Tag Archives: films

Forgotten Film Gems: Stay Tuned

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Stay Tuned is a mix between The Running Man and Kentucky Fried Movie. It’s a bizarre little film that presents us with the idea that Satan is not only sadistic, but he likes his sadism served up as primetime television. … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgotten Film Gems | Tagged black comedy, box office bombs, comedy, films, fun, funny, humor, movie review, movies, peter hyams, stay tuned | 7 Comments

Pleasant Surprises: Robots

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Remember Robots – the most generically titled animated film until Cars came out the following year? I skipped it when it first came out because if the title was that uninspired I was sure the rest of the movie wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Pleasant Surprises | Tagged animated films, comedy, films, funny, humor, movie review, movies, robin williams, robots, science fiction | 1 Comment

Which James Bond Movies Actually Had You Convinced Bond Was in Danger of Being Killed?

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

James Bond is the most immortal mortal character ever conceived. He has a nasty habit of surviving. Put him in an overly elaborate death trap and he finds a way to escape. Kill him off and he shows up a … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged action movies, films, james bond, movie review, movies, sequels | 11 Comments

Great Scott! The Entire Back to the Future Trilogy Is One Big Chiasmus

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I’ve discovered that some films follow a chiasmus formula in the way their stories are set up. What is a chiasmus? It’s an ancient writing structure in which ideas are listed in one order and then repeated in the opposite … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinematic Chiasmus | Tagged 1980s, back to the future, chiasmus, comedy, films, fun, funny, humor, movie review, movies, relationships, science fiction, sequels | 86 Comments

10 Amazing ’80s Directors Who Lost Their Mojo in the ’90s

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

It’s not always easy for directors to make the transition from one decade to the next. For every Steven Spielberg there are several Francis Ford Coppolas. Filmgoers’ expectations change, technology improves, and the industry moves in a new direction. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged 1980s, 1990s, action movies, comedy, directors, films, fun, funny, humor, john badham, john carpenter, john g avildsen, john hughes, john landis, john mctiernan, jokes, lawrence kasdan, mel brooks, movie review, movies, movies based on books, puns, richard donner, roland joffe, science fiction, sequels, star wars, superman | 11 Comments

The Duality of The Dark Knight (2008)

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The presence of Two-Face in The Dark Knight is no coincidence. Christopher Nolan stuffed that film full of duality to show how Batman and the Joker are opposite sides of the same coin. Order and chaos, light and darkness – … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged action movies, batman, christopher nolan, comic books, films, joker, movie review, movies, sequels, the dark knight, two-face | 12 Comments

9 Iconic Performances That Weren’t Even Nominated But Should Have Won Oscars

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The Academy Awards seem so arbitrary to me. Sometimes they completely forget to acknowledge performances that turn out to be iconic genre changers in retrospect. Here are nine particularly egregious examples of actors who should have not only been nominated … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged academy awards, actors, animated films, back to the future, beauty and the beast, characters, christopher reeve, disney, et the extra terrestrial, films, james dean, jim carrey, movies, oscars, robocop, science fiction, star trek, superman, the truman show, tombstone, val kilmer | 11 Comments

Pleasant Surprises: High School Musical 2

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I’m fascinated by High School Musical 2, not because it’s a particularly deep movie but because I absolutely love it. By all rights, I should hate it. It’s a TV movie that bridges the gap between two utterly forgettable (if … Continue reading →

Posted in Pleasant Surprises | Tagged comedy, disney, film score, films, fun, funny, high school musical, humor, movie review, movies, music, relationships, romance, songs, soundtrack | 4 Comments

Bad Movies with Great Music: Explorers

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

What were the makers of Explorers thinking? Few movies have such lofty aspirations and yet such disastrous outcomes as this one. Explorers feels sort of like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial or Super 8 except without the compelling stories of those films. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad Movies with Great Music | Tagged 1980s, comedy, films, humor, movie review, movies, music, parody, science fiction, soundtrack | 7 Comments

The Remarkable Symmetry of the Original Superman: The Movie

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

This is my third cinematic chiasmus. The first time, I noticed 17 parallel scenes in the first and second halves of 1987’s RoboCop. The second time, I pointed out 26 parallel scenes in The Empire Strikes Back. This time, I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinematic Chiasmus | Tagged action movies, chiasmus, comic books, films, movie review, movies, science fiction, superman | 38 Comments