Suppose you’re a red-blooded American growing up anywhere near a television for the last thirty years. In that case, chances are A Christmas Story is at least a tangential part of your holiday memories. Regardless of your thoughts on the film itself — I think it’s perfectly fine, if exceedingly overplayed — there’s no mistake that it’s wormed its way into the American lexicon by sheer dint of its omnipresence on TV screens during the holidays. But how did such a small, independent holiday film — one with a decidedly jaundiced (and BB-pelted) eye towards the nostalgia of the 1940s — turn from a theatrical shrug into an unlikely American treasure? Let alone one that would spawn multiple sequels, with the latest, A Christmas Story Christmas, coming to VOD and HBO Max on November 17th. Let’s t...
If you couldn’t tell, Halloween is a big deal when it comes to streaming. Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, and AMC are all offering countless tricks and treats for the month of October. Joining them is The Criterion Channel, and they may be a cut above the rest. As Bloody Disgusting reports, the prestigious channel is dialing things back to the ’70s for October 2020, dropping 29 vintage titles that prove horror looked better in bell bottoms and sequins. It’s a pristine lineup that would impress the likes of Joe Bob Briggs. “In the 1970s, everything was wilder, weirder, and more far-out—and horror movies were no exception,” Criterion announced in a statement. “This tour through the 1970s nightmare realm is a veritable blood feast of perverse pleasures from a time when gore, grime, and sleaze found a...