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Frank Sinatra went through phases like he went through wives. The legendary crooner and movie star could exhibit impeccable taste for what people wanted to see and hear, and then, in a few year's time, completely lose his grasp of the zeitgeist.

Sinatra was threatening to enter one of his down periods in the mid-1960s. The popular music scene was in the throes of Beatlemania, while moviegoers were tiring of the Rat Pack's antics. Who wanted to see Sinatra and the gang saunter their way through Western and gangster pastiches like "4 for Texas" and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" when they could watch Elvis Presley set the screen ablaze with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"?

To be fair, Sinatra was still Sinatra, but after giving one of his finest performances in John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate," he started playing it way too safe. Bud Yorkin and...

Celebrating the release of his new memoir, multi-hyphenate Steven Van Zandt joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Elevator To The Gallows (1958) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Breathless (1960) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

The Fisher King (1991)

Tony Rome (1967)

Lady In Cement (1968)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

The Killer (1989)

True Romance (1993)

True Lies (1994)

Get Shorty (1995) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Point Blank (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Catch Us If You Can a.k.a. Sweet Memories (1965)

Double Trouble (1967)

Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary

The Driver (1978)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Don’t Knock The Rock piece

Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review

Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s...

Lock your doors! Hulking menace Victor Buono gets the full-on psycho treatment, based (very) roughly on early reports of The Boston Strangler. The 'baby doll' killer also prefigures the fiendish Richard Speck. Burt Topper's film is routine but ex- Baby Jane star Victor Buono's performance is decidedly not. The Strangler DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1964 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 89 min. / Street Date November 10, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Victor Buono, Diane Sayer, Davey Davison, Jeanne Bates, Ellen Corby, Mimi Dillard, Selette Cole, David McLean, Baynes Barron, Michael Ryan, Russ Bender, Wally Campo, Byron Morrow, John Yates, James Sikking, Robert Cranford. Cinematography Jacques R. Marquette Film Editor Robert S. Eisen Original Music Martin Skiles Written by Bill S. Ballinger Produced by Samuel Bischoff, David Diamond Directed by Burt Topper

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The old-time independent producer Edward Small gravitated to United Artists in the 1950s, while his counterpart...

Anita Ekberg, the Swedish pageant queen whose beauty bewitched director Federico Fellini in La Dolce Vita, died in a hospital outside of Rome at the age of 83. Known in some gossip rags as "The Iceberg," Ekberg was known as one of the sex symbols of Hollywood, and played opposite a number of Hollywood stars throughout her career like Audrey Hepburn in War and Peace and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in Four for Texas. She also toured with Bob Hope on a number of U.S.O. tours and starred in a number of movies with him. And long before the uproar over Scarlett Johansson's casting as the lead in Ghost in the Shell, Ekberg played a Chinese woman, Wei Ling in Blood Alley, for which she won a Golden Globe award in 1956.Ekberg was born in Malmo, Sweden in 1931, and grew up as one of eight children. She...

Before we get to the meat of the article, it should most definitely be highlighted that Seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad are now available to stream via Netflix. The surprise announcement adds a show that would most definitely appear in the top 5 of our list of the Best TV Shows on Netflix Instant Watch.

As you may have recently heard, Netflix and Starz were unable to reach an agreement to renew their contract, so all of the “Starz Play” movies will no longer be available to stream beginning February 28th of 2012.

It’s a sizeable loss for Netflix, and a potential signal of rough waters ahead for the company. Netflix offered Starz $300 million but they wouldn’t take it. Given how limited Starz library is, it’s a relatively surprising move. Here’s my opinion: don’t get mad at Netflix, they’re doing everything they can to have a...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films being made available by Netflix for instant streaming. Important Note: There may be some films that do not become available on the specified dates. This is merely a report of the most accurate release dates I can find, but is not directly confirmed by Netflix themselves.

Lady Chatterly’S Lover (1981)

Streaming Available: 07/19/2011

Synopsis: Highborn beauty Lady Chatterley is growing restless in her marriage to the paralyzed Sir Clifford, so she embarks on a scandalous love affair with a hunky gamekeeper.

Average Netflix Rating: 3

Four For Texas (1963)

Streaming Available: 07/22/2011

Synopsis: Infamous Rat-Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin team up for a zany, Wild West adventure. Zack Thomas (Frank Sinatra) and Joe Jarrett (Dean Martin) knock ‘em back — and knock ‘em...

Welcome to the middle of Summer! Things should pick up again next week with Mad Men beginning to be available to stream and then the week after will bring the 1st of the month (always great for new releases).

If the Sony/Starz contract issue ever gets sorted out, Academy Award winning documentary Inside Job would be available starting Wednesday.

New to Netflix Streaming On Friday July 22nd: Four for Texas (Nr | 1963)

Flickchart Ranking: #13538

Times Ranked: 218

Win Percentage: 26%

How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users

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Directed By: Robert Aldrich

Starring: Dean Martin • Anita Ekberg • Frank Sinatra • Ursula Andress • Charles Bronson

Genres: Comedy • Comedy Western • Western

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Johnny Be Good (PG13 | 1988)

Flickchart Ranking: #7172

Times Ranked: 1809

Win Percentage: 24%

How Many Top-20′s: 1 Users

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Directed By: Bud S. Smith

Starring: Anthony Michael Hall • Robert Downey, Jr. • Paul Gleason • Uma Thurman • Steve James • Howard Cosell • Robert Downey, Sr.

Genres: Comedy • Sports Comedy • Teen Movie

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Expiring from Netflix...