The Good Die Young Blu-ray Review: The Transfer Deserves Better
By Mat Brewster |
The film is worth watching and this new disk is serviceable.
Friendly Persuasion Blu-ray Review: William Wyler Handles the Material Well
By Mat Brewster |
The film is mostly a slice-of-life portrait of a Quaker family.
Book Review: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris
By Mat Brewster |
My favorite thing is this graphic novel.
Dune: Part Two Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Like most big blockbuster movies, it is coming out in a wide variety of formats in various boxes with different artwork and special features.
Devil’s Doorway Blu-ray Review: Has Interesting Ideas for a Western but the Presentation Fails
By Mat Brewster |
When a movie is really good, I have no problem forgiving a wide variety of cultural sins, but in this case, it just isn’t good enough for me to get past that one glaring problem.
Book Review: Into the Night by Cornell Woolrich and Lawrence Block
By Mat Brewster |
A mystery finished decades after it was begun.
Four Disney+ Series Are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is with great pleasure that I find several of the Disney+ series are getting really nice looking 4K UHD releases.
High Noon (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Gary Cooper Stands Alone
By Mat Brewster |
One of the best Westerns ever made.
City of Hope Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Sometimes going into a film blind is the best way to view it.
They Drive by Night Blu-ray Review: They Live by Day
By Mat Brewster |
A fascinating snapshot of three actors in transitional periods of their careers.
First Blood Steelbook 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Considering how utterly ridiculous Rambo III is, the original looks like Shakespeare in comparison.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVIII Blu-ray Review: One Out of Three Ain’t Bad
By Mat Brewster |
There is something about these old low-budget noirs that make me keep coming back to them.
The Ring Collection 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If you can find a sale, or you have a birthday coming up, this looks worth the purchase.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVII Blu-ray Review: The B-Sides of Edward G. Robinson
By Mat Brewster |
These three movies fall within a dark period in Robinson’s career.
The Whip and the Body Blu-ray Review: Colorful Kink from Mario Bava
By Mat Brewster |
The Whip and The Body is a fascinating glimpse at a director at a crossroads.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is a film about myths and legends and how they are sometimes different from what they seem.
Darkman 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
“Who is Darkman?” the posters asked. They were scattered everywhere – on billboards, the sides of busses, in magazines in the early summer of 1990. But they didn’t provide an answer. It was a viral marketing campaign before viral marketing was a buzzword. Sam Raimi had invented his own superhero and the studio needed a…
Faithless (1932) Blu-ray Review: Tallulah Bankhead Makes It Worth Watching
By Mat Brewster |
Faithless isn’t a great film, but Bankhead is great in it.
Mademoiselle (1966) Blu-ray Review: Lust and Terror In France
By Mat Brewster |
The film’s mystery isn’t who is doing these things but why.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
An unconventional Western, or what they now call a revisionist Western.
Fathom Events Presents My Fair Lady for Its 60th Anniversary
By Mat Brewster |
The film is an utter delight.
He Walked by Night Blu-ray Review: You’ll Watch by Daylight
By Mat Brewster |
With a run time of 79 minutes, it all feels like a really long (and rather good) episode of Dragnet.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVI Blu-ray Review: I’m Thrilled They Keep Releasing Them
By Mat Brewster |
A fantastic resource for discovering relatively obscure film noirs.
Chantal Akerman Masterpieces 1968–1978 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is a great-looking set full of Criterion’s usual fantastic packaging full of extras.
Run Silent, Run Deep Blu-ray Review: Gable and Lancaster Are great
By Mat Brewster |
The film has everything you’ve come to expect from a submarine movie.
The Facts of Murder Blu-ray Review: A Blending of Italian Genres
By Mat Brewster |
It is something of a blending of genres and styles.
Savage Guns: 4 Classic Westerns Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I really love a good Italian Western.
The Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray Review: The Beginnings of Hammer Horror
By Mat Brewster |
Its influence reaches far and wide including Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick, and John Carpenter.
Goodbye, Dragon Inn Blu-ray Review: An Ode to Going to the Movies
By Mat Brewster |
It is a film that will linger in your thoughts for days afterward.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The reviews for that one have been pretty mixed, but I’m still excited to get a chance to watch it finally.
Blackhat Blu-ray Review: A Rare Miss For Michael Mann
By Mat Brewster |
Mann is too good of a director to make a really bad movie, but the ridiculousness of the plot of this one ruined it for me.
Gator Blu-ray Review: A Charming Burt Reynolds Elevates This Ridiculous Sequel
By Mat Brewster |
It is all a bit silly, but it’s fun to watch.
Oppenheimer Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I find myself poised to watch it and am happy to make it my Pick of the Week.
Backdraft Blu-ray Review: Thrilling Effects, Terrible Script
By Mat Brewster |
Ron Howard and his team of stunt coordinators used real fire and explosions to create several setpieces that are stunning in their power and beauty.
White Lightning Blu-ray Review: A Meditative Hicksploitation Flick
By Mat Brewster |
A huge hit that helped create the rascally, Southern charmer persona Reynolds would stick with for most of his life.
Carlito’s Way (Remastered Edition) Blu-ray Review: De Palma’s Way Is Best Way
By Mat Brewster |
If Scarface was De Palma’s Goodfellas, then Carlito’s Way is his The Irishman.
Human Desire Blu-ray Review: Excellent Film Noir from Fritz Lang
By Mat Brewster |
Coming off the heels of their definitive film noir The Big Heat (1953), director Friz Lang once again teamed up with actors Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XV Blu-ray Review: Three Late ’50s B-Noirs Still Make for Good Viewing
By Mat Brewster |
They are all clearly B-Pictures, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth your time.
Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol. Two Blu-ray Review: More Martial Arts Fun From Shout Factory
By Mat Brewster |
This period shows the studio in transition.
The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 5 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Buster Keaton was one of the biggest stars of the silent screen.
Force of Evil Blu-ray Review: An Art-House Genre Film
By Mat Brewster |
Like the story of Cain and Abel, Force of Evil is a tale about brothers.
Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol. One Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Truly Classic, but Well Worth It for Fans
By Mat Brewster |
Don’t let the fact that you’ve maybe not heard of any of these films put you off; even lesser-known Shaw Brothers films are worth the watching, and some of them are pretty great.
Paramount Scares Volume 1 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Paramount loaded the films with lots of great extras and put them all together with some cool-looking packaging.
Lorna the Exorcist Blu-ray Review: One of Jess Franco’s More Well-regarded Films
By Mat Brewster |
The whole film has that kind of shaggy, “let’s just mess about and see what happens” feel to it.
The Iron-Fisted Monk Blu-ray Review: Disjointed Drama, Fantastic Kung Fu
By Mat Brewster |
What makes the film worth watching is the fight sequences.
Elemental Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
While Pixar’s track record isn’t as stellar as it once was, they still regularly put out good films and I’m ready to finally see this one.
Little Women (1933) Blu-ray Review: Sentimental but Sweet
By Mat Brewster |
In a world so full of awfulness, I’ve become a sucker for any little kindness, even when it is only found in a movie.
Wichita Blu-ray Review: Wyatt Earp’s Origin Story
By Mat Brewster |
Even when they aren’t great, there is something calming about a Western.
The Big Knife Blu-ray Review: Stabbing Old Hollywood
By Mat Brewster |
A complicated, sometimes difficult film.
Poker Face: Season One Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It stars Natasha Lyonne as a casino worker who has the innate ability to detect when people are lying.