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 The Fix, among many other publications, and was a home video reviewer for Amazon.com from 1998 to 2014. He has interviewed countless entertainment figures from both the A and Z lists, 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: Persons of Interest, Part 2

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” (1987, Shout! Select) Keith Richards attempts to corral a mercurial Chuck Berry into celebrating his own 60th birthday at an all-star concert featuring Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Etta James, backed by Chuck’s … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Persons of Interest

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Rock ‘N’ Roll High School: 40th Anniversary Edition” (1979, Shout! Factory) There’s a nominal plot at the center of “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” – diehard Ramones fan Riff Randall (P.J. Soles) wants to get her song to the band, … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Dr. Evil and His Terrors of the Unknown (Halloween 2019, Part 4)

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Two Evil Eyes” (1990, Blue Underground) Dario Argento and George Romero offer broad and bloody interpretations of stories by Edgar Allan Poe: Romero’s “The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar” adds a “Creepshow“/E.C. Comics spin, with Adrienne Barbeau as … Continue reading →

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Cult Filmmaker ‘Al Adamson’ Doc ‘Blood & Flesh’ Opens in Los Angeles November 1

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Paul Gaita

From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, director and Hollywood native Al Adamson made genre films – mostly horror, but also science fiction, Westerns, biker pictures, comedies and the occasional hybrid of all of those genres – that due to … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Horror Strikes At Midnight (Halloween 2019, Part 3)

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Ringu Collection” (1998-2000, Arrow Video) By now, Koji Suzuki’s 1991 novel “Ringu” is an industry unto itself, spawning five print sequels, eight film adaptations in Japan and five more in the U.S. and elsewhere, two television series and a brace … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Dr. Caligari’s Cabinet of Horrors (Halloween 2019, Part 2)

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Anna and the Apocalypse” (2018, Cinedigm) High schooler Ella Hunt discovers that the only thing worse than unrequited romance or stubborn parents is a zombie outbreak. Director John McPhail‘s mix of living dead horror and teen musical never quite gels … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Midnight Spook Party (Halloween 2019, Part 1)

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“The Dead Don’t Die” (2019, Lionsgate Home Entertainment) Polar fracking, or something equally ominous in tone, causes the dead to rise from their graves, which, if judged by the muted responses of police officers Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloe … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: It Gets Dark Early This Time of Year

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Midsommar” (2019, Lionsgate Home Entertainment) Reeling from a terrible family tragedy, an already-anxious Florence Pugh discovers, far too late, that a visit to a remote religious community in Sweden is a Very Bad Decision. Writer-director Ari Aster‘s second feature doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: Kids’ Movies for Grown-Ups

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Missing Link” (2019, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) Pompous 19th century adventurer Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman) finds his entry ticket into a League of Gentlemen-styled club in a timid male Bigfoot named Susan (Zach Galifiniakis). Audiences passed … Continue reading →

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Movies Till Dawn: A Slew of Saturday Morning Strange

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Paul Gaita

“Boom!” (1968, Shout! Select) Wealthy, pill-popping Sissy Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor) is interrupted in her task of writing her memoirs at her sprawling Italian villa by Christopher Flanders (Richard Burton), a struggling poet/artist who may or may not also be the … Continue reading →

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