Fun Fact about my work history: as a teen in the late 1990s, I took a job at a local independent radio station. It was a small, 50-kilowatt station, which meant the range was a […]
HUMBUG: LOVE ACTUALLY? ACTUALLY…NAH
I don’t like Christmas. Don’t call me Scrooge or a Grinch — I’m not advocating spoiling people’s holiday cheer. Maybe it’s Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), courtesy of shortened winter days, the proliferation of red and […]
JAY ALARY DOESN’T LIKE NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Grumpire 4, Napoleon Dynamite 0 For episode four, we welcome site contributor Jay Alary. Jay’s done a lot of great work so far for Grumpire, and we were ecstatic to have him on our show […]
MIXTAPE: NIGHT FALLS ON CHRISTMAS
Christmas is a difficult time for many folks. I’ve had my bouts with being grumpy during this festive season, but that had more to do with familial strife than seasonal depression. But even during those darker […]
WHADDAYA MEAN “THE DARKER WORKS OF ANDY GRIFFITH”?
Here’s what led to me writing this. On Twitter, I saw a post on the page for my favorite television channel, MeTV, with an article titled “Andy Griffith Had His Own Line of Canned Beans […]
HUMBUG: ELF, A SACK OF SUPERFICIAL SPIRIT
The “Christmas movie” is a vital part of the experience of Christmas under modern consumer capitalism, which sustains itself by transforming vital human experience into commodities and selling them back to us. Christmas is red […]
HUMBUG: (NOT SO) RARE EXPORTS
The holiday horror sub-genre has a lot to offer for those who need the macabre to get through the holidays. There’s Silent Night Deadly Night with Robert Brian Wilson portraying the quintessential cinematic beefcake serial killer, Christmas […]
OTTO PREMINGER’S SKIDOO: DON’T MIND THE GENERATION GAP
Few things showcase the late 1960s generation gap like Skidoo. A great place to start when commenting on this attempt made by middle aged men to connect with a thriving new youth culture is the film’s […]
MIXTAPE: OM NOM NOM NOM
Just in time for Thanksgiving, our man Nick Spacek serves up this eclectic mix full of songs appropriate for your family table. So grab your headphones and a fork, loosen them britches, and feel free […]
ROBERT WISE’S STAR TREK TREATMENT DESERVES MORE CREDIT THAN FANS GIVE IT
IN DEFENSE OF: STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE Fandom is a perplexing, frequently frustrating entity: it can be a supportive, passionate group of like-minded individuals who enjoy fictional characters on the page or on the […]
MIXTAPE: NOIRVEMBER
Despite being a big fan of film noir scores, I’ve never been a big watcher of film noir itself. It’s not quite so bad as my fondness for fantasy action scores like Conan the Barbarian, […]
BRIAN MILLER DOESN’T LIKE GRAVITY
Grumpire 3, Gravity 0 Welcome to the third episode of Grumpire, the podcast that says you don’t need to bite your tongue while discussing art. Today we invite Brian Miller, founder of the Deathbomb Arc […]
MIXTAPE: POST-ZER
This is only a reminder of the genuine goodness that WEEZER once was. The rest as follows in their wake is some definitely and some mistakenly influenced by their sound.
HOW A 1950 MOVIE HAD THE AUDACITY TO TELL HOLLYWOOD TO GO F**K ITSELF
PUMP UP THE COLUMN EXPLORES THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF PUNK AESTHETIC USED IN CINEMA The definition of punk varies: some see the Sex Pistols when they hear the word, while others consider them a boy […]
BRUTAL! VIOLENT! SAVAGE! DARIO ARGENTO WRITES A WESTERN
BARGAIN BINNED DIGS DEEP INTO THE RANDOM AND FASCINATING TITLES FOUND IN THE CLEARANCE AISLE When I first happened upon the Dallas-based retail chain, Half Price Books, the movie selection at the stores I would […]