Author: David Mogan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjjwhuHytW8&feature=youtu.be Phantasm Exterminators, the 1928 box office phenomenon and latter-day inspiration for 1984’s Ghostbusters, was conceived when director Conrad Shift asked producer Hedgewick Steinbloom, “You think we could kill someone onscreen and get away with it?” While the authorities are still debating the ramifications of this conversation, the film has since claimed its rightful place in the annals of horror-comedy filmmaking. Presented here for the first time in nearly 90 years is the film’s hugely popular theme song, unearthed by the tireless efforts of the Buried Treasures staff, and accompanied by historical commentary. Buried Treasures is produced by Boy Genius…

Donkey Kong is the beloved video game which first introduced Ayn Rand’s Objectivism to an eager, new generation. Using the avatar of a migrant worker (based on Rand’s architect Howard Roark), players must ascend through hard work and acumen, utilizing only the hammer of the common man for assistance. Meanwhile, a vicious beast towering over the righteous worker seeks to impede his progress by heaving barrels, representative of governments’ wasteful pork barrel spending. Only by overthrowing the vile creature can the worker gain control of his destiny and claim a woman able to bear his sons as his rightful prize.…

With the political circus we’ve all witnessed over the last year, it’s made me think about the Seinfeld gang and what a political episode of the show would be like. Aside from the season 6 episode “The Couch,” Seinfeld rarely tackled political and social issues head-on, usually preferring to take more of a court jester’s approach to divisive topics by mocking them from the sidelines. With the show’s immense popularity in both its original run and syndication, the characters have become people we seem to know inside and out. But what exactly would the gang’s political affiliations be and how…

Widely regarded as an American classic, “Casey at the Bat” also stands as a bleak reminder of the horrors found in a steroid-less professional baseball landscape. Showcasing human weakness, ineptitude and overconfidence – all of which are eliminated by a few quick shots behind closed doors – “Casey at the Bat” features a simpler, more backwards time before athletes’ heads had swollen to the attractive size of medicine balls and fans were treated to some real whammers. Therefore, please support Proposition 205 making it mandatory for all MLB players to juice before each game so that there will always be joy…

Here’s the deal: Once in a great while, a song comes along that becomes part of our shared cultural heritage – “White Christmas,” “Yesterday” and probably some others. Sometimes, though, certifiable classics slip through the cracks, being songs of such magnitude and artistic foresight that the society they are presented to simply cannot handle them. Clarence Carter unleashed such a monstrous masterpiece in 1986, earning his reputation as the “Stravinsky of the ‘80s.” So gather ‘round children and pull up a chair, for today we’re talking about “Strokin’.” No, not like that! Clarence Carter made a name for himself as an…

Agents Mulder and Scully are back at it again, using taxpayer dollars to investigate leprechauns or Klingons or some other kind of horseshit. And don’t forget that the evilest man in the world is a smoker. Big surprise, Hollywood. You want a government conspiracy? I got one for you. It’s called OBAMACARE. Wake up, you liberal sheep. Man, those Bundy boys know what’s up, I’ll tell you… What’s that? Yeah, I’ll probably watch it. Hope the Flukeman’s in it. He’s cool.

Welcome, Sound Cadets, to the other side of the wormhole. We’ve globe-trotted the multiverse looking for the finest deep-cut dark matter and big, bangin’ B-sides and we’re ready to bounce our findings back to SETI and straight into your heart. Broadcasting live from Earth 841-A, our crack team of enslaved robots has been working tirelessly on Dantooine, Tlön and at the Tannhauser Gate to mine the covers, originals, alternate cuts and rarities our rabid fan base demands. So strap on your polyphonic helmet, crank up your bionic implants and prepare your nervous system to cross through the sonic portal. And…

In case you haven’t heard, October 21st saw the release of a new Back to the Future comic co-written and overseen by series co-creator Bob Gale. I wrote about that first issue here, but three more issues are planned with more possible if the series sells well. Last week saw the drop of issue #2, so just how was it? I’ll start by praising the art. As in the first issue, the art seen here is very much in the spirit of the films and captures the characters well. In a Back to the Future comic, I think the two biggest…

Quentin Tarantino’s love of movies is well-established, and the references and repurposed scenes pulled from both classic and obscure films run throughout his body of work. Inglourious Basterds, for instance, took its title from a little-seen Italian war film, while Daryl Hannah’s writhing on the floor following a confrontation with the Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is meant to evoke her breakdancing death in Blade Runner. The list goes on and on and any cursory search of Tarantino’s films will give you dozens, if not hundreds, of further examples. This is why I’m thoroughly convinced The Hateful Eight is…

Daniel Craig returns to the spy franchise to once again prove men who look perpetually irritated can still have successful careers. And Sam Mendes, currently on break from making movies about crumbling relationships, is back at the helm, ready to give us the best-looking movie featuring a jingoistic drunk since Braveheart. Expect a lot of characters getting mad at James Bond, then a lot of characters saying they were wrong about James Bond, and at least three overheard conversations about how fuckin’ sweet Goldeneye for N64 was.