Rolling Thunder 4K UHD Review: Dead Inside
In director John Flynn’s Rolling Thunder (1977), Major Charles Rane (William Devane) has just come home to San Antonio after ...
Read More Nostalghia 4K UHD Review: Out, Out, Brief Candle
In director Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia (1983), a glum Russian poet, Andrei (Oleg Yankovsky), treks the Italian countryside with his comely ...
Read More Death Rides a Horse Blu-ray Review: Revenge Riders of the Dust Storm
In Death Rides a Horse (1967; dir. Giulio Petroni), Bill (a stiff but watchable John Philip Law) is a young, ...
Read More The Emerald Forest Blu-ray Review: The Jungle Trip
Upon scanning the list of movies John Boorman has directed, one thing (to me) stands out. He has taken a ...
Read More Point Break (1991) 4K UHD Review: “27 banks in three years – anything to catch the perfect wave!”
In Point Break (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), Johnny Utah, an FBI hotshot (Keanu Reeves), joins an FBI schlub (Gary Busey) to ...
Read More The Train 4K UHD Review: “You talk about the war. I talk about what it costs!”
Based on a true story, director John Frankenheimer’s The Train (1964) is about the lengths the French Resistance went to, ...
Read More Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 4K UHD Review: Cimino Rising
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is of note for two reasons. The first is that it was the directorial debut of Michael ...
Read More The Sorrow and the Pity Blu-ray Review: A Multi-perspective Essay on the German Occupation of France
It’s 259 minutes long, it’s a bunch of interviews with folks who resisted (and others who collaborated with) the German ...
Read More Clue 4K UHD Review: Who Farted?
Clue (1985; dir. Jonathan Lynn), based on the beloved board game, sucks like a lamprey. Regarded by many as a ...
Read More Days of Heaven Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Blue Harvest
The Criterion Collection has released Days of Heaven (1978; dir. Terrence Malick) in 4K as part of a 4K UHD/Blu-ray ...
Read More The Color Purple (1985) 4K UHD Review: Ms. Celie’s Blues
Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of the famed Alice Walker novel—about the journey a poor black woman, Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), takes ...
Read More Black Sabbath Blu-ray Review: A Touch of Bava in the Night
Yet another Halloween is upon us, and what better way to prep than listening to old Black Sabbath records and ...
Read More Book Review: Monica by Daniel Clowes: Trip the Trauma Fantastic
In Daniel Clowes’s new graphic novel, Monica (his first in seven years), the titular hero goes on a flippin’ strange ...
Read More Carlito’s Way 4K UHD Review: Sad Streets
It’s more than just a Scarface (1983) reunion. In Carlito’s Way (1993), director Brian De Palma and Al Pacino give ...
Read More Three Days of the Condor Blu-ray Review: The Book Reader Who Stayed Out in the Cold
As far as paranoid ‘70s thrillers go, Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor—about Joe Turner (Robert Redford), a hip ...
Read More Enter the Dragon 4K UHD Review: Are You Not… Entered?
Enter the Dragon (1973; dir. Robert Clouse) is one of the most famous kung fu movies ever made. In the ...
Read More Rio Bravo 4K UHD Review: Degüello
For Rio Bravo (1959; 141 mins.; dir. Howard Hawks)—my favorite Western or damn near it—I have almost no critical faculty. ...
Read More The Rules of the Game Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: The Shooting Party
On the brink of WWII, Jean Renoir—inspired by baroque music and an opera, Les Caprices de Marianne—took his collaborators to ...
Read More National Lampoon’s Vacation 4K UHD Review: This is No Longer a Vacation — It’s a Quest!
The basic idea behind National Lampoon’s Vacation is easy to guess—the movie is a lampoon, a harsh satire, of the ...
Read More Creepshow Collector’s Edition 4K UHD + Blu-ray Review: The Best E.C. Screamer Ever Put on Film
If horror comedies and horror anthology movies are not your thing, skip the Creepshow (1982). Otherwise, check it out. This cult ...
Read More Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) Movie Review: Album Art Gods
Chances are, Hipgnosis—the working name of a pair of English lads, Storm Thorgerson & Audrey ‘Po’ Powell, who revolutionized the ...
Read More The Great Train Robbery (1978) Blu-ray Review: A Wry Money-Train Caper
England, 1855. Edward Pierce (Sean Connery), a clever thief with a thirst for daring stunts (and, yes, money), recruits his ...
Read More Clash by Night (1952) Blu-ray Review: A Fritz Lang Dud
In Clash by Night, a former good-time girl, Mae (Barbara Stanwyck), returns home to Monterey, California. Done with her drifting ...
Read More Wings of Desire Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Stay
Not much happens in Wings of Desire (1987; dir. Wim Wenders), but it’s among the most beautiful of films. In ...
Read More Superman 5-Film Collection 4K UHD Review: Super-Reeve
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Warner Bros.’s new 4K UHD Superman 5-Film Collection (1978-1987)! But is it worth ...
Read More The Seventh Seal Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Chess with Death
The Criterion Collection has just released Ingmar Bergman’s film, The Seventh Seal (1957), in 4K UHD. When I first saw ...
Read More Black Sunday (1977) Special Edition Blu-ray Review: The Creep in the Blimp
It gets off to a fast start. Yet Black Sunday (1977; dir. John Frankenheimer), one of the better disaster flicks ...
Read More Cool Hand Luke 4K UHD Review: Grin Like a Baby, Bite Like a Gator
It’s not I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) (still the best chain gang movie I’ve seen)—but… Cool ...
Read More Babylon 4K UHD Steelbook Review: That Old Hollywood Stomp
Babylon (2022; dir. Damien Chazelle) does for silent movies what Boogie Nights (1997; dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) did for ‘70s ...
Read More Book Review: T*ts & Cl*ts 1972-1987: An Underground, Women-made Comix Gets the Fantagraphics Touch
Out this month, Tits & Clits 1972-1987 (Fantagraphics Books) compiles for the first time (in a single, handsome volume) all ...
Read More Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K UHD Review: The Contender
A Philly ham-and-cheese tough with heart, Rocky Balboa is one of cinema’s best underdogs. Say what you like about its ...
Read More Training Day 4K UHD Review: King Kong Ain’t Got Sh*t on Him!
Let’s talk about Training Day (2001; dir. Antoine Fuqua). Modern-day L.A.: Jake, a rookie cop (Ethan Hawke, in an Oscar-nominated ...
Read More The Magnificent Seven (1960) 4K UHD Review: McQueen Rising
It’s an Old West spin on a brilliant film, director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. And hey, did it need to ...
Read More Dazed and Confused Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: School’s Out
Dazed and Confused (1993; dir. Richard Linklater) circuits darkness: On the last day of school before the summer of 1976, ...
Read More Francois Truffaut Collection Blu-ray Review: L’Enfant Tendre
Director Francois Truffaut was a darling of French New Wave cinema. He left us some good movies. Unlike some of ...
Read More Pulp Fiction 4K UHD Review: Jukeboxer
Joy to the world: Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction—a gritty crime romp set in mid-1990s L.A.—is now out in 4K Ultra ...
Read More The Polar Express 4K UHD Review: Dead-eyed and Dreaming
The Polar Express (2004; dir. Robert Zemeckis; rated G) is a weird, dark flick that should be darker. A motion-capture ...
Read More A Christmas Story 4K UHD Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!
A Christmas Story (1983; dir. Bob Clark) is a charmer—a sweet and funny yuletide gem that’s never too cute for ...
Read More Blue Hawaii 4K UHD Limited Edition Review: Death by Half-baked Clambake
When did Elvis Presley’s decline start? From the cradle. I’m no Elvis scholar (I’ve listened to dozens of his albums ...
Read More Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Vol. 2 4K UHD Review: They Don’t Make ’em Like They Used To
Halloween is over, but we can celebrate it all year long—am I right? I’m always in a mood to watch ...
Read More Dressed to Kill (1980) 4K UHD Review: Hitchcock Outdone
To ‘get’ Dressed to Kill, you probably have to bear a soft spot in your heart for slasher movies. And it ...
Read More The War of the Worlds (1953)/When Worlds Collide 4K UHD Review: They Came From the ’50s
Producer George Pal’s thumbprint on science-fiction and fantasy films was big. A new limited edition, two-disc set from Paramount Pictures ...
Read More Scream 2 4K UHD Review: You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream… For Less Scream
I doubt the horror movie was ‘dead’ before Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) came out. Hadn’t The Silence of the Lambs ...
Read More Poltergeist (1982) 4K UHD Review: This Movie Is Clean
Director Tobe Hooper is most famous for Poltergeist (1982) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Chainsaw’s a sick, stone classic ...
Read More Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Director’s Edition 4K UHD Review: The Starship Ponderosa
Upon its release in 1979, Trekkies greeted Star Trek: The Motion Picture as an Event. Green-lit by Paramount in a ...
Read More God Told Me To 4K UHD Review: Holy Mindscrew
Larry Cohen, the writer-director of such cult faves as It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, and The Stuff, was a ...
Read More Miami Blues Blu-ray Review: A Pastel Sleeper
Based on the great Charles Willeford novel, Miami Blues (1990; dir. George Armitage) is a darkly comedic neo-noir. It sports ...
Read More Fanny: The Right to Rock Movie Review: Queens of Rock & Roll
Directed by Bobbi Jo Hart, Fanny: The Right to Rock, a documentary on the all-female rock band, Fanny, is a ...
Read More The Untouchables 4K UHD Review: De Palma Lite
Great artists sometimes create beneath their gifts, just for a lark. This describes the role Brian De Palma plays in ...
Read More The Carey Treatment Blu-ray Review: A Bland Dose
The Carey Treatment (1972; dir. Blake Edwards) is an obscurity that should stay one. It’s blander than bland. Based on ...
Read More Singin’ in the Rain 4K UHD Review: A Pure Joy
Chances are, you’ve seen Singin’ in the Rain. You already know how good it is. (If you’ve not seen it, ...
Read More RoboCop (1987) 4K UHD Review: FrankenCop
When it came out in 1987, RoboCop (dir. Paul Verhoeven) was one of my favorite movies. I was seven. I ...
Read More Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Review: The Bloody Ballad of Golden Swallow
Director King Hu’s Come Drink with Me (1966; 95 min) remains fresh after all these years. Produced by Run Run ...
Read More An American Werewolf in London 4K UHD Limited Edition Review: He’s a Monster and He’s Not Alright
At 97 minutes, An American Werewolf in London (1981) is a good short horror film that should have been shorter. ...
Read More Shooter 4K UHD Review: American Sniper-ish
As a mindless piece of action, Shooter is an entertaining ride. Director Antoine Fuqua never seems less than committed to ...
Read More Licorice Pizza Movie Review: Heart Like a Wheel
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, Licorice Pizza, is a warm screwball comedy, and his second unqualified success in a ...
Read More Gambit (1966) Blu-ray Review: A Larcenous Lark
In director Ronald Neame’s caper flick, Gambit (1966; 109 mins.), a British cat burglar, Harry Dean (Michael Caine), teams with ...
Read More Prince of the City Blu-ray Review: The NYPD Blues
In Prince of the City (1981; dir. Sidney Lumet), everything about drug enforcement is crooked—and that’s the way it’s supposed ...
Read More Out of the Blue Movie Review: Into the Black
As a director, Dennis Hopper used to strike me as a case study on how not to direct. His breakout ...
Read More Harold and Maude Blu-ray Review: Funeral Freak Flag
A cult comedy, Harold and Maude (1971; 91 minutes; dir. Hal Ashby) tries a mite too hard to be unusual. ...
Read More Party Girl (1958) Blu-ray Review: Neon Underworld
Fans of director Nicholas Ray (best known for the James Dean vehicle, Rebel Without a Cause) should enjoy Party Girl ...
Read More Planes, Trains and Automobiles Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Review: This Ain’t No Turkey Trot
Its premise is simple. And yet, Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987; dir. John Hughes) is cast to perfection, balancing moments ...
Read More The Hills Have Eyes (1977) 4K UHD Review: Hellbilly Pie
Sounding like a lame retread of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974; dir. Tobe Hooper), The Hills Have Eyes (1977; dir. ...
Read More The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) Blu-ray Review: Bedraggled
Woe to the viewer who tries to sit through director Paul Morrissey’s take on The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring ...
Read More Straight Time Blu-ray Review: The Jailbird Blues
Catch me on the right day and I’ll proclaim Straight Time (dir. Ulu Grosbard) the best film of 1978. Based ...
Read More The Sergio Martino Collection Blu-ray Review: A Giallo Giant Gets His Due
So, you’ve seen the Dario Argento gialli (highlights include The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspiria, and Tenebrae), ...
Read More Back Street Blu-ray Review: Suffer the Silk
I’m not sure I believe in the idea of a ‘guilty pleasure’; but if I did, Back Street (1961) is ...
Read More Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Review: Psycho-biddy Pie
In this video nasty from 1982, Billy (Jimmy McNichol) is a high school basketball star who lives with his kooky ...
Read More Thunderbolt Blu-ray Review: A Snooze-fest of Sound and Shadow
A remake of his earlier gangster film Underworld (1927), director Josef von Sternberg’s Thunderbolt (1929) is his first talkie. Even ...
Read More Major Dundee Blu-ray Review: Get Whipped and Bury Your Dead
Director Sam Peckinpah was a few things: a drunk, misogynist boor; an auteur who was always getting screwed by the ...
Read More Book Review: The Art and Making of The Stand by Andy Burns
Priced at $45, The Art and Making of The Stand (Titan Books) is a coffee-table bit of glossiness devoted to ...
Read More Mission: Impossible (25th Anniversary Limited Edition) Blu-ray Review: MacGuffin Royale
In the summer of 1996, Paramount Pictures brought three TV shows that originated in the 1960s to the big screen: ...
Read More Switchblade Sisters Blu-ray Review: The Big Bad Girl Rumble
Re-watching one of 1975’s best grindhouse titles, Switchblade Sisters, I’m impressed: Though it sunk like a stone when it first ...
Read More The Greatest Show on Earth Blu-ray Review: The Show Must Go On… and On… and On
Epic corn was director Cecil B. DeMille’s metier, and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952; 152 minutes), his circus opus ...
Read More Baby Doll Blu-ray Review: Let’s Play House, Baby
Scripted by playwright Tennessee Williams, who got sole credit for this adaptation of two of his shorter plays, “Twenty-Seven Wagons ...
Read More Book Review: Later by Stephen King: Growing Up with Ghosts
Dismiss his output from the last few decades all you like: Stephen King is a master of sentence construction. And ...
Read More Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray Review: Good Morning Heartache
Allow me to state this upfront: In Lady Sings the Blues (1972; dir. Sidney J. Furie), Diana Ross gives a ...
Read More Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: We Are Not Monsters
The first five minutes of HBO’s adventure horror series, Lovecraft Country (Season One), tells you everything you need to know ...
Read More San Francisco Blu-ray Review: The King of the Barbary Coast Finds His Queen
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is the backdrop for this handsomely mounted 1936 MGM production, which spends far too ...
Read More The Pajama Game Blu-ray Review: Fosse Rising
The Pajama Game (1957) is very much of its time. That’s part of its charm. Adapted from a hit Broadway ...
Read More Mank Movie Review: The Big Crack-up
In the past few years, Netflix has enticed some of our best filmmakers—Joel & Ethan Coen, Alfonso Cuaron, David Fincher, ...
Read More The Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels Live (Atlantic City, NJ, 1989) DVD Review: Sucking in the ’80s
In 1989, the Rolling Stones returned to the stage from a seven-year touring hiatus. They needn't have bothered. Ok, so ...
Read More Book Review: Picturing Peter Bogdanovich: My Conversations with the New Hollywood Director by Peter Tonguette
Director Peter Bogdanovich is neither misunderstood nor unappreciated, I think. His claim to fame as a movie brat (though he might ...
Read More Murder by Decree (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Fogbound
Murder by Decree is one of the better Sherlock Holmes movies. Directed by Bob Clark, it features an all-star cast. Christopher ...
Read More Urban Cowboy Blu-ray Review: The Devil Should Have Gone Down to Texas Instead
Urban Cowboy (1980) is one of those faddish films that has aged poorly. John Travolta plays Bud Davis, a country boy ...
Read More Lonely Are the Brave Blu-ray Review: The Last Cowboy
Based on Edward Abbey's novel, The Brave Cowboy, Lonely Are the Brave (1962) came and went without a fuss. Now known as Kirk ...
Read More Cattle Annie and Little Britches Blu-ray Review: Outlaw Groupies with True Grit
Ripe for rediscovery, Cattle Annie and Little Britches follows the exploits of the real-life titular characters, two teenage girls in love with ...
Read More Cruising Blu-ray Review: Hardcore in Blue
Nightmarishly vivid, director William Friedkin's Cruising, a divisive film about an undercover New York cop (Al Pacino, miscast) who cruises gay ...
Read More Bones (2001) Blu-ray Review: Unleash the Blunt
Bones bores. Director Ernest Dickerson, Spike Lee's former DP, pulls off a few nifty visual tricks. Chief among them are a ...
Read More Canyon Passage Blu-ray Review: Where the Scalps Fly Like Toupees…Only Not Quite
If you were to say I would love to see a Technicolor noir western directed by Jacques Tourneur, set in ...
Read More IT Chapter Two Blu-ray Review: We All Bloat Down Here
IT is back. The Losers Club, a tight-knit group of kids—good kids—with chips on their shoulders, humiliated Pennywise the dancing ...
Read More Road Games (1981) Blu-ray Review: Today’s Roadkill, Tomorrow’s Bacon
From scene one of Road Games, the film grabs us. There is an extended moment, however, when we realize we are ...
Read More Prophecy Blu-ray Review: Bear Loaf
It was not supposed to turn out like this. For years, the Pitney lumber mill in Maine soaked its river-borne ...
Read More Shampoo Criterion Collection Review: Long Hair Don’t Care
Few films capture the mood of late '60s Los Angeles quite like Shampoo does; and few films of the '70s—that hallowed, so-called ...
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