When I was a kid I lived in Manhattan Beach, CA, and rented movies from the Video Archives Store. It was managed by Quentin Tarantino and his best friend Roger Avary, who would go on to co-write and win Academy Awards for Pulp Fiction. These guys were certified film maniacs. Hundreds of movies on the shelf featured their hand-written commentaries, and God help you if (after they got to know you) you rented something they deemed beneath your film appreciation level. I learned more about film from them than from any paid critic or author. So, yes, I cast my vote for rental stores to return and be staffed by people who love cinema and who will gladly guide you along your own film journey.
RIP Chuck Norris. I think my first introduction to him was SILENT RAGE (1982) where he went up against an unstoppable Michael Myers-ish psycho. Still have that vhs somewhere.
Oh man! Robert Duvall and my dad were friends. We stayed at his house one time when I was a teenager. He had pot bellied pigs running around. He was so nice.
He studied my mom’s mother and her family for the roll in the Apostle.
My dad loved Tender Mercies (as do I), but my dad really felt that he had nailed the West Texas accent in that movie and had really captured the spirit of a character like that.
So sad to hear he’s passed away. He was one of my favorites. From To Kill A Mockingbird, to Network, to Falling Down I love all of his movies. Rest in Peace, Bobby!
Happy 78th heavenly birthday to Ronnie Van Zant, lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Ronnie passed away with more band members in a plane crash in 1977.
A tragedy that shook the music world.
Never forgotten.
Buy your CDs and tapes and vinyl!
Tompall Glaser has been erased from the “Wanted: The Outlaws” just further proving that our favorite albums can be completely changed and cannibalized by streaming services.
Whether it’s a “rights” issue, you cannot count on your favorite music, books and movies not being dissected and abridged.
Buy physical copies before it’s too late!