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 The Dick Tracy Films Of The '30s and '40s
October 29, 2007
I should probably begin by informing you that I am not the biggest fan of motion pictures from the 1930s (it’s a weird quirk of mine - much like my equally odd inability to sit through most period piece dramas or my sheer and utter hatred for any type of food or condiment that is mayonnaise-based). Sure, most of the more “original” ideas were conceived and filmed during that golden decade when Hollywood was still ironing out all of the kinks, but it’s the look and (frequently low budget) style of the serials from the 40s and 50s that wins my attention each and every time (and don’t ask me to explain what I mean by that because I can’t).
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 Terror a la King: The Cinematic Legacy of Horror Novelist Stephen King
October 29, 2007
The Maine-based writer has been penning terror tales ever since his teens, and Hollywood has been snatching up the rights to his increasingly lengthy and elaborate books practically from day one. It's not hard to see why. King, a child of the 50's, grew up marinating in a stew of inspirational media like the 50's sci-fi movies he gobbled up double-feature matinees of every weekend, the famously ghoulish EC horror comics of the period like The Vault Of Horror and Tales From The Crypt and novels and short stories from giants of the sci-fi/horror fields like Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. Elements of all of these books and movies would find root in the dankly fertile soil of King's imagination, which would quickly spout into a series of compulsively readable novels which would insert the shambling zombies and blood-drooling vampires of King's wasted youth into the very real world of the 1970's, where Watergate, the fallout from Vietnam and the worsening energy crisis opened up a dark, yawning abyss of general unease which King ruthlessly and brilliantly exploited.
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 Remembering Greg “Enzian” Russo
September 4 , 2007
 lost a member of its family last weekend. Greg Russo, known as Enzian on our forums, passed away Saturday morning after a yearlong struggle with cancer. Whether you knew him strictly online or were among those fortunate enough to know him in “real life,” one thing was certain: Greg made an impact. A passionate guy, a man with overwhelming love for his family, someone who dealt with people honestly and fairly, our Enzian was in a class all his own. He loved to talk, he loved to read, but most of all he loved to smile. Words cannot express the sadness we feel, a grief made all the worse in knowing that Greg leaves behind a wonderful wife and two amazing young boys. He was only in his early 30s. He had so much left to give the world. Please indulge us as we mourn one of our own and share our memories of Greg “Enzian” Russo.
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 The Black Heart Behind Rankin/Bass Productions
by Cary Christopher
December 22 , 2006
You know, when the editorial staff here at first announced a theme week, everyone snapped up the titles like Black Christmas and Christmas Evil. Why? Well, because that’s in our comfort zone, that’s why. We are a jaded, cynical bunch here. No one trolls through DIMP looking for a review of Miracle on 34th Street. They come here looking for the dark side of Christmas.
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 The Beverly Hillbillies vs What's Happening!!
by Jim McDevitt
March 16, 2006
The Beverly Hillbillies and What’s Happening!! don’t seem like natural shows to compare, do they? No, they really don’t, but that’s where the fun is. These two situation comedies, which on the surface appear to have nothing in common, actually are similar in many ways and, as silly as this idea is, there are some excellent comparisons to be made. Read along and you’ll see just what I mean.
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 I Owe It All To Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
by Palmerlime
December 1, 2005
I firmly believe, as many of you who frequent sites such as this probably do as well, that movies are among the key elements in modern human existence that shape that which we are to become. Environment plays a key role, of course, upbringing and such, but movies … well they are something special.
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 In Defense of the Victims of Backlash
by Palmerlime
December 1, 2005
The Internet is a breeding ground for opinions and assholes. As the saying goes, “everyone that has an opinion also has an asshole” …or something like that. These opinions can spread like a virus and permeate through all the dork communities on this web of the worldwide, causing a ripple effect of like-mindedness that poses as iconoclastic ideals.
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 Cult Hero or Cinema Zero?
by Larry Phillips
November 17, 2005
"Movie buffs" are an odd lot. The attention to certain small things and obscure minutiae is amazing considering they (we) notice things the average filmgoer pays little mind to. Your typical viewer looks at film as disposable entertainment, something to be consumed and forgotten. We film fans tend to hang onto things, obsess about things, constantly try to outdo one another with details, facts, finding something new, rediscovering something lost. And I freely admit to being a part of this crowd.
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 Rankin & Bass: Merry Christmas, You Old Bastards
by Eric San Juan
December 8, 2005
I admit, I’m something of a Scrooge. The holiday season frustrates me. Irritates me. Drives me up a wall. And that’s kind of understating things. The truth is, I write dozens of letters each year to my Congressman asking for any and all “holiday season” holidays to be declared illegal (at least around me; I don’t care if the rest of you fall in with that nonsense, as long as I don't have to see it).
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 In Defense Of Roger Ebert
by Eric San Juan
Nobody likes a critic. Critics, they say, are simply those unable to do the things they are paid to criticize; talentless hacks without ability to call their own; losers who weren’t able to cut it in their chosen field and who now result to critiquing others rather than actually doing. They trash bands in reviews but can’t play a note. They rip apart books but couldn’t pen a decent line if they tried. And they take potshots at movies but are unable to create a good film on their own. Critics, in short, are on everyone’s hit list.
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 Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.
A Primer to Television’s most everlasting genre
by rhett
The soap opera began as a 15-minute radio broadcast designed by advertisers to help sell soap and cleaning products to housewives in 1930’s America. It started out humbly, but over time, the soap opera would make its move to daytime television, then to primetime and eventually diversify to conquer the teenage demographic as America’s leading preponderate of values and morals. While popular daytime soaps like The Guiding Light (the longest running, at a robust 68 years) and As the World Turns (49 years) continue to reach a predominately female target group, soap operas over the last thirty years have pushed to be more than just domestic dalliances for domestic mothers, and instead as full-out, hegemonic tools for the global family.
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 Of Offending Eyes and Wagging Tongues: Oldboy vs. Oedipus
by Palmerlime
In American culture, the search for The Truth is usually a search that is rewarded not only with knowledge, but also an almost heroic status. So many of our movies where the main character purportedly “can’t handle the truth” demonstrate that not only can The Truth be handled, but it can also deliver retribution (accompanied by a satisfying amount of courtroom mutterings). A prize, of sorts, for the difficult task that was undertaken.
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 Burn, Bollywood, Burn
by Palmerlime
The revolution has begun. This revolution, however, is not in our streets. And it’s not in our workplaces. Oh no, my friends. The revolution is in MY DVD player.
It started out as a lark. “Honey,” I hear a soft, angelic voice lilt, “let’s rent some of those wacky movies from India. You know, those movies where they break out into song and stage elaborate dance numbers at a moment’s notice?”
“Sure,” I think, “it’ll be good for a laugh or two.”
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 In Defense of Pop Culture
(aka: Eric San Juan is a Bitch)
by Shawn McLoughlin
I felt inspired to talk directly to our readers at home and apologize for Eric San Juan’s behavior. He really does mean well, but you deserve something more.
Since even before its erection, has always wanted to establish itself as a resource of open opinion. Sadly, Eric San Juan, no doubt in a bit of writer’s block wrote a rather negative commentary in haste just to have something on the main page.
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 Hollywood Is Ruining Science Fiction
by Eric San Juan
Sometimes I wish Hollywood would leave science fiction alone… that the powers that be would forget the little corner of the fiction world called “science fiction” exists, focusing instead on, I don’t know, gangster movies or something.
Gangsters, Hollywood does well. Science fiction? Not so much.
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 Revenge of the Sith: What You Didn't See
by Hardcore Legend
Revenge of the Sith, the climactic final cog in the machine that is ‘The Saga’. Judging from the $158 million 4-day total, most saw it and liked what they saw. However, if you paid close attention, you’d have found yourself on many occasions wondering ‘what’s going on?’. Not confusing plot twists, or overpowering visuals. Just instances where dialogue seemed missing, scenes seemed edited or characters refer to things that never happened.
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 Marilyn Monroe: Comedienne
by Mr. Wrinkles
It can be difficult to separate the icon from the actress where Marilyn Monroe is concerned. She strove her entire life to be taken seriously, by both critics and audiences, and only partially succeeded. In considering her artistic canon, author James Haspiel observed “she had played a showgirl in just about every movie that she ever made.” In her final interview, she pleaded with the reporter “not to make a joke of me”, a plea that fell on deaf ears.
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 Destroy All Pop Culture
by Eric San Juan
Who cares? That’s the question I ask myself every single time I hear that Lindsey Lohan’s father killed three toddlers in a tragic car crash, or didn’t wash his hands after going to the bathroom, or whatever the latest twist in the Lohan family saga is.
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