Top 5 Favorite Films of the ’80s
My five favorite films of the 1980s, four of which I saw multiple times at theaters, and all of which I proudly own on home video.
Harry Brown (2009)
Michael Caine has had enough of the crime and violence in his neighborhood, and he’s about to do something about it, in this UK crime drama set in London.
Big Leaguer (1953)
Spring has finally arrived, and so has baseball, and so has…Edward G. Robinson wearing a baseball uniform? Mother of Mercy!
Inside the CM Vault: Team Banzai Lapel Pin
Have you ever wanted to be as cool as Buckaroo Banzai? Just grab one of these pins, and you’ll be driving Jet Cars and fighting Lectroids in no time!
CM Year in Review 2022
Not the banner year I’d hoped for at the Monolith in 2022, but I did watch a lot more movies, and tripled the number of posts…from two to six!
Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Nine months without posting, and THIS is what I come back with? But seriously, is there a better way to spend Christmas than with a giant flying turtle?
Inside the CM Vault: ‘You Must Remember This’
Not a song, but a book! Take a trip to Hollywood’s yesteryear with this entertaining collection of interviews from Walter Wagner, a book which contained an unexpected extra.
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Reviled by many, enjoyed by few…on which side of the fence will I stand when it comes to this third James Bond adventure starring Pierce Brosnan?
Cinema Graveyard: Vineyard Twin
In this next installment of Cinema Graveyard, I look back at another bygone theater from my past, the Vineyard Twin Cinema in Escondido, California.
Under Capricorn (1949)
Alfred Hitchcock tries his hand at costume dramas – and drags us along with him – in this tedious Technicolor offering starring Ingrid Bergman, Michael Wilding, and Joseph Cotten.
Bunco Squad (1950)
A special division of the Los Angeles Police Department investigates a string of suicides, involving a group of con artists, in this nifty crime thriller from RKO.
CM Year in Review 2021
Wait, what’s this? A Year in Review post that’s just three weeks late, instead of three months? Could this be a sign of better things to come? Hmmm…
My Death-Defying Memory of ‘Raiders’
Forty years ago today, I went to the Plaza Twin to see ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ for the first time…and nearly got myself killed afterwards.
CM Year in Review 2020
Last year I was nearly four months late posting this, but this year I’m only two! Join me now as I look back at the Monolith in 2020.
Happy 45th, Jaws Fans!
I know the official anniversary date was June 20th, but for me, Jaws will always be associated with July 4th. So grab a bucket of chum and celebrate!
Female Jungle (1956)
A women-behind-bars film? An Amazon rainforest adventure? Nope and nope…this low-rent crime thriller wants badly to be a tough film noir, but fails.
Southern Comfort (1981)
The Video Store Action Heroes are back in action, with a look at the films of director Walter Hill. My choice is a bayou action thriller from 1981.
Cinema Monolith 
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