Saturday Matinee

01/14/2026

We all grew up going to the theater, especially on a Saturday afternoon when the prices were cheap and all our friends were there. What's a movie experience you had that you can't forget?

01/10/2026

Back in the early 70s as Bruce Lee's career was reignited in Hong Kong, distributors worldwide were looking for movies to exploit the rise in martial arts movies. One such company was JMJ Productions, the independent distributor of many martial arts, children's pictures, documentaries, and the horror classic CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. Then Bruce Lee died. Many thought martial arts films would go the way of the dinosaur.

But JMJ Productions president, Larry Joachim, got an idea from his son. They approached studio giant 20th Century Fox and licensed the episodes of the one season TV show. Then in the basement of their NYC building Joachim and his son went through the footage and edited together two feature films - THE GREEN HORNET and FURY OF THE DRAGON. All of the marketing was geared toward Bruce Lee fans. I was fortunate to see the first feature at my local cinema in 1974. (Remember, this was well before cable and VHS)

Here is the 2nd movie in their very financially successful gamble that mimicked the strategies throughout Europe of creating compilation feature films of successful TV series. Notably, you can track down feature films of UFO (5 theatrical films) and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (8 theatrical films).

While I don't think the JMJ Productions "team" did a superlative job with these two features, I do admire their ability to spot a niche in the market and exploit it quickly and forcefully. If only filmmakers today had such savvy. I urge you to let this feature film launch you into discovering all of the episodes of The Green Hornet TV series (they're here on YT) and marvel at what they got right, and wonder why they got some of it wrong.

"And now, to protect the rights and lives of decent citizens, rides THE GREEN HORNET."

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12/26/2025

Here's a B-movie classic from notorious producer Sam Katzman. Noted for his cheap productions that made money, Katzman never met a penny he couldn't pinch. This movie concerns a secret service agent on the trail of stolen plans for a radio controlled aerial bomb. Have fun!

CLASSIC MOVIE MONDAYDirector: Robert F. HillStars: Lloyd Hughes, Sheila Bromley, Jack Mulhall, Fuzzy KnightNational security is under threat after top-secret...

12/15/2025

Local cinemas are important as watching a movie with a group is a much different experience than watching at home. I can recall many formative experiences at the local theater.

What movie would you like to see on the big screen again (or for the first time)? For me, I would love to see...

12/08/2025

One of my favorite serials, primarily for the intriguing interpretation of the Spider's costume. Given that Marvel is going to be releasing SPIDER NOIR, I thought it appropriate I share some of the original source... er, "inspiration" for their version.

I, for one, would love to see this remade with an eye toward German expressionistic cinematography and selective color blocking. Even just the opening titles with The Spider coming out of the shadows from above, guns blazing would be a more appropriate interpretation of the character. One aspect to the character's look was the fact the cape is light silk and flows behind him... like a web.

In The Spider's Web, "The Octopus," a masked crimelord, is bent on crippling America with a wave of terror. He demands tribut...

10/26/2025

I remember this magazine, and this particularly issue vividly. It was one of the formative experiences of youth as we learned about how Hollywood made our favorite horror movies as well as how local folks were making their own frightfests on super 8mm or the semi-pro 16mm. Eventually, I even worked with some of them! LINK IN THE COMMENTS.

10/24/2025

From the fantastic world of 1975 (2 years before Star Wars) comes this Hong Kong ripoff (said affectionately) of Japan's kaiju cinema and television - INFRA MAN!
If it means anything, Roger Ebert loved this movie, and I have to agree. Turn off your brain, grab some unhealthy snacks and have a good time with this wonderfully bad movie. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Joseph Brenner logo/start of the movie at 1:06