Author Archives: jarettburke

Gramps Mourns: Fernando Di Leo We Hardly Knew Thee

If you’re a cinemahead and sometimes your friends or peers give you an odd look when you almost climax over simply hearing the name of your favorite film or actor, we feel your pain. However, when it comes right down to it, sometimes we do damn near explode with ecstasy; this is the beauty of film, no? It’s our first love and, excluding the pre-nup, I presume our relationship will still be hot ‘n’ heavy decades down the road. Case in point: Fernando Di Leo. I consider myself a massive fawkin’ fan of Italian genre cinema–not an expert, but a stalkerish fan. I’m reading some articles on Lucio Fulci after re-watching his City of the Living Dead or Gates of Hell or any of the other 2o names it has, and like a bitch-slap from Andy Dick I see the name–for the first time–of Fernando Di Leo.   Continue reading

Gramps: Requiem a Criminally Overlooked Heavyweight Champion

Boxing movies. What are you thinking right now? Yes, yes, the Rocky Franchise; perhaps the recent success of The Fighter? For me, with unabashed passion and extreme stubbornness, it is and always will be Raging Bull (a heavyweight contender for Grampenstein’s favorite film). Enter Requiem For a Heavyweight… almost 50 years ago! Talk about “where have you been all my life?” Watch out Rocko and Ward, because “Mountain” Rivera could give Jake La Motta all 12 rounds on any given sunday. Continue reading

Meek’s Cutoff: When and Where Will it Land?

I’ve been following Meek’s Cutoff for at least 6 months now, and it’s just as exciting as ever. However, this whole limited release bullshit is driving me mad. April 8th? Yes, in LA and New York. What about the backwoods of Kanada?  Continue reading

Relativity Media Eats Crow

Hey! Some good news for a change. It’s possible that we’ll not have to see Bradley Cooper in black and white face paint pretending he knows how to fight. Like ’em or lump ’em, the Weinsteins are fighting back, so says Movie Line.

Gramps: Carpenter is The Prince of Darkness

John Carpenter. Jesus Christ. John Carpenter. Jesus Christ. J.C./J.C.? The initials are not a coincidence in the cinematic world of the macabre and stories of le diaboliques! Carpenter is a Man Amongst Men in independent, brilliantly told cinema. With Prince being his first “indie” after going full studio treatment for Escape from New York, it’s like he’d been saving all his good ideas that he couldn’t use with the studios and unleashed them, figuratively and literally, in this film. Continue reading

Say It Ain’t So Joe?

I feel the way Joe looks...

Straight from the ‘Say it Ain’t So’ department, Sir Joe Pesci, once thought retired, is coming back again. No, I’m not talking about teaming with Scorsese and Bobby D in I Heard You Paint Houses. This project involves John Travolta and, potentially, Lindsay Lohan, while being directed by Nick Cassavetes. Now, if that All-Star Weekend line-up doesn’t bring a tear of depression to your eye, you’re either producing the movie or you’re the Tin Man. Continue reading

Unfortunately, ‘They Live:’ Matt Reeves and Universal Studios

This news doesn’t quite get me as fueled up as recent talks of remaking The Wild Bunch, but, for the love of Moses, it’s close. John Carpenter is sacred (as is Peckinpah); that’s simply the law of the land folks. The thought of updating his once mocked, semi-straight to VHS B-movie, Sci-Fi romp is (like this sentence) a complete right-off. Continue reading

Michael Mann Likes Haggis and Gold

A little diddy of a news tidbit concerning Mr. Mann and a Paul, a Paul named Haggis. Collider.com via Heat Vision reports that Mann is set to direct Gold and Haggy to produce. Rumor also has it, as rumors often do, that Leo DiCaprio is reading the script as we speak, or as I write this, or as you read this. It’s probably a cock-tease, but consider me teased!

Gramps: The Horde an Apocalyptic Treat

In the last decade or so, Zombie films can be classified under the following headings: the good, the bad, and the-ever-so-fucking-terrible (the latter expresses my feelings toward the Resident Evil franchise – yes, I sat through them, painfully). The Horde has been on my list for quite a while so, to my surprise, when I saw it was finally available On Demand I put on my ‘jammy-jams,’ got a nice snuggly blanket, a sleeve of Oreos, and a beer – what? Continue reading

Sidney Lumet Dead at 86

What, really, can be said? Yesterday afternoon I’m cruising the Hollywood Reporter and my breath stopped. It actually took a few moments to process their headline before clicking the link. Continue reading