Although steeped in the traditions and trappings of what could be done in 1943, Stormy Weather was an early effort for mainstream Hollywood to bring blackness to the forefront. As such, the film holds a […]
Category: Pump Up The Column
HAIR HELMETS & POLKA DOTS: THE CORNY AUTHENTICITY OF ‘BACK TO THE BEACH’
“Not many people can cha cha chaNot everybody can do the twistBut everybody can do the SkaIt’s the new dance you can’t resist” ~ old Jamaican proverb* A woman and man are walking hand in […]
WHY 2010 IS COMMONLY CONSIDERED THE GREATEST ERA OF HORROR
The frontiers of media provide lawless opportunities for artists. Before the corporate-appointed sheriff rolls into town, utopias of artistic expression are possible. What those utopic dreams are and how long they last is an entirely […]
FILE UNDER: CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SH*T IS RATED PG??
Rock musicals of the 1970s are one of numerous corners in pop culture that represent the rapid change of taste happening during the New Hollywood era. For decades, the traditional musical was a reliable gimmick […]
Rutger Hauer: The Nostradamus of Cyberpunk Cinema
Rutger Hauer started his acting career as “the Dutch Robert Redford.” He was a leading man but lurking beneath the surface was a limitless reservoir of talent and an uncanny ability to tap into the […]
MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRLS GONE WILD
Vera Chytilova graduated from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in 1962, but when she entered the Academy, she stood in front of a board of resident […]
TRASH TALK: THE UNBELIEVABLY FASCINATING CHARACTER OF MORTON DOWNEY JR.
PUMP UP THE COLUMN EXPLORES THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF PUNK AESTHETIC USED IN CINEMA In my first “Pump Up The Column” piece I mentioned that the definition of punk varies. If you ask some maybe […]
TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE(S), AKA THAT DOG WILL PUNK
Tobe Hooper collected many accomplishments as a filmmaker: there was Salem’s Lot, the miniseries that made kids soil their bedsheets at the thought of a vampire floating outside their bedroom window asking to be let in. […]
“READ MY LIPS – NOT X RATED!” 1995’S EVIL ED TACKLES CENSORSHIP, PUNK, AND POLITICS
PUMP UP THE COLUMN EXPLORES THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF PUNK AESTHETIC USED IN CINEMA Genre film – in particular, horror – and punk rock have enjoyed a long and comfortable kinship. For bands like The Misfits and The Cramps, […]
HOW A 1950 MOVIE HAD THE AUDACITY TO TELL HOLLYWOOD TO GO F**K ITSELF
PUMP UP THE COLUMN EXPLORES THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF PUNK AESTHETIC USED IN CINEMA The definition of punk varies: some see the Sex Pistols when they hear the word, while others consider them a boy […]
WESTERNS, COPS, & PUNK: WHO KNEW?
PUMP UP THE COLUMN EXPLORES THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS OF PUNK AESTHETIC USED IN CINEMA Exactly how much correlation can we draw between punk rock and the Western Movie? On the surface, they do seem a […]