Michael Cavacini

An award-winning arts and culture blog.

Archive for the category “Movies”

05 Mar 2019

Movie Review: 350 Days

There have been numerous documentaries about professional wrestling over the years, including ones produced by WWE about its superstars, legends, factions, and historic moments. In addition to these highly enjoyable, polished pieces, there are gritty, reality-based pro wrestling documentaries that are more focused on providing the viewer with an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the legends they grew up watching on TV. The Resurrection of Jake the Snake, an excellent character study and inspirational story about how the power of believing in yourself can transcend addiction, was firmly created in this style. 350 Days, coming out April 2, is the newest addition to this style of storytelling, and it’s an intriguing, enlightening, educational, and, most importantly, satisfying, documentary that everyone should see.

18 May 2018

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Review: William Shatner Live On Stage

William Shatner, even at 87-years-old, seems to have boundless amounts of energy. He’s always working on something new and exciting. Right now he’s on a tour where he’s visiting cities and, following a screening of the classic film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Shatner is participating in a live-on-stage Q&A with audiences. My father and I attended the Philadelphia screening at The Academy of Music, and it was an excellent event.

Posted in Movies, Review and tagged Academy of Music, Kimmel Center, Michael Cavacini, Philadelphia, Star Trek, William Shatner, Wrath of Khan

06 Mar 2018

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A Conversation With “Big” John Harte

“Big” John Harte is the former head of security for KISS. He also worked for Prince, Iron Maiden, and Billy Idol, as well as numerous TV and movie stars. His autobiography comes out this summer, and he has a Pledge Music campaign going on right now that you should check out. John was kind enough to speak with me about his impressive and exciting career.

Posted in Interview, Movies, Music and tagged Big John Harte, Billy Idol, Gene Simmons, Interview, Iron Maiden, John Harte, KISS, Michael Cavacini, Movies, music, Paul Stanley, Prince, tv

24 Jan 2018

Movie Review: Love, Simon

Tonight I attended the first local screening of a movie coming out March 16: Love, Simon. This wonderful film is based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Love, Simon far exceeded my expectations, as well as my wife’s. We both laughed, cried and left the movie immensely satisfied. The characters are well-developed, the acting is superb, and the smartly-written script kept us engaged and emotionally invested the whole way through. You might’ve noticed that the image above is for the soundtrack of the film. That was done on purpose, because the music in this movie is a character all its own. It’s so good that I rushed home to write this review and I’m playing a Spotify playlist of the music in the background because the official soundtrack isn’t available until March 16, which is when you should make it a point to see this amazing movie.

Posted in Movies, Review and tagged Becky Albertalli, Love Simon, Michael Cavacini, Movie, Review | Leave a comment

04 Jul 2017

Movie Review: Hired Gun

Yesterday I watched a fantastic film: Hired Gun. This feature-length documentary has been screened to both critic and audience acclaim at SXSW Festival, Glastonbury Festival, MIFF, Calgary International, and Noise Pop. There was also a special one-night screening of the movie in theaters across the country on June 29. It introduces music fans to some of the world’s unsung heroes of the music industry through exclusive interviews and performances. These artists have played with a variety of music legends, including KISS, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Billy Joel, P!NK, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Jackson, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and many more.

Posted in Movies, Music, Review and tagged Documentary, Eric Singer, Fran Strine, Hired Gun, KISS, Michael Cavacini, Movie, Ozzy Osbourne, Review | Leave a comment

08 Jun 2017

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: 30th Anniversary Celebration

Last Saturday night, I, along with several hundred Freddy Krueger fans, celebrated the 30th anniversary of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors at Underground Arts in Philadelphia. A special screening of the film was shown and Heather Lagenkamp, the star of the movie, and Chuck Russell, the director, provided live commentary as everyone watched the third entry in the Elm Street franchise. Read more…

Posted in Movies, Review and tagged A Nightmare on Elm Street, Chuck Russell, Don Dokken, Heather Lagenkamp, Michael Cavacini, Philadelphia, Underground Arts, Wizard World | Leave a comment

27 Oct 2016

My Favorite Horror Movies

With Halloween upon us, I want to share with you my favorite horror movies. There are many horror films I love, but these are the cream of the crop. Happy Halloween!

28 Aug 2016

TRI Screening in Philadelphia

This Wednesday, August 31, TRI, an award-winning indie film, is screening at the Trocadero theatre in Philadelphia. I just finished watching this movie, and I enjoyed it. The film, which recently walked away with the top prize at the Northern Virginia International Film & Music Festival, features local talent Jensen Jacobs and Kelly Spitko in starring roles. However, I’d argue that the two most compelling actors were played by Shawn Pelofsky and Kenneth Simmons. Their supporting roles provided TRI with additional layers of emotional depth that were believable and moving.

26 Aug 2016

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Review – KISS Rocks Vegas: Deluxe Edition

Today KISS released KISS Rocks Vegas and I received the Deluxe Edition, which features a Blu-Ray, DVD and CD capturing their 2014 Las Vegas residency. This set also features an exclusive CD of an acoustic set KISS did during one of its Las Vegas meet and greets. Check out my video review below to see what’s inside:

Posted in Movies, Music and tagged concert, Deluxe Edition, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, KISS, KISS Rocks Vegas, Michael Cavacini, music, Paul Stanley, Review

01 Feb 2016

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The James Bond Archives: SPECTRE Edition

Three years ago I reviewed the original version of The James Bond Archives, which is a gargantuan book filled with terrific photos and behind-the-scenes information about all of the James Bond films. I recently received the new version of this book from Taschen. It’s more compact and affordably priced, and it has been updated for the new 007 film SPECTRE. Below is my video review of The James Bond Archives: SPECTRE Edition. Enjoy!