THE DANMAN CAN

I'm me babe I'm free babe Peter Weir Feature Films Ranked

It's hard to believe that  Salem's Lot  (1979) was only the second adaptation of a  Stephen King  story. It's also hard to believe that I somehow only managed to watch it for the first time in 2018. King had only written six books by the time that  SL  started filming, so it makes sense (and I say  only  six because he's been incredibly prolific over the course of his career). It's just I sometimes forget that "King Fever" didn't truly ramp up until the '80s (with three feature films based on his works released in 1983 alone). Speaking of the '80s, just six months after  Lot  aired,  Stanley Kubrick 's vastly superior  The Shining   (1980) [ review ] was unleashed—still one of the best King adaptations (and I don't care what the man himself thinks about it). Salem's Lot  aired as a miniseries on CBS over two nights, totaling just over 3 hours in runtime. There was also a theatrical cut (released in Europe and air...

"You are one of the world's true bozos." Recommended for fans of  Rear Window  (1954),  Duel  (1971) ( review ), and When A Stranger Calls (1979). John Carpenter Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Absolutely essential viewing for fans of Paul Reubens and Pee-wee Herman . There is so much rich life history that was new to me. Amazing and fascinating photos and footage. I wish this documentary was twice as long.

Private Crimes ( Delitti privati) (1993), a 4-part, 6-hour miniseries, is basically the Italian  Twin Peaks  (1990–1991), playing out as a super slow burn made-for-TV  giallo . There’s a Laura Palmer -like character found dead by a river. There’s a Donna-like character who works at a cafe. Theres a James-like character with a scooter who's on the run. There’s a Blackie-like character who is a gentleman’s club owner. There’s a necklace found on the ground. There’s a diary. There’s a labyrinthine web of deceit, family secrets, red herrings, and affairs. It’s very melodramatic.  This is the theme song ! There are more connections. We all know Italians love to rip-off other films/genres (in that charming way that they did, primarily in the 1970s–1990s). Usually it’s done in a super obvious, super low budget (but really fun) manner, but this show is a bit more subtle, a bit classier, and stands on its own merits.  Giallo queen  Edwige Fenech (who also produce...

I've been a fan of  "Weird Al" Yankovic  since I was seven or eight years old. I distinctly remember listening to his cassettes on my boombox, right alongside the artists he parodied, like  Michael Jackson  and  Huey Lewis & The News . I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed  Weird: The Al Yankovic Story   (2022), and it held up well on a rewatch. Al and co-writer/director  Eric Appel  made the right choice in making the film a parody itself (of music biopics). The blurred lines of what actually happened and what didn't (most of the movie, and all of which should be fairly obvious to even the casual fan) is a lot of what makes it fun. Not all the jokes land and the film could have been 15 minutes shorter, but I definitely laughed out loud plenty of times (again) and  Daniel Radcliffe  and  Evan Rachel Wood  knock it out of the park. Recommended for fans of  UHF   (1989) [ review ] (which I had the gr...

40 years after  Sidney Lumet 's brilliant 1957 film  ( review ) of Reginald Rose 's 1954 teleplay , William Friedkin  adapted 12 Angry Men  as a made-for-TV movie. While the cast is excellent and the added diversity is appreciated, I had a hard time buying Juror #10 in this adaptation. Friedkin chose to give the camera more movement than the original film but some of the compositions feel devoid of emotional impact. Additionally, by sticking too closely to the original dialogue, not enough is updated to make this version feel justified. Overall, this is an entertaining and very good reenactment of a classic story with a who's who of actors but the combination of what was changed and what wasn't doesn't quite gel to make this a classic in its own right. William Friedkin Feature Films Ranked

Somehow I missed Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990) when it premiered, which is weird because I was definitely the right age to be captivated by this bizarro TV movie. It's possible that my household didn't have The Disney Channel then, though I know we had it for a time, as that's how I first saw  The Point   (1971) ( review ). The cast of MGRnR  is vast and mind-boggling, though most of the stars' screen time amounts to a few minutes each. Really the whole silly affair is an excuse to get all those celebrities together (if executive producer Shelley Duval asks, of course you say yes) and show off some wild and weird production design and crazy costumes. Granted, said design is heavily reminiscent of Pee-Wee's Playhouse   (1986–1991)— MGRnR  even shares some of the same stars as the Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special  (1988)—but that is very much my wheelhouse, so I'm okay with it. While certainly goofy, fun, and cute (Shelley is lovely, as al...