Classic Rock Song Of The Week

Peaked at #11 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, August 24th, 1974.

Three Tom Sawyers

The Seventies version features lost, terrorized kids being saved by the actions of an adult search party. The Thirties version is a kid saving himself and his sweetheart, through his own ingenuity, because there are no adults are there to save him.

Sidewinder’s View: The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud (1975) [SPOILERS]

I view the film as a tragedy, with a subtly spooky atmosphere. Which is probably why it tends to get mistaken for a Horror film.

Sidewinder’s View: Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther Film Collection Starring Peter Sellers (Blu-Ray Box Set)

I don't regret buying the Blu-ray set, but I think I have a clearer idea why Shout Select chose to sell the series as a combo set instead of individually. The series has a few turkeys which showcase comedic sensibilities that honestly haven't aged very well over the past thirty-to-fifty-plus years.

Obscure Movie Reference Day

Sidewinder’s View: The Valachi Papers (1972) [SPOILERS]

The character of Joe Valachi was a big part of what kept me from enjoying the film. As a mobster, Valachi's not very successful. He's just a boss's driver, with a pair of legit side businesses, kind of passive and, ultimately, boring. He's not clever. He's not charismatic. He often comes across as bizarrely naive, at times, almost child-like.

Classic Rock Song Of The Week

Reached #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, March 19th, 1983.

Salvador & Under Fire: Move Along, Sir, Nothing Sovietly Sinister To See Here.

I can still be entertained by a film without believing everything it has to say (or doesn't say).

Homemade FAKE Criterion Of The Week

  A fine example of an action movie that played a whole lot better when I first watched it on HBO as an eleven-year-old in 1981. Watching it as an adult, I found it a bit dry and talky, but still entertaining.  https://youtu.be/mZuzqwBxi3M Some Chuck Norris fans go more for his mid-to-late '80s Cannon flicks. …

Sidewinder’s View: Joe (1970) [SPOILERS]

Despite the film's humor, I don't view it so much as an entertainment, but as a stark depiction of the escalating cost of poor decisions. Joe's a cautionary tale about how NOT to behave.