Archive for April 2014
Here’s Looking At You, Kid: The 2014 Humphrey Bogart Film Festival Preview
Sounds like a busy, film-filled (and pretty fun) weekend.
Read MoreDoctor Who: The Web of Fear DVD Review: A Cause for Celebration
Available for the first time since being broadcast 46 years ago, The Second Doctor and UNIT are ready for the Yeti.
Read MoreMr. Selfridge: Season 2 Is the Pick of the Week
I defer to the excellent quality Masterpiece has given us all in the past and hope they can pull this off.
Read MoreThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Blu-ray Review: A Secret Best Left Untold
Ben Stiller succeeds in launching and then crashing the very same project so many others abandoned or passed-up several times before.
Read MoreTribeca 2014 Review: Black Coal, Thin Ice: Uneven Film Noir Spiced with Humor and Horror
Stylish noir thriller with touches of humor gives a glimpse into the run-down, everyday China most Westerners don’t see.
Read MoreThe Who: Sensation: The Story of Tommy DVD Review: Takes Viewers Behind the Scenes of the Groundbreaking Rock Opera
Learn more about the inspiration of the band’s 1969 masterpiece.
Read MoreBook Review: Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics, Volume One: 1966-1967
A welcome addition to any Batfan’s library.
Read MoreTribeca 2014 Review: 5 to 7 Is a Witty Comedy That Wilts into a Soggy Love Story
A graceful, witty culture-clash comedy that overcooks into a ridiculously sappy doomed romance.
Read MoreTribeca 2014 Panel: Stories by Numbers Review: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Data?
High-powered panel discusses whether data can contribute to creative storytelling and why binge-watching is really nothing new.
Read MoreLittle Feat: Live in Holland 1976 Review: Featfans, Rejoice!
There is really no excuse for anybody who likes music to not own this one.
Read More2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three and Four
Each year I seem to enjoy the this festival more and more.
Read MoreTribeca Film Festival 2014: Thelma Schoonmaker Reveals the Secrets Behind Raging Bull
Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker reveals the influences, artistry and happy accidents that go into a great film.
Read MoreGod’s Pocket Movie Review: One Last Chance to See Philip Seymour Hoffman
Downbeat drama with too few flashes of crazy black humor, but strong performances from Hoffman, John Turturro and Christina Hendricks
Read MoreMaster of the House Is the Pick of the Week
Thank goodness for the Criterion Collection.
Read MoreOff-the-Wall TV Shows from the Warner Archive DVDs Review: Heroes and Fathers Galore
The Search for Jimmy Stewart’s Courtship of Superboy.
Read More2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two
I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and was wanting more once it was over.
Read MoreSearch: The Complete Series DVD Review: About 40 Years Ahead of Its Time
Search is perhaps the greatest “lost” TV show of all time.
Read MoreMartial Arts Double Feature: Hapkido / Lady Whirlwind (1972) DVD Review: The Return of Angela Mao
Shout! Factory doubles down with a pair of early ’70s chopsocky flicks.
Read MoreExtreme Bears DVD Review: Another (Mostly) Winning Set from BBC Earth
Grizzlies, pandas, and polar bears in their natural elements.
Read More20 Feet from Stardom Movie Review: Backup Singers Take Center Stage
A fine film for any music fan to watch.
Read MoreBill Elliott Detective Mysteries DVD Review: From Deadeye to Dick
Put out an APB on a couple of beers and shoot out the light.
Read MorePhilomena Is the Pick of the Week
There is lots of humor threaded through a story that is also filled with sadness.
Read MoreTV Review: Fargo: “The Crocodile’s Dilemma”
The episode has me intrigued on what happens next, dontcha know.
Read MoreThe Eddy Duchin Story (1956) / The Front (1976) / Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) / The Blue Max (1966) / Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) Blu-rays Review: Twilight Times Five
Eastwood. Woody. And World War, too.
Read MoreMaverick: The Complete Third and Fourth Season DVDs Review: Pappy Says Save This For the Old Folks
A nice set compiling two seasons of this classic show with really good video and audio quality.
Read MoreJoan Crawford Stars in Montana Moon, I Live My Life, and The Bride Wore Red from Warner Archive Collection
Three little-known films from Joan’s MGM years show how the studio placed, and kept, this star in the spotlight for over a decade.
Read MoreBook Review: Grimm: Below the Surface: The Insider’s Guide to the Show
A great companion guide to the series, as well as a reference guide to Portland’s creepiest inhabitants.
Read MoreMy Top Picks for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival
If I am lucky, I’ll get into all seven.
Read MoreEarth Flight: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review: A Bird’s-eye View of Life on the Wing
A fantastic view of the life of birds from their perspective.
Read MoreThe Secret Policeman’s Ball – USA Blu-ray Review: Comedy for a Cause
In celebration of Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary.
Read MoreAugust: Osage County Is the Pick of the Week
I’m looking forward to seeing this one very much.
Read MoreThe Nut Job Blu-ray Review: Amiable Enough to Entertain the Kiddos
It brings to mind classic Bugs Bunny – alas, none of the characters have quite the personality of Bugs, but then, who does?
Read MoreAn Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story DVD Review: Justice Prevails
A powerful story of determination and redemption, and how sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Read MoreBook Review: The Zombie Film: From White Zombie to World War Z by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Because one more publication on the subject couldn’t possibly hurt the subgenre any.
Read MoreDC Comics Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures Volume 1 DVD Review: They Cannot Be Beat
I gotta say, these Filmation Adventures are a lot of fun.
Read MoreOut of the Furnace Blu-ray Review: Burning Too Many Fires
Impressive cast wasted on faulty script that attempts to pack in too many plots and instead masters none.
Read MoreFargo (Remastered Edition) Blu-ray Review: Such a Super Film but Not so Super an Edition
An essential movie for any film fan to own. I won’t say the same for this particular release.
Read MoreMr. & Mrs. Murder: Series 1 DVD Review: Worth a Look
The Australian TV series Mr. & Mrs. Murder could have been a great show, if given a little time to be fine-tuned.
Read MoreAgatha Christie’s Poirot: Series 11 DVD Review: Poirot’s Still Got It
A welcome addition to fans of David Suchet’s definitive portrayal of the little Belgian sleuth.
Read MoreSEAL Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines (2014) DVD Review: aka The Dyslexic Subtitle Movie
Tom Sizemore sizes up a comeback in a movie with a confusing title that no one is truly bound to see. The end.
Read MoreDragons: Defenders of Berk Part 1 DVD Review: Another Half Season of Dragon Training
Dragons: Defenders of Berk Part 1 returns to the surprisingly good TV incarnation of How to Train Your Dragon.
Read MoreThe Hidden Fortress Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Gold Standard
Kurosawa and Mifune team up for another classic.
Read MorePhilomena Blu-ray Review: A Simple Story Told Really Well
We need more of these kinds of movies.
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