The Blu Spot

The Film: Over the decades, films about obsession with celebrities have become their own niche sub-genre, with some of these films turning out remarkably well ("Misery," "Play Misty for Me"), and others being nothing but dull, shallow slogs ("The Bling Ring," "The Fanatic"). It's a rather difficult topic to tackle, particularly because it's another area that's been explored quite a bit, making it harder and harder to come up with something new or different to say about such e

The Film: Once again we return to the seemingly-never-ending collection of films based on the work of prolific writer Stephen King, this time for what is perhaps one of the most well-known adaptations of one of his books. "Salem's Lot," based on the 1975 novel, was turned into a two-part miniseries by director Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Poltergeist") that first aired on CBS in 1979, with later releases including a shortened theatrical version for audiences

The Film: When it comes to sub-genres of horror, aside from your typical slashers, curses, and hauntings, there is perhaps no other area that has been more overdone than zombies. In terms of finding anything original to do with the undead, it's practically impossible, leading to a multitude of films that merely have the same old cliched band of survivors trying to survive an outbreak during its outset or after the fact. However, despite it being a heavily-trafficked area of c

The Film: When it came to action stars of the 1980s, one of the very biggest around was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave us multiple classics of the genre like "The Terminator," "Predator," "Commando," and "The Running Man." However, one of his '80s works that no one ever seems to bring up in discussions of his incredible career is a little "Sword & Sandals" actioner called "Red Sonja," a project that has a somewhat intriguing history, at least as far as its biggest star was c

The Film: Nearly 30 years ago, a little horror flick called "Anaconda" was unleashed in theaters. It was a rather silly concept that involved hunting down a large snake in the Amazon, one which naturally ends up killing several people, that wasn't exactly embraced by critics, but which audiences surprisingly did end up taking to. The film would ultimately gross about three times its decently-sized budget and go on to spawn four more films (only the first of which was in theat

The Film: It seems like every couple of years we'll get another adaptation of one of William Shakespeare's plays for the big screen, with any attempt to add all of them up at this point appearing to be a near-impossible task. However, what's far more rare are films about the bard himself, ones that dig into his private life and his remarkable talent for penning the most famous plays ever written. Some of these have been highly fictitious, such as the brilliant "Shakespeare in

The Film: Back in 1987, an adaptation of Stephen King's (writing as Richard Bachman) 1982 novel "The Running Man" was released with mega-star Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. It wasn't a major hit at the box office, and the reviews were somewhat negative, but the film did go on to become a cult classic favorite that still holds up quite well today as a fun little action thriller. What's rather interesting is that this original version is only a very loose adaptation of

The Film: As we've seen with the multitude of Stephen King adaptations over the years, it's usually the very best ones that will be brought up in discussion over and over again, like "The Shining," "Misery," "The Green Mile," etc., but then there are ones that no one seems to mention, like horror maestro George A. Romero's 1993 adaptation of King's 1989 novel "The Dark Half." Naturally, one's inclination would be that it must not be very good, especially after seeing the rath

The Film: Without a doubt, one of the most underrated directors to have ever worked in the business in the great Sidney Lumet, who gave us a multitude of great works that included "12 Angry Men," "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "Fail Safe," and "Dog Day Afternoon." However, even with that list of amazing films, there are many who would say that the five-time Oscar nominee's greatest accomplishment of his illustrious career was his 1976 satirical masterpiece "Network," which

The Film: Five-time Oscar-nominated writer/director Richard Linklater has given us quite a few unforgettable outings over the years, many of them with fellow five-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke, including the marvelous "Before Trilogy" and "Boyhood." For the most part, these have been quiet, dignified, yet highly-impactful journeys that keep the audience enthralled due to the strong writing & wonderful performances, which makes it thrilling to see them team up for yet another