Why So Blu?

Forgotten Friday Flick – “A Fish Called Wanda”

We’re keeping 80’s hilarity going this week to keep smiles on anyone and everyone’s face at a time when laughs are needed most – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today it’s time to check out a flick that has every color of the comedy rainbow present and accounted for.  Slapstick, outlandish characters and witty humor all wrapped up in a salacious and vivacious flick that begins with a simple – or perhaps not so simple – heist.  Ready to dive into farcical infested waters?  Do it with….A Fish Called Wanda!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “A Fish Called Wanda”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Bachelor Party”

Keeping in tune with the current 80’s theme, but adding a little humor to the mix (I think we all need it today!) it felt like time to celebrate cinema with a little raunchy in the reels – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  For today’s selection we’re getting rid of political correctness, throwing caution to the wind and taking a swig off a stiff one all in the name of unbridled 80’s comedy.  Starring a man who went on to become an acting icon alongside an eclectic cast of misfits, deviants and malcontents, it’s the tale a small get together that turns into one of the craziest soirees in movie history.  Drugs, booze, guns, fire trucks and everything that makes life worth living for – Tom Hanks may be embarrassed by it but today we hail…Bachelor Party!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Bachelor Party”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Just One Of The Guys”

Both my breakdancing and 80’s vibe are in full boogaloo swing as I continue to check out high hair flicks – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  This week it’s all about comedy and crazy characters as we head into what can only be described as Tootsie in high school with a side of Yentl.  Featuring a fed up gal who decides to see how the other sex lives, there’s plenty of laughs, love and teen debauchery (courtesy of the great Billy Jacoby!) running rampant as a very fetching female tries to be…Just One Of The Guys!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Just One Of The Guys”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Let’s Get Harry”

A new year begs for a new category focus and with my massive and comprehensive examination of the Miami Vice: The Complete Series DVD up this week it felt time to head back to the 80’s – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Going back to a decade with seemingly lighter and more out there film fare, we’re starting things off with a obtuse, but oh-so entertaining flick about a gaggle of guys who are hot to get their friend back – no matter what the cost. Filled with a notable cast, some great action and a director who at the last minute jumped ship, time to man up and dammit…Let’s Get Harry!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Let’s Get Harry”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Talk Radio”

Currently watching Fences, a play turned movie that feels a tad stagnate, it reminds me that this week’s current stage to screen hidden gem is once again due to delight – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today’s selection is a great example of how to take a former piece of theater and make it cinematic.  Expanding on characters and locations, taking inspiration from real life people and matching it with the style of the controversial voice of the day are surefire signs of a movie to remember.  So let’s hit the airwaves for some quick witted opinions via our humiliation loving host.  He’s crass, he’s crude, but most of all he’s got ratings in the world of…Talk Radio!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Talk Radio”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Glengarry Glen Ross”

The current theme of stage to screen provides a vast amount of cinematic selections so let’s get back at it with a biting flick that proudly sports saucy slang and pitch perfect performances – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today we’re heading back into David Mamet (we’ve already explored House of Games film fans!) land for a poignant peek into the cutthroat world of real estate.  Seems the suit and tie guys here are itching to be top of the board and are willing to go to some extreme lengths to get there.  Getting good leads, always be closing and brass balls – welcome the salesmen of…Glengarry Glen Ross.

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Glengarry Glen Ross”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Nuts”

Since themes have provided memorable movie selections for this column of late, it felt right to explore a new one in the form of stage to screen cinema that cooks – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  We’re gonna be taking on films that had their humble beginnings as a play on the theatrical stage for a while and our first is a perfect powerhouse in the realm of great actors acting.  A high-class prostitute charged with murder, an apprehensive lawyer in over his head, two overly loving parents and one explosive hearing all to determine if the unpredictable accused is indeed…Nuts.

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Nuts”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “King Of New York”

Having recently reviewed and torn apart the lame duck slasher outing The Driller Killer, I felt like I should make amends to Director Abel Ferrara, whom I’m actually a fan of, by recommending one of his five-star masterworks as a critical counterbalance to the condemnation – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  This week I’m going back to 1990 for a little crime drama with a very big cast.  It’s the tale of a drug lord who gets released from prison and picks up right where he left off.  Guns at the ready, gals galore and drugs a plenty, this one pits gangsters with attitude vs. a gaggle of cops eager to get even and all vying to be the one and only…King Of New York!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “King Of New York”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Staying Alive”

At long lingering last this column reaches the end of a month long movie shaming festival for yours truly and I’m finishing the guilty pleasure series with a film that truly defies all normal entertaining cinematic comprehension – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  This Boxing Day it’s me gloves to gloves against everyone as I divulge my undying love for a flick that has every bad movie cliché on the docket…and it just doesn’t matter.  (Up yours Razzies!)  Full of 80’s tropes (high hair, montages and leg warmers galore!), death defying dance numbers and two girls both good and bad it’s time to lay barren my affinity for the sizzling sequel that is….Staying Alive!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Staying Alive”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Mannequin”

With only two more Friday’s left in November my four weeks of sheer and utter movie embarrassment is almost at an end so let’s finish off this second to last selection in the guilty pleasure series quick – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today we’re going into deep, deep character clichés, cornball comedy and stereotypical scenarios for some pure gamey movie cheddar that most would consider sub-par cinema.  But for yours truly all of the above B-movie badness is music to the ears with a tale of a man whose dream of finding the right woman comes true – even if she is made of wood, polystyrene and fiberglass.  Where can I get a…Mannequin! Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Mannequin”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Battleship”

This week sees the continuation of the guilt ridden purge of questionable cinematic outings by yours truly in an attempt to enlighten and embarrass equally – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  For those who are old school board game junkies like me, the guilty pleasure selection below won’t come as a complete shock.  (For the rest of you I feel your crappy movie pitchforks at the ready!)  Combining the basic elements of an old Hasbro game in some creative and clever ways and matching it with some stylish direction, kick ass music and a little alien invasion scenario to boot, this is one big budget flop that I simply (and previously silently!) adore.  Place your ships, grab your pegs and get ready to hit or miss with my shameful fav…Battleship!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Battleship”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Blue City”

With October filled with scare cinema and December an awards heavy film time, November is a fine time shed some good old-fashioned movie guilt – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Are there films you love that you tell no one about?  Movies with cheesy acting, deplorable dialogue and plot twists you can drive a Mack truck through, but that you secretly adore anyway? That’s the genre film focus for this month – guilt pleasures.  Up first is a film so gamey that it received no less than five top Razzie nominations.  A youth revenge fantasy that shamelessly cashes in on a previous picture coupling and has some of the worst lines ever uttered on screen. Some call it s@it – I lovingly call it…Blue City.

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Blue City”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Cemetery Man” (aka Dellamorte Dellamore)

Following up my actual appearance (finally!) on the Out Now With Aaron and Abe Podcast this week dissecting the zombie genre, I’m covering one of my undead selections just in time for Halloween – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  This week I’m heading into ghouls in a cemetery territory with a cult classic I was lucky enough to review back in my Joblo.com DVD Clinic days way back in 2006.  (Yes, some of these words of praise may be familiar film fans!)  It’s a wonderful throwback to the Italian gore features that brought guys like Fulci and Argento to acclaim and features a knockout lead performance that kills it.  Need a job?  Don’t mind shooting reanimated dead folks in the head on a nightly basis?  Maybe you can be the….Cemetery Man!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Cemetery Man” (aka Dellamorte Dellamore)’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “Dead Heat”

The WhySoBlu gang podcast dissected all things horror comedy this week which brings to mind a little past hidden gem well worth bringing up for more than mere movie nostalgia – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today we’re heading into odd genre territory for an unconventional tale of cops, killers and the undead.  Mix in the intrigue of an old fashioned detective story, the banter of a buddy/buddy movie and add a pinch of reanimation and you’ve got one of the funniest and strangest flicks ever made.  “Hey, you’re hurt!”  “Lady, I’m f@cking dead!” – it’s time for some…Dead Heat!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Dead Heat”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Poughkeepsie Tapes”

With the category of found footage on their podcast docket, my WhySoBlu buddies examined a very popular facet of the horror genre this week and so shall I…welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  Today I’m dissecting one of the few films that actually disturbed me by giving me full panic pause.  It’s a controversial film that has yet to officially be released in theaters, DVD/Blu-ray or even VOD, but was seen early on by yours truly.  The product of wide speculation in terms of quality (the reaction at Butt-Numb-A-Thon 9 was so negative the filmmakers bailed on the Q&A!), realism (the finished film was pitched as being authentic like Blair Witch!) and overall creepiness (the eerie music rings in my head!), it’s nevertheless a nasty nugget that lingers long – and then some.  Grab a cassette, pop it in the player and get ready to view my pick…The Poughkeepsie Tapes!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Poughkeepsie Tapes”’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Fly” (1986)

With their horror centric podcast this week, my WhySoBlu partners in crime decided to go down the haunted hallway of all things monster mash so I’m frighteningly following suit – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick.  While my creature feature selection this week is in fact a retelling of a classic 1958 creepy campfire tale (“help me!”), it’s a fright fest that is firmly given a fascinating new stamp by all involved and thus worthy of a revisit.  The classic tale of a mad scientist who decides to experiment on himself with horrendous results is given a shot of nitroglycerin in the form of groundbreaking make-up effects and a signature story style from one of the best demented minds in the business.  You hear that buzzing?  It’s…The Fly!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Fly” (1986)’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Stepfather” (1987)

This week a couple of my fellow WhySoBlu cohorts took part in a podcast highlighting horror and with Halloween time being almost upon us I’ve decided to join in on the act with a past slasher selection of my own – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  There are plenty of high profile slice and dice flicks out there, but today’s choice is one that some may have missed.  A frightfully fun flick complete with blood, gore and a pinch of female flesh, it’s the tale of a dedicated husband and father who will do anything to obtain the perfect family – even kill for it!  He’s weird, he’s wild and he’s got a big knife – he’s…The Stepfather!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Stepfather” (1987)’

Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Hot Spot”

With the weather hot as hell down here in sunny LA it brings to mind a sizzling screen gem that is ripe for resurrection – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick!  This week we’re take a sharp right turn into the mind of the late great Dennis Hopper as a director and what a mind trip it is.  A turbulent Texas tale of blackmail, bank robbery and plenty of beautiful babes ripe with scorn and sweetness, it’s a flick so sizzling that it divided critics right down the middle.  Ready for a little noir via the head games of Hopper – then let’s hit…The Hot Spot!

Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “The Hot Spot”’