THE DANMAN CAN

"You look like Pinehaven." "How does Pinehaven look?" "Well-tended." Lawrence Kasdan 's 1981 debut  Body Heat  is a neo-noir chock full of seductive dialogue, gorgeous compositions, and excellent early performances by William Hurt , Kathleen Turner (in her debut), and Ted Danson (who has a few very amusing scenes). Kasdan's sweaty, horny version of  Double Indemnity   (1944) [ review ] is perfect viewing for a 95° summer day.

"Friends don't have a pecking order." John Woo 's Bullet In The Head (1990) is a very good film overall, but I found it overlong, repetitive, and I wasn't in love with large swaths of the score. It's perhaps Woo's darkest and most downbeat (and certainly most pessimistic) picture. There are some truly affecting moments, with some expertly shot sequences, but it's also haphazard in its construction (kinda feels like three different movies mashed into one). The drama in BITH worked better for me than the action. John Woo Feature Films   Ranked

"What's the matter with you?! You wanna spend the rest of your life living out of a shopping cart?! We could be on top again. We could be drinking champagne instead of Night Train."

"Here's my card. Johnny Tremaine's the name. Making rock stars is this man's game. You know, I think I see real talent. I almost even see Led Zep. You know, I think I could do for you girls what God did for mankind."

The 1960s really was one the best decades of film.  Lee Marvin  as Walker is easily one of the most badass characters in any film. The dreamy psychedelic sequences, the jazzy  Schifrin -like score by  Johnny Mandel , the great supporting roles ( Keenan Wynn ,  Carroll O'Connor ,  Michael Strong ,  John Vernon ), the style, the time shifts/jump cuts, the economy of  John Boorman 's filmmaking (only his sophomore film!)—there is so much to savor here.  Point Blank   (1967) was a huge influence on  Steven Soderbergh 's   The Limey   (1999) [ review ] (another favorite film) and was remade, as a lesser but still great film called  Payback   (1999), both based on  Donald E. Westlake 's (writing as Richard Stark) novel  The Hunter   (1962). John Boorman Feature Films Ranked

Akira Kurosawa 's ninth solo feature film and third collaboration with  Toshirō Mifune , Stray Dog (1949), is a solid noir police procedure. The film drags a bit in the first half (the pursuit in the second half is more exciting) and sits in the bottom quarter of my Kurosawa rankings, but it's got strong performances (the actors convey the sense of heat quite well) and striking camerawork Akira Kurosawa Films Ranked Top 20 Directors Film Noir Feature Films Ranked

If you've ever watched a movie and thought, "I wish this had more flesh mutating," then  David Cronenberg  has you covered! Plug in as  Uncle Spooky , Demented Danman , and Lil Spooky  explore the wonderfully bizarre career of the king of body horror—where flesh, technology, and existential dread collide! Listen to Weirdo Wednesday Podcast : Episode Twelve  here .     Let us know what topics/films you'd like to hear us talk about! Follow us on your favorite streaming platform and on Instagram . We love feedback and positive reviews too. Don't forget that Weirdo Wednesday takes place every Wednesday evening at Cinema Salem in Salem, MA at 7:30 PM (tickets here ). Dates for summer 2026 Freakout Fridays at The Owl Theatre in Lowell, MA are listed below (tickets here ). Come get Weird with us in both Salem and Lowell! WW Podcast Themes by Demented Danman WW Logo by Iris Miller FF Owl Poster by Lil Spooky

To celebrate his centennial, I decided to watch the only  Mel Brooks  movie that I hadn't seen, 1991's Life Stinks .  Trading Places (1983) [ review ] took a similar idea and did it much better.  LS is an uneven film with underdeveloped ideas and characters. It's easy to see why it's his least regarded picture, but there are some good, funny (if non sequituresque) bits in it regardless, and Lesley Ann Warren is charming. Mel Brooks Films Ranked

Like the film's namesake dance show host,  John Waters ' Hairspray (1988) is (intentionally) corny as hell, but it also has a heartfelt, earnest message about being true to yourself and having pride in who you are. While I prefer my Waters filthy, there's enough oddball outsiders and amusing dialogue to give Hairspray his stamp, and I can't deny the fun, fashion, and killer tunes of his mainstream hit. John Waters Feature Films Ranked

I've lived to see  John Waters '  Desperate Living   (1977) restored in 4K (and it looks great!). I first paid a visit to Mortville when I bought a VHS tape of the film in the late '90s. DL is slightly less offensive than JW's opus, 1972's  Pink Flamingos  [ review ] but just as much fun.  Divine 's presence is sorely missed.  Mink Stole  almost makes up for his absence by stealing every scene she's in (including  one of the best line deliveries ever in any film , in a movie jam-packed with priceless dialogue), but  Edith Massey  gives her a run for her money. I love the  Dreamlanders  and I love this picture. A trashterpiece. John Waters Feature Films Ranked