The glass bottom boat of the cultural press
How do you attract a comedian’s attention? For singer/songwriter Terry Carleton, you write a song about him. In this case, the celebrity is Pee-wee Herman, who Carleton has been trying to court with the Fab Five-fueled single, “Good Morning, Mr. Breakfast.” Will Herman ever hear the track, or will The Playhouse Gang give it a thumbs down? Carleton speaks to Robert Sutton about his own “Big Adventure.”
Is Spongebob really that twisted? Guest writer Jane Cora takes a look at the surreal history of children’s television.
This week, cuddly curmudgeon Christopher Long finds himself feeling even older as he hobbles through a Florida flea market in pursuit of vinyl copies of the four infamous KISS solo albums — just in time to commemorate the set’s milestone 45th anniversary.
Starting with small-time jobs, two gangsters take over all the crime in Marseilles in this well-paced and entertaining French film. Carl F. Gauze reviews the freshly released Arrow Video Blu-ray edition of Borsalino (1970).
Aaron Tanner delivers 400 pages of visual delights from the ever-enigmatic band, The Residents, in The Residents Visual History Book: A Sight for Sore Eyes, Vol. 2.
Two teenage boys build a sexy computer girlfriend with an 8-bit computer… you know the story. Carl F. Gauze reviews Weird Science (1985), in a new 4K UHD Blu-ray release from Arrow Films.
Cauldron Films’ new UHD/Blu-ray release of Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980) preserves one of the best Italian horror films, according to Phil Bailey.
Marleen Gorris’s first theatrical feature is a potent feminist look at the easily disposable lives of sex workers in Amsterdam. Phil Bailey reviews Broken Mirrors.
Late bloomer Tony Bowman spins a tale of past decades with a Jimmy Buffett soundtrack.
This week Christopher Long scores a timely treasure — a near-mint vinyl copy of The Dream Weaver, the classic 1975 LP from Gary Wright — for just eight bucks.