escape from new york

Review: Kurt Russell Is Snake Plissken In John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM L.A

Time is a great healer. John Carpenter’s Escape From L.A may not have set the world on fire when it was released back in 1996, but the film has aged incredibly well in the subsequent years. The follow-up to Carpenter’s 1981 classic, Escape From [...]

April 11, 2022

Ernest Borgnine – The Great Scene Stealer

The great Ernest Borgnine, (whose real name is Ermes Effron Borgnino) was born on January 24, 1917. He had a much-decorated ten-year career in the Navy, before starting acting in 1947, making his Broadway debut in 1949 with Harvey. However, a move [...]

January 24, 2022

Blu-ray Review: PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND Starring Nicolas Cage Is As Crazy As It Is Disappointing

Much like Nicolas Cage’s recent theme-park horror Willy’s Wonderland, Prisoners Of The Ghostland is a film with a cool sounding premise (and an excellent trailer) which is let down by its poor execution. Cage himself [...]

November 9, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Joe Begos’ VFW

Over the last 10 or 15 years, much has been said and done about the Grindhouse aesthetic. Since Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez unleashed their double-bill feature of Death Proof and Planet Terror 2007, many directors have tried and (mostly) [...]

October 30, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

When you look at how action cinema evolved in the 1980s, it’s very now clear that Escape From New York is one of the films which helped to establish the template for the muscular action hero. John Carpenter’s 1981 film (his second of many [...]

October 16, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: John Carpenter’s THE FOG

After taking a break from horror to make Elvis in 1979, John Carpenter returned to the genre with The Fog, an atmospheric ghost story set in the fictional Californian town of Antonio Bay. When The Fog starts rolling-in, so does the crew of [...]

October 15, 2021

The Mighty Charlton Heston

The words icon and legend are bandied about a great deal in modern society. Most of the time they mean nothing or at the very least they are simple hyperbole. However, when these words are used to describe Charlton Heston they come across as an [...]

October 4, 2021

Review: PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND With Nicolas Cage Is Nuts – In More Ways Than One

Please be aware that this review of Prisoners Of The Ghostland contains spoilers. Nicolas Cage himself has described Prisoners Of The Ghostland as ‘the wildest’ movie he’s ever made and that’s possibly very true – [...]

September 19, 2021

Behind The Scenes: John Carpenter, Victor Wong & Donald Pleasence On The Set Of PRINCE OF DARKNESS

Following the critical and commercial failure of 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China, John Carpenter returned to low budget filmmaking with Prince of Darkness. Carpenter made a deal with Alive Pictures, where he was given a budget of $3 [...]

September 12, 2021

Review: Zack Snyder’s ARMY OF THE DEAD – A Stupid Movie With Stupid Characters Doing Stupid Things

Zack Snyder is probably the most divisive director of the century. Over the last 20 years, no filmmaker has faced the vitriol which has been targeted at Snyder or been embraced by the fervent adoration of their fanbase. It’s odd – [...]

May 23, 2021

The Mighty Kurt Russell

The mighty Kurt Russell turned 70 years old on 17 March 2021. The iconic actor has had a long and varied career, starring in a variety of beloved cult classics and out-right global blockbusters. Russell brings a laid-back, blue-collar vibe to his [...]

March 17, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Donald G. Jackson & R.J. Kizer’s HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN

Hell Comes To Frogtown is a cult 1988 straight-to-video actioner starring wrestler (Rowdy) Roddy Piper. Is it high art? No, far from it – but it is an enjoyable slice of ‘80s cheese. Piper plays Sam Hell, a bad-ass wandering the wastelands of a [...]

February 9, 2021

Behind The Scenes Kurt Russell & Isaac Hayes On The Set Of John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Anti-hero Snake Plissken has become Kurt Russell’s trademark role and he embraces all the character’s quirks and traits. When he shot the film, Russell was still attempting to break-out from being a Disney child star and he puts his [...]

October 29, 2020

Behind The Scenes: James Cameron Working On The Special Effects For John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

John Carpenter‘s 1981 release, Escape From New York is almost a continuation of the type of sci-fi films that Charlton Heston made in the 1960s and 1970s (Planet Of The Apes, Omega Man, Soylent Green), there’s a wonderful bleakness to [...]

April 29, 2020

More Movies To Watch During The Coronavirus Shutdown

Movies In Focus has already delivered one list of essential movies to watch during COVID-19/Coronavirus shutdown. Things are having a serious post apocalyptic feel – a real dystopian future vibe is taking hold of the planet. We’re all [...]

March 18, 2020

Review: Joe Begos’ VFW Is A Bad-Ass, Bone-Crunching Beat E’m Up

February 15, 2020

Kurt Russell Looking Like A Cowboy On The Set Of John Carpenter’s THE FOG

The magic of movies knows no boundaries – be that in front of the camera, or behind it. After Elvis in 1979, John Carpenter returned to the horror genre with The Fog, an atmospheric ghost story set in the fictional Californian town of [...]

November 30, 2019

Review: Kurt Russell Is Snake Plissken In John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

When you look at how action cinema developed over the 1980s, it’s now clear to see that Escape From New York is one of the films which established the template for the muscular action hero. John Carpenter’s 1981 film (his second of many with [...]

November 3, 2018

Review: John Carpenter’s THE FOG Is A Classic Ghost Story

October 16, 2018

Notes On John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

Movies In Focus and the National Justice Museum’s John Carpenter Film Season continued with Big Trouble In Little China (the first was The Fog). I once again introduced the film, offering the audience a little insight into the 1986 film. Here are [...]

April 14, 2018

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