Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Masterpiece of Control
By Dusty Somers |
Chantal Akerman’s 200-minute epic of the mundane flies by like a thriller.
45 Years Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Art of Quiet Devastation
By Dusty Somers |
Charlotte Rampling does extraordinary work in the third feature from British filmmaker Andrew Haigh.
Police (1985) Blu-ray Review: Pialat’s Procedural
By Dusty Somers |
Gérard Depardieu is a not-so-brilliant cop with a not-so-successful personal life.
Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man Blu-ray Review: An Awkward Documentary Hybrid
By Dusty Somers |
From the department of celebrity death cash-ins: An unnecessary Blu-ray upgrade of a forgettable concert film/biography mash-up.
Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Review: Revenge on the Santa Fe Trail
By Dusty Somers |
Silent western icon William S. Hart rides onto Blu-ray for the first time.
Heart of a Dog Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Moving Meditation from a Singular Artist
By Dusty Somers |
Laurie Anderson’s essay film sees her moving comfortably between abstractions and personal revelations.
Hannie Caulder (Olive Signature) Blu-ray Review: Rape, Revenge, and Raquel
By Dusty Somers |
There are trappings of the subversive in Burt Kennedy’s western, but not their convictions.
Morris from America Blu-ray Review: A Coming-of-Age Story Without the B.S.
By Dusty Somers |
Chad Hartigan writes and directs another film with instincts for the low-key.
The Executioner Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Introduction to a Spanish Filmmaking Giant
By Dusty Somers |
Criterion shines a light on a filmmaker not so well-known in the English-speaking world.
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon Blu-ray Review: A Neglected Curiosity Comes to Home Video
By Dusty Somers |
A typically odd late-period Otto Preminger film showcases a fine Liza Minnelli performance.
After the Fox Blu-ray Review: An Unremarkable Collaboration
By Dusty Somers |
Vittorio De Sica, Neil Simon, and Peter Sellers are a comedy dream team, right?
Appointment with Crime Blu-ray Review: Tell Crime You’ll Need to Reschedule
By Dusty Somers |
A stylish opening sequence is not a harbinger of things to come.
Le Amiche Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Antonioni Drains the Passion from Melodrama
By Dusty Somers |
This middle-period entry from the Italian master hints at what’s to come, but stands on its own as an interesting work.
Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street Blu-ray Review: Sam Fuller Goes to Germany
By Dusty Somers |
Fuller’s only feature-directing credit of the 1970s found him infiltrating the ranks of a German crime procedural.
Undertow Blu-ray Review: David Gordon Green Thinks About Moving Past Malick
By Dusty Somers |
There are hints that the ‘George Washington’ filmmaker might make a stylistic leap with ‘Undertow.’
The Diary of a Teenage Girl Blu-ray Review: A Remarkably Forthright Film
By Dusty Somers |
The plot might remind one of Andrea Arnold’s ‘Fish Tank,’ but the tone is decidedly different
Everything I Have Is Yours DVD Review: A Disjointed MGM Musical Programmer
By Dusty Somers |
Husband-and-wife duo Marge and Gower Champion get upgraded to top billing.
The Big Short Movie Review: Adam McKay Tries to Get Serious
By Dusty Somers |
Despite its dramatic aspirations, ‘The Big Short’ is cut from a similar cloth as McKay’s bro-y comedies.
Carol Movie Review: A Moving, Gorgeous Melodrama
By Dusty Somers |
Todd Haynes builds a deeply felt romance from deferred moments.
Amy Blu-ray Review: The Permeability of Private and Public Footage
By Dusty Somers |
Asif Kapadia’s documentary on Amy Winehouse transcends the typical with an unusually and uncomfortably intimate collage.
James White Movie Review: Formally Oppressive, Thematically Thin
By Dusty Somers |
There are moments when Josh Mond’s directorial debut is bracing and direct, but it trades heavily in cliches about self-destructive behavior.
The Honeymoon Killers Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Striking Portrait of Isolation
By Dusty Somers |
A one-and-done feature from Leonard Kastle, The Honeymoon Killers subverts expectations of exploitation.
Yellowbeard Blu-ray Review: A Brutal and Brutally Unfunny Pirate
By Dusty Somers |
Half of Monty Python, a gaggle of Mel Brooks regulars, and James Mason waste their time and ours.
Here Is Your Life Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Engrossing and Enervating Debut
By Dusty Somers |
The first feature film from Swedish filmmaker Jan Troell has its visual merits, but it’s bogged down by a leaden narrative.
The Pillow Book Blu-ray Review: Peter Greenaway’s Idiosyncratic Collage
By Dusty Somers |
Eroticism and revenge mingle as aspect ratios shift.
An Autumn Afternoon Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Master’s Final Masterpiece
By Dusty Somers |
Yasujiro Ozu left us with one final masterpiece in An Autumn Afternoon, a culmination of many of his favorite themes.
Il Sorpasso Criterion Collection Review: An Endearing, Incisive Road Movie
By Dusty Somers |
Risi’s film is simultaneously breezily fun and slyly satiric, a film full of immediate pleasures and more thought-provoking asides.
King of the Hill (1993) Criterion Collection Review: Soderbergh Goes Mainstream (Or Does He?)
By Dusty Somers |
There’s a lot more than first meets the eye to King of the Hill.
A Chorus Line Blu-ray Review: A Pale Imitation of the Stage Show … and of a Passable Movie
By Dusty Somers |
A successful film adaptation of “A Chorus Line” was possible. This is not that film.
La vie de bohème Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Aki Kaurismäki Does Tragedy and Comedy Equally Well
By Dusty Somers |
Finnish great Aki Kaurismäki spins his tonally flexible take on Paris bohemian life.
Carmen Jones Blu-ray Review: Dorothy Dandridge Sizzles Even if Otto Preminger Doesn’t
By Dusty Somers |
The first of Otto Preminger’s all-black musicals is a little staid, but the lead performance is superb.
Grey Gardens (1976) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An S-T-A-U-N-C-H Classic
By Dusty Somers |
A landmark documentary film receives a gorgeous Blu-ray upgrade.
3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: On the Verge of a New Cinematic World
By Dusty Somers |
One of the most fruitful collaborations in cinema is enshrined in Criterion’s outstanding box set.
A Letter to Three Wives Blu-ray Review: A Bit of a Trifle, but an Enjoyable Trifle
By Dusty Somers |
A mildly clever conceit, a capable cast and sure-handed direction make A Letter to Three Wives a genial experience.
Slacker Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Formally Fascinating, Warmly Hilarious Film
By Dusty Somers |
Don’t be so apathetic. Get this Blu-ray.
Me and My Gal DVD Review: A Pre-Code Delight from Raoul Walsh
By Dusty Somers |
The film is fantastic; the disc? Well, let’s be grateful for what we got, I guess.
To the Wonder Blu-ray Review: Another Malick Masterwork
By Dusty Somers |
Despite what some have said, this is hardly the same old bag of tricks rehashed or a filmmaker devolving into self-parody.
Niagara (1953) Blu-ray Review: A Decidedly Different Marilyn
By Dusty Somers |
At its best, the film is a lurid noir starring Monroe in an unlikely role.
The Life of Oharu Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mizoguchi’s Breakthrough Masterpiece
By Dusty Somers |
The Life of Oharu is devastating and gorgeous.
Things to Come Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Overly Didactic Technical Marvel
By Dusty Somers |
A sometimes prescient and sometimes naïve examination of the future.
Masaki Kobayashi Against the System DVD Review: Angry and Elegant Political Films
By Dusty Somers |
Early films from the director of Harakiri reveal a rancorous, politically minded filmmaker.
Richard III Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Ravishing Technicolor Beauty
By Dusty Somers |
The Film The last of Laurence Olivier’s three Shakespeare adaptations, Richard III is unquestionably one of the great Shakespeare films, but its stature might be even more pronounced as one of the great Technicolor films. To call every VistaVision frame of the film ravishing isn’t anywhere near hyperbole — the brilliant colors and sumptuous set…
The Kid with a Bike Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Another Major Work from the Dardennes
By Dusty Somers |
Here’s a reminder to be grateful for the consistently excellent films of the Dardenne Brothers.
The Insider Blu-ray Review: An Engrossing, Troubling Thriller
By Dusty Somers |
Michael Mann is firing on all cylinders in his indictment of corporatization.
Photographic Memory DVD Review: An Intriguing Essay on Images and Memory
By Dusty Somers |
Ross McElwee’s fractured, introspective documentary is often appealingly beguiling.
Pina Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Striking Elegy for an Artistic Giant
By Dusty Somers |
Wim Wenders’ tribute to modern dance legend Pina Bausch is gorgeous and moving.
Cosmopolis Blu-ray Review: Cronenberg and DeLillo are a Perfect Match
By Dusty Somers |
David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel is no inert literary exercise.
This Is Not a Film Movie Review: Maybe Not a Film, but a Masterpiece Nonetheless
By Dusty Somers |
Under house arrest in Iran, Jafar Panahi made a defiant, playful, heart-rending piece of protest cinema and much more.
Jackie Brown Movie Review: Yes, This is Quentin Tarantino’s Best Movie
By Dusty Somers |
Despite its often little-loved status, Jackie Brown is the standout among all Tarantino films.
Sound of My Voice Blu-ray Review: A Taut, Controlled Thriller
By Dusty Somers |
Brit Marling demands your attention in this transfixing suspense film about a basement cult.