Posts by Gino Sassani

There have been few horror writers with the understanding of human nature that Edgar Allen Poe had. We only see one or two in every generation. Likely Stephen King is the closest that our generation has seen. But Poe knew the psychology of horror. He knew those dark special places in the mind where the true terror resides. Most of his characters encountered their fatal demons deep inside of themselves. With source material like that, how can you go wrong? Buried Alive demonstrates that you can still go horribly wrong.

Herman's Hermits was a huge part of the 1960's British Invasion that started with the Beatles. They were a five-piece band that had the typical shag haircuts and produced candy pop music that was particularly lapped up by millions of swooning teen girls here in America. The band's hits included There's A Kind Of Hush, I'm Henry, The Eighth I Am, and Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter. Unfortunately, none of these standards from the band's days of hits can be found in this rather silly movie.

"In the beginning there was darkness. And then bang, giving birth to an endless expanding existence of time, space, and matter. Now, see further than we've ever imagined. Beyond the limits of our existence. In a place we call The Universe."

The History series lasted for five seasons. The show used modern space photography, computer-generated images, and demonstrations along with respected scientists to explore the various aspects of our universe.

Ever since the second National Treasure film came out, there has been speculation that there might really be a Book Of Secrets that is passed down from president to president, perhaps since Washington himself. It is true that each president does traditionally leave a sealed note to his predecessor on the desk in the Oval Office. Still, there is no documentation that a special book exists, but then again there hardly would be, would there?

When you want to get the most bang for your buck in a low-budget 1980's slasher film, you could do a lot worse than The Dorm That Dripped Blood. It's an elusive film that has never really enjoyed much of any kind of wide release even in the video market. It was really nothing more than a student film put together as a thesis for UCLA students Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow. Like most student films, the piece utilizes locations on the UCLA campus and makes use of local talent both in front of the camera and behind.

I’ve been a fan of South Park ever since a friend introduced me to the internet Christmas card that started it all. It was Santa versus Jesus and these short potty-mouthed kids that somehow wormed their way under your skin. Pretty soon I was downloading the episodes and watching them on my computer. For some reason I can’t quite explain, I’ve very rarely watched an episode on Comedy Central. By the time things were getting tighter and riskier downloading the shorts, the single disc, 4-episode DVDs began to arrive in stores. So my South Park viewing moved from the PC to the DVD player.

"Ordinarily, Americans don't think much about the existence of organized crime. They know vaguely that it is there, and they let it go at that, unless prodded by some unusual circumstances ". - Estis Kefauver

Senator Kefauver knew what he was talking about. He led a well-known Senate investigation into organized crime back in 1950. His committee heard testimony about organized crime activities and made rather dramatic headlines with its findings.

Every year when the Academy Awards have been given out, I look over the winners in each category, and more often than not I scratch my head at the ultimate winners. I find myself wondering if they saw the same movie I saw. I start to ponder if there might be an alternate-universe version of these movies that somehow find themselves in the hands of the Academy jury. Sure, once in a while they get it right.

"In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I am He. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, was made nothing that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not. The greatest story ever told..."

Every spring around the time of Easter you could count on several annual films to make their way to televisions across the country for special family presentations.

I've long held the belief that the folks at Pixar are really just children who have refused to grow up. That doesn't mean that they don't have to deal with the realities that adulthood thrust upon each of us. I'm sure they have families and are responsible citizens and parents. They consistently make movies, that while there is certainly appeal for children, are obviously intended for adults, adults like them, who have decided to never grow up. If you ever required proof of that concept, The Incredibles should prove the point quite nicely.