Uncategorized

The Pirate Movie Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jul 2, 2012

I was recently reading an article about how It's a Wonderful Life would never have been a much beloved classic ...

Hinoshi Inagaki’s The Samurai Trilogy Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jun 25, 2012

Sometimes when I look at the new releases one blaring question comes straight to my mind: why haven't I watched ...

Lina Wertmuller Collection (Love & Anarchy, The Seduction of Mimi, All Screwed Up) is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jun 18, 2012

After my sophomore year in college I took some summer classes. Summer at this college was intensely boring as the ...

Harold and Maude Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jun 11, 2012

There are a few really interesting titles coming out this week, and I had a hard time deciding which one ...

Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jun 4, 2012

Whenever I hear people grumble about how bad television is these days, I just roll my eyes and mutter under ...

Summer Interlude and Summer With Monika Are the Picks of the Week

By Mat Brewster | May 28, 2012

I've barely made a dent in the 64 films that director Ingmar Bergman made in his lifetime, but the handful ...

Sherlock: Season Two Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | May 21, 2012

I have a very mixed relationship with Sherlock Holmes - I am both utterly fascinated with the character, and more ...

Being John Malkovich Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | May 14, 2012

I suppose it is fair to say that the majority of filmgoers primarily see films based on who is in ...

La Haine Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | May 7, 2012

My wife teaches French at university while I stay at home and raise our one-year-old daughter. It is an unconventional ...

George Harrison: Living in a Material World Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Apr 30, 2012

One of my dark, secret musical confessions is that I don't particularly like George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass. ...

The Organizer Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Apr 23, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I talked about how, in choosing each week's pick, I pretend someone gives me a ...

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Apr 16, 2012

Say what you will about Tom Cruise's personal life, his weird religion, or his lack of real acting chops, but ...

The Iron Lady Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Apr 9, 2012

I've been doing these Pick of the Week posts for awhile now and so I've developed a sort-of rule system ...

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Apr 2, 2012

Since nearly the moment she was born my daughter has loved Sesame Street. She's entranced by it. For the longest ...

David Lean Directs Noel Coward Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Mar 26, 2012

This week, the Criterion Collection is releasing a boxed set of four films written by playright Noel Coward and directed ...

The Muppets (2011) Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Mar 19, 2012

Like millions of other kids I grew up watching many of Jim Henson's creations including Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, ...

The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Mar 12, 2012

My wife is a nerdy Francophile - she adores everything French especially its arts. I didn't know it before we ...

Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Mar 5, 2012

I got about half-way through Game of Thrones when it first came out before tuning out. This was not long ...

Hugo Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Feb 27, 2012

I think I mentioned before in this series that I haven't seen very many films in the theatre this year. ...

J. Edgar Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Feb 20, 2012

There's an old Seinfeld joke where Jerry and George are talking about bringing a date to a party. Jerry insists ...

The Rum Diary Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Feb 13, 2012

For the last week my wife and I have both had terrifically terrible head colds. We create create quite the ...

Downton Abbey: Series Two Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Feb 6, 2012

In the first few weeks after my daughter was born my wife, my mother-in-law, and myself spent a great deal ...

By Mat Brewster | Jan 30, 2012

Years ago when I was just out of high school (or possibly just out of college - who can remember ...

U2: From the Sky Down Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jan 23, 2012

You know it is a heck of a week for movie releases when the top seller on Amazon is a ...

Belle de Jour Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jan 16, 2012

My wife is a Francophile, that is to say she is a great lover of all things French. She learned ...

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jan 9, 2012

I'm generally terribly behind on my TV watching. I am, what they call now, a cord cutter. I don't have ...

Justified: The Complete Second Season Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Jan 2, 2012

This first week of January has already picked up some steam from the dismal choices we had in the last ...

The Borgias: Season One Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Dec 26, 2011

If I was in charge of releasing movies each week I don't suspect I would put my big pictures out ...

Midnight in Paris Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Dec 19, 2011

My brother is four years older than me so when I was just a kid he was a lusty teenager ...

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Dec 12, 2011

If it isn't already distinctly clear from reading my weekly picks, let me state it directly now: I rarely get ...

By Mat Brewster | Dec 5, 2011

With Christmas right around the corner one would imagine the movie studios would be releasing a slew of awesome movies ...

By Mat Brewster | Nov 28, 2011

If it were up to Mat Brewster the regular guy, the non-writer, the man with the statuesque physique but ever ...

12 Angry Men Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Nov 14, 2011

There are several interesting films coming out on Blu-ray this week and it was hard to just pick one of ...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Nov 7, 2011

I came to the Harry Potter universe a little late. I didn't see the first movie until the fourth one ...

Cars Collector’s Edition Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 31, 2011

For the longest time it seemed that Pixar could do no wrong. Over the last 16 years they have consistently ...

Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 24, 2011

I'm not entirely sure I've ever seen a Laurel and Hardy film. In fact, the only Laurel and Hardy anything ...

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 40th Anniversary Edition Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 17, 2011

Roald Dahl wrote children's books that are full of dark, sardonic humor, mean and nasty villains, and a complete lack ...

The Tree of Life Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 10, 2011

Terrence Malick has only directed five feature films in his nearly 40-year career. I'd say he lacked ambition except that ...

Ken Burns’ Prohibition Is the Pick of the Week

By Mat Brewster | Oct 3, 2011

It is a great big week for Blu-ray releases, but I've got to give the edge to a regular DVD ...