Matinee (1993) ****

Matinee (1993) is a loving tribute to the b-movie showman William Castle. It makes sense that Joe Dante directed this film, being a monster kid, but it's also something that John Waters could have made, being probably the most famous devotee of Castle. Of course, that would have been a very different take, obviously.

John Goodman, as Lawrence Woolsey, was inspired casting, but he has less screen time than I wish he did. The film is told more from the point of view of the teenagers, who do a great job (I'm more often than not irked by child actors). Dante mainstays Dick Miller and Robert Picardo turn in typically strong supporting parts and Jerry Goldsmith delivers one of his many, many brilliant scores. Matinee is a great movie about the art of moviemaking (with the backdrop of The Cuban Missile Crisis) and, more specifically, movie presentation, which gets better on rewatches. See it in Atomo-Vision! With Rumble-Rama sound!






























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