Welcome to Tonya’s Diner where Tonya from When It Was Cool discusses food, cooking, and share’s recipes. You might just find your new favorite recipe - here!

Food Review: Shaffer Farms Texas BBQ in Summerville, TN. If It’s Good Enough For Jelly Roll, It’s Good Enough For Us!

Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool recently traveled to Summerville, TN, just north of the Amish communities of Ethridge, TN to a fine little barbeque restaurant nestled just off the side of U.S. 43 highway. Shaffer Farms Texas BBQ hit our radar recently due to social media reports that country music superstar Jelly Roll had randomly stopped by and ate there. By golly, if it’s good enough for Jelly Roll, it’s good enough for us too, so let’s go. Read More.

What is The Thing in the Desert??? When It Was Cool Visits Benson, Arizona’s Bowlin’s The Thing Travel Center

One of the most desolate Interstate Highways in the United States is I-10. Wandering its way across the southern U.S., I-10 covers vast stretches of Louisiana swamp, Texas desert, New Mexico desert, and California desert. Oh yeah, and Arizona desert too… wherein lies the really cool and bizarre roadside attraction called Bowlin’s The Thing Travel Center. If I have one weakness when traveling, it is that I love the ridiculous, gawdy tourist trap travel centers. The more ridiculous, the better. I have found few as audacious as The Thing, a travel center that (sort of) claims to have a (maybe) alien body in it’s museum… which costs $5 to tour. That’s a bargain folks, count me in. Read More.

Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken Has When It Was Cool on Fire

Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool recently traveled back to one of our favorite new food places located in Cullman, Alabama- Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken! This was our third trip to the new hot chicken restaurant which Tonya first scoped out a few months ago. Always looking for a new place to eat, I was surprised she picked a Nashville Hot Chicken restaurant since she usually leans away from the super spicy end of things. I, on the other hand, usually crave the heat, surprisingly, neither of us were disappointed. Read More.

A little Thursday Inspiration: Often times we beg God to take our pains, sicknesses, & troubles away. I struggle with my mental health (a lot of you already know) Don't think for one second I've never begged God to set me free. God is close to the brokenhearted for it is written. And I have wondered where my relationship would be if I stood atop the mountaintop instead of the valley, would there be any relationship at all?? And you see, even Jesus asked God to "take this cup from me" not once BUT 3 times before he went to the cross. Then he said to God "your will be done". So I endure because I trust him.

ITS THURSDAY…….

Jesus gives instructions to the disciples on where to prepare the Passover. It's evening, supper time. The last supper. They begin to eat. Jesus reveals that one of the disciples will betray him. They all ask individually if it is them. Judas asks last. Jesus confirms. Jesus knew, but Judas ate too.

He breaks bread and gives to them to eat, a symbol of his body. He gives them a cup to drink, a symbol of his blood that will be shed for the forgiveness of sin. My sin. Judas' sin. Your sin. All sin. They head for the Mount of Olives. Jesus predicts that another disciple will betray, deny him. Three times. Peter insists he never would. Now in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays. He asks God - if possible, take this cup from me. A second time He prays - if possible, take this cup from me. He calls upon God for once more but this time He prays - if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.

Soon after, Judas shows up with a crowd of men. Arrested and in the hands of the enemy, Jesus is brought back to town. Religious leaders again try to find fault in Jesus, even seeking false witnesses. They deliver an unjust verdict - guilty. Jesus is beaten, spat on, mocked. Peter is found. He is asked if he knows Jesus, he denies. He is asked again, he denies. And for a third time, just as predicted, Peter denies knowing Jesus. Betrayed again. IT’S THURSDAY… BUT SUNDAY IS COMING !

God never said it would be easy. In fact he said just the opposite & promised he would remain with us and help us carry the load. And that through his son we will be set free….Never give up.. wait on your Sunday..We can only imagine how glorious it will be.
-Tonya from When It Was Cool

**Film Review: The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (Old School Kung Fu Fest)**

From its opening fight sequence in which a man takes on a group of villains while holding his young son on his back to the film’s unexpected climax, renowned director Joseph Kuo’s 1968 feature The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (Yi dai jian wang) is a unique take on China’s martial arts movie genre known as wuxia. Read More.

**Film Reviews: Samurai Wolf, Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut, and Violent Streets (Hideo Gosha X 3 at Metrograph)**

Prolific Japanese director Hideo Gosha specialized in lean, mean, action-packed chambara (samurai) films and later turned to yakuza crime movies. New York City’s Metrograph Theater presents three classics from his oeuvre with its Hideo Gosha X 3 program, which begins December 16 until January 1, with select encore screenings to follow. All three films have been restored in 2k from original broadcast elements, and look terrifically sharp with great sound quality. Read More.

**Film Reviews: The Marshmallow Mystery Tour and Zero Budget Heroes (Warped Dimension Film Festival)**

Winner of this year’s Warped Dimension Film Festival Top Feature award, The Marshmallow Mystery Tour is a frenetic outing that is part nostalgia fix, part public service announcement, part conspiracy theory piece, and part wacky road trip movie. Read More.

**Film Review: Linoleum (SXSW)**

Comedian Jim Gaffigan gives a fine serious turn in the science fiction dramedy Linoleum (2022). Writer/director Colin West has crafted a touching feature that will run viewers through a gamut of emotions, destined to leave most with a wry smile and moist eyes by the end. Read More.

Once Upon a Time in Uganda Review

Fans of action movies and cult films may already be familiar with Ugandan movie director Isaac Nabwana and his vision of turning his self-described “ghetto” neighborhood of Wakaliga into his vision of “Wakaliwood.” It is there that former brickmaker Nabwana has spent years making comedic action films using local volunteers as cast and crew members, turning out such titles as “Who Killed Captain Alex?” and “Bad Black.” Codirectors Cathryne Czubek and Hugo Perez show how Nabwana has tried to better his community through making these films in the fun, inspirational documentary Once Upon a Time in Uganda, and how he received assistance from a highly likely source. Read More.

Dear Mr. Brody Film Review

Michael Brody Jr. was a twenty-something heir to an oleomargarine fortune who, in the very early 1970s, made a sudden huge pop culture splash when he announced that he was giving his fortune away to those who needed money, in what he considered a gesture of spreading love. Appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show to sing and on the news almost nightly as reporters chronicled the massive response from people around the world, Brody Jr.’s philanthropic dream quickly became a nightmare for him and his wife. Read More.

MidWest WeirdFest Film Reviews: Alien Abduction: Answers and Lightships

MidWest WeirdFest offers up two thought-provoking takes on the UFO contactee experience, with Alien Abduction: Answers providing a documentary view and Lightships serving up a narrative spin. Director John Yost lived with mystery, shame, and fear for 45 years because of a highly unusual incident that took place in his home when he was a young boy. In his documentary Alien Abduction: Answers, he seeks resolution to those issues, and to why fears surrounding home invasion, deep water, and dark skies haunt him. His journey is a compelling one as he meets fellow Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind contactees and people trying to help them understand their experiences, such as Quantum Hypnotherapist Debz Shakti Buller. Read More.

Sundance Film Festival Review: Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver

What do The Rolling Stones and Dudley Do-Right have in common? Well, for one, they are both major players in the charming animated short documentary Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver, which relates how one of the most influential American films of the 1980s received its funding. Read More.

**New UFO Documentary Alien Abduction: Answers Featuring Whitley Strieber Set for Its World Premiere at MidWest WeirdFest**

DragonKing Dark listeners and all others interested in UFOs and the paranormal, take note: Whitley Strieber is well known as both a novelist (The Hunger and Wolfen) and for his nonfiction work as someone who has experienced the paranormal (Communion). He appears in the film Alien Abduction: Answers, a new documentary on UFOs that will receive its world premiere in March at MidWest WeirdFest in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Following is the official press announcement. Read More.

Slamdance Film Festival Reviews: New Jack, We Are Living Things, Telos or Bust

Codirectors Danny Lee and Noah Lee take an intimate look at the life of the late professional wrestler Jerome “New Jack” Young in their documentary New Jack. Filmed mostly during 2019 at Young’s home and on the road for indie wrestling card appearances before his death in 2021, the film is a candid warts-and-all look at his life and career. The film takes a more personal approach than a sensational one, so those looking for a shock-doc style will want to look elsewhere. New Jack opens with shots of the grappler preparing for a match interspersed with highlights from his ECW run, as Lou Reed’s “Pale Blue Eyes” plays. Read More.

Sundance Film Festival Review: Leonor Will Never Die

Fans of foreign action movies from the past and cinema lovers in general should get a big kick out of Leonor Will Never Die (Philippines, 2022), a lighthearted drama with fantasy elements and a big heart. Read More.

MidWest WeirdFest Offers Up the Supernatural, Serial Killers, and Science Fiction

MidWest WeirdFest always offers up cinema fare from the provocative to the mind-bending, and the first wave announcement for this year’s edition of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based fest certainly lives up to that reputation. Followers of the When It Was Cool family of podcasts and articles, and especially Dragon King Dark listeners, should find plenty to get excited about regarding the first seven feature films announced. From the paranormal to metal music to slasher movie fare, MidWest WeirdFest has it all. Following is the official press announcement. Read More.

Free Hand for a Tough Cop (2021 Blu-ray Release of a 1976 Motion Picture) Film Review

Though Italy is arguably best known by genre-film fans for its horror, giallo, and spaghetti western offerings, the country’s poliziotteschi crime and action movies are often a somewhat overlooked blast, too, as evidenced by such output as writer/director Umberto Lenzi’s Free Hand for a Tough Cop (AKA Tough Cop; originally titled Il trucido e lo sbirro; 1976). The film receives a great-looking U.K. Blu-ray version from Fractured Visions this month, and it is a fine entry into the subgenre for newcomers, along with being a fun time for those already familiar with poliziotteschi cinema. Read More.

Out of the Blue (2021 4K Restoration Release of a 1980 Movie Film Review

Eleven years after his acclaimed directorial debut with Easy Rider (1969) and nine years after his sophomore turn at the helm with The Last Movie (1971), Dennis Hopper rewrote the screenplay in one weekend and took over the reins of a film he was originally hired to only act in. The result was his third directorial effort, Out of the Blue (Canada, 1980), which is receiving renewed attention thanks to a 4K restoration release timed for the film’s 40th anniversary. It’s a bleak, mesmerizing work that captures the “no future” desperation of that time period’s punk rock influence. Read More.

New York Ninja (2021 release of a previously lost 1980s movie) Film Review

Originally directed by and starring martial arts legend John Liu (The Secret Rivals, Invincible Armor) in his only American production, New York Ninja was filmed entirely on 35mm in 1984, but the project was abandoned during production resulting in all original sound materials, scripts, and treatments going missing. 35 years later, Vinegar Syndrome acquired the original unedited camera negative and painstakingly constructed and completed the film. Read More.

NIGHTSTREAM Film Review: Clearcut

The anger of lawyer Peter Maguire (Ron Lea), who failed to block a lumber company’s access to the land of First Nations people, manifests during a ritual in the form of Arthur (Graham Greene of Dances with Wolves), who is actually a trickster of indigenous people’s legends. While Maguire tries to take the legal approach to halting the lumber mill work headed up by Bud Rickets (Michael Hogan), Arthur takes a more direct and far more violent approach when he kidnaps both Hogan and Maguire and takes them on a torturous, treacherous trek through the forest that Ricket’s mill is destroying. No one is safe from Arthur’s vengeance, as some graphic practical effects and plentiful moments of hand-wringing suspense prove. Read More.

Coon Dog Cemetery: The Key Underwood Coon Dog Graveyard in North Alabama

On Labor Day in 1937 deep in rural Colbert County, Alabama, a sad moment unfolded in the life of Key Underwood. His prized coon dog “Troop” passed away somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years of age. 15 years old is a respectable life span for a dog but it's never easy burying an old dog friend. Our family recently watched our family dog pass away too and it's darn sure a hard thing. Read More.

No Man of God Film Review

Director Amber Sealey’s No Man of God is an intriguing crime drama that looks at the complicated relationship between notorious serial killer Ted Bundy and the one man to whom he would eventually confess about some of his crimes before his execution in 1989, young, rookie FBI agent Bill Hagamier. The film is an affecting, hypnotic ride bolstered by superb performances from Elijah Wood as Hagmaier and Luke Kirby as Ted Bundy. Read More.

On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Sky (2021) Film Review

Director Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters crewmates deliver the goods once again (you can see links to my reviews of previous Small Town Monsters documentaries below) in their latest venture, On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Sky. This stand-alone follow-up to the 2020 web series On the Trail of UFOs features the return of that series’ guest host, paranormal researcher Shannon LeGro, who joins the crew to collect stories from witnesses and fellow researchers of UFO sightings and history. Read More.

North Bend Film Festival Reviews: Swan Song and Ninjababy

German screen legend Udo Kier (Flesh for Frankenstein [1973], Shadow of the Vampire [2000], and this year’s The Blazing World) has the role of a lifetime in writer/director Todd Stephen’s feel-good drama Swan Song. Kier portrays Pat Pitsenbarger, once a flamboyant, outwardly gay hair dresser to the upper crust of Sandusky, Ohio society who now lives in a nursing home after a stroke. When Pat receives a high-paying offer to make up a deceased client (Linda Evans of Dynasty fame) — who he split with years earlier — for her funeral, he takes a journey on foot through the town only to see how much it has changed over the years, from his former professional haunts to the gay bar where he spent many of his younger nights, which just happens to be closing down. Read More.

North Bend Film Festival Reviews: Cryptozoo, Tailgate, and Superior

Fans of hand-drawn animation (a rarity these days in the time of computer-generated animation), cryptozoology, and/or trippy cinema should find plenty to enjoy in writer/director Dash Shaw’s Cryptozoo. The 1960s-set film focuses on drama and such social messages as capitalism and the exploitation of animals and nature, but there is plenty of intrigue as as the owner (voiced by Grace Zabriskie of Twin Peaks fame) of the titular haven for every kind of mysterious or mythological creature from winged horses to a kraken and the conservationist who helps collect cryptids for safekeeping there (voiced by Lake Bell) find themselves pitted against military forces who want to use the crytpids’ powers for psychological warfare purposes as both sides try to track down the dream-eating baku. Read More.

Marathon (2021) Film Review

Fans of mockumentary comedies including Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap and such Christopher Guest classics as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show should get a kick out of the new film Marathon, which follows a group of runners hoping to find fame, fortune, future opportunities, or at least a 26-mile break from banal lifestyles. Marathon doesn’t land big laughs as much as the aforementioned films, but it is a fun 82-minute exploration of human foibles and dreams. Read More.

Chattanooga Film Festival Review: Events Transpiring Before, During, And After A High School Basketball Game

It doesn’t matter when you attended high school; the new Canadian comedy Events Transpiring Before, During, And After A High School Basketball Game is certain to press a few nostalgia buttons. From the sports team philosopher to the drama club rebel and beyond, the film captures characters similar to who we all know and puts them in situations that we or our high school friends likely went through, with consistently entertaining results. Read More.

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey (2021) Film Review

Writer/director Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters crewmates have produced another excellent cryptozoology documentary, On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey. While the film follows the usual Small Town Monsters format of exploring the history and locale of high-strangeness sightings and providing intriguing eyewitness accounts in the form of interviews, what sets this apart from its predecessors is the more deeply personal approach that Breedlove describes and the exploration of the camaraderie between Sasquach hunters. Read More.

Calgary Underground Film Festival Review: First Date

Mashing up buddy comedies, crime capers, teen romance comedies, and other influences, First Date is a fun, thrilling, and humorous debut feature from cowriters/codirectors Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp. The film is rich with crackerjack performances and sharp dialogue. Read More.

I Look at McDonald’s Like Glenn Frey Looks at Don Felder

This is the most petty article I’ve ever written. I know this. It is a perk that comes along with owning one’s own website, you can air your grievances no matter how mundane they may seem. But, McDonald’s, you and I need to have a talk. Read More.

Cinequest Cinejoy Reviews: Drive All Night and A Hard Problem

Writer/director Peter Hsieh wears his Nicolas Winding Refn and David Lynch influences on his cinematic sleeve with the neo noir film Drive All Night, but his debut feature at the helm offers plenty of originality, appealing characters, an interesting atmosphere, and some unexpected destinations. Read More.

MidWest WeirdFest Review: The Stairs and Marlene

Director Peter “Drago” Tiemann’s The Stairs (2021) starts out like a family fantasy film before diving headlong into horror territory. Eleven-year-old Jesse (Thomas Wethington) and his grandfather Gene (John Schneider) go deer hunting, and a distracted Jesse follows something into the woods. Gene searches for him and finds him being dragged into the mystical titular structure. The story then flashes forward 20 years, when a group of hikers (Adam Korson, Brent Bailey, Josh Crotty, Tyra Colar, and Stacey Oristano) visit the same area, stumbling onto a disturbing supernatural scene and then coming upon the strange stairs themselves. Read More.

Pixie (2020) Film Review

If you have been longing for a caper comedy film that hearkens back to the heydays of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, with perhaps a bit more accessibility than their trademark films, director Barnaby Thompson’s Pixie fits the bill. Bolstered by a fine, fun lead performance from Olivia Cooke (Thoroughbreds [2017], Ready Player One [2018], and the TV series Bates Motel [2013–2017]), the film serves up an infectious charm with a good deal of outlandish proceedings. Read More.

10 Questions with Alexis Bruchon, Director of The Woman with Leopard Shoes

Ahead of FrightFest’s UK special screening of THE WOMAN WITH LEOPARD SHOES at the Glasgow Film Festival, director Alexis Bruchon talks about his love of Noir, casting his brother, and directing in his underwear, in this review for syndication. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Festival Review: The Big Kitty

Film noir meets screwball comedy with a side trip to the alleged spirit world in the Australian feature film The Big Kitty, a labor of love project 11 years in the making from the husband-and-wife directing team of artists Tom Alberts (who wrote the screenplay) and Lisa Barmby. With cast and crew names in the opening credits that include Willy Cashin, Ava Goodwun, Tony Curtins, and Katherine Heartburn, you can guess that you are in for an amusing time with this one, and you would be right. Read more.

18 to Party Film Review

If you think your middle school years were awkward and rough, just wait until you get a load of the characters in writer/director Jeffrey Roda’s dramedy 18 to Party. The year is 1984, and a group of fellow students from the same middle school — I am reluctant to call them friends because, although they all know each other, few are friendly to one another — are hanging out behind a club, hoping that the bouncer will let them sneak in after the high schoolers are all let in. They snipe at each other, highlighting their adolescent insecurities, while most of the adults in town are at a meeting about the recent spate of UFO sightings. Read more.

Fantasia Reviews: The Columnist, Unearth, Special Actors, and The Paper Tigers

Dutch horror comedy The Columnist (De kuthoer) involves columnist and author Femke Boot (Katja Herbers) being hounded by online trolls who disagree with her, and she becomes obsessed with their negative comments to the point that, when she discovers that her neighbor is one of the mean-spirited posters, she kills him and keeps one of his fingers as a trophy. Thus begins Femke’s journey from mousey to murderer, as she seeks revenge on the men who make horrible comments and even death threats to her. Read More.

Chattanooga Film Festival Movie Reviews: Climate of the Hunter, Fulci for Fake, and Jumbo

Prolific indie director Mickey (Strike, Dear Mistress, and Cure His Heart ) Reece’s latest feature Climate of the Hunter is set once upon a time — probably in the very early 1970s, going by the film’s set and costume design vibes and cinematic style — in a family cabin deep in the woods, where freewheeling Alma (Ginger Gilmartin) goes to visit her uptight hermit sister Elizabeth (Mary Buss). The two middle-aged siblings are cold and verbally cruel to one another, and when Alma’s debonair ex-flame Wesley (Ben Hall in a mesmerizing performance) comes calling after his wife loses her mind, tensions grow even higher when the sisters vie for his affection. Complicating matters even more is that Wesley is showing signs of being a vampire. Read More.

Lund Fantastic Film Festival Reviews: The Last Journey of Paul W.R and The Legend of Baron To’a

In the near future of the French science fiction feature The Last Journey of Paul W.R, Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but people manage to eke out survival. Scientist Henri W.R (Jean Reno) and his company have been exploiting the nearby red moon for energy that it provides, but now the moon has changed its trajectory and seems headed on a direct collision course with Earth. Only one man can save our planet, Henri’s astronaut son Paul W.R (Hugo Becker) — and he is doing his best to hide from everyone who is looking for him. Read More.

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Reviews: Death of Nintendo and Atomic Cafe: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town

Philippines/U.S. coproduction Death of Nintendo is a charming coming-of-age story about a group of four friends growing up in a suburb in The Philippines in the very early 1990s (the story largely takes place before the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo). They are in their young teens, at the age where first loves and crushes occur. Director Raya Martin’s feature brilliantly captures an air of nostalgia about growing up that is relatable regardless of country or decade. Read More.

Mr. HoleHead’s Warped Dimension Review: Willy, Jamaley and the Cacacoon

Willy, Jamaley and the Cacacoon is a whimsical cryptozoology comedy that plays like a kid’s movie aimed at grown-ups. Part of that feel is because co-writers/co-directors Ryan Dellaquila and Tyler Schnabel (collectively known as The Not Brothers) have brought this independent feature to life after its origin as a home movie they made together 15 years earlier. Read More.

Mr. HoleHead’s Warped Dimension Review: Blackmail (ASMR)

Writer/director/editor Alexander Roman’s Blackmail (ASMR) is a neo noir tale rich in vintage atmosphere that experiments with the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) phenomenon that has become increasingly popular during the past decade. Briefly, ASMR is said by proponents to cause a euphoric tingling sensation, often from the scalp and down the spine, brought on by whispering voices, repetitive sounds, and other auditory triggers. Blackmail (ASMR) uses plenty of sound cues to try to stimulate that effect in viewers as it tells the Paris-set tale of four blackmailers and an unsettling secret one of them inadvertently uncovers. Read More.

Fantasia review: Tiny Tim - King for a Day

Director Johan von Sydow’s loving tribute to the one-of-a-kind entertainer Tiny Tim, Tiny Tim - King for a Day, is a fascinating look at the man who improbably became a cultural icon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The documentary also looks at the hard times that he fell on when his popularity went from sky-high to so low that he had to move back in with his mother as a middle-aged man. Read more.

Arrow Video FrightFest Reviews: There’s No Such Thing as Vampires, Hail to the Deadites, and The Horror Crowd

Director Logan Thomas’ There’s No Such Thing as Vampires is a valentine to 1980s horror and genre movies that often wears its influences on its cinematic sleeve but ultimately comes across as a potential franchise starter. Films are name-checked, shown on walls, or paid homage in set pieces in this fast-paced, fun outing. Read More.

Fantasia Reviews: Class Action Park, The Undertaker’s Home, and Woman of the Photographs

The 1980s were a much freer time for American children and teenagers compared with today, and unsupervised visits to amusement parks and water parks were commonplace. While for most such kids a day at these types of places meant a fun time hanging out with friends and making lasting good memories, those who went to New Jersey’s Action Park weren’t sure whether they were coming home with happy memories, broken bones, or at all. Read more.

The Prey Film Review

It’s The Most Dangerous Game meets undercover-cop-in-peril in director Jimmy Henderson’s The Prey. This Cambodian action flick should appeal to action film fans who like their guns blazing and their martial arts action fast and wild, and its old-school drive-in/grindhouse B-movie appeal should add to its draw. Read more.

Ghosts of War Film Review

Ghosts of War is a horror film focused on five World War II soldiers tasked with holding down a French chateau once inhabited by Nazi higher-ups. The company they relieve is none too slow about leaving the place, and the soldiers — along with the film’s viewers — soon find out that they need to confront supernatural goings-on along with living German troops. Read More.

Red Rover Film Review

Chances are that when many When It Was Cool readers were youngsters, they were told by their teachers or parents that when they were adults, they would be vacationing on the moon. Although that dream has yet to come to fruition, the protagonist of Red Rover — a new Canadian romantic dramedy with a science fiction bent — has the opportunity to go even further in space and help explore and colonize Mars. Read More.

True History of the Kelly Gang Film Review

The notorious bushranger Ned Kelly is a controversial historical figure in Australia, and his final stand against the law in which he wore a makeshift suit of armor is legendary. Viewers won’t find a historically accurate depiction of Kelly’s life in True History of the Kelly Gang — the movie starts with a disclaimer stating that “Nothing you are about to see is true” — but what they will find is a frenetic, colorful, violent, often jaw-dropping revisionist history tale with a punk-rock aesthetic that is masterfully directed, beautifully shot, and wonderfully acted. Read More.

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Volume 1: Midnight Madness Film Review

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Volume 1: Midnight Madness is the first installment in a three-part documentary series exploring exactly what the title says: some of the best and most beloved cult films from the earlier days of cinema history to the present time. This first volume considers the question “What makes a movie a cult film?” and then dives straight into many fine examples, with a focus on action, comedy, and horror. Read More.

Same Boat Film Review

Romance and time travel in films is a well-established premise, as evidenced by such offerings as Somewhere in Time (1980) to Back to the Future (1985). Perhaps even more prevalent in science-fiction cinema is the concept of assassins being sent from the future to kill someone; The Terminator (1984) and its sequels are classic examples. Director Chris Roberti’s new feature film Same Boat combines these two ideas and the result is a fun, offbeat science-fiction comedy. Read More.

Color Out of Space Film Review

Adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s macabre literary works to film is no easy feat, with successes such as Stuart Gordon’s 1985 horror comedy classic Re-Animator and his 1986 From Beyond, and Daniel Haller’s 1970 The Dunwich Horror leading the pack. Director Richard Stanley, who was infamously fired from his H.G. Wells adaptation The Island of Dr. Moreau in 1996, returns for his first narrative feature film since then with Color Out of Space, an updated tackling of Lovecraft’s 1927 short story “The Colour Out of Space.” With Stanley’s unique science fiction and horror film vision (Hardware, 1990; Dust Devil, 1992) and Nicolas Cage starring, the film has been highly anticipated — and it has been worth the wait. Read More.

Toxic Fandom is Killing Everything We Love

In many ways, social media is the bane of our age. It seemed like a good idea. Originally, it began with MySpace and evolved to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Let average everyday people like you and me set up a landing page on the internet so that distant family members and friends can share in our lives. It seemed like a good idea. What we found out instead was that… well… sometimes we don’t really want to know Uncle Joe’s opinion about politics or culture. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Fest Reviews: Easy Does It and Housesitter: The Night They Saved Siegfried’s Brain

Those who long for the days of 1970s cinematic antiheroes and road movies — Smokey and the Bandit, Grand Theft Auto, and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, for example — should find plenty to love in director Will Addison’s feature film debut, Easy Does It, which has a heart as big as the parking lots of your favorite old twin drive-in theater. In this seventies-set tale, Ben Matheny (who co-wrote the screenplay with Addison) stars as Jack Buckner, a down-on-his-luck dreamer who receives a postcard from his recently deceased mother telling him that he can find something special buried on a beach where they once took a family vacation. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Festival Review - The Man with the Silver Case

Writer/director Colin Best delivers a gripping debut feature with The Man with the Silver Case, a man-on-the-run thriller with film noir elements and style galore. This American production was shot entirely in Switzerland, chiefly in the Lauterbrunnen area. Gorgeously lensed in black-and-white by noted cinematographer Jay Keitel (Phoenix Forgotten [2017]; Bad Milo [2013]), the remote snowy surroundings in which most of the movie is set makes a perfect backdrop for the intrigue at play in the story. Read More.

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Reviews: Come to Daddy, Airpocalypse, In the Quarry, Big Brother

The 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), the largest genre-film fest in both its home of South Korea and of Asia as well, boasted horror, thriller, action, and other genre films from around the globe. Following are our thoughts on four of the fest’s offerings. Read More.

Fantasia International Film Festival 2019

Fantasia International Film Festival has released its full lineup for its 2019 edition, proving once again why it is considered one of the absolute preeminent genre film gatherings in the world. Fantasia 2019 features more than 130 incredible features from across the globe, along with a bevy of outstanding short films, as well. With new boundary-pushing efforts, modern spins on classic genre film fare, and a jaw-dropping selection of new prints and revivals of horror and action films from the 1970s and 1980s, Fantasia truly has something for everybody. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us more. Read More.

The Captor Film Review

Canadian writer director Robert Budreau’s The Captor (originally titled Stockholm) takes a fictionalized, offbeat, dark comedy approach to the real-life failed bank robbery that gave birth to the term and syndrome Stockholm Syndrome. Although liberties are freely taken with Jan-Eric Olsson’s 1973 heist attempt and taking of hostages, the film delivers a highly entertaining story and terrific performances by Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, and their costars. Join Joseph Perry as he tells you all about this film. Read More.

Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Festival From Decatur, Alabama

Tonya from When It Was Cool travels to a local hot air balloon show which features some wonderful retro pop culture characters and colorful balloons. The annual Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Festival is held over Memorial Day weekend in the north Alabama city of Decatur, Alabama just south of Huntsville. Read More.

Classic Cars and Hot Rods - Stumbling Upon a Car Show Brings Back Memories

Tonya from When It Was Cool stumbled up a car show and had her camera with her. She photographed some classic American cars and hot rods which sparks Karl's memories of times with his dad and the generation of muscle cars. Take a trip with When It Was Cool down memory lane and check out some awesome classic cars enjoying a beautiful day! Read More.

Varsity Cheerleader Werewolves Live from Outer Space Play Review

Portland, Oregon theater group StageWorks Ink is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, kicking things off last month at the Chapel Theatre in Milwaukie, Oregon, with an expanded, cabaret-style revival of its first-ever production, writer/director Steve Coker’s Varsity Cheerleader Werewolves Live from Outer Space. Joseph Perry gives us a review of this quirky play. Read More.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters on Netflix Movie Review

Godzilla is back and this time he is in an animated movie available on Netflix in early 2018. The movie has problems but absolutely nails the animation and scope and terror of Godzilla himself is amazing. Karl Stern takes a look at the plot of the movie, the pacing problems, the hate-able heroic character, and the amazing menacing Godzilla in this look at the first in a trilogy of animate Godzilla movies coming to Netflix. When It Was Cool takes a look at Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters. Read More.

Alice in Wonderland - American McGee Action Figures / Doll Series

When It Was Cool continues #MonsterMonth with a look at the twisted and dark versions of Alice in Wonderland based on the American McGee video game interpretation. These amazingly well crafted figures from Milo's Factory capture the macabre and sinister world of American McGee's Alice and takes you down an entirely different rabbit hole. Read More.

The Story of Looney's Tavern and the Free State of Winston (not Jones)

When It Was Cool takes a look at a little known story from United States history. When the south seceded from the Union during the American Civil War an Alabama county seceded (sort of) from the state. The story of the southern separatists has seldom been told. From Mississippi (as in the Free State of Jones) to Alabama (as in the Free State of Winston) not everyone in the south was on-board with the Confederate plan. Today When It Was Cool takes a look back in history at the time some people in the deep south said, "nope!" Read More.