Author Archives: Paul Gaita

About Paul Gaita

Paul Gaita lives in Sherman Oaks, California with his lovely wife and daughter. He has written for The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Variety and Merry Jane, among many other publications, and was a home video reviewer for Amazon.com from 1998 to 2014. He has also interviewed countless entertainment figures, but his favorites remain Elmore Leonard, Ray Bradbury, and George Newall, who created both "Schoolhouse Rock" and the Hai Karate aftershave commercials. He once shared a Thanksgiving dinner with celebrity astrologer Joyce Jillson and regrettably, still owes the late character actor Charles Napier a dollar.

Movies Till Dawn: SF & F

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“Black Widow” (2021, Marvel Studios) Setting aside the legal hullaballoo between Disney and star Scarlett Johansson, this long-gestating solo adventure for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s perennial bridesmaid has a wealth of aesthetic high points but ultimately underserves the character. As … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Business (Slaying in the Seventies)

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“Grizzly” (1976, Severin Films) “Jaws” in a nature park, essentially, with ranger Christopher George, helicopter pilot Andrew Prine, and scientist Richard Jaeckel battling “18 feet of gut-crunching, man-eating terror” (to the quote the one-sheet, featuring art by Neal Adams). William … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Business (Cold War Creeps and Creatures)

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“The Giant Claw” (1957, Arrow Video) Jeff Morrow and a host of fellow ’50s sci-fi stalwarts (Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum) battle an enormous extraterrestrial bird that lays waste to the U.S.-Canadian border (played by Griffith Park) and later, the New … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Business (Neon Demons)

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker” (1983, Code Red) Life for adopted teen Jimmy McNichol gets weird in a hurry after he’s offered a college basketball scholarship: the attentions of his aunt (the late, great Susan Tyrell) turn from overprotective to unsettlingly … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Business (Blood in Black and White)

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“Dr. X” (1932, Warner Archives Collection) As I mentioned in a 2016 write-up, this absolutely out-to-lunch thriller, from “Casablanca” director Michael Curtiz, “folds cannibalism, serial murder, deranged scientific experiments, artificial flesh, and unseemly obsessions into its 76-minute running time.” The … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Business (The New Blood)

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“A Quiet Place II” (2021, Paramount Home Video) Inevitable sequel to John Krasinski’s well-made 2018 creature feature is more of the same in regard to plot, but also delivers a similar degree of tightly ratcheted tension as its predecessor. Emily … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Vintage Distractions

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“My Little Chickadee” (1940, Kino Lorber) The lawless Western town of Greasewood City is no match for the twin Dionysian forces of saloon singer and free thinker Flower Belle (Mae West) and garrulous con man Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C. Fields), … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Mid-July Global Mayhem

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“The Daimajin Trilogy” (1966, Arrow Video) Enjoyable blend of Japanese giant monster movie and historical action/drama, all issued in the same year by Daiei (the home of Gamera) and hinged on a similar plot: a massive statue of a warrior … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: TV Party 2021

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“Beverly Hills 90210: The Ultimate Collection” (1990-2000, 2019, CBS Home Video/Paramount Home Video) Being the adventures of the Walsh siblings (Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty), Midwesterners who relocate with their parents to Beverly Hills, California (played, at various times, by … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Summer Shockers

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Paul Gaita

“The Columnist” (2019, Film Movement) Writer Katja Herbers takes a direct approach to the ceaseless toxic spew issuing from anonymous male posters about her column: she tracks them down and murders them in increasingly gruesome ways. The blackly amusing conceit … Continue reading →

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