Out of the Past: “D.O.A” (1950)

This movie isn’t a contender for one of the classic films of all time, but it provides viewers with a damn good time. The simple concept of D.O.A. (Dead On Arrival) is straightforward. Frank Bigelow (Edmond O’ Brien) is a…

Out of the Past: “Point Blank” (1967)

Violence was all the rage in August of 1967. New Hollywood started with Bonnie and Clyde, and a few weeks later Point Blank was released. While Bonnie and Clyde started a cinematic revolution, Point Blank is one film that should…

Out of the Past: “Killer Joe” (2012)

The pit bull outside the Smith’s trailer barks at everyone, but Joe. Joe wears a black cowboy hat sitting atop his jet black hair with his black aviator resting on his nose. Joe is a part-time police detective and part-time…

Out of the Past: “Casino Royale” (2006)

“Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” This Ernest Hemingway quote from Old Man in the Sea is the conceit of the 21st entry into the James Bond franchise Casino Royale (2006). After…

Out of the Past: “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943)

The devil comes in many guises. In Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), the devil arrives by train on the small suburban town of Santa Rosa, California in the form of Joseph Cotton (The Third Man).  Cotton portrays Uncle…

Out of the Past: “Klute” (1971)

Someone is watching you—you don’t know where the stalker is hidden, but eyes are watching your every movement. Klute delves into your primal fears. It taps into the fear that someone is watching you when the lights are out and…

Out of the Past: “The Killing” (1956)

Before Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange there was The Killing. Stanley Kubrick’s second foray into film noir instantly became a classic and ultimately, Kubrick’s springboard into Hollywood. The story is simple–a group of small-time criminals,…