December 12th, 2009 by Pop Element
Happy holidays, guys!
November 15th, 2009 by Pop Element
I’d like to start reviewing some of my favorite B-movies every week or so, time permitting. Let’s kick it off with a review of Larry Cohen’s classic It’s Alive.
When Frank and Lenore Davis (played by John Ryan and Sharon Farrell) have a clawed, fanged baby boy with a habit of slaughtering people whenever he’s frightened, a manhunt begins for the monster child as his parents attempt to come to terms with their little terror. By no means a complex plot, but it’s more than satisfying in its simplicity.
Splatter aside, It’s Alive is a highly emotional film. A couple is forced to make a choice: harbor a monstrous child or dismiss their parental instincts and allow their son to be killed and dissected — heavy stuff. Shame is also an important concept explored in the movie, as Frank faces his co-workers after the news about his child hits newspapers.
Between the scares, John Ryan’s top-notch performance and Bernard Herrmann’s memorable score, It’s Alive rates as a classic. It’s also one of the films that taught me from an early age that low-budget pictures don’t have to be bad. As a boy obsessed with the macabre, I ran across Larry Cohen’s 1974 cheesefest on cable late one night; it made a big impression on me, and I’ll go so far as to say it’s the one film that sparked my love for B-movies. Thanks, Larry!
March 2nd, 2009 by Pop Element
This week on Pop Element, John and Alex talked about some of their favorite zombie film, books and comics.
They started off the show with a little bit about recently released artwork for the upcoming Wolfman remake, the rumors of Michael Cera capitulating and joining the cast of the Arrested Development movie, Jerry Seinfeld’s return to NBC, and the possibility of Richard Pryor being played by Eddie Murphy in an upcoming biopic.
John and Alex praised the contributions to zombie-dom of George Romero, Lucio Fulci and John Russo. They talked a bit about the works of Max Brooks and Brian Keene in the field of zombie literature, and comic books The Walking Dead and Zombies of Mass Destruction.
To close the show, the guys reviewed Quarantine and Resident Evil: Degeneration.
March 1st, 2009 by Pop Element
We at Pop Element wish to express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Paul Harvey, a broadcast pioneer with more than 75 years of experience in radio.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. I’ve listened to Paul Harvey’s segments on WABC in New York for as long as I can remember, and the news of his passing comes as a crushing blow to me. His contributions to broadcast media have been innumerable, and he will be sorely missed by listeners around the world.
In a statement released today, Paul Harvey, Jr. said that “millions have lost a friend.” Truer words have never been spoken.
We’ll miss you, Mr. Harvey.
February 22nd, 2009 by Pop Element
On this week’s episode of Pop Element, John and Alex talked about the best and worst on-screen robots.
They opened up the show by talking a little bit about the upcoming film adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen. They went on to discuss the possibility of a cameo by Linda Hamilton is the new Terminator film, this year’s Oscar nominees, an update on Friday the 13th’s opening figures, and the latest happenings on ABC’s Lost.
Some of John and Alex’s favorite robots included the T-101, T-1000 and Cameron from the Terminator franchise, RoboCop, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 ‘bots, and R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars.
Although it’s hard to find truly bad robots, John and Alex managed to find some flawed mechanical men. Discussed were the T-X from Terminator 3, Twiki from the short-lived Buck Rogers series and Vicki from Small Wonder, among a few others.
Big thanks to everyone who left feedback, and to Jay Merrifield for the dobro track!
February 16th, 2009 by Pop Element
In the first ever episode of Pop Element, John and Alex discussed John Carpenter’s seminal classic Halloween, but first they went over the critical reactions to Friday the 13th and new stills from Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. To cap things off, John panned Joss Whedon’s new series, Dollhouse and Alex praised Important Things, the new sketch comedy series from comedian Demetri Martin.
Next week the guys will discuss the best and worst robots of film and television. Have a robot you’d like us to discuss? Drop us a line! We’d love to hear from you.
February 10th, 2009 by Pop Element
Pop Element is a weekly, hour-long podcast dedicated to all things pop culture…from the mainstream to the obscure. John and Alex are your hosts, and together they’ll deliver analysis, news and reviews on all of the topics you love.
Keep an eye out for the very first episode, which should be posted soon.
