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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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), ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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: ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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