Trash Film Guru Vs. The Summer Blockbusters : "Iron Man 3"

Reblogged from Through the Shattered Lens:

I'm not sure one can entirely, or even adequately, separate how one feels about Marvel's latest bloated billion-dollar blockbuster, Iron Man 3, from how one feels about their last one, The Avengers --- excuse me, Marvel's The Avengers --- since Joss Whedon's flick has been positioned, story-wise, as a thematic and consequential lead-in to director Shane Black's first crack at the cinematic exploits of Tony Stark and his super-suit.

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My assault on the summer blockbusters continues over at Through The Shattered Lens ---

Trash Film Guru Vs. The Summer Blockbusters : "Star Trek Into Darkness"

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There are those who have argued online --- and in print, as well, I'd imagine --- that once you cross the invisible threshold from merely "liking" a recurring or serialized entertainment property/artistic venture (I'll leave you, dear reader, to decide which of those categories the Star Trek franchise falls into) into becoming a full-fledged "fan" of it that you're basically fucked, because while "liking" something means you appreciate it for what it 

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My annual assault on the summer blockbusters begins over at Through The Shattered Lens!

Grindhouse Classics : "Pick-Up"

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One word that doesn't usually (if ever) come to mind when you're talking about the drive-in fare churned out by Crown International Pictures in the 1970s is weird.

Yeah, okay, fair enough --- I suppose just about any CIP flick looks a little bit "weird" to a contemporary audience, given that they're all very much  products of their time, but honestly, pretty much everything released under their banner boils down, story-wise,  to a simple morality play with a generous helping of sex (always) and violence (sometimes) thrown in --- and more often than not, as with most exploitation fare, the most common themes in the Crown back catalog are "don't set your sights above your station in life" and "don't talk to strangers."

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My newest review for Through The Shattered Lens website, 1975 Crown International oddity "Pick-Up."

Enough With The "Bates Motel" Stuff Around Here, How About Some "Mayhem Motel" ?

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Don't get me wrong, folks --- by and large I kinda like Bates Motel, and I certainly enjoy reading Lisa Marie's write-ups on each episode here on TSSL, but let's not kid ourselves ---- that show is a soap opera less- than- cleverly-concealed beneath some standard horror genre trappings. You can, of course, say the same for The Walking Dead…

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My latest piece for Through The Shattered Lens takes a look at another SOV zero-budgeter found hiding in the depth of a Pendulum Pictures DVD boxed set ---

Trash TV Guru : "Hannibal," Episode 1 : "Aperitif"

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Okay, here's the deal --- if you follow my "writing" (am I being too generous already?) either here on TTSL, on my own site,  http://trashfilmguru.wordpress.com, or on other places where my "byline" (again with the generosity!) occasionally appears such as dailygrindhouse.com, geekyuniverse.com, or what have you, it's probably become apparent to you by this point that I don't talk TV that much.

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My thoughts on the first episode of NBC's new "Hannibal" TV series, courtesy of Through The Shattered Lens website.

Everyone Else Is Talking About The "Evil Dead" Remake, So I Guess I Will, Too

Reblogged from Through the Shattered Lens:

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat --- first-time director Fede Alvarez's new remake/"reimagining" of Sam Raimi's 1981 classic The Evil Dead (this time going out minus the article at the beginning of the title, so it's just Evil Dead, thank you very much) is not, as its ad poster claims, "the most terrifying film you will ever experience." That's actually a gutsier tag line than it sounds on first reading, since it's essentially promising that not only is this flick scarier than anything you've already seen, it's scarier than anything else you're ever 

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My thoughts on the new "Evil Dead" remake, courtesy of Through The Shattered Lens website.

Any Takers For "Spring Breakers" ?

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So, we've finally discovered what it takes for Harmony Korine to go mainstream --- a couple of  established stars, a little T&A, and hey! --- he's in the club. Hell, he can even manage to get himself invited onto Letterman outta the deal --- although apparently he can't stick around for long. Still, the fact remains --- long (hell, decades) after you'd given up on the very notion it would ever happen, Hollywood has opened its doors to the guy who gave us 

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My newest piece for Through The Shattered Lens website takes a look at the latest offering from Harmony Korine, "Spring Breakers."

"Alienator" : Fred Olen Ray Gives "The Terminator" A Sex Change

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Give Fred Olen Ray credit --- the guy's a survivor. While his name has never been attached to a genuine B-movie classic --- although Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers definitely has its fans --- he's found a way to remain, if not exactly relevant, at least employed for decades now and has , according to official IMDB totals, written 56 films, produced 80, starred in 143, and directed a staggering 128!

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My newest piece for Through The Shattered Lens website looking at Fred Olen Ray's forgettable "Alienator."

"The Las Vegas Serial Killer" Goes Back To A Dry Well

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As we painstakingly established around these parts a few days back, The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher was not exactly Ray Dennis Steckler's finer hour (okay, hour and ten minutes). It's a definite head-scratcher of a movie, to be sure, but as mind-bogglingly weird as Steckler's idea to shoot a silent slasher flick on a budget of $1,000 in 1979 was, that decision seems positively 

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My latest piece for Through The Shattered Lens website, on Ray Dennis Steckler's "The Las Vegas Serial Killer."

Grindhouse Classics : "The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher"

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Sometimes, it's almost impossible to know where to begin. Watching cult auteur Ray Dennis Steckler's less-than-no-budget/dual-slasher mash-up The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher feels like a step back in time to the late 50s/early 60s, when ultra-cheap productions like The Creeping Terror and The Beast Of Yucca Flats were shot not only without sound, but with what sound 

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My latest piece for Through The Shattered Lens website on Ray Dennis Steckler's "The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher."