Hunter M. Daniels

May 27, 2010

“The Holy Mountain” Is a Brilliant Epic That Entertains with Surreal Strangeness

By Hunter M. Daniels

Over the last few months I have been privileged to share with you, my dear readers, a collection of the strangest, most offbeat films in my catalogue.

May 27, 2010

Polanski Should No Longer Be Allowed to Hide Behind His Fame

By Hunter M. Daniels

Artists have not always been known to be the most well behaved of individuals, but at the same time, the art remains separate from the artist. Not so with Roman Polanski.

May 13, 2010

Hang Cool Teddy Bear Presents an Eclectic Musical Menagerie **

By Hunter M. Daniels

Meat Loaf is back with Hang Cool Teddy Bear, only his fourth release to include zero tracks by Steinman.

May 6, 2010

Avoid Spending This “Night on Elm Street” *

By Hunter M. Daniels

Back in 1984, Wes Craven wrote and directed a little picture titled “A Nightmare on Elm Street” for a fledgling distributor by the name of New Line Cinema.

May 6, 2010

Unrepentant “Bully”

By Hunter M. Daniels

Larry Clark is a complicated artist.

April 29, 2010

“Candyman” Is Anything but Sweet

By Hunter M. Daniels

Clive Barker’s patented blend of deep mythology and dark, often disturbingly erotic nightmares has left a major footprint on popular culture.

April 21, 2010

Elvis Costello Plays the Arlington

By Hunter M. Daniels

When Elvis Costello took the stage for his sold-out show at the Arlington Theatre last Wednesday, he found himself surrounded by nearly a dozen artfully placed guitars.

April 21, 2010

Off the Beaten Path:

By Hunter M. Daniels

Most of the films I discuss on "Off the Beaten Path" are just that -- funky little movies with way too much edge for their own good. But this week, I want to take a break and discuss something entirely different: a teen ...

April 14, 2010

“Hedwig” Is Much More Than Meets the Eye

By Hunter M. Daniels

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is one of my favorite film of the last decade, if not ever. It's got the perfect mix of clever lines, emotional depth, conversation factor, trippy visuals, rewatchability and it's got a badass...

March 4, 2010

“Crazies” Not Crazy Enough **

By Hunter M. Daniels

I don't know what it is, but George A. Romero's films tend to translate into pretty damned good remakes. First, there was "Night of the Living Dead" in 1990. Then there was "Dawn of the Dead" in 2004. Now we have "The Cr...

February 18, 2010

“Crow II” Flounders **

By Hunter M. Daniels

Takashi Miike is an incredibly talented filmmaker. He's made about a dozen truly wonderful movies. Problem is, he's made over 80 films in total. "Crow Zero II," his latest endeavor, is a huge step up from its predecessor...

February 18, 2010

“Men” in the Middle” ***

By Hunter M. Daniels

Who is a pornographer? Surely the fine folks over at Vivid Entertainment are pornographers. But what about the Hyatt? Holiday Inn? The Hiltons? (Well, minus Paris, perhaps). This the question Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) fi...

February 4, 2010

“World’s Greatest Dad”

By Hunter M. Daniels

So the Oscar nominations came in Tuesday. As usual, they were all for boring, safe, generic movies. Almost nothing edgy or off the beaten path made the cut. Just the same old, same old and Meryl Streep's 14th nomination....

February 4, 2010

Word Farm Benefits Amateur Screenwriters

By Hunter M. Daniels

It was barely 9 a.m. on a Saturday, but the halls of the new Social Sciences and Media Studies building were abuzz with chatty students munching on cereal and pastries. Welcome to Word Farm.

January 14, 2010

Another Michael Cera-nade ***

By Hunter M. Daniels

Twenty-five years ago, Michael Cera wouldn't even have been cast as the goofy sidekick in a John Hughes film. Today, he's shaping up to be an honest-to-god movie star.

January 7, 2010

The Best of the Decade

By Hunter M. Daniels

"Mulholland Drive" - Dir. David Lynch (2001) A perfect movie with my favorite sequence ever (the scene outside the diner with the homeless person) Mullholland Drive has haunted my dreams for years. I can't see it as part...