Yearly Archives: 2008

Loose in Las Vegas: 2008

Loose in Las Vegas: 2008 I had no intention of returning to Las Vegas in 2008. It’s not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy the city, it’s just that after having visited in the latter half of 2007 I would normally wait ...

A Very Fanboy Christmas

A Very Fanboy Christmas Over the years, the writers and contributors to Nolan’s Pop Culture Review have become very much like a family. Just like any family, one tradition, when everyone is gathered together for the holidays, is to dust off the scrapbook ...

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Growing up, Christmas was always an exciting time. Getting together with the whole family, vacation from school, cool toys for presents, and great TV during the month of December. There were lots of holiday specials and Christmas themed movies. One ...

Christmas Matinees -– Forgotten Holiday Turkeys!

Christmas Matinees -– Forgotten Holiday Turkeys! Earlier in the year I paid tribute to the Kiddie Matinee or Summer Fun Movies as they were known where I grew up. There was one other facet to these fractured features that had a ...

Time Warp Toy Box ’08: Part 2

Time Warp Toy Box '08: Part 2 Welcome back to our second installment of treasures from Christmas past -- Time Warp Toy Box! This week’s items are all special reader requests that did a lot of memory jogging for me when I was researching them. If ...

“Christmas Evil (a.k.a. You Better Watch Out)” (1980)

Studio: Starring: Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull Directed by: Lewis Jackson Rated: R Running Time: 95 min. Synopsis: A man dressed in a Santa suit gives gifts to the people that have been nice but kills the ones who've been naughty. Four years before Silent ...

Time Warp Toy Box ’08: Part 1

Time Warp Toy Box '08: Part 1 Christmas time is here again and so is the childhood treasures appreciation segment of Retrorama that we like to call - Time Warp Toy Box! During the month of December I will be spotlighting some Fanboy favorites from Christmas ...

DVD Review: “The Starlost: The Complete Series”

Released By: VCI Entertainment Release Date: September 30, 2008 Number of Discs: 4 Approximate Running Time: 800 Minutes Special Features: US Promotional Sales Film Suggested Price: $49.99 The Source: The giant Earth ship Ark, drifting through deep space over 800 years into the far future. Its passengers, descendants of the last survivors of ...

“Zombi 3″ (1988)

Studio: Starring: Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua Directed by: Lucio Fulci Rated: Not Rated Running Time: 96 min. Synopsis: Lucio Fulci returns to the zombie genre in his follow up to Zombi 2, where once again zombies terrorize the living and eat their flesh. REVIEW Fulci’s ...

“The Dunwich Horror” (1970)

Studio: American International Starring: Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Ed Begley Sr. Directed by: Daniel Haller Rated: R Running Time: 90 min. Synopsis: In this classic H. P. Lovecraft story, a man takes the Necronomicon and a woman to unleash an evil upon the world. REVIEW A very ...

The Uptown Theater

Way before the VHS boom, DVDs, watching movies on demand or on line, the only place to see the latest and greatest motion pictures was to view them at your local theater. Growing up there was one main theater that ...

Show Review: Renninger’s Antiques Extravaganza 2008

When a friend of mine asked me how I rated this year’s Extravaganza inMt.Dora, I told him it was either very good or freaking fantastic depending on events yet to develop. It’s always important to remember that networking is a ...

DVD Review: “Stanley: Special Edition ”

Released By: BCI Eclipse Release Date: November 18, 2008 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 106 Minutes Special Features: Audio Commentaries, Still Gallery, Documentaries Suggested Price: $19.99 The Source: A Seminole Indian veteran of the Vietnam War returns to his Florida home and finds injustice everywhere he turns. Using his special bond ...

Halloween Horror Nights 2008

For the past several years, I have had attending Universal Studios Orlando’s annual Halloween Horror Nights high on my “To Do” list. I had only visited this theme park one time shortly after it opened and many new rides had ...

“Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (1971)

Studio: Independent International Starring: J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney Jr., Anthony Eisley, Regina Carrol Directed by: Al Adamson Rated: PG Running Time: 90 min. Synopsis: Dracula teams up with Dr. Frankenstein and helps him bring back to life his monster. REVIEW This Independent International film directed by ...

Retro-Ween 2008

Once again it’s that time of year when the stores all fill with candy and cheap scare props to squeeze some additional revenue out of consumers before the Christmas season starts. It’s also the time of year when we take ...

“Mother’s Day” (1980)

Studio: Troma Starring: Nancy Hendrickson, Deborah Luce, Tiana Pierce Directed by: Charles Kaufman Rated: Unrated Running Time: 90 min. Synopsis: Three city girls go on a camping trip but are kidnapped by two crazy brothers who bring the girls back to their insane mother.  REVIEW This campy ...

ScreamFest ’08

It was nice to be back in the groove this year after almost missing the 2007 Screamfest. Byron and I headed out of Jacksonville around 5PM on Friday (he was returning from a business trip in Georgia and continued after ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part Six: There’s Only One Way to Go Out

On Wednesday July 17, 1968, the film Yellow Submarine premiered at the Pavilion Theater in London’s Piccadilly Circus, the same venue where A Hard Day’s Night and Help had made their debuts a few years earlier. Reporters who covered the event described it as the last ...

DVD Review: “Honey West: The Complete Series”

Released By: VCI Entertainment Release Date: September 2, 2008 Number of Discs: 4 Approximate Running Time: 900 Minutes Special Features: Photo Galleries, Vintage Commercials Suggested Price: $39.99 The Source: By the mid 1960’s, the cold war was still a hot topic and Americans were becoming obsessed with spies and secret agents. Television was ...

Halloween, New York Style

The month of October is great time of the year. Mainly because of the Halloween season and all the events that happen during the 31 days. Although, here in Florida, the Halloween season is awesome, with tons of events to ...

It’s a Jungle Out There: Monkey Jungle

With Florida’s long list of defunct tourist attractions getting longer every day, we are fortunate that some smaller venues still survive. Monkey Jungle is one of those more laid back attractions that still manage to entertain without thrill rides, stage ...

DVD Review: “Bloodsucking Cinema”

Released By: Anchor Bay Release Date: September 23, 2008 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 57 Minutes Special Features: None Suggested Price: $19.97 The Source: Originally produced for the Starz cable network, this documentary attempts to explain the public’s long standing fascination with the vampire mythos in the cinema. Directors, actors, and ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part Five: They’ll Be Rough Seas Ahead

With a resemblance of a script finally in hand, staff and materials acquired, and individual sequences well underway, it would seem that it should have been smooth sailing for the production crew of the Yellow Submarine but dark skies were ...

THE STAR WARS YEARS

This is the first installment of a new monthly column called “Growing Up Fanboy”, where I’ll talk about my experiences growing up in a world of fandom in a small city in Upstate New York called Utica in the 70’s ...

DVD Review: “ Psychotronica Collector’s Set”

Released By: VCI Entertainment Release Date: February 5, 2008 Number of Discs: 3 Approximate Running Time: 480 Minutes Special Features: Audio Commentaries, Grindhouse Trailer-O-Thon Suggested Price: $49.99 The Source: The Psychotronica Collector’s Set from VCI bundles three double feature DVDs together that were also released individually. The six films in the collection range from ...

DVD Review: “Phantasm: OblIVion”

Released By: Anchor Bay Release Date: August 28, 2008 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes Special Features: Audio Commentary with Don Coscarelli, Reggie Banister, and Angus Scrimm, Behind-The-Scenes Footage, Promotional Trailer Suggested Price: $14.98 The Source: Almost twenty years after the release of the first film, the popular Phantasm series comes to ...

Dr. Paul Bearer: The Early Years

Most fans of the late Dick Bennick are aware that the legendary Dr. Paul Bearer was not his first attempt at creating a horror host character (if this is news to you then please read The Lost Interview of Dr. Paul ...

DVD Review: “Frogs”

Released By: MGM Release Date: September 19, 2000 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes Special Features: Original Theatrical Trailer, Fun Facts, Standard and Widescreen Formats. Suggested Price: $19.99 The Source: An annual family reunion at a remote Florida mansion turns into a nightmare when all manner of reptiles and creepy ...

Kiddie Matinee Memories – Part 2

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Summer Fun Movies series every summer for around eight years. This took me from the midst of their heyday to at least the midpoint of their decline before I finally ...

Kiddie Matinee Memories – Part 1

As we enter into the final month of the summer vacation season, I wanted to revisit a related phenomenon from about 30 years ago. The advertisements reproduced in this two part article are all from the archives of the Ocala ...

Happy Birthday To Me!

  For those of you expecting this week’s column to be about the 1981 slasher film starring the dynamic duo of Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford, let me apologize up front and promise to put that on the back burner ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part Four: It’s All In The Mind Y’Know!

The credits for Yellow Submarine attribute the screenplay for the film to four writers. According to various accounts though, the number of contributors to the story that eventually found its way to the screen could be as high as forty! In a ...

DVD Review: “’Til Death Do Us Part (Complete First Season)”

Released By: BCI Release Date: July 1, 2008 Number of Discs: 3 Approximate Running Time: 286 Minutes Special Features: Interviews with the show’s creators and host John Waters. New introductions by John Waters. Suggested Price: $29.98 The Source: Imagine Tales from the Crypt as done by CourtTV (now TruTV) and featuring a wedding theme and ...

ED Tucker vs. Spook Hill

Growing up in Ocala, the local Morrison’s Cafeteria was one of my grandmother’s favorite restaurants – this was back in the days when they actually had waiters to carry your tray to your table for you. Our Morrison’s was ...

Saturday Morning Fever: CBS 1974

I have always said that I appreciate the full experience of reading a comic book from cover to cover. That includes the advertisements, letter page, and any other ancillary entertainment found within the pages. That’s also why I would rather ...

Sundown at the Playtime

On Friday, May 30th, I did a fairly routine thing in preparation for the weekend and called the Playtime Drive-In to get the movie schedule. It was then that I got the, not entirely unexpected, but completely disappointing news ...

33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: The Monkees on Record, Part 4

Perhaps more so than any other recording act in history, greatest hits compilations played a critical part in the success and ultimate resurgence of the Monkees. Considering the fact that they released a total of nine albums in less ...

33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: The Monkees on Record, Part 3

You can see the changes we've been going through. Such a pity, what a shame, who can we blame? You and me, me and you, and the rest of them, too. In a year or maybe two, we'll be gone and someone new ...

33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: The Monkees on Record, Part 2

You say we're manufactured, to that we all agree. So make your choice and we'll rejoice in never being free. Hey, hey, we are the Monkees, we've said it all before, the money's in, we're made of tin, we’re here to give ...

33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: The Monkees on Record, Part 1

From the very beginning, the concept of The Monkees was intended to be one thing and that was a television show. Like many shows of the day, tie in merchandise was a profitable sideline and soundtracks sold well. It was not ...

Monkeemania: Confessions of a Second-Generation Monkees Fan!

The early 1970's were a turbulent time in United States history. The country was divided by many issues including a war in Vietnam and civil rights at home. As undecided as most Americans were on these issues, one thing was ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part Three: All Together Now!

Traditionally, an animated film is scripted, dialog is recorded from this script, and then artwork is produced and filmed to illustrate the story and match the dialog. The process of writing a script for a feature length film can ...

Comic Book Confidential: Iron Man Primer

While my knowledge of comic books is fairly extensive, Marvel has always been a weak spot for me. In the 1970’s, I was exposed to the classics through treasury edition books that featured reprints of the classic stories from ...

Comic Book Confidential: JLA ‘74

  With Free Comic Book Day coming up this weekend I thought it was a good time to open up the Retrorama Newsstand and peer into the past. I’m not big into crowds and don’t have kids so I usually steer ...

H.G. Lewis: The Monster A Go-Go Interview

When Bill Rebane discovered that I would be crossing paths with Herschell Lewis again this past March at the Gasparilla Film Festival in Tampa, he jumped on the opportunity. He already had plans in the works for a special DVD ...

Forgotten Horrors: Monster A Go-Go!

Bad movie fans and critics alike often site Ed Wood’s legendary Plan 9 from Outer Space as the worst film of all time. They certainly have an argument based on writing, acting, directing, and just about every other conventional film element ...

Charlton Heston – The Sci-Fi Years

I am not usually the type to write celebrity obituaries, but I could not let the April 5th passing of Charlton Heston go without paying tribute to this fine actor. While best remembered for his extremely powerful portrayals of ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part Two: You Could Pass for the Originals

1967 was a banner year for the Beatles. In June they released one of the most innovative and influential albums of all time, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They made two promotional films, the forerunner of today’s music videos, ...

DVD Review: “The Baby”

Released By: Image Entertainment Release Date: January 25, 2000 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 85 Minutes Special Features: None Suggested Price: $14.99 The Source: The Baby is a low key horror film from 1973 directed by Ted Post, a seasoned veteran of such theatrical features as Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Hang ‘Em ...

OzFest 2008

The weekend of March 8th wasn’t just Megacon this year, it was also the third annual Southeast Wizard of Oz Fest (or as I like to call it “Munchkin Mall Mayhem!”). Fortunately the Fest was expanded to two days this ...

MegaCon 2008

Traveling to Orland ofor Megacon this year, I was already bracing for what I thought would be certain disappointment. The guest list was the weakest I have seen in the several years I have attended this show, comic books are ...

Blood Bash

Prior to this past weekend, if I had been asked to make a list of the top ten people I would most like to meet, David F. Friedman would have been on it. Thanks to Andy Lalino and the organizers ...

Dr. Paul Bearer: The Lost Photographs – Part 2

Greetings Fright Fans, continuing our remembrance of Dr. Paul Bearer on the thirteenth anniversary of Dick Bennick’s untimely passing, here is another batch of rare photographs from deep within the Retrorama vaults. First up this week is an alternate hearse shot ...

Dr. Paul Bearer: The Lost Photographs – Part 1

February 2008 marks the unholy thirteenth anniversary of the passing of one of America’s most beloved and longest running horror hosts, Dr. Paul Bearer. This past Christmas, while digging around at my parent’s house, I stumbled upon a small cache ...

Toy Shop–R.I.P.

As 2007 drew to a close, I received the sad news that Toy Shop Magazine would be ceasing publication after the March, 2008 issue which would ship in January. I discovered this when I contacted Editor Tom Bartsch to discuss ...

Saturday Night Dead

Jacksonville film fans owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Tim Massett. As the manager of the San Marco Theater and a member of the Jacksonville Film Festival, he has gone to great lengths to bring some of the legends ...

FX 2008

Variety is a crucial element to a collectibles show. If the dealer base is not constantly evolving or their inventory is not turning over to make way for new merchandise, collectors will quickly tire of paying admission. Variety has always ...

FX – The Mike Herz Interview

In 1991, at the insistence of a close friend who wanted me to get an autograph for him from guest Butch “Eddie Munster” Patrick, I attended my first Florida Extravaganza (FX) show. My original intention was make a quick run ...

The Yellow Submarine Chronicles Part One: In the Town where I was Born…

My first exposure to what could be termed “popular” music came at the tender age of about 4-5 when The Monkees television series was rerun on Saturday mornings. While I was more into the show for the visual gags at that point, ...

DVD Review: “Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster”

Released By: Classic Media Release Date: June 5, 2007 Number of Discs: 1 Approximate Running Time: 180 Minutes Special Features: Audio Commentary, Poster Gallery, Image Galleries, Eiji Tsuburaya Biography Suggested Price: $19.99 The Source: The fifth entry in the original Godzilla film series, Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster is an all out monster brawl. The imaginatively ...

2007: The Year That Was.

  2007 was most certainly a year of change for me. With the introduction of Retrorama I made a shift away from more in-depth special features into the weekly column format. I certainly appreciate the feedback I have received since this ...