Course, is one of those sequels I list as ‘just as good if not better than the original’. It was Mick Garris’s directorial debut and …

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands brilliantly showcases Tim Burton’s ability to seamlessly blend the fantastical with the mundane, as a bizarre humanoid invention named Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp) ends up venturing into suburbia. Edward had been invented by an unknown old man simply called “The Inventor” (Vincent Price), who had temporarily …

How do you revitalize the career of a horror legend? Cast him in the first major studio film to be shot in color 3-D, and tap a one-eyed director who famously couldn’t see any of the 3-D effects – that’s how! House of Wax (1953) Synopsis “An associate burns down …

Near the intro of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (read our retro review here), we already get the sense that Danny (Danny Lloyd) and Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) have a strained father/son relationship. In addition, the two, along with mother and wife Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall), eventually meet a series of …