Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Eternal Guerilla
50 years ago, in 1965, Che Guevara left his government job in Havana, Cuba, seeking out more revolution in Africa and South America. It was the rebirth of Che, The Guerilla. It was also Che’s first step toward his own death. Remembering Che and his indefatigable taste for revolt, here’s a doc about the man [...]
Early Ashby
In his early career Hal Ashby was an editor who won an Academy Award for In the Heat of the Night. Of course, Ashby is now known as the director of some of the best films of the New Hollywood Cinema of the late 1960′s through the early 1980′s including Coming Home, Harold and Maude [...]
Mitch Hedberg: Writer
Mitch Hedberg was one of my favorite contemporary comedians before his death from a heart attack in 2005. Hedberg had only just solidified a national reputation and looked to be on the verge of breakthrough stardom when news of his death hit the airwaves. Hedberg combined a stoner sensibility with the obtuse observations of Steven [...]
Evel According to Milius
Recently, I was excited to stumble across an article about Johnny Knoxville’s new Evel Knievel documentary, Being Evel, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. Over the weekend I was re-watching the Milius documentary about writer/director John Milius who wrote Apocalypse Now and wrote and directed Red Dawn. I’d seen the flick before, but I [...]
Sold On Sellers
Comic genius and all-around super strange dude, Peter Sellers was born 90 years ago on September 8, 1925, and he died 35 years ago on July 24, 1980. Now that we’re somewhere right between these auspicious dates, it seemed like a good time to remember the great jester with this bizarre film about his bizarre [...]
American Psycho at 15
Fifteen years ago American cinema screens were hacked and sliced by the black comedy American Psycho. I didn’t see the flick until it came out on DVD. I watched it at a friend’s house in St. Louis and it’s still the only time that I immediately re-watched a film as soon as it ended. The [...]
After Hopper
Seems there’s always a significant anniversary to recount this year. Here’s another remembrance: this one marks five years since the death of Dennis Hopper. Hopper was an actor, director, writer, photographer and art collector. He was good at each of them and occasionally great at every one. Here’s a compilation of Hopper interviews presented by [...]
30 Years of Legend
Most readers of this blog probably love Ridley Scott for his classic science fiction films: Alien and Blade Runner are so good their appeal transcends the genre and the films continue to influence the way that directors envision the future. Even in lesser-known movies like The Duellists, Black Rain and Kingdom of Heaven, Scott demonstrates [...]
Dune 50
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the novel Dune. I’ve been following the remembrances the book is getting in the form of online articles and new releases, and I wanted to share a couple of recent favorite discoveries connected to Dune‘s half-century birthday. The Folio Society has released a gorgeous version of Dune [...]
I Ching According to Philip K. Dick
When we’re talking about the occult in China, we’re probably looking into the future. Today, with the economic and cultural uncertainty in the world’s oldest country, it seems China’s leaders are looking to magic to guide the way. Here’s the word from Reuters… Sometime in the last year, a group of mid-ranked government officials gathered [...]
