Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Back to 2001
In the midst of all the recent Back To The Future hoopla I had an opportunity to publish a review about the franchise, and to have my old friend Ron “The Chron” point out one of the most fascinating conspiracy theories I’ve discovered in some time. First, here’s a review that originally appeared in The [...]
Liquid Sky
The great hero of the 1982 cult film Liquid Sky is Anne Carlisle: Carlisle co-wrote the screenplay, plays both the male and female fashion model leads in the film, and even authored the movie’s novelization. The flick actually did well on the festival circuit after debuting in Montreal, and according to Wikipedia it was the [...]
Factotum @ Forty
I like to think of Factotum as Charles Bukowski’s war novel, but Bukowski’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, is rejected from the draft and spends WWII at home. Here’s the wiki… Set in 1944, the plot follows Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s perpetually unemployed, alcoholic alter ego, who has been rejected from the World War II draft and [...]
Born Again
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1975 release of Bruce Springsteen’s third album, the classic, Born to Run. Hearing the song “Born to Run” is one of the most important musical experiences I’ve ever had. The song and the record both manage to convey some of the most exuberant music of the [...]
Devil’s Night
I don’t remember how old I was when I learned that Detroit was the only place with a Devil’s Night. I’m posting this on Thursday evening, but I won’t share it with anyone until Friday morning, just in time for the night before Halloween — Devil’s Night. The film Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages was [...]
Satan Francisco
Just in time for Halloween, it’s Speak of the Devil, the Anton LaVey documentary… Speak of the Devil: The Canon of Anton LaVey is a documentary film about Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, released in 1993 through Wavelength Video. It contains footage of LaVey including interviews and performances, a tour of his San Francisco [...]
There Be Dragons
Today I found out that a new Gary Gygax biography just came out this month. Gygax is credited with creating Dungeons & Dragons, giving birth to modern role playing games, and inventing an approach to adventure gaming that has had a massive effect on table top play and video gaming alike. I still have a [...]
Don’t Stop Believing
Continuing the spooky Halloween posts, here’s the 1987 Martin Sheen thriller, The Believers. This freaky little gem finds a widower surrounded by a threatening secret society after he and his son move to New York City. I think of this film as a charming occult thriller with the automatic kitsch of all things 1980′s. Add [...]
Boo Queue
Now that we’re beginning the last week before Halloween I want to get back to the spooky postings. Here’s a piece that first appeared in my Moving Pictures column in The Contributor. This is my breakdown on the must-see horror movies that are currently streaming on Netflix… Now that we’re into the month of October, [...]
