One Good Movie - In the Details

Hi friend,

You can see today’s movie in a theater, but it may play better on your television next month when it comes to streaming.

A one-location corker of a story.

After Carson, Night Owls with Jack Delroy was the highest-rated 1970s late-night talk show.

The show ended abruptly in 1977 during its sixth season—the last broadcast airing on Halloween night.

The film presents the “lost master tapes” of the show’s final episode.

Writer/directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes take the tired found footage sub-genre and make it fresh.

Centered around David Dastmalchian’s charismatic performance as Delroy, the film captivates with creep from the opening montage.

Late Night with the Devil

Pop the corn. Turn off the lights. Settle in for satisfying new horror.

93 minutes.

-Guy

Epilogue

If you’re stuck at home this weekend because of a bad motorcycle accident, catch up with Oscar-winner American Fiction. It’s a low-key family drama mixed with hilarious satire. Populated with a perfect cast, including personal favorites John Ortiz and Sterling K. Brown.

The balance of comedy and pathos reminded me of early James L. Brooks.

Road House Adjacent

I watched the Road House remake last night. Disappointing and tedious. Wrong director, CGI fighting, and not enough sleaze.

I like Gyllenhaal, but he gave a superior performance in Michael Bay’s delirious Ambulance. Connor McGregor has the screen presence of a black hole. A different director and a few rewrites would have made this fun.

You can’t improve on 1989’s perfection.

However, I can recommend some movies in the spirit of the original Road House.

• Hard Times - Charles Bronson as a bare-knuckle boxer.

• Blood & Bone - Michael Jai White fresh out of prison and straight into underground fighting.

• Stone Cold - The Boz, Lance Henrickson, motorcycle gangs.

• Undisputed III: Redemption - Scott Adkin in an international tournament for prison fighters.

Happy punching.