Posts by Gino Sassani

"I'm Brad Meltzer. I've spent my life collecting stories. The best include signs, symbols and coded messages that are hidden in plain sight. Some have become the basis for my novels. But I've only scratched the surface of what's out there, and now History has given me the resources to investigate the rest. This is Decoded."

What if I told you there was an author out there who was known for writing novels that include historical conspiracies, secret societies and buried treasures, and that this author has found a way to parlay his moderate writing success into a television series for History?

"Do you believe in Sin?"

The Exorcist was one of the most chilling films ever made. William Friedkin used subliminal images as well as those quite famous scenes of Linda Blair being taken over by Satan himself. Ever since that time filmmakers have been trying to cash in on the phenomenon. Exorcism movies have become almost a sub-genre in the horror field. There have been everything from no-budget to mega-budget attempts. There have been both sequels and prequels to the original film.

"The machines rose from the ashes of a nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here in our present... Tonight."

Where were you on Judgment Day?

If you don’t know what the original Terminator film is about by know, I’ll still tell you.

"The heat is on..."

From the bouncing opening music by Glenn Fry to the final frame of Eddie Murphy's smile, Beverly Hills Cop has established itself as a classic. Now finally out on Blu-ray, the film shows us all over again why we fell in love with it almost 20 years ago. Murphy hasn't been as funny since, but we'll always have Beverly Hills and Axel Foley.

"The two most infamous mass murderers battle for the top spot."

Of course, Dahmer and Gacy were not mass murderers; rather they were serial killers by definition. But you get the idea. So I'm predisposed to forgive the tag line for that small error. What is less easy to forgive is the fact that the title itself is misleading as hell. There is a very weak encounter between these two guys, but it is not the ultimate monster smash-up this kind of title traditionally represents.

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone."

This was a special year for the series. While the experiment only lasted a season, this collection features 1-hour episodes. These haven't shown up in syndication very often, so you might be less familiar with these episodes than any other year.

In 1972 he made us an offer we couldn't refuse. A couple of years later he followed it up with one of the finest sequels in Hollywood's history. Of course, I'm talking about Francis Ford Coppola. His movies are often considered epics. When Coppola paints, he tends to paint big. But it wasn't always like that for the once young director. He learned his trade, oddly enough, from the master of the B movie, Roger Corman. It was there that he learned to do more with less. It was there under the tutelage of Corman that Coppola

There were a lot of changes in store for the Bunkers in the 9th and final season. The biggest change was the addition of Stephanie played by Danielle Brisebois. She was the daughter of one of Edith's cousins. The girl was originally left with the Bunkers for what was supposed to be a temporary situation. Of course, the couple gets stuck with the 9-year-old girl and have to raise her. The matter is made worse when Archie discovers she's Jewish.

"Once upon a time in the projects..."

Eddie Murphy co-created this controversial situation comedy that aired first on Fox and was later picked up by the WB. It was quite an original undertaking. The show was made using stop-motion. The process was very much like the traditional claymation process that brought such classic favorites like Gumby to life. But since the models were made of foam instead of clay, the process was dubbed foamation.

"Beyond any terror ever known, The Black Sleep, it wakes the dead, plunging you into a reign of terror."

London, 1872. Dr. Cadman (Rathbone) has discovered an ancient drug that mimics death in every way. It puts the person in a deep sleep he refers to as the black sleep. He considers it to be an important step in his surgical experiments. He needs a capable assistant. Dr. Ramsay (Rudley) has been convicted of killing a man. He is about to be executed when Cadman uses his drug to help the condemned man escape the noose.