Archive for August 2020
Beetlejuice 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
Tim Burton’s 1988 horror comedy classic makes its 4K UHD debut, among other releases this week.
Read MoreThe Balcony Blu-ray Review: Cinematic Satire, I Guess
This adaptation of a French satire failed to make me laugh or think very deeply.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and Chadwick Boseman
May he forever rest in power.
Read MoreBill & Ted Face the Music Movie Review: A Welcome Respite During These Tough Times
This third installment is a worthy addition to the franchise.
Read MoreBreezy Blu-ray Review: Like Sunday Morning
A sweet romance from Clint Eastwood feels a bit queasy due to the age difference.
Read MoreThe Lawyer (2020) Movie Review: Builds a Solid Case
A masterful exercise in mixing tenuous political commentary with queer love.
Read MoreThe Sign of the Cross Blu-ray Review: Saints and Debauchery in a Pre-Code Epic
I’m amazed this thing got made in 1932.
Read MoreTales from the Darkside: The Movie Blu-ray Review: Slick ’90s Horror Anthology
Thin storylines are buoyed by effective production and a surprisingly good cast in this movie version of the TV show.
Read MoreCry Freedom Blu-ray Review: A Fight for Justice
An important black story unfortunately told from a white perspective.
Read MoreThere’s Always Tomorrow Blu-ray Review: A Nuanced Portrayal of a Man Grown Bored with His Life
This Douglas Sirk melodrama takes a realistic look into a marriage on the rocks and the temptation of another woman.
Read MoreToni Is the Pick of the Week
An offbeat, underrated character drama from one of the all-time greatest directors starts off a new week of releases.
Read MoreThe Flash (2014): The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review: The Stakes Have Gotten Higher but the Fun Has Gotten Smaller
The Flash keeps getting bigger and bigger, but not necessarily better and better.
Read MoreToni Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Influential French Drama
Jean Renoir’s realistic portrayal of migrant workers in the South of France helped influence the French New Wave and Italian Neorealism.
Read MoreTown Bloody Hall Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Verbal Battle of the Sexes
An often funny, manic, and sometimes raunchy document of the continuous discussion of gender politics.
Read MoreTender Mercies Blu-ray Review: A Gentle, Beautiful Film
The script by Horton Foote is smart. It won him an Oscar. It knows about people and their inner lives
Read MoreThe King of Staten Island Blu-ray Review: Judd Apatow Has Made His Most Realized Work
Pete Davidson really shines in a slightly overlong, but still hilarious and thoughtful tale of love, loss, and finding who are.
Read MoreFive Cool Things and The Suicide Squad
After a couple of weeks off, I’m back with Five Cool Things.
Read MoreThe Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Angela Winkler Is Sensational
A disturbingly relevant thriller that feels eerily modern to today’s skewered politics.
Read MoreBook Review: Joe Alves: Designing Jaws by Dennis Prince
It does a marvelous job demonstrating the work done by the unsung hero that is the production designer.
Read MoreChemical Hearts Movie Review: Teenage-romance Turns Contemplative
Richard Tanne’s second feature is a contemplative experience that leaves with a bittersweet feeling.
Read MoreCoup 53 Movie Review: Transmutes Intricacy into Intrigue
With a plethora of material at disposition, Taghi Amirani’s skillfully made documentary assures the intrigue remains intact.
Read MoreAll I Desire Blu-ray Review: Can Barbara Stanwyck Go Home Again?
An entertaining vehicle for Stanwyck, who couldn’t help but make anything watchable, but its turn-of-the-century setting amplifies its distant, almost quaint feeling.
Read MoreLife Is a Long Quiet River Blu-ray Review: It Could Use a Few Noisy Rapids
A lighthearted social satire about French life that could have used a few more laughs.
Read MoreRaid on Rommel Blu-ray Review: Raids Other Films for Ideas
It says something about Richard Burton’s star power that he still had a career after this stinker.
Read MoreTown Bloody Hall Is the Pick of the Week
A spirited, and not-so ancient battle-of-the-sexes documentary headlines a new week of interesting releases.
Read MoreDC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Fifth Season Review: So Much Fun
The way they swing for the fences with absolute nuttiness is glorious.
Read MoreBatwoman: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: The Arrowverse Finally Goes to Gotham
When Batwoman finds its groove, it’s really good.
Read MoreBacklash (1956) Blu-ray Review: Searching for Gold and Daddy
A great opening setup leads to just a pretty good film.
Read MoreBloodstone Blu-ray Review: Indiana Jones and the B-Movie Knock-Off
Nico Mastorakis gets into the exotic adventure game with typical mixed results.
Read MoreHappy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Movie Review: Yes, Sir. I Do Like It
A revealing tale of success in the face of cruel genius.
Read MorePretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story Movie Review: A Retrospective Lead-in to an Anticipated Remake
A skate tape worth finding.
Read MoreSkin: A History of Nudity in the Movies Movie Review: A Flesh-filled Journey that Lacks a Critical Eye
I really enjoyed hearing from the actors and filmmakers who have been in and behind some incredibly iconic scenes and films.
Read MoreBook Review: Alien: 40 Years 40 Artists by Various
A thoughtful, varied collection of work inspired by a sci-fi classic.
Read MoreThe Eagle and the Hawk Blu-ray Review: World War I Was Hell
Frederic March is brilliant as a fighter pilot slowly going mad in this gripping war drama.
Read MoreBefore the Fire (2020) Movie Review: A Timely Thriller that Flames Out
A movie about surviving a pandemic is fitting right now, but this one doesn’t have much going for it.
Read MoreThe Complete Films of Agnes Varda Is the Pick of the Week
Criterion’s mammoth box set of the work of the legendary Agnes Varda tops a new week of releases.
Read MoreSukiyaki Western Django Blu-ray Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Quentin
Takashi Miike takes an inspired stab at the spaghetti Western genre.
Read MoreHiroshima Blu-ray Review: Unrelenting Terror
A documentary-style narrative film about the days following first atomic bomb dropping.
Read MoreLucky Grandma Blu-ray Review: Don’t Mess with Grandma
Lucky Grandma’s star, Tsai Chin, like the film, is simultaneously ornery and delightful.
Read MoreBlack Rainbow Blu-ray Review: A Spiritual Thriller
Mike Hodges oft-neglected thriller about a fake medium who gets real powers works best when it focuses on the relationships between the characters.
Read MoreShe Dies Tomorrow Movie Review: Meditation on Impending Doom
Amy Seimetz’ second feature length film explores the various reactions to the certain knowledge that… tomorrow, you die.
Read MoreOld Boyfriends Blu-ray Review: Girl Trip
A bit of a curiosity, Old Boyfriends is still an interesting film to watch, especially for the boyfriends.
Read MoreThe Quest (1986) Blu-ray Review: Sit This Adventure Out
Utterly disappointing in every way.
Read MoreZombie for Sale Blu-ray Review: A New Take on an Old Genre
This zombie rom-com takes the genre into fun directions.
Read MoreRide Your Wave Blu-ray Review: Touching Romance Becomes Ghost Story
Masaaki Yuasa’s latest feature about surfing, grief, and water controlling ghosts is touching and off-putting at once.
Read MoreAudie Murphy Collection Blu-ray Review: War Hero Becomes a Movie Star
I’ve heard about Audie Murphy’s remarkable life since I was a kid. I’m thrilled to finally be getting to see some of his films with this new set.
Read MoreThe Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Is the Pick of the Week
Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe von Trotta’s 1975 disturbingly modern political thriller tops a new week of releases.
Read MoreWonder Woman: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review: Warner Bros. Brings Us Exactly What We Need
It’s the commentary by Lynda Carter on the pilot and a Season Three episode that are the gems to discover here.
Read MoreSummerland Movie Review: A Satisfactory Lesbian Drama
Like a bittersweet beach day. Rain clouds sometimes loom, but the Sun finds ways to shine.
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