Elemental Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There was a time in my life when a new Pixar movie was a cause for celebration. They continually made ...
Read More 
The Trial 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Orson Welles remains one of the most legendary figures in film history. His talent (and ego) knew no bounds. He ...
Read More 
Poker Face: Season One Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Rian Johnson has made a career out of subverting genre tropes and creating something wonderful and new. From his first ...
Read More 
The Princess Bride 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Westley, Buttercup, Inigo Montoya, Prince Humperdinck, Count Rugen, Vizzini, Fezzik, Miracle Max, and other memorable characters inhabit the 1987 whimsical ...
Read More 
The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In 1967, Emmanuelle Arsan published Emmanuelle, a novel about a bored housewife and her sexual adventures in Asia. Seven years ...
Read More 
Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
There are always new filmmakers to discover: filmmakers who craft realistic stories about humanity and the joys and pains that ...
Read More 
“Asteroid City” Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
It's an interesting time of year with August seeing the blockbusters winding down in theaters as those films looking to ...
Read More 
Chameleon Street Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Unfortunately, this is going to be yet another week where I haven't seen any of the new releases, so just ...
Read More 
Maggie Moore(s) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Jon Hamm was so good in Mad Men as the moody, almost sociopathically serious Don Draper that it is always ...
Read More 
Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Just like with a few of my previous PotW posts, I have to do this one differently as well. I ...
Read More 
Criterion’s The Ranown Westerns Is The Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In 1955, John Wayne purchased the script for Seven Men From Now from first-time writer Burt Kennedy. He had originally ...
Read More 
The Watermelon Woman Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When I did my review for the original First Run Features DVD of Cheryl Dunye's landmark 1996 lesbian classic The ...
Read More 
Tintin Double Feature Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Tuesday is July 4, which of course is the day the United States of America celebrates its independence. We shoot ...
Read More 
Claydream Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
As in many a field, not everyone gets the full credit they deserve for the work they done. That's no ...
Read More 
Medicine for Melancholy Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Barry Jenkins is one of the finest working filmmakers of his generation. His films gorgeously express the lives of Black ...
Read More 
Shaw Brothers Classics Vol. One Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In my review of The Flag of Iron (1980) and Legendary Weapons of China (1982) back in February 2022, I ...
Read More 
The Rules of the Game 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Jean Renoir's still impressive and frighteningly resonant critique of social hierarchies continues to be rightly regarded as one of the ...
Read More 
The Saragossa Manuscript Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When a movie is loved by such diverse folks as Martin Scorsese, Luis Bunuel, and Jerry Garcia, you know it ...
Read More 
Petite Maman Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
I don't get out, practically at all, so this PotW is going a little different, just like a few of ...
Read More 
In the Line of Duty: I-IV Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Michelle Yeoh recently became the first Asian actress to win an Academy Award. She won it for her starring role ...
Read More 
Branded to Kill 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Please bare with me. I don't get out much, nor have instant access to all the cinematic things that a ...
Read More 
Anna May Wong Collection Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Well, hello there, old friends. It is your old pal Mat Brewster ready for another round of Pick of the ...
Read More 
The Seventh Seal 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Ingmar Bergman wasn't the most upbeat filmmaker. His films were dark, bleak, and pessimistic. But isn't that what life itself ...
Read More 
The Maltese Falcon (1941) 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Sam Spade, Ruth Wonderly, the Fat Man, Joel Cairo, Wilmer, and Effie are timeless characters that inhabit The Maltese Falcon, ...
Read More 
Inland Empire is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Legendary filmmaker David Lynch just may be movie history's strangest and most diabolical director. His films tread a knife's edge ...
Read More 
Mildred Pierce 4K UHD Is Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Seeing Mildred Pierce, legendary director Michael Curtiz's celebrated 1945 adaptation of the James M. Cain novel and owning my own ...
Read More 
Dazed and Confused 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Richard Linklater's 1993 classic Dazed and Confused is not the deepest of films about the complexities of teenage life, but ...
Read More 
Three Colors Trilogy 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The late, great Krzysztof Kieslowski, legendary Polish filmmaker, remains one of the most renowned directors in the history of cinema, ...
Read More 
This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
This POTW is going to be a little different because the film I'm choosing for this is one I haven't ...
Read More 
Imitation of Life (1934) is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Despite the popularity of Douglas Sirk's 1959 version of the celebrated Fanny Hurst novel, I actually prefer the original 1934 ...
Read More 
Criterion’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Welcome or welcome back, whichever is applicable. If you have left over gift cards or cash from the holidays and ...
Read More 
Carrie 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can one say about Brian De Palma's masterful 1976 Stephen King adaptation Carrie? It's one of the greatest ...
Read More 
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, legendary genre director Tobe Hooper's wild and viciously bonkers follow-up to his groundbreaking and still ...
Read More 
Reservoir Dogs 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Iconic filmmaker (and equally iconic film buff) Quentin Tarantino burst onto to scene with his legendary 1992 blood-soaked debut Reservoir ...
Read More 
Daisies is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When I first watched Věra Chytilová's 1966 game-changer Daisies, I was immediately struck by its approach to youthful rebellion, its ...
Read More 
Return of the Living Dead 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Ever since George A. Romero's masterpiece Night of the Living Dead was unleashed in 1968, everyone wanted to do their ...
Read More 
Night of the Living Dead 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can you say about George A. Romero's highly influential 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead?! It's one ...
Read More 
Poltergeist 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can one say about Tobe Hopper's 1982 classic Poltergeist that hasn't already been said? It's a film about ...
Read More 
Blow Out 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Despite the constant comparisons to Hitchcock, celebrated director Brian De Palma does have a style all his own. Yes, he's ...
Read More 
Child’s Play 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Let's just get this out of the way. Child's Play (1988), directed by genre icon Tom Holland, still has one ...
Read More 
Tenebrae 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Of course, Dario Argento is one the great Italian masters of horror. His films are usually light of plot and ...
Read More 
Marty is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Today, 1955's Marty may not seem like an obvious choice for Best Picture, but make no mistake, it was refreshing ...
Read More 
The Virgin Suicides 4K is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Sofia Coppola has always been a filmmaker of immense interest. She loves zeroing in on the trials and tribulations of ...
Read More 
Shaft (1971) is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
I have to admit that I am not usually well-versed in the films of the now-famous Blaxploitation genre. I have ...
Read More 
The Tales of Hoffman is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Powell and Pressburger was a filmmaking duo for the ages. Their films were unlike anything you had ever seen, even ...
Read More 
Mississippi Masala is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Interracial and intercontinental romance isn't as explored in film as often as it should. Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair's gorgeous 1992 ...
Read More 
The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Volume 2 is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As everyone knows and has always said, Hitchcock is the ultimate "Master of Suspense". When it comes to their own ...
Read More 
From the Journals of Jean Seberg is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Iconic actress Jean Seberg was ahead of her time. She was also a woman of her time, having a few ...
Read More 
Jockey is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
This week may not have the most notable releases, but there are a few that I will highlight, including a ...
Read More 
The Godfather Trilogy 4K UHD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can one say about The Godfather saga? The whole trilogy (at least parts 1 & 2) set the ...
Read More 
Hester Street is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As I mentioned in my recent review, I think that Hester Street, the late Joan Micklin Silver's fantastic 1975 film, ...
Read More 
Alligator 4K Ultra HD is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Some ideas sound really absurd on paper, but when they're put on the screen, they sometimes manage to sneak up ...
Read More 
Miller’s Crossing is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The Coen Brothers are a dynamic directing duo for the film history books. They don't make films within one particular ...
Read More 
The Piano is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As I mentioned before, acclaimed director Jane Campion still seems to be undervalued and understated in most film circles (which ...
Read More 
The Celebration is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Although I have only seen one film from the Dogme 95 movement, which was Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves ...
Read More 
All My Sons is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Happy New Year, CS readers. Hope to see you around these parts often throughout 2022. Arthur Miller was an important ...
Read More 
Krampus: The Naughty Cut is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As a person who has somewhat gotten over the holidays, I prefer my Christmas movies to be bleak, mean-spirited, and ...
Read More 
Mulholland Dr. 4K is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Singular filmmaker David Lynch is one of the most original directors in the history of film. His stylish, and at ...
Read More 
La strada is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Italian neorealism was an influential but rather short new wave of cinema. The movement held a mirror up to portray ...
Read More 
Deep Red is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The legendary Dario Argento is arguably the Italian master of horror. Despite their fairly standard plots, his films seem to ...
Read More 
Misery 4K is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can one say about director Rob Reiner's still iconic 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's 1987 novel that hasn't ...
Read More 
Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When legendary filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles passed away last week, it understandably caused a ripple in film history, especially in ...
Read More 
Mona Lisa is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Neo noirs are contemporary films from 1970s and '80s that do take themes and elements from classic noirs, but they ...
Read More 
Ashes and Diamonds is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When it comes to war, there is the always the complicated struggle between fulfilling a sense of duty, or rebelling ...
Read More 
Nashville is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The late, great filmmaker Robert Altman remains one of the most beloved directors in the history of cinema. His use ...
Read More 
The Dead Zone (Collector’s Edition) is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As many of us know, Stephen King is the modern master of literary horror. Most of his works delve deep ...
Read More 
Working Girls is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Prostitution continues to be a stigmatized profession. Most people look down upon it, meaning that they think that it is ...
Read More 
Pariah is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
There are always films in the LGBTQ genre that center on white gay society and their issues of growing up, ...
Read More 
Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Documentaries are not always front-and-center in the film spectrum, and that rattles me. Documentaries have the powerful ability to showcase ...
Read More 
Mommie Dearest Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When it comes to cautionary tales of celebrities and their children, I think 1981's Mommie Dearest is the mother of ...
Read More 
National Lampoon’s Animal House 4K is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
There have been many comedies about college life, such as Revenge of the Nerds, Old School, and Neighbors. As fun ...
Read More 
Speed 4K is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Say what you will about the '90s, and I'll most likely agree with you. Just like the 1980s, it was ...
Read More 
Memories of Murder is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Seeing Bong Joon Ho's Parasite awhile back, I realized that I've missed out on a lot of great, and unique ...
Read More 
Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Over the past couple of years, I finally caught up with Steve Gerber's run on Howard the Duck, a subversive ...
Read More 
World of Wong Kar Wai is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The great Wong Kar Wai, now-iconic filmmaker, has become one of the masters of modern contemporary cinema. He's one of ...
Read More 
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As many film buffs know, legendary filmmaker Sam Peckinpah remains one of the greatest and most unpredictable directors in the ...
Read More 
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Well, hi there. It has been a long time since I've written one of these. Dave has done such a ...
Read More 
Smooth Talk is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
There have been so many tales of adolescence and teenage portraits of sexual and social mores than most people can ...
Read More 
Baby Doll Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Legendary director Elia Kazan never made happy-go-lucky movies. His cinema is comprised of sheer human drama, drama that includes characters ...
Read More 
The Parallax View Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The logic of conspiracy theories has a lot to do with elements or explanations that can be considered factual or ...
Read More 
Do the Right Thing 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can be said about Do the Right Thing, iconic filmmaker Spike Lee's 1989 classic? It remains one of ...
Read More 
The Ascent Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The late filmmaker Larisa Shepitko (1938-1979) was an incredible director with an original sense of style and detail. She had ...
Read More 
They Live 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Legendary horror master John Carpenter just celebrated his 73rd birthday on Saturday. Every true genre fan has a favorite Carpenter ...
Read More 
Just Before Dawn Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When Halloween, John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece was released, it became the essential template on how to successfully create a thrill-ride, ...
Read More 
Three Films by Luis Bunuel Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can any self-respecting film critic or lover say about the one and only Luis Buñuel (the father of ...
Read More 
The Best Years of Our Lives Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
If you ask any true film lover and TCM devotee what's one of their favorite movies, they'll probably tell you ...
Read More 
Tremors Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
There have been so many movies that have been throwbacks or tributes to the creatures features of the 1950s. These ...
Read More 
Mouchette Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The legendary Robert Bresson remains one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. His portraits (often harrowing, yet ...
Read More 
Crash (1996) Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When you think of legendary director David Cronenberg, you picture highly original works of twisted horror and scientific madness. Whether ...
Read More 
Essential Fellini Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
I don't have to tell you that Federico Fellini remains one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of film. ...
Read More 
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Legendary and celebrated indie director Jim Jarmusch is the type of filmmaker that you can't place in a certain box. ...
Read More 
Girlfriends Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
In popular culture, we've seen great movies and TV shows about female friendships and the ups and downs that obviously ...
Read More 
V for Vendetta 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When Donald Trump was unfortunately elected in 2016, that obviously set out an extreme chain of events that have turned ...
Read More 
Parasite Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Everything you've heard about director Bong Joon-ho's rightly acclaimed and celebrated 2019 modern classic, Parasite, is definitely true. It's a ...
Read More 
Back to the Future Trilogy 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can one say about the Back to the Future trilogy that hasn't been said already? It is still ...
Read More 
Scream Factory’s The Friday the 13th Collection Deluxe Edition Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Halloween (1978), when it was released, set the standard for the slasher genre, which would go on to have an ...
Read More 
Pierrot le Fou Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
I know that legendary director Jean-Luc Godard, by many, should be taken with a grain of salt (or ten), but ...
Read More 
The Elephant Man Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Obviously, the great David Lynch is isn't exactly known for depicting humanity and subtlety, even in some of his greatest ...
Read More 
Full Metal Jacket 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Stanley Kubrick remains one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. He didn't make a lot of films, ...
Read More 
Shivers Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
If you ask any true film buff who's the master of "Body Horror", and they tell you it's the legendary ...
Read More 
The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can be mentioned about the legendary Alfred Hitchcock that hasn't already been so? There are so many reasons ...
Read More 
Beetlejuice 4K UHD Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Usually, most films about dead people are serious, bleak, and grim as all get out. However, there are those that ...
Read More 
Toni Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
When discussing the legendary Jean Renoir, you're talking about one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. ...
Read More 
Town Bloody Hall Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Norman Mailer was arguably the most influential writer during postwar America. He wasn't afraid to be outspoken of what he ...
Read More 
The Complete Films of Agnes Varda Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
A master filmmaker like the great Agnes Varda needs no introduction. When she passed away at the age of 90, ...
Read More 
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
In today's extremely terrifying times, where Donald Trump continues his reign of terror, you have to look back at the ...
Read More 
The Tenant Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Yes, I know that Roman Polanski is a very controversial figure today, and what he did in mid to late ...
Read More 
Marriage Story Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As I pointed out in my recent review for Marriage Story, director Noah Baumbach's soulful and deeply intense 2019 film, ...
Read More 
Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As we all know, the legendary Bruce Lee is/was the most influential figure in the history of martial arts, bar ...
Read More 
The War of the Worlds (1953) Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The 1950s was decade of sheer uncertainty and paranoia due to the threat of the Cold War and imminent doom ...
Read More 
Come and See Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
"War is hell" is a famous phrase that many films have demonstrated, in sometimes painful or painfully graphic detail. It's ...
Read More 
Portrait of a Lady on Fire Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As we all know, June is #Pride month, and it is one of a celebration of the triumphs and struggles ...
Read More 
The Cameraman Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can you say about the legendary Buster Keaton (one of three kings of silent cinema, alongside Charlie Chaplin ...
Read More 
An Unmarried Woman Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
In a way, the 1970s was the decade of the woman. There were many films about women coming into their ...
Read More 
Jaws: 45th Anniversary Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
What else can be said about Steven Spielberg's 1975 masterpiece Jaws that hasn't been said already? The legendary film has ...
Read More 
Scorsese Shorts Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As we all know, Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. His style, technique, ...
Read More 
Dance, Girl, Dance Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The iconic Dorothy Arzner was definitely an legend in the history of cinema. She was the only female director working ...
Read More 
The Great Escape Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
A lot of things have been said about director John Sturges' admire 1963 anti-war classic, The Great Escape. Audiences and ...
Read More 
Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The late, great Eric Rohmer (1920-2010) was a film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. However, he was best known ...
Read More 
The Grand Budapest Hotel Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Wes Anderson is one my favorite directors. His films combine quirky characters and deadpan humor, but in mostly modern settings. ...
Read More 
The Cremator Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
The now-ancient Czech New Wave was a limited, but highly influential cinema movement that took place from 1963 to 1968. ...
Read More 
Dragged Across Concrete Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I'm a pretty big genre-film fan. I love the way genre films exist within a certain set or rules and ...
Read More 
Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Last November (or Noirvember, as I like to call it), I set out to watch as many film noirs as ...
Read More 
Glass Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
With the huge success of The Sixth Sense, director M. Night Shyamalan was able to make just about any film ...
Read More 
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Since Sam Raimi introduced Spider-Man into the summer blockbuster tradition 16 years ago, there have been no fewer than seven ...
Read More The Favourite Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
While I do love the cinema, I very rarely get to go to an actual theater. As a family, we ...
Read More 
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Towards the end of Captain America: Civil War, there is a sweeping scene in which Captain America and Black Widow ...
Read More 
Wonder Woman Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I like to think I was something of a feminist before I had a daughter. Certainly, I was for equal ...
Read More 
It Comes at Night Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
One of the best, and most difficult things to do as a movie lover is to come to a movie ...
Read More 
Rebecca (1940) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The more films I watch by Alfred Hitchcock the more I'm convinced of his genius. He might have called himself ...
Read More 
Batman and Harley Quinn Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is easy to think that Marvel beats DC when it comes to the whole cinematic universe thing. Certainly, they ...
Read More 
Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete Second Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Almost a year ago to the day, I made Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete First Season my Pick of ...
Read More 
Alien: Covenant Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In 1979, Ridley Scott directed Alien a near perfect blend of science fiction and horror and one of the greatest ...
Read More 
The Breaking Point Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Ernest Hemingway is one of my all-time favorite writers. He had a way of cutting out all the flab from ...
Read More 
John Carpenter SteelBooks are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I bought a house a year ago. It is the first house I ever purchased. I've always been a renter. ...
Read More 
Lost in America Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Reading Mat's Pick of the Week column over the years, it's quite clear that he is a horror-movie fan. Personally, ...
Read More 
Kong: Skull Island Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
What is it about a giant ape wreaking havoc that enthralls us so? Since his inception in 1933, King Kong ...
Read More 
The Lost City of Z Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've always loved jungle-adventure movies. There's just something really exciting and mysterious about the jungle. It's exotic and foreign, beautiful ...
Read More 
Song to Song Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is a grand July 4th weekend and everybody is out cooking burgers, drinking beer, soaking up radiation at the ...
Read More 
T2 Trainspotting Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The mid-'90s were a great time to be a burgeoning cinephile. Independent films were becoming mainstream, which meant you could ...
Read More 
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Memory is a funny thing. I can remember very clearly the first time I watched Dario Argento's The Bird with ...
Read More 
John Wick: Chapter 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I mostly outgrew action films a couple of decades ago. I came of age during the late '80s/early '90s, which ...
Read More 
A Cure for Wellness Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Listen closely and you can hear a million voices suddenly cry out in anger that I did not choose Beauty ...
Read More 
Ghost World Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was really less than two decades when me and my soon-to-be-wife were ...
Read More 
Logan Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've written in these pages on several occasions about how I've evolved in my opinions of comic-book movies several times ...
Read More 
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I was a boy, I was what they would nowadays call a gamer. It started with a little Texas ...
Read More 
Heat: Director’s Definitive Edition Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Though they've both delved into self parody over the last decade or two, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro will ...
Read More 
The Red Turtle Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've been writing this column for almost three years now. That's roughly 156 picks of the week. Yet, I'm still ...
Read More 
La La Land Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Every few years, it seems, Hollywood will make a new musical. It will catch on like gangbusters and a slew ...
Read More 
The Founder (2016) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is not exactly controversial for me to say I hate McDonald's. I'd go as far to say I loathe ...
Read More 
Hidden Figures Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If you aren't utterly amazed by space travel, then you aren't paying attention - especially in the early days of ...
Read More 
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I first saw Star Wars…well, I don't actually remember the first time I saw Star Wars. That's A New Hope ...
Read More 
Silence (2016) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In my very first Five Cool Things article, I was excited about the trailer for Martin Scorsese's Silence. I also ...
Read More 
Live by Night Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I'm a sucker for gangster stories. There is something utterly fascinating about people who push aside all of society's rules ...
Read More 
Fences Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
During that ridiculous let's-bring-in-a-tour-bus-full-of-common-folk-to-the-Oscars bit a few weeks ago, host Jimmy Kimmel asked one of the tourists who her favorite ...
Read More 
Moana Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've always liked Disney movies. but for the most part I've waited until they've reached home video (and have gained ...
Read More 
Moonlight Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
We cut the cord year ago and our cheap antenna doesn't really work in our new house. We pick up ...
Read More 
Nocturnal Animals Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
As I sit down to write out why Nocturnal Animals is my pick of this week, I realize I know ...
Read More 
Arrival Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife is a language nerd. Technically, she's a master linguist having received her degree from Indiana University many years ...
Read More 
Loving Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I first noticed Ruth Negga on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where she played Raina, a villain who was working for the ...
Read More 
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Tom Cruise, the human, seems like a pretty awful dude. He's a high-ranking member of a terrible cult/religion that uses ...
Read More 
The Handmaiden Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There is a scene in Park Chan-wook's Oldboy that just might be the greatest fight ever put in a movie. ...
Read More 
Girl on the Train Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I was never much of a reader growing up. I would read whatever was assigned to me at school but ...
Read More 
His Girl Friday (Criterion Collection) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I can't even remember the first time I saw His Girl Friday. It was high school, probably, or maybe on ...
Read More 
Blair Witch Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's difficult now to imagine a time when every movie didn't have its own social media team. Or when there ...
Read More 
Snowden Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Turn on the news and you are bound to hear any number of stories about computer hacking of some sort. ...
Read More 
Hitchcock/Truffaut Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In 1961, François Truffaut sat down in a Hollywood hotel room with Alfred Hitchcock for a week-long chat about Hitchcock's ...
Read More 
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife and I bought a house a few months back. We are first-time home buyers. It's a bit of ...
Read More 
Jason Bourne Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife and I lived in Strasbourg, France for about ten months back in 2004. We sublet a tiny studio ...
Read More 
Don’t Breathe Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's strange this writing things that get published on the internet. You never really know who is reading what your ...
Read More Hell or High Water Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I'm much too young to have grown up during the heyday of westerns. As a kid I didn't like them. ...
Read More 
Finding Dory Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have lamented numerous times in these pages about how my young daughter has kept me from seeing a great ...
Read More 
Taxi Driver (40th Anniversary Edition) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If the Avengers are all about saving the world from alien annihilation, then the Defenders have far less loftier goals ...
Read More 
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
As a teenager living in the '80s I developed a great fondness for old '50s, '60s, and '70s television shows. ...
Read More 
The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Halloween is really sneaking up on me this year. October is normally one of my favorite months of the year ...
Read More 
Cafe Society Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There are a handful of directors that will get me to the theater sight unseen. Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, ...
Read More 
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
This weekend I gave away the vast majority of my CD collection. I am a collector of things, especially entertainment ...
Read More 
Preacher: Season One Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In this new Golden Age of Television, it's easy to feel a bit like King Midas where every show you ...
Read More 
The Neon Demon Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I used to say that the best part of going to the movies was watching the movie trailers before the ...
Read More 
Beauty and the Beast (25th Anniversary Edition) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Memory is a funny thing. It changes and mutates along the way as we get older. My memory says I ...
Read More 
Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I can't remember when I first saw Aliens. It was definitely the plural and not the singular (it would be ...
Read More 
Money Monster Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife and I have never, nor will we ever make a freebie list - a list of five celebrities ...
Read More 
The Jungle Book (2016) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I suppose it's not all that strange that in this world of constant remakes, reboots, prequels, sequels and cinematic universes ...
Read More 
Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I turned 18 in 1994. So though I consider myself a child of the '80s, it was really the early ...
Read More 
Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Movies were a huge part of my childhood. I have all sorts of fond memories of going to the cinema ...
Read More 
11.22.63 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 looms large in our American identity. Hell, it looms over my own ...
Read More 
Key & Peele: The Complete Series Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Mat Brewster is on vacation this week, so I am filling in. Two weeks ago, I was preparing to go ...
Read More 
Pioneers of African-American Cinema Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I consider myself an amateur cinephile. By which I mean I take films seriously - I watch with a critical ...
Read More 
O.J.: Made In America Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In the summer of 1994, I was 18, had just graduated high school, and was doing my best to have ...
Read More 
Green Room Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Last week I wrote about buying a house and noted that we would be moving in on Tuesday. We did ...
Read More 
Blood and Black Lace Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The wife and I recently bought a house. It's the first time we've ever done that. We talked about it ...
Read More 
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If you've watched a movie with any sort of special-effects-laden creature in the last century, you've watched a film influenced ...
Read More 
Knight of Cups Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I hope someone was fired over this. Knight of Cups is a terrible name for a film. Terrence Malick has ...
Read More 
The X-Files: Event Series Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
For one reason or another, I never got into The X-Files when it first ran. Truth be known, I'm not ...
Read More 
Hail, Caesar! Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The Coen Brothers last took on Hollywood in 1991 with Barton Fink. That movie was a dark, cynical, symbolic look ...
Read More 
Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've seen exactly one Wim Wenders film (Until the End of the World - I think - or it could ...
Read More 
Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have somewhat eclectic cinematic tastes. I'm just as thrilled to see classic American films like Casablanca or To Kill ...
Read More 
The Witch is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Last Friday was the 13th of May, my brother's birthday, but more importantly a traditional day of horror. Normally, I'd ...
Read More 
Deadpool Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
For the foreseeable future, it is a blockbuster world and we're just living in it. Marvel has been churning out ...
Read More 
Independence Day 20th Anniversary Edition is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Twenty years ago, I was a sophomore in college. That was the first summer where I didn't go home for ...
Read More 
Son of Saul Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The Holocaust has been milked and bilked of every possible dramatic meaning for decades on screens both big and small. ...
Read More 
The Revenant Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If you relentlessly abuse your no-name actors, then your film gets called torture porn, but if you treat Leonardo DiCaprio ...
Read More 
Bride of Re-Animator is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I was a young teen, I used to daydream about the day when I'd turn 16 and could take ...
Read More 
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
From the moment George Lucas announced the sale of his Star Wars franchise to Disney and that there would then ...
Read More 
The Hateful Eight is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Last Friday, I loaded the family into the car and we spent Easter weekend in our old stomping grounds in ...
Read More 
Black Mama, White Mama is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Every once in awhile you have to ask yourself whether you want the much beloved, critically acclaimed, and highly influential ...
Read More 
Brooklyn is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Though it was nominated for a slew of awards (including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Actress at the Academy Awards), ...
Read More 
Macbeth (2015) is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
What's left to say about Shakespeare? What could I possible write that would convey his brilliance? Nothing of course. He ...
Read More 
Creed and Room are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The Oscars will be airing in a few hours from when I'm writing this (and likely a few hours before ...
Read More 
Fargo: Season Two is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When they announced they were making a TV show out of the excellent Coen Brothers films, Fargo, I was skeptical. ...
Read More 
Black Mass Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to watch gangster movies. There is just something about the ...
Read More 
Spectre is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have many fond memories of watching James Bond. I remember my dad taking me to see him in the ...
Read More Bridge of Spies Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
We're less than a month away from the Oscars and I've seen exactly three of the nominated films - four ...
Read More 
Doctor Who: Series Nine, Part Two is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have very vague memories of watching Doctor Who as a kid. This was the '80s when the long=scarfed Tom ...
Read More 
Criterion’s Inside Llewyn Davis is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Many times in these pages I've mentioned my extraordinary love for both the Criterion Collection and the Coen Brothers. When ...
Read More 
The Martian is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I subscribed to the auteur theory before I even knew what that was. That is to say as I began ...
Read More 
Sicario is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A great big thanks to Davy for helping me out last week. Extra credit since I gave him about a ...
Read More 
Bone Tomahawk Is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
Since everyone is getting over the Christmas holidays, I think they are just too stuffed with food and having to ...
Read More 
Pan is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If the weeks leading up to Christmas are a bonanza for home-video collectors, then the actual week of Christmas is ...
Read More 
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's easy to get cynical and annoyed with all the remakes, reimaginings, rehashes, and sequels that seem to come out ...
Read More 
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I picked Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as my Pick of the Week back in April of ...
Read More 
Cooties Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I don't know about you, but I had a mighty fine Thanksgiving. The weather outside was frightful, but inside was ...
Read More 
Ikiru is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Not long ago my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. They initially thought it was in her lungs, which made for ...
Read More 
The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I remember distinctly the first time I ever watched a Hayao Miyazaki film. I was still single, but heavily into ...
Read More 
Mr. Holmes is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
By my count, there have been over 800 kajillion filmic adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. Within the last few years we've ...
Read More 
Pixar’s Inside Out is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It was a tough October. I got strep throat and followed it with a nasty virus that turned into an ...
Read More Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Cats Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Autumn is by far my favorite season. The dog days of summer slip into the cool, crisp nights of fall. ...
Read More 
Jurassic World Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I was 17 when Jurassic Park came out in 1993. Even then, I knew it wasn't a great film, artistically ...
Read More 
Nakatomi Plaza Die Hard Collection is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Forgive me if I begin this Pick of the Week with a bit of a rant. In all forms of ...
Read More Tremors 5: Bloodlines Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I was 14 when the original Tremors came out. I loved it. We all did, my family and me. It ...
Read More 
The Avengers: Age of Ultron Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Tuesday morning of last week, I woke up feeling fine. I turned off the alarm, got out of bed, got ...
Read More 
Pitch Perfect 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I grew up attending the Churches of Christ. One of the things that distinguishes us from the million other churches ...
Read More 
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There have been a lot of discussions of late about the injustices of our justice system. About how if you ...
Read More 
Gotham: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Steven Spielberg recently predicted that the superhero movie (and presumably the superhero TV show) will eventually go the way of ...
Read More 
Mad Max: Fury Road Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My parents were early adapters to the home-video market. They were given a Betamax sometime in the early '80s, but ...
Read More 
Two Days, One Night Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My DVD/Blu-ray collection is divided up into a few different categories. There are TV shows, foreign films, my main collection, ...
Read More 
Day For Night is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
As someone who has never made a film but absolutely loves watching them, I'm completely fascinated by movies about making ...
Read More 
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have a good friend who is probably the smartest guy I've ever met. I like to joke that he's ...
Read More Orphan Black: Season Three is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have this completely random rule that I have to watch at least 10 movies every month. Now to all ...
Read More 
Orphan Black: Season Three Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have this completely random rule that I have to watch at least 10 movies every month. Now to all ...
Read More 
White God is the Pick of the Week
By Luigi Bastardo |
As a certain Italian schlockumentary once reminded us many moons ago, it's a dog's world out there. And some distant ...
Read More 
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau is the Pick of the Week
By Davy |
As an extreme film lover, I'm always torn between variety. Sometimes, there is too much to choose from, and it ...
Read More 
What We Do in the Shadows Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's a good week to be a horror fan. I've no doubt complained in these pages before how I rarely ...
Read More 
Ex Machina Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
At work today, I was listening to the Invisibilia podcast, specifically the one entitled “Our Computers, Ourselves.” It was all ...
Read More 
The Big Chill Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've been writing about new DVDs and Blu-rays for a few years now. You'd think this would give me some ...
Read More 
The Who: Live at Shea Stadium 1982 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's Summer. It's hot. School's out. Vacations are on. Everybody is busy. I have to yell at my wife every ...
Read More 
The Fisher King Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
At some point during my early teens, we had Showtime or HBO or some such pay-cable channel. Whatever it was, ...
Read More 
Chappie Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It's always amazing to see a new and interesting director come onto the scene, and then utterly disappointing to see ...
Read More 
Kingsman: The Secret Service Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
As I'm browsing through the new releases each week and putting all the interesting ones in new tabs, I make ...
Read More 
Parks and Recreation: Season Seven Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Like a lot of people, it seems, I at first dismissed Parks and Recreation as another The Office clone and ...
Read More 
The Confession and State of Siege Are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My freshman year of college I started collecting movies on VHS tape. I think I realized that with the parents ...
Read More 
The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Series Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
“This is the theme to Garry's show / the theme to Garry's show / Garry called me up and asked ...
Read More 
Broadchurch: The Complete Second Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A big thanks goes out to Gordon for finishing last week's pick for me. I had actually written an entire ...
Read More 
The Fugitive: The Complete Series is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Hello, PotW readers. Mat 's desktop computer went to that great IT department in the sky over the weekend, so ...
Read More 
Inherent Vice Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
For a moment I thought Inherent Vice was some kind of cheap knock-off film. Let me explain (no, no, there ...
Read More 
Fortitude Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
One of the best parts of writing this column every week is learning about all the movies and shows that ...
Read More 
Maps to the Stars Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Since I first started watching films, or at least taking them seriously, I've consumed them for their directors more than ...
Read More 
A Most Violent Year Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
One of the best things about Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and the other streaming services is finding something you'd never know ...
Read More 
The Imitation Game is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Whenever a film based upon real events comes out, there is always a lot of discussion over how historically accurate ...
Read More 
Into the Woods is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A funny thing happened on the way to posting this week's pick. Yesterday, I wrote the words you will read ...
Read More 
The Soft Skin is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Before she became a stay-at-home mom (and forced me to get a real job, le sigh) my wife taught French ...
Read More 
The Sound of Music (50th Anniversary Edition) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My sophomore year in college I started working for the university dinner theatre via the work study program. The previous ...
Read More 
Foxcatcher Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Wrestling (real wrestling - not that soap-opera stuff you see on cable TV) is an odd sort of sport. You ...
Read More 
Whiplash Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Out of all the winners (and even nominees) of last night's Oscars, I've seen exactly one (The Grand Budapest Hotel). ...
Read More 
Birdman Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Last year, I moved from a teeny tiny little town in Tennessee to a slightly larger one in Oklahoma. The ...
Read More 
Nightcrawler Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In Nightcrawler, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a seedy young man who makes a name for himself filming crime scenes ...
Read More 
John Wick Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My computer crashed last week. Well, no, that is not exactly true, my computer got very sick so I reformatted ...
Read More 
The Drop (2014) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It was a rough year to be a celebrity in 2014. It seems like we lost a lot of greats. ...
Read More 
Gone Girl Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I very much like to read, I'm just not very good at it. Or rather I'm not very good at ...
Read More 
Boyhood Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I took last week off to spend some time with my wife's family. Her clan are a bit spread out ...
Read More 
Pride (2014) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I'm not writing about movies and televisions shows, I run The Midnight Cafe, a little blog that deals in ...
Read More 
Arrested Development: Season 4 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
So often when writing this series I have to admit that I haven't seen the things that I pick, or ...
Read More 
Guardians of the Galaxy Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My recent visit to Wizard World solidified the fact that while I like geeky things I am not in anyway ...
Read More 
Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I've been blogging now for a little over ten years. I started back in 2004 when my wife and I ...
Read More 
Drunk History: Seasons 1 & 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I have an unusual sense of humor. I generally don't find the things that the apparent majority of people find ...
Read More 
It Happened One Night Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I bought my first DVD player back in 1999 I vowed that I would only buy really great movies ...
Read More 
Lots of TV Series Sets Are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
You've got to love the (extended) Christmas season. It seems like every year it gets pushed farther and farther up ...
Read More 
Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
For nearly as long as I can remember and certainly for as long as I've taken cinema seriously, I've been ...
Read More 
Deliver Us from Evil (2014) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In case you've been stuck inside without any form of media (or a calendar) over the last month, Halloween is ...
Read More 
Snowpiercer Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My in-laws have been spending the week with us. Mostly this is just swell as they are wonderful people who ...
Read More 
X-Men: Days of Future Past Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I like the idea of X-Men more than I usually like the execution. The mutant concept with all of the ...
Read More 
Sleeping Beauty: Diamond Edition is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There is a fairly constant discussion in my home over the television. Or rather how much of it my child ...
Read More 
Chef Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In college, I had a friend who majored in theater. One day he hit me up to help him out ...
Read More 
The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology and Halloween: The Complete Collection Are the Picks of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A couple of years back I decided to finally sit down and watch the notoriously graphic horror movie A Serbian ...
Read More 
Eraserhead Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
People always carry on about how wonderful children are - how amazing and beautiful they can be, how they change ...
Read More 
A Long Way Down Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I first heard of Nick Hornby through the movie version of his musically obsessed book High Fidelity. The film stars ...
Read More 
Line of Duty: Series 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It seems like forever since I've had a really challenging pick of the week. Hardly at all this summer have ...
Read More 
Blandings: Series 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I can't remember when I first heard of P.G. Wodehouse. He seems to just always exist in my memory. I ...
Read More 
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Some folks wax nostalgic about the days when MTV actually played music videos; I get all teary eyed thinking about ...
Read More 
The Railway Man Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife, like all red-blooded women (and more than a few red-blooded men) loves Colin Firth. She practically drools anytime ...
Read More 
Community: The Complete Fifth Season is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
We finally got high speed internet last Wednesday. It is a little ridiculous how excited I am about it. I ...
Read More 
Noah (2014) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I went to see Noah with a group of friends on opening weekend. We were a pretty diverse bunch in ...
Read More 
The Essential Jacques Demy Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Living with my parents is beginning to take its toll. After much looking and consideration, we decided to move into ...
Read More 
Under the Skin is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Random story: my father recently got on my mother's computer which is set up slightly different than his own device. ...
Read More 
Nymphomaniac Volume I & Volume II Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I suppose every film lover keeps some sort of list of films they feel they should watch at some point. ...
Read More 
Cannibal Holocaust Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In the small town in Oklahoma where I grew up, we had a surprisingly big video store. They had taken ...
Read More 
A Hard Day’s Night Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A few weeks after we got married my wife and I caught a showing of A Hard Day's Night at ...
Read More 
The Grand Budapest Hotel Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Over the last few years, I've regularly complained that the local cineplexes all show the same overblown blockbusters and none ...
Read More 
True Detective: Season 1 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
A big thanks to Gordon for handling this column last week while I was away. As he noted I've moved. ...
Read More 
Barbary Coast Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
I don't know if Mat's mentioned it, but he and his family are in the process of moving to another ...
Read More 
An Adventure in Space and Time Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Though I do remember watching some Tom Baker-era Doctor Who as a kid, one probably needs to call me a ...
Read More 
The Monuments Men Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It occurs to me that the Classic Hollywood Star no longer exists. Stars like Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, and Audrey ...
Read More 
Her Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Spike Jonze is an immensely talented, eternally creative, and absolutely brilliant artist. Yet I can't say that I really like ...
Read More 
Veronica Mars (2014) Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
There has been so much great TV playing over the last decade that its really impossible to keep up with ...
Read More 
Mr. Selfridge: Season 2 Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I'll probably be labeled a terrible dad for admitting this, but there has been a lot of television watching in ...
Read More 
Master of the House Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
You know its a slow week for new releases when a friggin' Tyler Perry movie is the number-one seller on ...
Read More 
Philomena Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My wife tends to avoid sad films, sad songs, sad everything. She says life is tough enough on its own ...
Read More 
August: Osage County Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I was born and raised in Oklahoma. This isn't necessarily something I'm proud of. I mean I didn't really do ...
Read More 
Broadchurch: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
It is a little embarrassing to say now, but I came to Doctor Who a bit late in the game. ...
Read More 
The Wolf of Wall Street Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
About this time every year when we get our tax refund back, the wife and I give ourselves a hundred ...
Read More 
American Hustle Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My mother often says I was born in the wrong decade - that I should have grown up in the ...
Read More 
Inside Llewyn Davis Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
If I were to remove my critic's hat when you asked me to name my favorite director, I'd likely go ...
Read More 
12 Years a Slave Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The 86th Academy Awards show was on last night. It was watched by a lot of people. Usually I'm one ...
Read More 
Gravity Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I'm really not a Sandra Bullock fan. She's attractive and certainly charming, and I really can't knock her acting chops, ...
Read More 
Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In the months after my daughter was born, I watched an enormous amount of movies and television. As anyone who ...
Read More 
Ender’s Game Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In the world of science fiction I consider myself a fan, but not a fan-boy. By which I mean that ...
Read More 
Dallas Buyers Club Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I believe I first saw Matthew McConaughey as "past his prime, but still picking up high school girls" David Wooderson ...
Read More 
Blue Jasmine Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
When I was a pubescent teenager, I used to stay up late on Friday and Saturday nights watching the USA ...
Read More 
Rififi Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
In the middle of Jules Dassin's 1954 film noir Rififi, which is the father of all heist movies, lies a ...
Read More 
Top of the Lake Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Some weeks you gotta ignore the masses and pick what you want. Okay, admittedly I pretty much do that every ...
Read More 
Don Jon Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Welcome back. I decided to take last week off because me, the wife and the wee one were off visiting ...
Read More 
Prisoners Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
While I am very much a fan of horror, gore, violence, and bloody, anger-filled cinema, my wife is most certainly ...
Read More 
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
With some regularity we invite various people, usually university students, over to the house to watch films. Several of them ...
Read More 
Dead Like Me: The Complete Series Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
I really thought that the first week of December would find us with loads of great new releases. I really ...
Read More 
Breaking Bad: The Complete Series Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Who knew a show about an average, normal guy turned very, very bad (or as show creator/runner Vince Gilligan used ...
Read More 
The World’s End Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy is not so much a trilogy as it is three films made by the same ...
Read More 
Nosferatu (1922): Deluxe Remastered Edition Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
My transition from a kid who really liked going to the movies to a full-blown cineaste was long and slow. ...
Read More 
The Right Stuff: 30th Anniversary Edition Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Halloween has just ended. Thanksgiving is still weeks away. Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? The makers ...
Read More 
Monsters University Is the Pick of the Week
By Mat Brewster |
Pixar. Its name is associated with quality. The company almost single-handedly ushered in a new era of brilliant animation that ...
Read More 
The Vincent Price Collection Is the Pick of the Week
By Gordon S. Miller |
Aside from Christmas, I can't think of another holiday that guides people's viewing habits like Halloween. Horror movies become all ...
Read More
Recent Comments