TV & Film
How Scarface Became a “Foundational Influence for Hip Hop”
.
It’s hard to think of a $21 million dollar motion picture as a “cult movie” but that’s what Brian DePalma’s 1983 Scarface almost became until it was saved by…
The New Season of “Lupin” Is Extravagant, Spectacular, and Occasionally Hard to Believe
.
Two things jumped out at me back when I started watching the first season of Lupin, Netflix’s wildly successful show about a ‘gentleman thief’ in Paris who spends his…
Finding Inspiration for Mystery Fiction in Soap Operas
.
What JR, Alexis, and Domingue Taught this Mystery Writer One of the best compliments I’ve received from readers about the Lady Mystery series is that each mystery unfolds like…
Every Picture Tells a Story: Cinema Speculation, The Getaway and Me
.
Every picture tells a story. If you don’t believe me, just ask Rod Stewart. Sir Rod practically coined the phrase in 1971. He liked it so much he used…
90s Horror-Thrillers Created a New Generation of Would-Be Detectives
.
For two now-distant decades, horror movies were less about whodunit, and more about how-the-hell-do-they-stop-this-guy? In 1978, Halloween burst onto the scene, followed, two years later, by Friday the 13th….
What Is the Legacy of Walter Hill?
.
Will the real Walter Hill please stand up? The screenwriter and director is hard to label. Should Hill, now in his 80s, be considered the screenwriter of classic crime…