Mat Brewster

The Retaliators (2022) Blu-ray Review: Crisis of Faith Meets Zombies

By Mat Brewster | Mar 14, 2023

Stories about men encountering a crisis of faith are as old as stories, or as old as crises, or at ...

Book Review: Spa by Erik Svetoft

By Mat Brewster | Feb 14, 2023

Swedish writer/illustrator Erik Svetoft's Spa is a Kafkaesque adventure that plunges into a Lynchian nightmare. Set in a high-class, luxury ...

The bride wore black, a film by jeanne moreau

The Bride Wore Black and Mississippi Mermaid Blu-rays Review: Truffaut Does Hitchcock

By Mat Brewster | Feb 9, 2023

For much of his career, Alfred Hitchcock was not taken seriously by the critical establishment. His films were hugely successful, ...

White Woman (1933) Blu-ray Review: Certainly Watchable but Not Much More Than That

By Mat Brewster | Feb 3, 2023

In the early 1930s, Paramount Pictures made a name for itself by making films with beautiful women in exotic settings. ...

Maigret (1960): Season 2 Blu-ray Review: This Series Keeps Getting Better

By Mat Brewster | Jan 26, 2023

While I was writing my review for Season 1 of Maigret, I kept wondering if I'd be able to find ...

Nobody’s Fool Blu-ray Review: At the Center of the Film’s Charm Is Paul Newman’s Performance

By Mat Brewster | Dec 22, 2022

It takes a lot of confidence to make a movie in which nothing really happens. It does help to have ...

Maigret (1960): Season 1 Blu-ray Review: Scores Big for Solid Entertainment Value

By Mat Brewster | Dec 20, 2022

Maigret, the French detective created by Belgian writer Georges Simenon, is one of my all-time fictional detectives. Second only, perhaps, ...

Blood & Diamonds Blu-ray Review: Dull & Boring

By Mat Brewster | Dec 9, 2022

Our man Guido (Claudio Cassinelli) can't catch a break. Someone snitches on him and his partner Marco (Carmelo Reale) during ...

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Review: A Long Night’s Journey into the Soul

By Mat Brewster | Dec 6, 2022

They say Tennessee Williams was none too pleased with John Huston's adaptation of his play The Night of the Iguana. ...

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman Blu-ray Review: Maybe If She Were a Little Taller This Would Be Good

By Mat Brewster | Dec 3, 2022

The 1950s were an incredibly fertile period for science fiction at the cinema. The invention of the atomic bomb and ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Review: Starting to Wear Thin

By Mat Brewster | Oct 20, 2022

The Arrowverse is dead. Well, almost. What began with a single show, Arrow in 2012, quickly grew and grew until ...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) Blu-ray Review: Fredric March Is Quite Wonderful in the Dual Role

By Mat Brewster | Oct 19, 2022

When I asked to review this film, Cinema Sentries publisher Gordon S. Miller, remembering that I had just reviewed the ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema X Blu-ray Review: In This Corner…Tony Curtis

By Mat Brewster | Oct 18, 2022

Boxing. The sweet science. Gladiators of the ring. Raging war in a small square. Two men bashing their brains out ...

Eyes of Laura Mars (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Artful Trash

By Mat Brewster | Oct 14, 2022

There has been a lot of Internet chatter over the last couple of years about the death of eroticism in ...

Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror Blu-ray Review

By Mat Brewster | Oct 12, 2022

Creaky old castles up on a hill. Dark stormy nights. Strange noises. Beautiful maidens in flowing white gowns. Repressed desires. ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IX Blu-ray Review: A Trio of Amateur Sleuths

By Mat Brewster | Oct 11, 2022

I've been waist-deep in horror movies for the last couple of weeks, it being October and all, but I'm already ...

Hiroshima mon amour Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Rich and Rewarding Film

By Mat Brewster | Sep 2, 2022

Expectations are a difficult thing to overcome while watching a film. Especially if said film is considered to be one ...

The Burned Barns Blu-ray Review: Two Titans of French Cinema Spar

By Mat Brewster | Aug 20, 2022

In a series of interviews with the crew of The Burned Barns (1973) that is included in the new Blu-ray ...

Custom Cropped Poster of the movie Flying Guillotine

Flying Guillotine Part II Blu-ray Review: Double the Guillotine, Double the Fun

By Mat Brewster | Aug 9, 2022

In 1975, Shaw Brothers Studio released The Flying Guillotine. It is about an elite group of guards to the emperor ...

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Review

By Mat Brewster | Jul 26, 2022

DC's Legends of Tomorrow is a show that learned to break out of its genre's conventions and embrace the inherent ...

Planet of the Vampires Blu-ray Review: A Low Budget Masterpiece

By Mat Brewster | Jul 26, 2022

Mario Bava's work as a special effects designer and cinematographer before he became a director is apparent in all the ...

The Righteous Blu-ray Review: An Audacious First Film

By Mat Brewster | Jul 22, 2022

A married couple grieving for their lost daughter. A stranger at the door asking for help. Then asking for something ...

Martial Club Blu-ray Review: Come for the Action, Stay for the Moral Lessons

By Mat Brewster | Jul 19, 2022

The more Shaw Brothers kung fu movies I watch the more I get into their grooves and understand their tropes. ...

Hell High Blu-ray Review: Watching It Is Pure Hell

By Mat Brewster | Jul 18, 2022

The slasher subgenre of horror was in serious decline in 1989. Audiences, even the very forgiving horror hounds, had grown ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VIII Blu-ray Review

By Mat Brewster | Jul 16, 2022

The thing about film noir is that it is a genre without definition. Unlike something like westerns or science-fiction, genres ...

The Adventures of Don Juan (1948) Blu-ray Review: Come in with Flynn

By Mat Brewster | Jul 14, 2022

One of the great joys of becoming a classic film enthusiast is discovering an actor or actress and then immediately ...

One-Armed Boxer Blu-ray Review: Delivers a Nuttiness Desired in An Old Kung Fu Movie

By Mat Brewster | Jun 29, 2022

A man walks into a bar and notices another man sitting at his table. He tells the man that he ...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) Blu-ray Review: Well Worth Watching to See Spencer Tracy Play Against Type

By Mat Brewster | Jun 21, 2022

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was originally sold as a penny dreadful and ...

The Initiation of Sarah Blu-ray Review: A Made-for-TV Carrie Rip-Off

By Mat Brewster | Jun 17, 2022

In 1976, Brian De Palma released the supernatural horror movie, Carrie. Based upon Stephen King's first published novel of the ...

Rogue Cops and Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers by Enzo G. Castellari Blu-ray Review: Quintessential Italian Crime Dramas

By Mat Brewster | May 23, 2022

God bless Italian filmmakers. They were consistently making great films in an astonishing array of genres for a good three ...

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-Ray Review: One of the Greatest Kung Fu Movies Ever

By Mat Brewster | Mar 30, 2022

I don't know why but there seems to be a great influx of kung fu movies coming to Blu-ray of ...

Monkey Kung Fu & Shaolin Mantis Blu-rays Review: For Those Who Like Animals with Their Kung Fu

By Mat Brewster | Mar 22, 2022

88 Films continues their monthly tradition of releasing excellent versions of classic (and not so classic) Shaw Brothers kung fu ...

The Flag of Iron & Legendary Weapons of China Blu-ray Review: Two Classics from Shaw Brothers Studios

By Mat Brewster | Feb 12, 2022

Last month in my review of Disciples of Shaolin, I noted how much I loved old kung fu movies as ...

The poster of the movie Stage Fright by Alfred Hitchcock

Stage Fright (1950) Blu-ray Review: Second-Tier Hitchcock Is Still Good Cinema

By Mat Brewster | Jan 24, 2022

Stage Fright, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller from 1950 begins with a great curtain that opens to reveal a shot of, not ...

Disciples of Shaolin Blu-ray Review: Socially Conscious Kung Fu

By Mat Brewster | Jan 12, 2022

When I was a kid one of the local television stations used to run what they called Kung Fu Theater ...

Two from Sergei Eisenstein: October & Alexander Nevsky DVD Reviews

By Mat Brewster | Nov 20, 2021

Sergei Eisenstein was one of the most important film theorists and directors of early cinema. If he didn't invent the ...

Counterpoint Blu-ray Review: Battle of the Cellos

By Mat Brewster | Nov 16, 2021

Towards the end of World War II, soldiers gather in a bombed-out church to listen to a symphony orchestra as ...

The Accused (1949) Blu-ray Review: Works Something Like a Film Noir in Reverse

By Mat Brewster | Nov 10, 2021

The classic film noir plot goes something like this: a man, usually a not too bright one, meets a woman ...

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Legendary

By Mat Brewster | Nov 9, 2021

In my reviews of previous seasons of Legends of Tomorrow, I've discussed my love for how this series understands how ...

Breakheart Pass Blu-ray Review: Like an Agatha Christie Western

By Mat Brewster | Nov 8, 2021

Take a moment and look at the cover art for this Blu-ray which is the recreation of the original poster. ...

The Sheik (1921) Blu-ray Review: A Silent and Problematic Classic

By Mat Brewster | Nov 1, 2021

In December of 1912 a beautiful young man with the unlikely name of Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di ...

The Incredible Shrinking Man Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Giant-Sized Fun

By Mat Brewster | Oct 28, 2021

I wonder what it is about stories of humans being shrunk down to tiny size or living in a land ...

The Cheat (1931) Blu-ray Review: Third Time Isn’t the Charm

By Mat Brewster | Oct 18, 2021

I'm about two steps away from completely being a classic movie snob. I've loved classic movies pretty much my entire ...

Torch Singer (1933) Blu-ray Review: A Very Modern Pre-Code

By Mat Brewster | Oct 14, 2021

One of the interesting things about reviewing very old films is the tension between my modern standards and my understanding ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Review: The Stories Feel Undercooked and Underwhelming

By Mat Brewster | Oct 13, 2021

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

Hot Saturday Blu-ray Review: Fascinating Pre-Code Shenanigans

By Mat Brewster | Oct 9, 2021

Had Hot Saturday (1932) been made just a few years later, it would have been a completely different film. It ...

Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Blu-ray Review: This Set Is a Must-buy

By Mat Brewster | Oct 6, 2021

Sam Katzman got his start in the movies working as a stage laborer in the early 1920s. He moved up ...

The Fourth Victim Blu-ray Review: Stay Till the End

By Mat Brewster | Oct 4, 2021

A pretty blonde woman lounges languidly in the swimming pool of a large estate. When her cigarette pops a hole ...

Mona Lisa Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Mystic Smile

By Mat Brewster | Oct 3, 2021

The first time I remember seeing Bob Hoskins was as Eddie Valiant the hard-boiled, yet ultimately soft-hearted detective working for ...

The Awakening (2011) Blu-ray Review: Half a Great Ghost Story

By Mat Brewster | Oct 1, 2021

I love a good ghost story. Unlike any other genre, they seem to be able to create a mood within ...

The Brotherhood of Satan Blu-ray Review: Panic in a Small Town

By Mat Brewster | Aug 31, 2021

As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, America's cultural mores began to shift dramatically. The birth control pill fuelled the ...

Ashes and Diamonds Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Polish Masterpiece

By Mat Brewster | Aug 25, 2021

A little over a decade ago my wife and I lived in Shanghai, China. At the time, and probably still ...

Friday the 13th 8 Movie Collection Blu-ray Review: The Paramount Films

By Mat Brewster | Aug 21, 2021

In the Spring of 1980, a little-known director named Sean. S. Cunningham made a low-budget horror film called Friday the ...

Born for Hell Blu-ray Review: Too Exploitative for the Arthouse, Too Damn Slow for the Grindhouse

By Mat Brewster | Aug 9, 2021

During one long, hot night in Chicago in the summer of 1966, Richard Speck held nine student nurses hostage. Over ...

Union Pacific Blu-ray Review: The Great Train Epic

By Mat Brewster | Aug 3, 2021

Westerns love trains. Almost as much as they love horses and saloons. There are westerns where a stranger comes to ...

No Time For Love Blu-ray Review: No Time for Colbert and MacMurray

By Mat Brewster | Aug 2, 2021

Coming off the huge success of It Happened One Night (1934), Paramount quickly began looking for another romantic comedy for ...

Vengeance Trails: 4 Classic Westerns Blu-ray Review: Proving There’s More to Spaghetti Westerns than Sergio Leone

By Mat Brewster | Jul 28, 2021

The western was one of the more prominent genres of American cinema from the 1930s through the 1950s. As it ...

Deep Cover Criterion Collection Blu-Ray Review: Neo-Noir with a Message

By Mat Brewster | Jul 22, 2021

Russell Stevens (Laurence Fishburne) is a good cop. He's also a black man. And a good, black cop is exactly ...

Shenandoah Blu-ray Review: Indifference in a Time of War

By Mat Brewster | Jul 21, 2021

Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is a good man. He's built a big, beautiful farm in Virginia. He's raised six sons ...

The Gilded Lily Blu-ray Review: Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray’s First Team-Up

By Mat Brewster | Jul 14, 2021

By the time The Gilded Lily was made in 1935, Claudette Colbert was a huge star. She'd gained notoriety in ...

British Noir III DVD Review: A Nice but Slight Look into the Genre

By Mat Brewster | Jul 9, 2021

Film noir seems like the quintessential American genre. The French term literally means black film and was used as a ...

Alias Nick Beal Blu-ray Review: A Faustian Noir

By Mat Brewster | Jul 8, 2021

For the last four or five years, I've participated in #noirvember, that's hashtag speak for film noirs in November. It ...

Icy Breasts Blu-ray Review: A Cool French Noir

By Mat Brewster | Jul 5, 2021

I am a collector, a list maker, and a spreadsheet creator. There is something so satisfying about making a list ...

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (35th Anniversary) Steelbook Blu-ray Review

By Mat Brewster | Jul 1, 2021

I am proud to say that I am a member of Generation X. Or as proud as a Gen X-er ...

Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers (1973-1977) Blu-ray Review: A Great Overview of the Poliziotteschi Genre

By Mat Brewster | Jun 19, 2021

The Italian Giallo is generally considered to be a subgenre of horror. This makes plenty of sense as they are ...

There Was a Crooked Man… Blu-ray Review: Revisionist Western Could Have Used a Few More Revisions

By Mat Brewster | Jun 12, 2021

The western is, perhaps, the most malleable and everlasting American film genre. Though it has certainly been in decline for ...

The Prince’s Voyage Blu-ray Review: A Film Only the French Could Make

By Mat Brewster | May 15, 2021

My wife and often operate on different wavelengths when it comes to cinema. We share a lot of common ground, ...

The Legend of Hei Blu-ray Review: A Must-See For Animation Fans

By Mat Brewster | May 8, 2021

As I was watching The Legend of Hei (on Shout! Factory's new Blu-ray release, coming this Tuesday) I kept thinking ...

Memories of Murder Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The South Korean Zodiac

By Mat Brewster | Apr 21, 2021

A woman has been brutally raped and murdered. Her body was shoved into a drain ditch. Detective Park Doo-man (Song ...

Death Has Blue Eyes Blu-ray Review: It’s a Mastorakis Mess

By Mat Brewster | Apr 14, 2021

Greek writer, producer, director Nico Mastorakis has had a long, strange career. He started out as a reporter, becoming the ...

The Invisible Man Appears Blu-ray Review: It Can Finally Be Seen

By Mat Brewster | Apr 10, 2021

Why is it that in seemingly every depiction of an invisible man in the movies, the ability to turn invisible ...

Earwig and the Witch Blu-ray Review: A Lesser Effort from Studio Ghibli

By Mat Brewster | Mar 29, 2021

Famed Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement in August of 2014. As he was the co-founder and main creative ...

Céline and Julie Go Boating Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Long, Strange, Riveting Film

By Mat Brewster | Mar 24, 2021

Julie (Dominique Labourier), a young woman with big, curly red hair, sits on a park bench distractedly reading a book ...

Crossfire (1947) Blu-ray Review: Film Noir with a Message

By Mat Brewster | Mar 11, 2021

Crossfire, Edward Dmytryk's 1947 film which crosses classic noir tropes with an anti-racist message, is now getting a nice-looking Blu-ray ...

On-Gaku: Our Sound Movie Review: A Lo-fi Delight

By Mat Brewster | Mar 8, 2021

On-Gaku: Our Sound is a lo-fi animated treat from director Kenji Iwaisawa about a trio of high school delinquents who ...

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Mar 1, 2021

Well, hi there. It has been a long time since I've written one of these. Dave has done such a ...

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Review: Tailor Made for 1980s Gamers

By Mat Brewster | Feb 14, 2021

As a kid growing up in the 1980s, I loved video games. In the summer, my cousins and I would ...

Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) Blu-ray Review: Abbott and Costello Meet the Giant

By Mat Brewster | Feb 13, 2021

When I was a kid, my uncle and cousins were all huge Three Stooges fans. I much preferred Abbott and ...

Joint Security Area Blu-ray Review: Friendship and Murder in the DMZ

By Mat Brewster | Jan 22, 2021

I first came to Park Chan-wook's films, like I suspect a lot of other Americans did, through Oldboy, his 2003 masterwork ...

Lupin III: The First Blu-ray Review: Lots of Fun

By Mat Brewster | Jan 3, 2021

Arsène Lupin the great master of disguise and gentleman thief was created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905. The character originally ...

Mouchette Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: So Beautiful, So Sad

By Mat Brewster | Dec 13, 2020

The opening scene to Mouchette, Robert Bresson's 1967 drama, finds a young man tying little loops of wire to branches ...

Popeye (1980) Blu-ray Review: A Strange Little Miracle

By Mat Brewster | Dec 10, 2020

That Popeye got made at all is a small wonder. That it is really quite wonderful is nothing short of ...

The Deeper You Dig Blu-ray Review: A Terrific Low-budget Horror

By Mat Brewster | Oct 25, 2020

In a small, dark bar, in a small New York hamlet, Kurt (John Adams) eats a grubby little dinner and ...

Focus Features 10-Movie Spotlight Collection Blu-ray Review

By Mat Brewster | Oct 5, 2020

Last week I reviewed a 10-film collection from Blumhouse Productions, a relatively young studio that specializes in low budget films. This ...

Blumhouse of Horrors 10-Movie Collection Blu-ray Review: A Mixed Bag

By Mat Brewster | Sep 29, 2020

For over a decade now, Blumhouse Productions has specialized in making small budget films, mostly horror, that give their directors ...

Brute Force & The Naked City Criterion Collection Blu-ray Reviews: A Jules Dassin Double Feature

By Mat Brewster | Sep 8, 2020

There are over 1,000 movies in the Criterion Collection, these are two of them. Jules Dassin has five films thus ...

The Balcony Blu-ray Review: Cinematic Satire, I Guess

By Mat Brewster | Aug 29, 2020

The Balcony (1963) is a cinematic adaptation of the French play by the same name from writer Jean Genet. It almost ...

Breezy Blu-ray Review: Like Sunday Morning

By Mat Brewster | Aug 27, 2020

An old, cynical man meets a young woman and is changed by her zeal for life. It is a tale ...

The Sign of the Cross Blu-ray Review: Saints and Debauchery in a Pre-Code Epic

By Mat Brewster | Aug 26, 2020

Claudette Colbert naked in a bath filled donkey's milk. Well, topless at least. And the milk was powdered cow's milk ...

Cry Freedom Blu-ray Review: A Fight for Justice

By Mat Brewster | Aug 25, 2020

As our culture continues to shift towards something like equality, it is difficult sometimes to watch and critique older films ...

There’s Always Tomorrow Blu-ray Review: A Nuanced Portrayal of a Man Grown Bored with His Life

By Mat Brewster | Aug 25, 2020

Twelve years after making the perfect film noir, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwcyk starred in another movie about a married ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review: The Stakes Have Gotten Higher but the Fun Has Gotten Smaller

By Mat Brewster | Aug 24, 2020

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Mat Brewster with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The opinions ...

Toni Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Influential French Drama

By Mat Brewster | Aug 24, 2020

In 1934, acclaimed French director Jean Renoir left the studio in Paris and headed for the countryside in the south ...

Tender Mercies Blu-ray Review: A Gentle, Beautiful Film

By Mat Brewster | Aug 22, 2020

Two men brawl over a bottle of whiskey in a run-down old motel room. One man falls, or is possibly ...

Life Is a Long Quiet River Blu-ray Review: It Could Use a Few Noisy Rapids

By Mat Brewster | Aug 18, 2020

A nurse, Josette (Catherine Heigel), is in love with Doctor Mavial (Daniel Gélin), whom she works for. He continues to ...

Raid on Rommel Blu-ray Review: Raids Other Films for Ideas

By Mat Brewster | Aug 18, 2020

As an American of 40 some odd years of age, I'm ashamed to admit I don't know that much about ...

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Fifth Season Review: So Much Fun

By Mat Brewster | Aug 17, 2020

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

Batwoman: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: The Arrowverse Finally Goes to Gotham

By Mat Brewster | Aug 17, 2020

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided the writer with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this article. The opinions ...

Backlash (1956) Blu-ray Review: Searching for Gold and Daddy

By Mat Brewster | Aug 16, 2020

A woman rides up to a man digging in the dirt in what appears to be an abandoned camp out ...

Bloodstone Blu-ray Review: Indiana Jones and the B-Movie Knock-Off

By Mat Brewster | Aug 15, 2020

Arrow Video continues to release HD versions of the film of Greek director/writer/producer Nico Mastorakis, and I am here for ...

The Eagle and the Hawk Blu-ray Review: World War I Was Hell

By Mat Brewster | Aug 12, 2020

Over the last few months, I've watched three World War I films (All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, and ...

Hiroshima Blu-ray Review: Unrelenting Terror

By Mat Brewster | Aug 9, 2020

The sky is a pale blue. Big, white clouds float by. It looks peaceful. It won't for long. This is ...

Black Rainbow Blu-ray Review: A Spiritual Thriller

By Mat Brewster | Aug 8, 2020

What happens when your fake medium act turns real? When you've been pretending to see visions of dead people in ...

The Quest (1986) Blu-ray Review: Sit This Adventure Out

By Mat Brewster | Aug 6, 2020

Fresh off the enormous success of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Henry Thomas, the fresh-faced star of that film must have been offered ...

Zombie for Sale Blu-ray Review: A New Take on an Old Genre

By Mat Brewster | Aug 5, 2020

One would think the zombie movie would be completely played out by now. There have been countless films about the ...

Audie Murphy Collection Blu-ray Review: War Hero Becomes a Movie Star

By Mat Brewster | Aug 4, 2020

Towards the end of the tenth and final episode of Band of Brothers, HBO's acclaimed miniseries that follows Easy Company from ...

Tony Curtis Collection Blu-ray Review: Charming

By Mat Brewster | Jul 30, 2020

Reason #473 that I love boutique labels such a Kino Lorber: they allow us to dig into various genres and ...

Five Cool Things and Possessor

By Mat Brewster | Jul 19, 2020

For nearly four months now, my family and I have gotten up on Saturday mornings, piddled around, watched TV, and ...

The World in His Arms Blu-ray Review: Swashbuckling Gregory Peck

By Mat Brewster | Jul 17, 2020

Last week I watched three films that are part of Kino Lorber's ongoing Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema collection. After ...

Book Review: Gramercy Park by Timothée de Fombelle and Christian Cailleaux

By Mat Brewster | Jul 15, 2020

On top of a tall building stands a woman. She keeps bees. She talks to them. She loves them. Across ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IV Blu-ray Review: Too Much Melodrama, Not Enough Noir

By Mat Brewster | Jul 10, 2020

For Part IV of their Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema series Kino Lorber Studio Classics is releasing three films from ...

America as Seen by a Frenchman Blu-ray Review: A Fascinating Snapshot in Time

By Mat Brewster | Jul 9, 2020

I've been lucky enough to have done a bit of traveling in my life. I've lived in France, Belgium, and ...

Blood Tide Blu-ray Review: Fun and Monsters in the Greek Sun

By Mat Brewster | Jul 8, 2020

Can I consider myself a fan of a filmmaker after hating one of his films, liking another one, and kind-of ...

The Flesh and the Fiends Blu-ray Review: Selling Corpses in Scotland

By Mat Brewster | Jul 3, 2020

For centuries the science of anatomy lagged behind other fields of study due to cultural norms and religious beliefs concerning ...

White Fire, The Wind, and Why Don’t You Just Die! Blu-rays Review: Three from Arrow Video

By Mat Brewster | Jun 19, 2020

As the world continues to move towards consuming media through an increasing number of streaming platforms, there is a niche ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema III Blu-ray Review: Gambling, Murder, and Back Alley Adoptions

By Mat Brewster | Jun 13, 2020

If you are a fan of film noir, I hope you've been paying attention to Kino Lorber, the boutique video ...

Sixteen Candles Blu-ray Review: A Problematic but Worthwhile Film

By Mat Brewster | Jun 11, 2020

As someone who grew up in the 1980s, the films of John Hughes, especially the teen comedies he wrote during ...

Western Classics I Blu-ray Review: Dust, Grit and Cowboys A-Plenty

By Mat Brewster | Jun 9, 2020

The western is a uniquely American film genre. It tells stories of cowboys and natives, of a country lighting out ...

Universal Horror Collection Volume 5 Blu-ray Review: Woman Versus Beast

By Mat Brewster | Jun 4, 2020

Horror movies often manifest from a culture's deepest and darkest fears. It is no coincidence that Godzilla was born in Japan only ...

Beanpole Blu-ray Review: Love and Suffering in Post-War Russia

By Mat Brewster | Jun 2, 2020

It seems a rare thing these days where a movie about war is able to make an effective statement. War ...

EMMA. (2020) Blu-ray Review: A Delightful Confection

By Mat Brewster | May 19, 2020

Bill Nighy is a treasure. I almost said "national treasure" there but since he’s English and I’m American I suppose ...

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema II Blu-ray Review: Three Little-known Noirs Well Worth Your Time

By Mat Brewster | May 15, 2020

Is it just me or has film noir made an incredible and strange comeback? The oft-imitated, but difficult to define ...

Indiscretion of an American Wife (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Love and Loss at the Train Station

By Mat Brewster | May 8, 2020

My wife and I were strictly long distance for the first couple of years of our relationship. When we first ...

Barbara Stanwyck Collection Blu-ray Review: Not Barb’s Best

By Mat Brewster | May 3, 2020

Double Indemnity is one of my favorite film noirs which makes it one of my favorite movies of all time. Barbara ...

Secret Ceremony and Love Among the Ruins Blu-rays Review: Small Casts, Great Dramas

By Mat Brewster | Apr 17, 2020

In our modern cinematic world of superheroes, Jedis, and super-sized monsters, it sometimes feels like there is no more room ...

Underwater (2020) Movie Review: Kristen Stewart Takes a Dive

By Mat Brewster | Apr 15, 2020

Deep inside the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest undersea trench - which at its deepest is some 34,000 feet below ...

Beyond the Door Blu-ray Review: Rosemary’s Baby Meets the Exorcist

By Mat Brewster | Apr 10, 2020

It is a universal truth that whenever anything is successful someone else will come along and copy that thing. Usually, ...

The Passion of Darkly Noon Blu-ray Review: The Story Goes Nowhere

By Mat Brewster | Mar 24, 2020

A man, dressed in a suit and tie but bruised and battered, comes running through the woods. He stumbles and ...

Fathom Events and TCM Present King Kong (1933)

By Mat Brewster | Mar 16, 2020

In 1929, while filming baboons in Africa on the set of The Four Feathers, director Merian C. Cooper developed the ...

One Missed Call Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Let This One Go to Voicemail

By Mat Brewster | Feb 21, 2020

A group of friends are hanging out. A cell phone rings, but nobody recognizes the ringtone. Finally, someone realizes it ...

Manon Blu-ray Review: Doomed Love in Post-war France

By Mat Brewster | Feb 20, 2020

Manon Lescaut is an 18th Century novel by Antoine François Prévost. It was controversial at the time of its release, for ...

Deadly Manor Blu-ray Review: A Complete and Total Dud

By Mat Brewster | Feb 5, 2020

A group of teenagers decides to go camping at the lake. Four of them are in a Jeep, two drive ...

Edge of the Axe Blu-ray Review: Careful with That Axe, Psycho Killer

By Mat Brewster | Feb 4, 2020

It is always fascinating to me when the makers of low-budget slasher films try to inject their films with an ...

Brewster’s Millions Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Maybe Worth a Hundred

By Mat Brewster | Jan 22, 2020

In 1902, George Barr McCutcheon, writing under the pseudonym of Richard Graves, wrote a novel entitled Brewster's Millions. In it, a ...

Fathom Events and TCM Present An American in Paris

By Mat Brewster | Jan 21, 2020

In the late 1940s, MGM executive Arthur Freed attended a production of George Gershwin classics and became inspired by the ...

Five Cool Things and Hunters

By Mat Brewster | Jan 4, 2020

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I had a great time with mine and my wife’s family. I ...

The Magic Sword Blu-ray Review: Dragons, Princesses, and Basil Rathbone

By Mat Brewster | Jan 1, 2020

Poor Basil Rathbone. After finding great success on stage and the screen, after becoming a huge star playing Robin Hood, ...

Blue Collar Blu-ray Review: Workingman’s Blues

By Mat Brewster | Jan 1, 2020

After finding great success as a screenwriter on such movies as The Yakuza (directed by Sydney Pollack), Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese) and Obsession (Brian De Palma), ...

Stick Blu-ray Review: Burt Reynolds Should Have Stuck to Acting

By Mat Brewster | Dec 25, 2019

More than half of Elmore Leonard's novels have been turned into movies (and more than a few were adapted twice, ...

Universal Horror Collection Volume 3 Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Scary

By Mat Brewster | Dec 23, 2019

Universal horror will always be synonymous with a handful of monsters and the dozens of films the studio made starring ...

A Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Review: A Day in the Life

By Mat Brewster | Dec 22, 2019

Never was a film so aptly titled as A Sunday in the Country. The only way to make it more accurate ...

She (1984) Blu-ray Review: Post Apocalyptic Nonsense

By Mat Brewster | Dec 22, 2019

I wonder if you could draw a line from the sword and sandal epics from the early 1960s to the ...

Tunes of Glory Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Acting Tour de Force

By Mat Brewster | Dec 19, 2019

I have been on a bit of an Alec Guinness kick of late. He's an actor I knew and loved ...

Long Day’s Journey into Night (2018) Blu-ray Review: A Beautiful Dream

By Mat Brewster | Dec 18, 2019

You gotta love marketers. They can make you lots of money and screw you at the same time. Bi Gan's ...

Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection Blu-ray Review: Becoming a Master

By Mat Brewster | Dec 17, 2019

From a very early age, Alfred Hitchcock knew he wanted to be in the filmmaking business. He read the trade ...

The Anne Bancroft Collection Blu-ray Review: Prepare to Be Seduced

By Mat Brewster | Dec 13, 2019

Anne Bancroft landed her first film role in 1952 as a lounge singer in Don't Bother to Knock. For the next ...

The Fly Collection Blu-ray Review: Be Excited, Be Very Excited to Own This

By Mat Brewster | Dec 9, 2019

It is a deceptively simply story. A man invents a machine that can instantly teleport matter from one place to ...

Jake Speed Blu-ray Review: When Indiana Jones and Brendan Fraser Aren’t Available, Call Jake Speed

By Mat Brewster | Dec 3, 2019

My mother likes to call the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies “a poor man's Indiana Jones.” What she means is that both series ...

The Fare Blu-ray Review: Groundhog Day in a Cab

By Mat Brewster | Dec 1, 2019

A taxicab driver named Harris (Gino Anthony Pese) gets a call to pick up someone in the middle of nowhere. ...

Funan Blu-ray Review: A Genocide Through the Eyes of One Family

By Mat Brewster | Nov 30, 2019

In the mid to late 1970s, the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia as one of the most brutal regimes in modern ...

Thor Movie Review: God of Boring

By Mat Brewster | Nov 24, 2019

Before I became a bonafide fan of the MCU, I watched their movies whenever I got around to it. Sometimes ...

Hitch Hike to Hell Blu-ray Review: Put Your Thumb Down and Run

By Mat Brewster | Nov 22, 2019

If you are a fan of Netflix's excellent series Mindhunter, then you may feel a sense of familiarity with Howard (Robert Gribbin), ...

Flowers in the Attic (1987) Blu-ray Review: I Think They Wilted

By Mat Brewster | Nov 13, 2019

I have this memory in which my mother gives me a copy of V.C. Andrews' 1979 novel Flowers in the Attic. ...

Charley Varrick Blu-ray Review: No Country For Walter Matthau

By Mat Brewster | Nov 12, 2019

When I think of Walter Matthau, which is more often than you'd think, I think of him as a comic ...

Woman in Hiding Blu-ray Review: Worth Looking For

By Mat Brewster | Nov 10, 2019

It is funny how when you discover something you'd never noticed before you suddenly start seeing it everywhere you look. ...

It Always Rains on Sunday Blu-ray Review: A Slice of Post-War London

By Mat Brewster | Nov 7, 2019

A man breaks out of prison and returns to the home of his former fiancee. They were set to be ...

The Man Between Blu-ray Review: Out of The Third Man’s Shadow

By Mat Brewster | Nov 6, 2019

It is difficult not to compare The Man Between, Carol Reed's 1953 thriller to a film he made four years earlier, The ...

Seven Days to Noon Blu-ray Review: A Very Good Drama

By Mat Brewster | Nov 5, 2019

The atomic bomb not only helped win World War II and fueled the Cold War for years after it, but ...

Naked Alibi Blu-ray Review: Gloria Grahame Steals the Show

By Mat Brewster | Nov 3, 2019

The cops pick up a guy on a drunk and disorderly. He doesn't have any identification but says he's a ...

Apprentice to Murder Blu-ray Review: Graduated to Boring

By Mat Brewster | Nov 1, 2019

The early 1970s saw several British films being released that have been defined as “folk horror” by fans. These are ...

Ringu Blu-ray Review: One Ring That Started Them All

By Mat Brewster | Oct 30, 2019

Japanese folklore has long included ghosts who haunt the living because they died with anger, rage, fear, or some other ...

Scarface: The World Is Yours Limited Edition Review: Say ‘Hello’ to Your New Christmas Present

By Mat Brewster | Oct 25, 2019

In the opening of Howard Hawks's gangster film Scarface (1932), we see a title card that notes that the film is an indictment ...

La Marseillaise Blu-ray Review: Viva La Revolution!

By Mat Brewster | Oct 21, 2019

The French Revolution is one of the most important events of modern history. That mere commoners - people stricken with ...

My Boyfriend’s Back Blu-ray Review: A Light Comedy with Zombies

By Mat Brewster | Oct 20, 2019

There has been a lot of bemoaning over the last few years about how Avenger-sized films have destroyed the mid-budget ...

And Soon the Darkness (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: And Eventually the Thrills

By Mat Brewster | Oct 18, 2019

Two British nurses, Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice), take a cycling holiday in rural France. They've planned their ...

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Review: Somebody Wake Me Up

By Mat Brewster | Oct 13, 2019

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to mix an ‘80s slasher with an ‘80s spring break comedy, ...

Hercules in the Haunted World Blu-ray Review: Sword & Sandals Meets Horror

By Mat Brewster | Oct 12, 2019

For decades the Italian film industry often emulated the successful films of the United States. Through the late 1950s and ...

The Prey Blu-ray Review: Pray You’ll Never Have to Watch

By Mat Brewster | Oct 8, 2019

The 1980s were a great time for horror movies in general and slasher flicks in particular. With the advent of ...

Ida Lupino: Filmmaker Collection Blu-ray Review: Trailblazing

By Mat Brewster | Oct 4, 2019

Several weeks ago, I randomly decided to watch On Dangerous Ground, the pretty good film noir by Nicolas Ray from 1951. ...

The Hills Have Eyes, Part 2 Blu-ray Review: Flashback City

By Mat Brewster | Oct 3, 2019

Wes Craven is often placed near the top of lists concerning the greatest horror filmmakers of all time, and rightly ...

Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: Seriously Weird

By Mat Brewster | Oct 1, 2019

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided the writer with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this article. The opinions ...

In the Aftermath Blu-ray Review: An Odd Mishmash of Live Action and Animation

By Mat Brewster | Sep 29, 2019

In The Path to Aftermath, an extra included in Arrow Video's new release of In The Aftermath, producer Tom Dugan explains that in ...

Un Coeur En Hiver Blu-ray Review: A Man Without Feelings

By Mat Brewster | Sep 26, 2019

In movies and on television, a sociopath - someone who doesn't have real feelings or emotions - is usually depicted ...

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Review: Legendary Fun

By Mat Brewster | Sep 24, 2019

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

Hussy Blu-ray Review: You’ll Wonder If You Haven’t Seen It Before

By Mat Brewster | Sep 20, 2019

If there was a template for the movie genre where a nice boy falls for a hooker and complications ensue ...

Who Saw Her Die? Blu-ray Review: Bond Does Giallo

By Mat Brewster | Sep 19, 2019

Poor old George Lazenby. When Sean Connery quit the James Bond gig (for the first, but not last time) after You ...

Supergirl: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Review: Too Much Preaching

By Mat Brewster | Sep 18, 2019

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

The Chairman Blu-ray Review: Mr. Peck Goes to China

By Mat Brewster | Sep 17, 2019

For their third and final collaboration director J. Lee Thompson and Gregory Peck made The Chairman, a spy thriller about an ...

The Quiller Memorandum Blu-ray Review: Next Time Make It a Mission Statement

By Mat Brewster | Sep 15, 2019

With the success of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962 there was a mad rush of spy films ...

Five Cool Things and Friday the 13th

By Mat Brewster | Sep 13, 2019

This getting older thing is kind of a bummer. The other day I was bemoaning how old I'm getting and ...

The Case of Hana & Alice Blu-ray Review: An Animated Slice of Life

By Mat Brewster | Sep 13, 2019

In 2004 Japanese director Shunji Iwai made Hana & Alice, a live-action movie about two high school students who both fall ...

John Carpenter’s Vampires Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Put a Stake in It

By Mat Brewster | Sep 13, 2019

An armored van pulls up to a dilapidated house. A group of scruffy-looking men and a priest get out. The ...

Wizard World Tulsa 2019 Review: My Last Con, This Time I Mean It

By Mat Brewster | Sep 7, 2019

Several years ago while chaperoning a group of college students through Europe as part of a study-abroad program my wife ...

The Lavender Hill Mob / The Man in the White Suit Blu-rays Review: An Alec Guinness Two-Fer

By Mat Brewster | Sep 5, 2019

This weekend I caught a Fathom events screening of Lawrence of Arabia. That is a movie made for the big screen ...

Alps Blu-ray Review: Weird, Wild, and Confusing

By Mat Brewster | Sep 4, 2019

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos often makes movies about insular groups of people who live in absurdist worlds that create and ...

Straight Forward: Series 1 DVD Review: Should Have Taken a Curve

By Mat Brewster | Sep 1, 2019

One of the worst parts of being a semi-professional reviewer is that you sometimes have to watch and talk about ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray Review: Slow It Down, Flash!

By Mat Brewster | Aug 27, 2019

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Mat Brewster with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The opinions ...

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 12 DVD Review: A True Delight

By Mat Brewster | Aug 13, 2019

I am an unabashed detective story/crime drama/mystery fan. Whether these tales are being told via novels, comics, movies, or television ...

The BRD Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Fassbinder at His Best

By Mat Brewster | Aug 5, 2019

When World War II ended, Germany was due a reckoning. As a nation, they had to come to terms not ...

The Good Place: The Complete Third Season DVD Review: A Great Show

By Mat Brewster | Aug 4, 2019

While watching Season One of The Good Place - a series in which four not-so-good humans find themselves in the heaven-like Good ...

Doctor Who: The Krotons DVD Review: Better Than Its Reputation

By Mat Brewster | Jul 24, 2019

The Krotons, the fourth serial from the sixth season of Classic Doctor Who has a lot going for it. It is one ...

The Milky Way (1969) Blu-ray Review: Surrealistic Satire

By Mat Brewster | Jul 21, 2019

h About an hour into Luis Bunuel's surrealistic drama The Milky Way, two men, a Jesuit and a Jansenist, argue over ...

Death in the Garden Blu-ray Review: Well Worth Watching

By Mat Brewster | Jul 20, 2019

After befriending Salvador Dali and finding success in the surrealist movement with films like Un Chien Andalou and L'Age d'Or, Luis Buñuel was ...

Doctor Who: The Three Doctors Special Edition DVD Review: Three Times The Fun

By Mat Brewster | Jul 17, 2019

It has been said before, but having The Doctor regenerate was a stroke of genius. In the beginning of the ...

Gone to Earth / The Wild Heart Blu-ray Review: One Story Cut Twice

By Mat Brewster | Jun 28, 2019

Throughout the 1940s, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made a series of films that are considered some of the greatest ...

Universal Horror Collection, Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: Bela Lugosi Versus Boris Karloff

By Mat Brewster | Jun 26, 2019

The year 1931 saw the release of both Dracula and Frankenstein. Both became absolute classics of the horror genre, cornerstones for the long-lasting ...

Double Face Blu-ray Review: Could Have Used a Face Lift

By Mat Brewster | Jun 24, 2019

I am officially on the record (more than once as anyone who has actually followed my writing in these pages ...

Night of the Creeps Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Blood, Guts, and Laughs

By Mat Brewster | Jun 21, 2019

It is fascinating to me when artists incorporate the culture of their formative years into their current work. Think about ...

Mississippi Burning Blu-ray Review: How Can We Sleep When Our State Is Burning

By Mat Brewster | Jun 20, 2019

I gotta tell you, dear reader, that I wasn't real excited sitting down to watch this new Kino Lorber Blu-ray ...

Killing Eve: Season Two Blu-ray Review: Missing Phoebe Waller-Bridge

By Mat Brewster | Jun 17, 2019

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the new It Girl. Not because she is attractive and trendy (though she is both) but because ...

The Silent Partner Blu-ray Review: An Underseen Gem

By Mat Brewster | Jun 16, 2019

An average, ordinary, unambitious bank teller who lives alone, works on chess problems by himself, and collects tropical fish discovers ...

Kidnapped (1971) Blu-ray Review: More Political than Adventurous

By Mat Brewster | Jun 11, 2019

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote over a dozen novels in his lifetime plus multiple short stories, poems, essays, and other works. ...

Modest Heroes Blu-ray Review: Eat Their Shorts

By Mat Brewster | Jun 8, 2019

When Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement in 2013, producer Yoshiaki Nishimura grabbed as many animators from the famed studio as ...

Bright Angel Blu-ray Review: A Coming-of-Age Road Trip

By Mat Brewster | Jun 6, 2019

One of the great joys of being a movie nerd in these times is that we have access to so ...

La Prisonnière Blu-ray Review: Cluzot Gets Modern

By Mat Brewster | Jun 1, 2019

The 1960s were a time of enormous cultural upheaval. The aftermath of World War II found many countries with a ...

The Nun (1965) Blu-ray Review: Get Thee to a Nunnery

By Mat Brewster | May 30, 2019

Jacques Rivette's 1965 adaptation of the Denis Diderot book The Nun (La Religieuse) was controversial before it was even released. The script ...

The Shield: The Complete Series DVD Review, Part 2: Seasons 4-7

By Mat Brewster | May 23, 2019

This review discusses Seasons 4-7 of the FX series The Shield and the recent release of the complete series on DVD by ...

A Delicate Balance Blu-ray Review: A Caustic Bore

By Mat Brewster | May 20, 2019

In the mid 1970s, producer Ely Landau created a subscription-based film series that attempted to recreate a theater experience at ...

The Shield: The Complete Series DVD Review, Part 1: Seasons 1-3

By Mat Brewster | May 16, 2019

There is a scene in the pilot episode of The Shield in which Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) has been brought in ...

The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire Blu-ray Review: Confusing and Dull

By Mat Brewster | May 6, 2019

Following the success of Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Italian cinema was awash in lurid crime stories with ...

Terra Formars Blu-ray Review: Miike Can Do Better

By Mat Brewster | May 3, 2019

Japanese director Takashi Miike is probably best known for his ultra-violent splatter films like Ichi the Killer and Audition. Or perhaps for his ...

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Review: Keep Your Clothes On

By Mat Brewster | May 2, 2019

There are certain expectations that come with genre films. What is a genre except a set of criteria that help ...

Fantômas Three Film Collection Blu-ray Review: Tres Silly

By Mat Brewster | May 1, 2019

Fantômas was originally first created in 1911 by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre. He appeared in some 43 stories over ...

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Review: Bored Silly

By Mat Brewster | Apr 30, 2019

A little free critical advice to anyone planning to make a low-budget horror film: don't put all of your money, ...

Dragged Across Concrete Blu-ray Review: Challenging, but Rewarding

By Mat Brewster | Apr 29, 2019

Director S. Craig Zahler is a provocateur who loves both ‘70s genre conventions and pissing off at least half his ...

Enigma (1982) Blu-ray Review: Where Have All The Good Spy Movies Gone

By Mat Brewster | Apr 27, 2019

Spy movies just haven't been the same since the Berlin Wall crumbled and Russia turned to capitalism. Without the communist ...

Keoma Blu-ray Review: The Spaghetti Western’s Last Breath

By Mat Brewster | Apr 25, 2019

With his Dollars trilogy, Sergio Leone revived the failing western genre, infused it with European sensibilities, and created his own subgenre, the ...

Tito and the Birds Blu-ray Review: Slight Story, Gorgeous Animation

By Mat Brewster | Apr 24, 2019

While computer-generated animation moves closer and closer to photorealism, it is always nice to see an animated film that revels ...

The Strange Door Blu-ray Review: Not Strange Enough

By Mat Brewster | Apr 22, 2019

Very loosely based upon the Robert Louis Stevenson story, The Sire de Maletroit's Door, The Strange Door stars Charles Laughton as Sire ...

Scream and Scream Again Blu-ray Review: You’ll Scream for It to Be Over

By Mat Brewster | Apr 19, 2019

In London, a jogger runs toward the camera and collapses. He wakes up in a hospital bed while a nurse ...

The House of the Seven Gables Blu-ray Review: A Fine Adaptation of a Classic Novel

By Mat Brewster | Apr 18, 2019

Throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, Universal Studios was known for their horror films. They unleashed into cinemas a string ...

The Land Unknown Blu-ray Review: A Hot Time in Antarctica

By Mat Brewster | Apr 14, 2019

We live in a world without mystery. We have the collective knowledge of humanity at our fingertips. We have explored ...

Bancroft: Season One DVD Review: Completely Bonkers

By Mat Brewster | Apr 10, 2019

In this world of seemingly endless must-watch, prestige TV filled with award-winning writers, directors, and actors, it is nice to ...

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Review: A Young Girl’s Strange Erotic Journey From Paris to Bangkok

By Mat Brewster | Apr 3, 2019

The 1970s were a fascinating time for American cinema. The studio system that dominated the Golden Age of Hollywood was ...

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Review: The New Cast Finally Comes Together

By Mat Brewster | Mar 10, 2019

The Daleks are one of the oldest and most popular villains on Doctor Who. They were created by Terry Nation ...

Halloween (2018) Blu-ray Review: A Pleasing Sequel

By Mat Brewster | Jan 11, 2019

Up front I've got to admit that out of the eleven films in the Halloween franchise, I've only seen John ...

Five Cool Things and The ABC Murders

By Mat Brewster | Jan 5, 2019

A great big pile of appreciation to my fellow Sentries who helped me out while I was on vacation. I'm ...

Exorcist II: The Heretic Blu-ray Review: Terrible Sequel, Great Movie

By Mat Brewster | Sep 28, 2018

Based upon the best-selling novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist was a huge success. It earned over $66 million ...

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: Season Three Blu-ray Review: Legendary Television

By Mat Brewster | Sep 27, 2018

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided the writer with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this Blog Post. The ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Review: Faster than Ever

By Mat Brewster | Aug 27, 2018

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

A Quiet Place Blu-ray Review: Shhhhhh

By Mat Brewster | Jul 6, 2018

To make a film filled with long silences and almost entirely free of audible dialogue is a bold choice. To ...

TCM and Fathom Events Present Grease for Its 40th Anniversary

By Mat Brewster | Apr 9, 2018

Every month, Fathom Events and TCM present a classic movie for the big screen. Nearly every month, my wife and ...

Fathom Events Presents Ponyo on Its Tenth Anniversary

By Mat Brewster | Mar 29, 2018

There is nothing like a Hayao Miyazaki movie. Released in 2008, Ponyo was the tenth film Miyazaki directed (his eighth ...

TCM and Fathom Events Present Vertigo

By Mat Brewster | Mar 19, 2018

I started collecting movies sometime in college. Initially, I swore to only purchase really interesting movies - stone-cold classics and ...

Fathom Events and GKIDS Present Howl’s Moving Castle

By Mat Brewster | Nov 27, 2017

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest animators to have ever held a pencil. His films are magic in celluloid. ...

TCM and Fathom Events Present Casablanca

By Mat Brewster | Nov 12, 2017

At lunch when I told a friend of mine that I was going to go see Casablanca on the big ...

Festival (1967) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Better Than Woodstock

By Mat Brewster | Oct 24, 2017

In the early part of the 20th Century, various folklorists, including John Lomax, wandered about the country documenting the songs ...

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 17, 2017

Towards the end of Captain America: Civil War, there is a sweeping scene in which Captain America and Black Widow ...

The Flash (2014): The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Review: The Fastest (and Best) Superhero Show On TV

By Mat Brewster | Sep 7, 2017

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...

Fathom Events and GKIDS Present Castle in the Sky

By Mat Brewster | Aug 27, 2017

Made in 1986, Castle in the Sky was the first Hayao Miyazaki film released under the Studio Ghibli label. It ...

Fathom Events Presents My Neighbor Totoro

By Mat Brewster | Jun 26, 2017

There are no villains in My Neighbor Totoro. No violence either. There are monsters of a kind, but when Mei ...

TCM and Fathom Events Present The Godfather

By Mat Brewster | Jun 6, 2017

Some movies become so iconic they become transcendent. How many people have quoted lines like “Leave the gun. Take the ...

Five Cool Things and Foo Fighters

By Mat Brewster | Jun 2, 2017

I try to go into movies cold, knowing as little as possible about them. I might watch a trailer and ...

Wolf Guy Blu-ray Review: Too Much Guy, Not Enough Wolf

By Mat Brewster | May 29, 2017

I've said it before, and I'll say it on a continuous loop until it stops being true: we live in ...

TCM and Fathom Events Present Singin’ in the Rain

By Mat Brewster | Jan 15, 2017

On December 28 of last year, at the age of 84 actress Debbie Reynolds died, just one day after her ...

Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Glimpses into the Heart of the Artist

By Mat Brewster | Nov 25, 2015

By the time Bob Dylan toured England in the Spring of 1965, he’d released five albums (two of which went ...

Cemetery Without Crosses Blu-ray Review: An Obscure French Western Gets Its Day

By Mat Brewster | Jul 25, 2015

About the time the western genre was growing stale in America, European filmmakers picked it right back up. More than ...

Rio Bravo Blu-ray Review: A Western Classic Restored

By Mat Brewster | Jun 12, 2015

In 1952, director Fred Zinnemann made High Noon with Gary Cooper, who plays a small-town marshal whose being threatened by ...

Broadchurch: The Complete Second Season DVD Review: Weak Story, Emotionally Wrecking

By Mat Brewster | May 14, 2015

When I heard they were making a second season of Broadchurch, I was both excited and a bit trepidatious. The ...

The Night Porter Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Nazi Love Story

By Mat Brewster | Dec 23, 2014

Normally I'd say that the space between True Art and exploitation is wide and wandering, but if The Night Porter ...

Intruders (2014) DVD Review: Moody Paranormal Thriller Looks Good but Lacks Depth

By Mat Brewster | Dec 15, 2014

To review something is, at least in some ways, to spoil it. You simply cannot talk about the quality of ...

Book Review: Popeye: Classic Newspaper Comics, Volume Two 1989-1998: A Surprisingly Modern and Adult Take On The Classic Character

By Mat Brewster | Dec 11, 2014

Popeye is not something I've ever cared about. No wait, scratch that, I loved the Robert Altman movie starring Robin ...

The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears Blu-ray Review: Bizarre, Incomprehensible, and Mesmerizing

By Mat Brewster | Dec 7, 2014

After watching The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears, you'll probably have a lengthy discussion with your viewing partner about ...

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault – L.A. Forum (Live in 1975) DVD Review: It’s Only a Concert Video, but I Like It

By Mat Brewster | Nov 24, 2014

In a thousand years, at universities all over the world, in classes titled "Rock 'N' Roll 101," professors will lay ...

Borgen: The Complete Series DVD Review: Danish Politics Fit for Americans

By Mat Brewster | Nov 12, 2014

Borgen is a Danish political drama that ran for three seasons from 2010 to 2014. It tells the story of ...

Saturday at Wizard World Tulsa: My First Con Experience

By Mat Brewster | Nov 10, 2014

When I learned I'd be going to Wizard World's Tulsa Comic Con this past weekend, I was excited and a ...

Book Review: Puck: What Fools These Mortals Be!: Political Cartooning at its Finest

By Mat Brewster | Nov 3, 2014

Political cartoons have been around since the early 1700s though they didn't really come into their own until the later ...

Earth to Echo Blu-ray Review: Steven Spielberg’s Lawyers Ought to Be Happy

By Mat Brewster | Oct 29, 2014

I recently wrote about how I've become obsessed with the idea of watching all the old movies I loved as ...

Dr. Katz Live Album Review: The Classic Animated Comedy Live and on Stage

By Mat Brewster | Oct 28, 2014

For my first three years of college I didn't have a TV. I had a radio but never listened to ...

Maleficent Blu-ray Review: Gorgeous to Look at, but Hard to Watch

By Mat Brewster | Oct 27, 2014

Hollywood has been remaking movies for nearly as long as its been making them. It does seem that the last ...

Book Review: Lit Up Inside: Selected Lyrics by Van Morrison: You’ve Heard the Songs, Now Read the Lyrics

By Mat Brewster | Oct 22, 2014

That Van Morrison is one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the whole of pop music there is no doubt. That ...

Book Review: Percy Crosby’s Skippy: Daily Comics 1931-1933: Long-forgotten Magic

By Mat Brewster | Oct 21, 2014

Skippy was created by Percy Crosby and ran from 1923 to 1945. In its time it was hugely popular, highly ...

Book Review: Owsley and Me: My LSD Family by Rhoney Gissen Stanley with Tom Davis

By Mat Brewster | Oct 18, 2014

Owsley Stanley is not a household name, but he probably should be. He was financier and soundman of the Grateful ...

The Honorable Woman DVD Review: A Slow, Dense and Immensely Entertaining Thriller

By Mat Brewster | Oct 16, 2014

Awhile back I made a pact with myself to not get involved in internet discussions of politics. There were many ...

Sleeping Beauty: Diamond Edition is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 6, 2014

There is a fairly constant discussion in my home over the television. Or rather how much of it my child ...

Line of Duty: Series 2 DVD Review: A Tired Genre Made Good

By Mat Brewster | Sep 12, 2014

When we talk about this new golden age of television, we seem to always be talking about American TV. Certainly ...

Book Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s America by Murray Pomerance: Not for the Faint of Heart

By Mat Brewster | Sep 5, 2014

In 1939, at the age of 40, Alfred Hitchcock moved to America. He'd had huge success as a filmmaker in ...

Blandings: Series 2 Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Aug 25, 2014

I can't remember when I first heard of P.G. Wodehouse.  He seems to just always exist in my memory.  I ...

A Young Doctor’s Notebook DVD Review: And You Thought Don Draper Was a Dark Character

By Mat Brewster | Aug 20, 2014

It must be a difficult experience for an actor to try and move beyond starring in a successful series.  You ...

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Aug 18, 2014

Some folks wax nostalgic about the days when MTV actually played music videos; I get all teary eyed thinking about ...

Batman: Assault on Arkham Blu-ray Review: Better than Its Straight to Video Release Implies

By Mat Brewster | Aug 15, 2014

A title that should have more appropriately been called Suicide Squad: Assault on Arkham is never-the-less an enjoyable entry into ...

The Railway Man Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Aug 12, 2014

My wife, like all red-blooded women (and more than a few red-blooded men) loves Colin Firth.  She practically drools anytime ...

Community: The Complete Fifth Season is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Aug 5, 2014

We finally got high speed internet last Wednesday.  It is a little ridiculous how excited I am about it.  I ...

Chiller: The Complete Television Series DVD Review: Not Worth Your Time

By Mat Brewster | Jul 24, 2014

Horror seems uniquely suited for an anthology series. Since horror, unlike many other genres, relies heavily on big reveals at ...

Persona Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Absolute Must Have

By Mat Brewster | Jul 19, 2014

Everyone agrees that Ingmar Bergman is one of the greatest director's of world cinema. Almost no one disagrees that his ...

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th DVD Review: Jason, Jason, and More Jason

By Mat Brewster | Jul 16, 2014

Looking to cash in on the success of John Carpenter's Halloween, Paramount Pictures hired Sean S. Cunningham to produce and ...

Agatha Christie: Poirot, Series 12 Blu-ray Review: Ridiculously Unrealistic Plots, Tons of Fun

By Mat Brewster | Jun 28, 2014

When it comes to Agatha Christie's writing I tend to agree with Raymond Chandler who wrote about her type of ...

Book Review: Little Orphan Annie, Volume Ten: The Junior Commandos by Harold Gray

By Mat Brewster | Jun 18, 2014

Little Orphan Annie was a daily comic strip created, written, and drawn by Harold Gray. It began in August 1924 ...

Classic Drama Collection DVD Review: Five Films Full of Drama, Comedy, Romance, and Costumes Galore

By Mat Brewster | Jun 10, 2014

There is a moment whenever I'm browsing through the movie section of Wal-Mart, Target, or whatever dumb, big-box store I'm ...

Jack Taylor: Set 2 DVD Review: Iain Glen (and His Fans) Deserve Better Than This

By Mat Brewster | Jun 5, 2014

Jack Taylor (Iain Glen) is a bit of a lost soul. He wants to do good in this world but ...

Cardinal Richelieu / Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! DVDs Review: There’s a Reason They’ve Been Forgotten

By Mat Brewster | May 25, 2014

The world has been making movies for roughly 220-plus years, producing approximately 300,000 films. That doesn't include made-for-TV movies, featured ...

The Deep End Blu-ray Review: An Excellent, Realistic Thriller

By Mat Brewster | May 14, 2014

Having children changes you. I'm not talking about the sentimental Hallmark-card emotionalism that goes something like, “I didn't know what ...

Book Review: Superman: The Silver Age Newspaper Dailies, Volume 2: 1961-1963: Super-Ridiculous, Super-Fun

By Mat Brewster | May 3, 2014

Created in 1933, Superman has gone on to become one of the most popular and successful comic-book characters in the ...

Master of the House Criterion Collection DVD Review: As Boring as it is Important

By Mat Brewster | May 3, 2014

As a self-confessed film buff, I have to admit that my knowledge is severely lacking when it comes to silent ...

Maverick: The Complete Third and Fourth Season DVDs Review: Pappy Says Save This For the Old Folks

By Mat Brewster | Apr 11, 2014

Full confession right at the top: I've never, before this review, seen an episode of Maverick. I'm too young to ...

Fargo (Remastered Edition) Blu-ray Review: Such a Super Film but Not so Super an Edition

By Mat Brewster | Apr 4, 2014

When you think about the Coen Brothers' 1996 masterpiece Fargo you likely think of it as a Frances McDormand movie. ...

Philomena Blu-ray Review: A Simple Story Told Really Well

By Mat Brewster | Apr 1, 2014

Philomena Lee had a child out of wedlock. This was in Ireland in 1951 so her father sent her to ...

Mapp & Lucia: The Complete Collection DVD Review: Slow and Delightful British Comedy

By Mat Brewster | Mar 28, 2014

Every couple of years or so, our representatives engage in egregious debates over public media. One Republican or another shouts ...

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (Deluxe Edition) DVD Review: Star-studded, Jam-packed, Mid-career Celebration of One of Rock’s Greats

By Mat Brewster | Mar 9, 2014

The 1980s were not particularly kind to Bob Dylan. There were a few highlights including successful tours with Tom Petty ...