I first learned Phil Tippet’s name in 1983 when I was reading a behind-the-scenes magazine about the making of The Return of the Jedi, and there was a discussion on the stop-motion and go-motion techniques used to create the movement of the Scout walkers in the Star Wars sequel. I was fascinated by what I…
Tag: stop motion
House II: The Second Story (1987) – Ethan Wiley
While Friday the 13th franchise producer Sean S. Cunningham returns for House II, he and composer Harry Manfredini seem to be the only connective tissue to the first film. And while the first film was able to walk a bit of the cult line of camp, horror, comedy, and flat-out silliness, House II most assuredly…
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) – Travis Knight
I remember getting a glimpse of this film with its first released trailer, and I wasn’t really interested. It seems my brain simply chose to block out the part where it says it’s a Laika Studios production… these guys have yet to make a bad picture. I picked it up on blu-ray sight unseen, only…
Dreamscape (1984) – Joseph Ruben
Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, Eddie Albert, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, George Wendt and David Patrick Kelly (has this guy ever played a good guy?!) star in Ruben’s 1984 psychic thriller, Dreamscape. Quaid is Alex Gardner, a psychic who has been using his gifts for his own benefit, but gets recruited by Paul Novotny (von…
The Mind Reels 