TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

This Veteran's Day,  TheArchive  is proud to present our war heroes collection and salute the brave soldiers celebrated in these films. Martin Sheen, Charles S. Dutton, and Patty Duke star in A Matter of Justice , based on a true story about a mother seeks justice in response to the mysterious murder of her young Marine son. She suspects her manipulatively-seductive daughter-in-law likely coerced a Marine into committing the act. When the puzzle is finally pieced together, the mother arrives at the epiphany that her son’s death was the fundamental element in a larger-scale scheme to reap his military benefits.  In Love and War , follows the true story of Vice Admiral James Stockdale (James Woods who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance), a high-ranking naval officer with the distinction of being the longest held POW in Vietnam; and his wife Sybil Stockdale (Jane Alexander) co-founder of the National League of Families, a nonprofit organization that worked on behalf

It’s less than a week until midterm elections in America: Democrats and Republicans are ramping up their efforts to epic heights as the balance of power across both aisles is still anyone’s game. Every major race is dead even in the polls or within reach for either party. But today we pour through TheArchive not for prognostication but rather a sense of grounding around the critical need for free and fair elections and what it took so many Americans to gain that access. Into Light is the life story of legendary women’s rights activist and suffragette Inez Milholland. A prison reformer and crusader for African American equality, Milholland was a leading American suffragist who paved the way for the 19th Amendment’s ratification. This timely film about turn of the century suffragette Inez Milholland is set just four years before the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. It celebrates Milholland’s rise to social action prominence through her aggressive fight to, against all odds, rally s

Halloween rolls out the obligatory cinematic fright-fest, but  TheArchive  has some seriously twisted eye candy including, for its time, one of the scariest films ever made. No need to waste any time - let's jump in. Once described as "positively the most horrifying film ever made"  Adrian Hoven (and Michael Armstrong) deliver the gore. According to Cool Ass CInema,  Mark of the Devil  is  "one of the signature examples of 1970s exploitation at its most grueling. It's been over 40 years, but it still retains a few squirm inducing moments to leave its 'mark' on modern audiences."   In 18th century Austria, a witch-hunter's apprentice has doubts about the righteousness of witch-hunting until he witnesses the injustice, torture, and arbitrary killing that go with the job.  Adrian Hoven ( Mark of the Devil ) is at it again with  Castle of the Creeping Flesh . Set in an ancient castle, a mad scientist is trying to revive his dead daughter by way of op

This week we stalk the Mike Mendez (Gravedancers, Big Ass Spider) collection for a couple gems that should do your twisted soul just fine this Halloween season. Namely because Mendez makes you laugh your ass off as much, if not more, as he scares the shit out of it! In The Convent , a group of college students break into an abandoned convent, only to discover that it's inhabited by demons that are intent on possessing them. The group dwindles in numbers and the bodies pile up. RIP Coolio, no stranger to horror films (he frequented lesser known horror fare including Dracula 3000, Pterodactyl, Red Water, Leprechaun 5 ) who has a less than star-making cameo in the film.  The cast also includes horror icons Adrienne Barbeau ( The Fog, Creepshow ) and Bill Moseley ( The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses ) But rest assured it is worth the watch and according to morbidlybeautiful.com, “This is the perfect movie for the Halloween season. It’s what Sam Raimi would call a “spo

As we kick off our countdown to Halloween, we are starting with some scares for all ages. TheArchive  has a huge genre collection including great titles like The Cannibal Man , Demonicus , and multiple Amityville sequels. But we'll get to those next time. For some spooky family fun here's a few of our favorites: In Teenage Space Vampires , geeky teen Bill Stetson witnesses a UFO landing near his small town and discovers that it contains a horde of vampires bent on ruling Earth by blocking the sun's rays.  In  Josh Kirby: Time Warrior! Chap. 1: Planet of the Dino-Knights , there is an ultimate super weapon, which Irwin 1138 separates into 6 pieces and scatters them throughout time. When the evil Dr. Zoetrope goes after them, Irwin enlists Josh Kirby to help him.  There's a ton of content in this series so dive in deep! In X-treme Teens , a teenager named Andy struggles with moving to a new city until he discovers a pair of x-ray vision goggles that help him uncover a fo

Did you know it's World Space Week 2022, or did you space? This year's theme celebrates “Space and Sustainability!" And of course TheArchive  has content that speaks to what's out there past the space litter and orbit of Elon Musk's satellites. Speaking of, i n the four part series Race to Mars , it's the year 2030, and the race to be the first to reach the Red Planet is on—and China is leading the way. China has stunned the world by leapfrogging over America's long-term plans and has landed a series of rovers in their quest to make the most important discovery in history—extraterrestrial life on Mars.  Once again, America and its partners are thrust into a winner-take-all space race. But who will win? Since Mars is on everyone's mind including ours' we are doubling down on red planet viewing. And when Bill Shatner and James Cameron weigh in, it's worth watching... Mars Rising  explores the quest for a manned mission to Mars.  A companion to the

Poppy Montgomery in 2001’s ‘Blonde’ This week might as well be dubbed Marilyn Monroe week with the wall to wall coverage of Netflix’s release of Blonde. But the reviews continue to praise our version of the Oates classic as a mighty if not superior production. TheArchive  doesn’t like to keep score, or does it? As we’ve discovered, the onscreen Marilyns have also been ranked by Vulture: guess where our version of  Blonde ’s  blonde ranks? While Ana de Armas’ recent portrayal clocks in at #9 of 22, Poppy Montgomery who stars in the first Oates adaptation of  Blonde  from 2001 comes in at #5.   It appears that gentlemen (and ladies) prefer  Blonde .  Starring Poppy Montgomery. On  TheArchive . In an Indiewire opinion piece from this week, “The 2001  Blonde   Miniseries understands Marilyn Monroe Better Than Andrew Dominik,” the author goes on to explain that TheArchive’s “Blonde contains the same beats as Dominik’s film, and yet holds far more empathy and appreciation for Monroe, her ca