Archive for January 2019
Sundance 2019 Review: Wounds Is Indeed Rather Hurtful
Wounds starts off promising before slowly going off the rails with its overly ambiguous premise.
Read MoreSundance 2019 Review: The Nightingale Is Frustratingly Gratuitous
The Nightingale has strong political undertones yet still succumbs to its ultraviolent nature.
Read MoreSundance 2019 Review: Alfre Woodard Is Oscar Worthy in Clemency
Alfre Woodard quietly delivers the best film performance of her career.
Read MoreSundance 2019 Review: Geraldine Viswanathan is the Strong Center of Hala
Geraldine Viswanathan is a revelation in this affecting coming-of-age drama.
Read MoreDiamonds for Breakfast Blu-ray Review: Should Have Had Bran
This oh-so very ’60s comedy could have used a little more swing and little less schwing.
Read MoreThen Came You (2019) Movie Review: Steer Clear
Maisie Williams is the only shining light in this standard coming-of-age story.
Read MoreThe Night Is Short, Walk on Girl Blu-ray Review: A Long, Strange Trip
Funny, bizarre, and strangely obsessed with underpants, this Japanese animated comedy deserves to be seen.
Read MoreSuspiria (2018) Blu-ray Review: Wildly Reinvented, Massively Flawed
This remake of the 1977 horror classic completely reinvents the story, rarely for the better, and is very, very long.
Read MoreSundance 2019 Review: Velvet Buzzsaw Is Wonderfully Chaotic
Velvet Buzzsaw is incredibly off-kilter and grotesque yet brilliant.
Read MoreSuspiria (2018) Is the Pick of the Week
Here’s all the Blu-ray releases that look interesting this week.
Read MoreSundance 2019 Review: Awkwafina Proves Her Dramatic Range in The Farewell
Awkwafina is the strong center of the bittersweet dramedy known as The Farewell.
Read MoreFirst Man Blu-ray Review: A Giant Leap for Mankind and for a Man
Not only an exciting historical adventure, the film does an important service in telling the story of heroes such as Neil Armstrong and others who worked on the Gemini and Apollo projects.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and American Gods: Season Two
American Gods, Avengers Infinity War, Black Panther, Doctor Who, the Awful Truth.
Read MoreDirty Rotten Scoundrels Blu-ray Review: Pros and Cons on the French Riviera
Who will come out the victor as con men try to con each other in Frank Oz’s light and airy Riviera comedy?
Read MoreSarah T.: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic Blu-ray Review: A Powerful Performance by Linda Blair
A sobering, if slight look at teenage alcoholism.
Read MoreMelies: Fairy Tales in Color Blu-ray Review: When Special Effects Were Magic
A collection of 13 short films by the early effects genius of Silent Cinema.
Read MoreFirst Man Is the Pick of the Week
The Criterion Collection, Humphrey Bogart, Neil Armstrong, and more are coming to a Blu-ray near you.
Read MoreBook Review: Superman: The Silver Age Sundays, Volume 1 (1959-1963)
Extremely entertaining and occasionally quite troubling, these stories are the groundwork for the Superman myth.
Read MoreGlass Movie Review: An Ambitiously Uneven Thriller
Glass is admirably zealous while nearly shattering due to its overt exposition.
Read MoreYessongs: 40th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray Review: For Fans Only
An enjoyable Yes concert but the audio comes close to the edge of unacceptability.
Read MoreThe House That Would Not Die (1970) Blu-ray Review: A Clear Case of Repossession
Barbara Stanwyck’s lackluster TV-movie debut is pulled out of the vault by Kino Lorber.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and I Am the Night
I got me some HBO and found some cool things.
Read MoreOn the Basis of Sex Movie Review: An Effective Crowd-pleaser
On the Basis of Sex is impactful thanks to its subject matter and central performances by Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer.
Read MorePopeye the Sailor: 1933-1938 Volume One DVD Review: Strong to the Finish
The 60 cartoons alone would be worth owning, but the Special Features put this collection in a special category.
Read MoreThe Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 4 (1971-1975) Blu-ray Review
While I recommend the entire series to date, Volume 4 is as good a place to jump as any.
Read MoreDon’t Come Back from the Moon Movie Review: Stay Seated for This
Bruce Thierry Cheung’s new film is a beautiful, poetic approach to the importance of fatherhood.
Read MoreThe Forbidden Photos of a Lady Beyond Suspicion Blu-ray Review: Proto-Giallo
More psycho-sexual thriller than giallo, this film nevertheless delivers the goods.
Read MoreThe Old Man & the Gun Is the Pick of the Week
Who knew January was such a great time for new releases?
Read MoreRumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Movie Review: Revealing a Lesser-Known Story of Rock ‘n’ Roll
The new documentary reveals the numerous contributions Native Americans have made to rock, blues, gospel, folk, and more.
Read MoreWhen Harry Met Sally… (30th Anniversary Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Sweet, Funny Love Story
It’s one of the best films on the resumes of everyone involved with it.
Read MoreFour Times That Night Blu-ray Review: Rashomon Remade As a Sex Comedy
A single date is told from four perspectives in this Mario Bava comedy. None of them really work.
Read MoreMid90s Blu-ray Review: An Authentic Coming-of-age Story
Best known as an actor, Jonah Hill’s first outing as a director is a stunning debut because of his creative choices.
Read MoreHalloween (2018) Blu-ray Review: A Pleasing Sequel
Eleven films into the franchise and Halloween is suddenly looking fresh again.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and Jordan Peele’s Us
This week was back to school and back to watching lots of movies.
Read MoreKnives of the Avenger Blu-ray Review: Swords, Sandals, and Not Much Else
Almost as good as the Beastmaster.
Read MoreCastle Rock: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: So Much Potential Wasted
For fans of Stephen King, I would give a slight recommendation to try it.
Read MoreLet the Corpses Tan Blu-ray Review: An Assault on the Senses
A modern, psychedelic take on the Spaghetti Western is visually stylish and exhausting.
Read MoreKusama: Infinity DVD Review: Connecting the Dots in a Great Artist’s Life
As fascinating as Yayoi Kusama’s biography is, what truly enthralls is her art.
Read MoreThe Laurel & Hardy Comedy Collection DVD Review: A Fine Mess of Films
An interesting and entertaining mix of early 20th Century silent comedy shorts.
Read MoreCastle Rock: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week
Hope you have some Christmas money left because this week brings some interesting new releases.
Read MoreBook Review: Hooked on Hollywood by Leonard Maltin
For those that have been hooked deeply by the Classic Hollywood era, it’s an intriguing read.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and The ABC Murders
I’m back and healthy and have many cool things to talk about.
Read MoreBrewster McCloud Blu-ray Review: A Weird, Strange Trip into the Altmanverse
Robert Altman’s follow-up to M*A*S*H is an idiosyncratic, weird little film that only he could make.
Read MoreBright Lights, Big City: 30th Anniversary Special Collector’s Edition Review: Still Rings True in Today’s Social-media and Celebrity-obsessed Culture
While some aspects of this film are dated, most of it still holds up in this tale of addiction and grief avoidance.
Read MoreBest of 2018 Assorted Lists
In which Shawn ranks things that happened through 2018 and counts all the things in his life.
Read MoreBest of 2018 TV Lists
In which Shawn ranks some television from 2018 and 1988.
Read MoreHallelujah the Hills Blu-ray Review: Did Not Hit the Mark
The characters come across as flat and unlikable, so it was difficult to invest in any of them.
Read MoreLove, Gilda Movie Review: A Beautiful and Personal Portrait
Director Lisa D’Apolito does a wonderful job of bringing in the audience on some of the toughest parts of Gilda’s life.
Read MoreBest of 2018 Film Lists
In which Shawn ranks a bunch of movies from 2018 and 1988.
Read More