Essential Dance Movies LIVE!

One of the great joys of my life was participating in this podcast with entertainment commentators extraordinaire Michael J. Ferrari (Cinema du Meep) and Erik Threlfall (Hysteria Lives).  We each discussed (or, in my case, went into raptures about) our top five favorite dance movies.  Listen here, and do the bug!

Cinema du Meep's Retro Movie Love Podcast: Episode 1, Dance Movies

Amazing Made for TV Horror Movies

On this week's Friday 13, I discuss 13 beautiful and inspiring TV horror movies (many from the "golden age" of the 1970s).  I still yearn for a sequel to HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, featuring all living members of the original cast.
Chiller TV Friday 13: 13 Amazing Made for TV Horror Movies

Insane Horror Movie Rip Offs

Some horror movie "rip offs" are as good, in their own crazy was, as the movies that inspired them.  The Nightmare on Elm Street series could certainly benefit from musical numbers!  And The Exorcist would likely have been an even bigger hit if it co-starred legendary classical Hollywood actress Juanita Moore (Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life) talking about fried chicken and the sanctity of marriage!  Here are some crazy and fabulous examples of horror movie rip offs, on this week's Friday 13.

Chiller TV Friday 13:  13 Totally Insane Horror Movie Rip Offs

Horror Movies About Horror Movies

Horror movie fans don’t just love the movies themselves.  Many of us are fascinated by the contexts that surround them:  How were they made?  Who made them?  Why do we love them?  How do they influence our lives?  At the same time, a lot of people are afraid of the people who make horror movies, and the people who adore them.  These people blame horror movies’ makers and fans for all sorts of social problems.  Horror movies often capitalize on horror fans’ fascination and draw upon horror haters’ anxieties, presenting horrific stories about the movies we love most.  On this week's Friday 13, here are some intriguing examples.

Chiller TV Friday 13: Horror Movies About Horror Movies

Soul TV, Black Power, & African American Media Culture of the 1970s

I hope you'll like my discussion of several important "Black Power TV Shows" of the 1970s, including Soul, Soul Train, and Inside Bedford Stuyvesant, which appeared on UCLA CSW's blog.  The piece includes interviews with Devorah Heitner (author of Black Power TV), Melissa Haizlip (filmmaker of Mr. Soul!: The Movie), and Ericka Blount (author of Love, Peace, and Soul: Behind the Scenes of America's Favorite Dance Show Soul Train: Classic Moments).  It also includes links to some amazing video footage.

Soul TV, Black Power, & African American Media Culture of the 1970s

Best Horror Couples

There is nothing more romantic than the notion of repressed gay men discovering their passion for one another because of a haunted Ouija board, or a one night stand with a hitchhiker turning into a true love affair because of violent ghost pirates and a town's history of genocide.  On this week's Friday 13, horror movies are for lovers.

Chiller TV Friday 13: 13 Great Horror Couples