Tenderness of the Wolves Blu-ray Review: Serial Killer Social Drama
By Kent Conrad |
Fassbinder proteges Ulli Lommel and Kurt Raab bring the disturbing story of child-murderer Fritz Haarman to lurid life.
Attack on Titan: The Movies: Part 1 & Part 2 Review: Anime-Inspired Cinematic Insanity
By Kent Conrad |
A two-part adaptation of the anime series, these movies deviate from the original, but keep the crazy spirit intact.
Big House, U.S.A. Blu-ray Review: Lean, Tough ’50s Crime
By Kent Conrad |
This surprisingly grim, unsentimental crime film with great character actor cast is a tough-minded winner.
The Hee Haw Collection DVD Review: Stockholm Syndrome in the Cornfields
By Kent Conrad |
This five episode collection of the corniest TV show in history makes the show’s long life understandable… a little.
Cemetery Without Crosses Blu-ray Review: Franco-Spanish Spaghetti Western
By Kent Conrad |
Robert Hossein’s Euro-Western is long on style and brooding, short on story and character.
He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Review: Beautiful Cinematography Elevates Standard Noir
By Kent Conrad |
A small thriller (John Garfield’s last film) draped in spectacular black and white imagery by cinematographer James Wong Howe.
Person of Interest: The Complete Fourth Season DVD Review: A.I. Supercomputer Battle Royale
By Kent Conrad |
Season Four is bumpier than average, but this season’s highlights more than make up for some weak patches.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Blu-ray Review: A Magical Series About Real Magic in England
By Kent Conrad |
A faithful adaptation of the modern classic novel, a complicated and convoluted fantasy story about rival wizards in 19th-century England.
Stray Cat Rock Blu-ray Review: Motorcycle Girl Gangs and Hippy Crime Sprees
By Kent Conrad |
Five loosely connected Japanese exploitation movies capture the spirit, and looseness of their age.
Society Blu-ray Review: Glorious Mess of an ’80s Horror Movie
By Kent Conrad |
Brian Yuzna’s bizarre directorial debut is wildly uneven, but never less than fascinating.
The Searchers Blu-ray Review: Revisionist Western Before There Were Revisionist Westerns
By Kent Conrad |
John Ford’s justly praised western classic explores the contradictions of glory and brutality in the settling of the West.
Retaliation Blu-ray Review: Japanese Gangster Exploitation Mayhem
By Kent Conrad |
Another fine Arrow release of a late-’60s era Japanese exploitation picture.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Crime, Lowkey, and Unsentimental
By Kent Conrad |
Peter Yates’ 1973 crime drama explores how important, and how expendable, “Friends” can be in Boston’s working-class criminal underground.
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control Movie Review: Skewed Look at Human Behavior
By Kent Conrad |
Errol Morris’s meditation on human behavior as seen from four men with very strange jobs.
Blind Woman’s Curse Blu-ray Review: Gory Japanese Ghosts and Yakuza Fun
By Kent Conrad |
A kitchen sink of Japanese genre elements from Japanese exploitation expert Teruo Ishii.
A Walk Among the Tombstones Blu-ray Review: Somber, Slow Detective Throwback
By Kent Conrad |
This adaptation of Lawrence Block’s alcoholic detective series is true to the character, maybe to a fault.
The Vanishing (1988) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Thriller as Character Study
By Kent Conrad |
A woman’s disappearance creates a terrible bond between the man who took her, and the one who lost her.
UHF Blu-ray Review: Constant Parodying, Semi-Constant Laughter
By Kent Conrad |
“Weird Al” packs a comic sensibility not at all conducive to feature films into a ramshackle movie.
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars DVD Review: A Parallel Adventure in the Galactic Empire
By Kent Conrad |
Disney’s inventive duo run amiably amok through the story of Star Wars: A New Hope.
Father Brown: Season One DVD Review: Uninspired Priest Detective Series
By Kent Conrad |
Catholic priest detective isn’t particularly Catholic, nor much of a detective, in this BBC series.
Any Given Sunday 15th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: Oversized Game Meets Oversized Filmmaker
By Kent Conrad |
Sprawling football epic looks at the game from all sides.
Rocks in My Pockets Movie Review: Animated Exploration of Suicide and Depression
By Kent Conrad |
Rock in My Pockets, an independent animated film, explores the depths of suicide and depression, without itself being suicidally depressing.
Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Review: Contrived Narratives Meet Astonishing Nature Footage
By Kent Conrad |
Hidden Kingdoms, from BBC Earth, showcases the world of small animals, mixing fictional stories with very real, very beautiful footage.
The Book Thief Blu-ray Review: Familiar but Compelling Wartime Drama
By Kent Conrad |
Following a girl who comes of age in Nazi Germany, The Book Thief is a familiar, but quality story.
Books Review: Starting Point: 1979-1996 and Turning Point: 1997-2008 by Hayao Miyazaki: Unique Memoirs from an Animation Genius
By Kent Conrad |
Starting Point and Turning Point memoirs provide insight into the work and life of Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki
Dragons: Defenders of Berk Part 2 DVD Review: Mostly Satisfactory Season Ender
By Kent Conrad |
Concludes the second TV season of Dragon training on a satisfactory, not brilliant, note.
Book Review: Weird Fantasy, Volume 1: Glossy Reprint of Classic SF Comic
By Kent Conrad |
The latest hardcover EC Archives release features the first six issues of this series digitally recolored.
Dragons: Defenders of Berk Part 1 DVD Review: Another Half Season of Dragon Training
By Kent Conrad |
Dragons: Defenders of Berk Part 1 returns to the surprisingly good TV incarnation of How to Train Your Dragon.
Himizu Movie Review: Compellingly Weird Coming-of-age Drama
By Kent Conrad |
Himizu is a strange, but compelling, coming-of-age drama about a boy trying to find normalcy in post-tsunami Japan.
Guilty of Romance Movie Review: Sexy Thriller with Tacked-on Murder
By Kent Conrad |
Sion Sono’s Guilty of Romance is a sexy, strange, perverse thriller about a housewife’s forays into prostitution.
Book Review: Gasoline Alley: The Complete Sundays, Volume One 1920-1922 by Frank King
By Kent Conrad |
Lovingly restored, Dark Horse Comics collects the first two years of the beloved series Sunday run.
Book Review: Hellboy: The First 20 Years by Mike Mignola
By Kent Conrad |
Hellboy: The First 20 Years is an attractive artbook that charts the visuals of the Hellboy series.
Wicked Blood Blu-ray Review: Southern Meth Generic Crime Drama
By Kent Conrad |
Wicked Blood, a crime drama seen through the eyes of a teenage girl begins promisingly, but sinks under generic plot.
The Agatha Christie Hour: Complete Collection DVD Review: Agatha Christie’s Also-Rans
By Kent Conrad |
The Agatha Christie Hour adapted 10 short stories featuring lesser-known characters from Christie’s canon
Milius Movie Review: The Director Who Wanted to be a General
By Kent Conrad |
Milius documents the rise and fall of raconteur and Hollywood rebel John Milius.
Bryan Ferry: Live in Lyon DVD Review: Smooth, Professional Concert Crooning
By Kent Conrad |
Bryan Ferry’s Live in Lyon live concert DVD features songs from every phase of the crooner’s career, respectably performed.
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey DVD Review: Straightforward Look at Oddball Musician
By Kent Conrad |
In Search of Blind Joe Death is a captivating look at the life and works of genuine musical misfit John Fahey.
Sanguivorous DVD Review: Super-Arty Asian Vampires
By Kent Conrad |
Sanguivorous is a horror film more interested in abstract visuals than narrative, or scares.
Vikings: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: Old Gods Make Decent Drama
By Kent Conrad |
History Channel’s first scripted series, Vikings mixes fact, legend, and fairly standard TV drama.
Waking the Dead: Season Eight DVD Review: Forensic Cop Show, Overwrought and Desperate
By Kent Conrad |
In its eighth season, Waking the Dead is a perfect example of a show that has outworn its welcome.
American Horror Story: Asylum Blu-ray Review: Absolutely Insane, but It Works
By Kent Conrad |
American Horror Story: Asylum is like a dozen horror movies at once, but somehow they all hold together.
Birth of the Living Dead Movie Review: Timely Revisiting of Horror Classic
By Kent Conrad |
Rob Kuhn’s excellent new doc looks at the impact of George Romero’s seminal zombie movie.
Brainwave DVD Review: Interesting Lectures, but Missed Opportunity
By Kent Conrad |
Brainwave, a lecture series that pair an artist with a neuroscientist, is an intriguing, if rather random, DVD release.
Haven: The Complete Third Season DVD Review: Supernatural TV Series Dives into Some Pitfalls
By Kent Conrad |
Haven: Season 3 continues the supernatural series with a mixed-bag of episodes, some good, some real dogs.
Blandings: Series 1 DVD Review: The Great Wodehouse (Somewhat) Well Adapted
By Kent Conrad |
Blandings, adapted from the stories by P.G. Wodehouse, wonderfully performed, but deviates somewhat from Woderhouse’s innocent spirit.
Robotech 2-Movie Collection DVD Review: The Shadow Chronicles Collector’s Edition and Love Live Alive: A Robotech Sequel and A Long, Long Clip Show
By Kent Conrad |
For an audience interested in an entertaining experience, I can’t imagine a duller time.
Shoah Criterion Collection DVD Review: Superb Release of Haunting, Tragic Film
By Kent Conrad |
Criterion Collection’s release of Shoah is a superb packaging of the powerful, haunting Holocaust documentary.
Strike Back: Cinemax Season Two Blu-ray Review: 21st Century Production Values, ’80s Action Sensibility
By Kent Conrad |
’80s action cinema made anew. Whether you find that damning, or high praise, will determine whether or not the show’s for you.
Dragons: Riders of Berk Part 1 and 2 DVDs Review: More Vikings, More Dragons
By Kent Conrad |
Dragons: Riders of Berk continues from How To Train Your Dragon, with more Vikings and more Dragons.
The Gangster (2012) Blu-ray Review: Ambitious but Flawed Gangland Epic
By Kent Conrad |
Sixties-era Thailand gangs rumble in the streets of Bangkok in The Gangster, an ambitious but flawed new film.
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