Too long; do not read.
For someone who loves crime drama, downbeat ’70s cinema, and stories of doomed losers as much as I do, it took me an inexplicably long time to get around to seeing Peter Yates’ foundational tale of a bottom-feeding Boston mob hanger-on. The Friends of Eddie Coyle never seemed to crop …
From the 2014 edition of my book series, Frontage Road U.S.A.: Adventures Just Off the Superhighway, I am pleased to present the chapter entitled “Oddest-Named Cities in America”. Special thanks to Jug-o’-Shine Publishing for permission to excerpt this material. Nipples, FL. Originally planned as a cultural and intellectual haven in the …
Dear Ben, The news is nothing but good! Finally got a tenure-track gig, and at a school on the east coast, too! Miskatonic — ever heard of it? Their sciences departments are supposed to be top-rate, but I don’t know a lot about their liberal arts school. Ah well; a …
Conrad Z. Wright The Elite Hotel for Transients 1258 W. Clark Street, Suite # 2nd Floor on Your Right with “WHORS” Carved Into the Door Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 288 4904 when not in use by another resident I have an e-mail address but I don’t know how to work …
Ah, summer in Europe! My favorite season by far — so much better than the forbidding winters, when even the finest Panzer captains and alpini find the hiking rather rough going. For a curious American traveler like myself, there’s no better time than sunny summer to discover the little delights …
“So! Yu-dan! You have the guts to show your face around here!” “Yes, Li Bai. I have done much thinking.” “And what have you decided? To face your shame! To be a man! Or to run away, again, like a coward?” “I feel no shame, Li Bai. I know I …
Patrick Hamilton was a gentrified British version of Jim Thompson: a disreputable alcoholic who supported himself by writing twisted pulp novels with an even bloodier jagged edge than most. Like Thompson, he marked his work by a seedy personal perspective and a talent for the sudden appearance of the bizarre …
113th Congress, 2nd Session H.R. 7162 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES — June 4, 2013 AN ACT To deter and punish acts of comedic violence in the United States and around the world, and to further control and prevent the occurence of slapstick-related deaths and injuries by means …
Shot: Dark room. Cast, standing with arms crossed, moving pan. Stern expressions as they look up at the camera. Menacing tone plays on soundtrack. ANNOUNCER’S V.O.: NYPD Blue did it for the police department. Shot: Conference table. Jim throws his pen angrily across a legal pad. He glares at a stern-looking agent …
Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker breaks a lot of the ‘rules’ of film noir, and in doing so, it sometimes scans like a prescient warning bell of the post-Psycho revolution in crime drama than it does a product of the 1950 B-picture system. This is by no means meant as a criticism; …
V-CHIP THEATRE PRESENTS: THE GREAT FILMS 1. The Godfather (1971; Francis Ford Coppola, dir.) An Italian-American family struggles to thrive in an extremely competitive business environment. 2. Vertigo (1958; Alfred Hitchcock, dir.) San Francisco police detective investigates confusing identity theft, fails to take medication to control phobia. 3. The Seven …
Le Pont du Nord, which I saw earlier this week in a gorgeous new 35mm print at the Northwest Film Forum, is a baffling creature; neither a straightforward narrative nor an entirely experimental impressionistic piece, it’s hard to figure out while you’re watching it and even harder to suss with …
Oh, you future generations who read these words in admiration or infamy: it is to you I speak, for there is none today I can tell. Pity me, please, and envy too: for I am the most luckless man on this lonely world, and the most blessed. I am no …
Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin (also known as Confidential Report, Dossier Secret, and a handful of other names) is one of the most difficult to assess items in the great man’s filmography, which is one reason I’ve resisted seeing it for so long. While the general consensus seems to be that it’s a noble failure, …
LIVER The most common of the variety meats is also the easiest target. The mere mention of liver perennially brings a frown to children’s faces, and even among adults with more sophisticated palates it is unjustifiably maligned. The truth is, this vitamin-packed, easy-to-extract organ is easily prepared, affordable, and quite …
