Robert Horton Videos

It's Halloween time. Our ghoulish film critics, Robert Horton and Fred Hopkins, celebrate scary movies with us. We'll also be wearing Halloween costumes. On the radio, you can be anything. What are you? Bring your costume, movie picks and scary tales to our gathering. We'll release the hounds if you don't.

The beginning of a new school year is right around the corner. College students are packing to leave. Kids are getting their supplies. It's time to get our head in the game for another year by watching movies! School is a popular setting for films; from Kindergarten Cop to Heathers. There are so many Napoleon Dynamite, Grease, Billy Madison, Dangerous Minds, Harry Potter, The Breakfast Club, Mean Girls, Revenge of the Nerds the list is endless! What are your favorites? Share them with us.

Most of us are busy enough with everyday life. So it's hard to step outside of our routines and see things in a new way. But movies can remind us of how valuable it can be to get liberated from the predictable. Robert Horton is the film reviewer for the Seattle Channel and the Everett Herald. He told KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three movies that show us what can be gained from letting our lives be shaken up a little.

Zombies have been rotting and staggering around our pop culture and legends for decades. Walking corpses without a human soul, lusting for flesh. They are unrelenting. Survivors kill them in bloody, dramatic ways and still the hordes keep coming. Why do we like zombies so much? Beyond the horror movies they star in, and the creative make up they have inspired, what is it about these creatures keeps them alive in the stories we tell? Love the zombie? Tell us why.

Times are tough economically. But Robert Horton thinks films from the 1930s can show us we've been through worse. Robert reviews films for the Everett Herald. He tells KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three movies that show us hard times during the Great Depression.

The Seattle International Film Festival kicks off today. Film critic Robert Horton joins us to help us navigate the choices. Also, the summer block buster movie season is starting. What sets a summer movie apart from other movies? Is your attention span different in the summer? Do the types of movies you enjoy shift with the seasons? Also, filmmaker Sandy Cioffi on recent tragic developments in the Niger Delta.

If you've seen the movie Ghost, Dead Poets Society, or Lawrence of Arabia, then you know Maurice Jarre's work. Jarre was a composer for films who scored dozens of movies over his career. He passed away on March 29 and that got film critic Robert Horton thinking once again about death and the cinema. Robert looks at how Jarre will be memorialized by his film scores. But first, he reflects on a DVD release of a documentary about one of the world's most famous cemeteries.

Movies like Slumdog Millionaire and Amelie have removed a little of the mystique of foreign film. Robert Horton, film critic for the Everett Herald, kind of misses the days when people thought subtitled movies were esoteric. Robert tells Jeannie Yandel about three classic films showing here in Seattle that might help recapture the excitement of seeing a movie that feels a little like a secret.

1. Harmful Algal Blooms Correspondent Tom Banse reports from Ocean Shores on the increasing frequency of toxic red tides in shellfish beds and how scientists are addressing the problem. 2. Natural Red Dishes Nutritionist and cooking show host Cynthia Lair shows off her entirely red food feast for Valentine's Day, including Rosemary Red Soup, Poached Pears in Pomegranate Sauce and Cranberry Ginger Cider. 3. Adult Entertainment Tax Proposal Ross Reynolds, guests and listeners give their opinions of a proposal to tax adult videos, phone services and paraphernalia to offset planned state welfare cuts. 4. Feel Good Films KUOW's Steve Scher, film reviewer Robert Horton, Fred Hopkins, host of Professor Fred's Movie Marvels on SCCTV, and listeners nominate their favorite movies for returning to over and over.

Some days aren't so great. For some, Valentine's Day is such an occasion. As a kid, perhaps your parents comforted you. As an adult, sometimes comfort can be found by watching a familiar movie. You get to smile at the same scenes, recite the lines, notice the extras, and live the same story over and over. Do you have a movie that comforts you? It feels cozy and familiar. It puts you in a good state of mind. Share those titles with us.

Edwin Martinez, a third generation farmer, tells us how he took a group of Seattle baristas to Guatemala to get a new appreciation of coffee. We also hear from Seattle based novelist Sherman Alexie about rethinking tribalism, and a local lecture from Bishop Gene Robinson.

And the Oscar goes to ... WHO? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces its Oscar list today. Who's up for Best Actor and Best Actress? Best Picture? More importantly, who should win? KUOW's film critic Robert Horton dishes on the results today and serves us his review. Tell us who you think should be top dog! Or who coulda been a contender! Call 800.289.KUOW or email Weekday.

What was your favorite movie this year? Be kind, and rewind your memory! The Batmobile sped through, Harold and Kumar fled Guantanamo, a bridesmaid modeled 27 dresses, and teen vampires took a major bite out of the box office. There were so many flicks, we're wide eyed as Wall E trying to remember them! KUOW's movie critic Robert Iron Man Horton milks this hour for all it's worth and reveals his magic list. From Australia to Narnia, from dramas to musicals, speed race with us through the 2008 showcase. Don't burn this list after listening! Call 1.800.289.KUOW during the show or email Weekday with your favorites.New! Robert's 20 Best Released Films for 2008

This year, Laura Daugereau became the first Washington woman to compete in the Iditarod sled dog race. She brings us stories from the trail. We also review overlooked films of 2008 and try to stomach the truth about fish tapeworms.

There is nothing cozier than a movie night in the winter. What is your favorite winter movie? Is there a particular film you always watch when you gather together with family? How did that particular film become a tradition? Share your films with us at Weekday or call during the show at 1.800.289.KUOW.

Issaquah's Z Home development is using old methods, like installing more insulation, to build sustainable homes for the future. We talk to project manager Brad Liljequist. Then, when it comes to cancer, Dr. Jim Olson has found life saving potential in the venom of a Deathstalker scorpion.

Children's stories often lay the groundwork for the moral decisions people make in adulthood. Today, author Kunle Oguneye brings in a Nigerian tale that has major life lessons tucked in between a talking spider and a kind hearted hippo. We also review the new Bond movie.

Today, we examine a study that finds 70% of white doctors are biased along racial lines when it comes to treating patients. Then, an author who lost her husband in 9/11 says she finally found the right outlet for grief. We also hear about a GI Coffeehouse near Ft. Lewis.

Astronomer Carl Sagan inspired millions of Americans to gaze up in fascination at the night sky. Today, atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass pays tribute to Sagan's lasting influence. We also remember an artist who once tied a ball and chain to Seattle's iconic Hammering Man.

A man discovers that a woman's husband, who has been presumed dead, is still making horse bets.