The Blu Spot

The Film: Over the last several decades, there have been many films that have explored the dark period of American history involving The Blacklist, HUAC, and the desperate investigation into Communist activities of the 1950s, but it's rather interesting to note that they didn't really start appearing until the '70s, with "The Way We Were" from 1973 being credited as the first major film to use it as a central plot point. However, the first one to focus on it in a satirical fa

The Show: When the long-awaited & highly-anticipated adaptation of the popular "Fallout" video game series premiered just two years ago, the result was a somewhat surprising mixed offering that had fantastic production value, but faltered a bit when it came to its writing. That is to say, it seemed to take quite a while to get its various storylines moving, and even when they finally did, it still had a little trouble keeping focus on the ones that were most important. As we

The Show: It's an undisputed fact that no list of the greatest sitcoms of all time would be complete without the one that truly started it all. "I Love Lucy," which originally ran for six seasons from 1951-1957 (with additional specials that would form three more seasons), would lay the foundation for your standard multi-camera comedy with a live studio audience, essentially forming the blueprint for all others that would come after. Even as it celebrates its incredible 75th

The Film: James Whale's 1935 classic "The Bride of Frankenstein" is considered by many to be one of the very best horror sequels in cinematic history. In fact, there are those that would even place it above Whale's original "Frankenstein" from 1931, so to attempt to do anything new with the material is already seen somewhat as treading on sacred ground. After Universal's plans for a "Dark Universe" of the classic monsters, which included a new retelling of the story, fell th

The Film: When "Speed Racer" first debuted in manga form 60 years ago, it quickly gained quite a following, so much so that an anime was launched the very next year that's become quite a fan-favorite over the decades. It seemed almost inevitable that a filmmaker would want to try their hand at adapting it into a film somewhere down the line, which brings us to The Wachowskis and their 2008 attempt to adapt the material for the big screen. To say that the critics didn't care f

The Film: The Nuremberg Trials that took place after World War II are hardly a new subject for a film, with Stanley Kramer's brilliant 1961 drama "Judgment at Nuremberg" standing out as the prime example of how compelling the topic can be when brought to the screen (especially with its stunning ensemble), but just because the subject has been explored before doesn't mean that it can't be explored from new angles. This brings us to James Vanderbilt's latest project, simply tit

The Film: It's been quite a fascinating journey to watch Timothee Chalamet go from being "that kid who was in 'Interstellar'" to nabbing an Oscar nomination for his breakout performance in "Call Me by Your Name" just three years later, and then having his career blow up even further by starring in major awards players like "Little Women," the "Dune" films, and "A Complete Unknown," which earned him a second Oscar nod. While someone in his position could easily make it a point

The Film: The legendary Bela Lugosi, prolific actor of stage and screen, will always be remembered most for his iconic portrayal of Dracula in the 1931 Tod Browning classic, but if one had to choose what his second most famous film was, you would likely get a variety of answers. Some might choose another one of his beloved monster-related works like "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," "Son of Frankenstein," or the delightful "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein." However, the

The Film: Keeping with the trend of anthropomorphizing animals in animation, a little flick called "GOAT" popped up earlier this year looking to capitalize on the popularity of such hits as the "Zootopia" and "The Bad Guys" films. You'd be forgiven for possibly not having heard of it, for it sort of came and went without making too much of a splash, receiving rather middling reviews from critics & audiences, and, despite what looks like a pretty impressive box office, coming

The Film: Director John Badham is another one of those directors whose name you might not recognize right off the top of your head, but whose work you are more thank likely familiar with, work that includes such classics as "Saturday Night Fever," "Dracula (1979)," "WarGames," and "Short Circuit." One of his projects that you don't hear a lot of talk about nowadays is his 1983 actioner "Blue Thunder," which involved a little bit of intrigue and a whole lot of helicopters flyi