Skip to Content

The Ad-Lib – 10 Great Moments of Improvisation in Film

“The thing about improvisation is that it’s not about what you say. It’s listening to what other people say. It’s about what you hear” Paul Merton It’s something of an unwritten rule for any stage performer that you must, at the drop of a hat, be able to think on your feet and react off …

Read More about The Ad-Lib – 10 Great Moments of Improvisation in Film

“All Aboard”: Top Ten Bus-Related Moments in the Movies

Taking public transportation on the bus in everyday life is essential for workers worldwide as we need to make that daily grinding trek to the workplace, shopping malls, school, doctor’s appointment or whatever our destination may be at the moment. In particular, there is a love/hate relationship with buses as it presents all sort of …

Read More about “All Aboard”: Top Ten Bus-Related Moments in the Movies

Great TV/Film Sets and Locations: ‘The Prisoner’ and ‘Local Hero’

On a number of past occasions, I’ve written, in various contexts, about what I consider to be that most elusive of on-screen elements: a sense of place. “Sense of place” is the difference between a location serving as mere background, and being a character in its own right. It’s about getting the viewer’s head there, …

Read More about Great TV/Film Sets and Locations: ‘The Prisoner’ and ‘Local Hero’

Seven great rebel portraits of the ’60s and ’70s

The French gave us the word “demimonde” – literally, half the world. But what it has come to mean in English, or so says Webster, is “a distinct circle or world that is often an isolated part of a larger world.” Storytellers have always held a fascination with the dark side of human nature; that …

Read More about Seven great rebel portraits of the ’60s and ’70s

Bubbas, Chop-Sockies, Splatters And Sleaze – Oh My!

Since the earliest days of American cinema there has been a shadowy counterpart to the commercial mainstream:  exploitation movies — pictures whose appeal lies in their sensational treatment and leering promotion of often lurid and prurient material.  Pre-1960, when mainstream Hollywood worked within severe restrictions on content, exploitation movies offered audiences titillating glimpses of the …

Read More about Bubbas, Chop-Sockies, Splatters And Sleaze – Oh My!