Movie-A-Day #247: School Daze (1988).
Today is the start of National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. America’s HBCUs are still going strong, and perhaps no film captures their culture quite like Spike Lee’s “School Daze” (even if it was made a generation ago).
Movie-A-Day #246: Shane (1953).
Happy birthday to Alan Ladd, the star of “Shane” and dozens of tough guy roles in the 1940s and 1950s. He always seemed like an unlikely action hero to me, given how small and slight he looks on screen. But you can’t argue with the results.
“Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien died 38 years ago today. But his books, which have gone from blowing the minds of hippies and metalhead stoners to being embraced by modern geekdom, continue to be just as popular as ever. And finally Peter Jackson came along to do them right for the big screen. Sounds like an excuse for a marathon.
Movie-A-Day #244: Super Fly (1972).
Today is the birthday of the late great Ron O’Neal. Sure, he never had another film role as great as Youngblood Priest in “Super Fly.” But did he really need to?
Movie-A-Day #243: From Hell (2001).
On this date in 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found in the Whitechapel district of London. She was the first of the five known victims of Jack the Ripper, the first modern serial killer. And that fact he was never identified or caught has just added to the Ripper’s legend. “From Hell,” based on the Alan Moore graphic novel, is among the best of the many Ripper films.
Desuko Movie Spot. 