Tag Archives: thrillers

Notes on “The Shallows”

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: I found the highly praised shark movie “The Shallows” to be a tolerable but rather joyless experience. Taken as a genre picture it’s weirdly flat — not exciting and funny like “Jaws,” or empathically harrowing like “Gravity,” or … Continue reading →

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Notes on “Capricorn One”

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: There is one great moment in the 1978 “Capricorn One”: a slow track away from a group of astronauts who are acting out a Mars landing for the benefit of a credulous public. As the head … Continue reading →

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“Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball”

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: “Rosemary’s Baby” meets “Don’t Look Now” in backcountry Ireland: creepiness, shocks, sex and hints of the supernatural in a very sophisticated, very boho package. Kelly Reilly is a yuppie architect renovating a dilapidated stone house; Miranda Richardson … Continue reading →

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Books Journal: “Too Big to Fail”

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: With “Too Big to Fail,” New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin was obviously inspired by “Barbarians at the Gates,” Burroughs and Helyar’s tale of 1980s financial misbehavior, as well as (perhaps) by the Washington D.C.-based novels of David … Continue reading →

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Notes on “Stranger by the Lake”

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: In “Stranger by the Lake,” writer-director Alain Guiraudie mines some of the thematic veins explored by William Friedkin in “Cruising”: it’s a picture about the danger and exhibitionism inherent in male-on-male courtship. The setting is a lake in the south … Continue reading →

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Giallo Movie Posters: Estremi Italiani

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Either you like extremes in your art and pop culture, or you don’t. I suspect most fans of the giallo are in the former camp. The giallo was a peculiarly Italian brand of thriller-cum-horror film that … Continue reading →

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Giallo Movie Posters: Edwige Fenech

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: I’m fond of referring to Edwige Fenech as the Nefertiti of the Trash Cinema. Are you all familiar with Edwige? During the ’70s she was one of the premier actresses in European genre movies. Chic and unshamable, … Continue reading →

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Two NYC-Set ’70s Cop Thrillers

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I just caught up with a couple of cop thrillers from the 1970s that I somehow missed first time around. The first was a chore, the second a gem. The Seven-Ups This 1973 NYC-set picture is much loved … Continue reading →

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Notes on “Secrets of a Call Girl”

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: The 1973 “Secrets of a Call Girl” must be the ultimate Edwige Fenech movie. Not necessarily the best one, just the one that shows her from the most angles. In this sense it’s a bit like … Continue reading →

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“3 Days to Kill”

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I don’t have much feeling for, let alone interest in, current movies, and recently I’ve been seeing no more than two or three new movies each year. So you’d be nuts to take my reactions to current … Continue reading →

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