Men at Work Blu-ray Review: Put Away the Vegemite. It’s Not the Band from a Land Down Under
By Joe Garcia III |
From writer-director Emilio Estevez comes Men at Work (1990), a misguided way to get him and his brother Charlie Sheen ...
Read More Violent Night Blu-ray Review: Can’t Say They Didn’t Warn You
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director Tommy Wirkola's Violent Night opens with Santa (David Harbour) having grown disillusioned with his job, bringing to mind Rankin/Bass' ...
Read More Bones and All Blu-ray Review: A Heartbreaking and Accomplished Tale of Young Love
By Davy |
There are some films that only come once in a lifetime; films that seem to come from an otherworldly stratosphere; ...
Read More The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Wondrous Story about a Wondrous Storyteller by a Wondrous Filmmaker
By Gordon S. Miller |
Co-writer/director Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen has the distinction of being the sixth Gilliam-directed title (#1166) released by ...
Read More Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power Blu-ray Review: A Look at How Things Look
By Davy |
The male gaze in film has been problematic since the silent age. Sometimes directors (mostly male) unintentionally objectify women on ...
Read More Invaders from Mars (1953) Blu-ray Review: A Standout in the ’50s Sci-fi Genre
By Gordon S. Miller |
William Cameron Menzies's penultimate movie as director, Invaders from Mars (1953), tells the story of an alien invasion seen through ...
Read More Black Adam Blu-ray Review: Legend, Vengeance, and the Kahndaqian Way
By Gordon S. Miller |
Black Adam is the 11th film in the DC Extended Universe franchise.The character first appeared in rival Fawcett Comics' Marvel ...
Read More El Vampiro Negro (1953) Blu-ray Review: An Argentinian “M”
By Kent Conrad |
Film noir as a genre is rather over-subscribed. It existed for a relatively brief period in the ‘40s and ‘50s ...
Read More Cinema’s First Nasty Women Blu-ray Set Review: Thoughtfully Highlights Unknown Performers from Different Walks of Life
By Davy |
When Donald Trump called opponent Hilary Clinton a "nasty woman" at a 2016 televised debate, the term came back to ...
Read More Twilight (1998) Blu-ray Review: Mystery and Noir Fans Should Enjoy It
By Gordon S. Miller |
After adapting Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool (1994), starring Paul Newman, its screenwriter/director Robert Benton teamed with Russo to write the ...
Read More Halloween Ends Blu-ray Review: Rights Many of the Wrongs Committed by Halloween Kills
By Davy |
2018's Halloween was basic but effective because it erased the bad taste left by many of the original franchise's questionable ...
Read More Nobody’s Fool Blu-ray Review: At the Center of the Film’s Charm Is Paul Newman’s Performance
By Mat Brewster |
It takes a lot of confidence to make a movie in which nothing really happens. It does help to have ...
Read More The Girl on a Motorcycle Blu-ray Review: Spins Its Stylish Wheels
By Steve Geise |
This 1968 UK/France co-production boasts star turns from Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull in their prime, automatically making it an ...
Read More Maigret (1960): Season 1 Blu-ray Review: Scores Big for Solid Entertainment Value
By Mat Brewster |
Maigret, the French detective created by Belgian writer Georges Simenon, is one of my all-time fictional detectives. Second only, perhaps, ...
Read More Cooley High Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Coming-of-Age Gem Authentically Told from a Black Perspective
By Davy |
Usually, when you think of Black-oriented films from the 1970s, you mind automatically gears toward the Blaxploitation genre, which usually ...
Read More South Park: Post Covid Blu-ray Review: An Entertaining Mix of Goofy and Serious
By Gordon S. Miller |
The South Park: Post Covid Blu-ray presents two extended episodes that debuted on Paramount+ in the Fall of 2021: “Post ...
Read More The Woman King Blu-ray Review: Delivers a Mighty Roar
By David Wangberg |
When the majority of PG-13-rated action films being released today have a Marvel or DC label attached to them, one ...
Read More Walk Proud Blu-ray Review: A Gang Epic, It’s Not. Cult Classic? Maybe…
By Joe Garcia III |
From its tagline “He was tough enough for the streets…was he tough enough to leave them?” Walk Proud (1979) starring ...
Read More 5-25-77 Blu-ray Review: A Long Time Ago in a Town Far, Far Away
By Steve Geise |
For sci-fi starved ‘70s youth, the arrival of Star Wars was a watershed moment forever etched in our collective memories. ...
Read More Blood & Diamonds Blu-ray Review: Dull & Boring
By Mat Brewster |
Our man Guido (Claudio Cassinelli) can't catch a break. Someone snitches on him and his partner Marco (Carmelo Reale) during ...
Read More The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Review: A Long Night’s Journey into the Soul
By Mat Brewster |
They say Tennessee Williams was none too pleased with John Huston's adaptation of his play The Night of the Iguana. ...
Read More Alma’s Rainbow Blu-ray Review: A Reason Why Diverse Storytelling Is Essential
By Davy |
I have seen so many films about the coming-of age experience and the complications of being young in an increasingly ...
Read More Attack of the 50 Foot Woman Blu-ray Review: Maybe If She Were a Little Taller This Would Be Good
By Mat Brewster |
The 1950s were an incredibly fertile period for science fiction at the cinema. The invention of the atomic bomb and ...
Read More Entre Nous Blu-ray Review: Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves
By Steve Geise |
Writer/director Diane Kurys borrowed from her own family history to craft this story about two women finding their way in ...
Read More Hold Me Tight Blu-ray Review: An Engrossing Multi-character Piece
By Davy |
When I first saw Vicky Krieps in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread, really holding her own against the likes of ...
Read More Contraband (1980) Blu-ray Review: Explosively Violent Crime Action
By Kent Conrad |
Contraband comes in like a cool stylish Italian crime thriller and goes out like a Lucio Fulci gore fest. Being ...
Read More Three Thousand Years of Longing Blu-ray Review: George Miller’s Genie
By Steve Geise |
Writer/director George Miller enables his whimsical side in between Mad Max movies in this modern riff on the Aladdin myth. ...
Read More The Nun and the Devil Blu-ray Review: Which Mother Will Prove Superior?
By Kent Conrad |
Despite the title, the Devil does not make a physical appearance in the Italian The Nun and The Devil (1973). ...
Read More Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman Collection Blu-ray Review: Essential Viewing
By Davy |
As I may have mentioned in previous reviews, documentaries (more than anything in film) have the power to move, enrage, ...
Read More Make Way for Tomorrow Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Children Just Don’t Understand
By Gordon S. Miller |
Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said, “Hell is other people.” That’s hard to disagree with, especially after seeing the way the ...
Read More The Kindred (1987) Blu-ray Review: Practical Effects, Impractical Storytelling
By Kent Conrad |
The difference between bad practical effects and bad CG is that bad practical still look like effort. Bad CG looks ...
Read More Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Review: Reunited, and It Feels So Good
By Gordon S. Miller |
Fifteen years after Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever, the 11th season of the series, concluded, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is ...
Read More Stargirl: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful Continuation of the Series
By Gordon S. Miller |
The second season of Stargirl is subtitled “Summer School,” which Courtney (Brec Bassinger) has to enroll in because she is ...
Read More E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: An All-time Classic
By Davy |
What else can one say about E.T., the unfortunately fictional but lovable alien, who whisked his way into our hearts ...
Read More Lost Highway Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Twist
By Gordon S. Miller |
The opening credits of Lost Highway are a POV from a car racing down a darkened highway, its headlights the ...
Read More E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Blu-ray Review: ’80s Friendly Alien Invasion
By Kent Conrad |
E.T. is Jaws inverted. They both involve invasions of small communities by an alien entity. In one, the invasion disrupts ...
Read More Private Desert Blu-ray Review: Troubled Characters Seek Their Oasis
By Steve Geise |
Daniel is in a rut. As a disgraced macho cop with anger management issues, he spends his days in Brazil ...
Read More Beast (2022) Blu-ray Review: A Fun, Albeit Familiar, Adventure
By Gordon S. Miller |
Baltasar Kormákur's Beast and his visual effects team present thrills in this conventional man-versus-animal story set among the South African ...
Read More Satan’s Little Helper Blu-ray Review: Ripe for Discovery
By Davy |
As a fan of horror flicks, I like many of them (even the lowest tier ones), and celebrated cult director ...
Read More The Bat Blu-ray Review: Has a Certain Campy Charm
By Davy |
I do like good murder mysteries, but only if they're done well. They have to have solid scripts, well-written characters ...
Read More The Count Yorga Collection Blu-ray Review: Vampire Wreaks Havoc in California! Read All About It!
By Joe Garcia III |
From Arrow Video comes Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1972), cult classics and drive-in delights, ...
Read More The Flash (2014): The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray Review: Starting to Wear Thin
By Mat Brewster |
The Arrowverse is dead. Well, almost. What began with a single show, Arrow in 2012, quickly grew and grew until ...
Read More Blind Fury (1989) Blu-ray Review: ’80s Action Meets Japan Pulp
By Kent Conrad |
Eighties action was more fun. The special effects were often primitive. The martial arts was less fluid, the camera work ...
Read More Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons Blu-ray Review: The Super Odd Couple Unites for the First Time
By Gordon S. Miller |
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is a standalone film in the DC Animated Movie franchise. The titular ...
Read More Carmen (2022) Blu-ray Review: Welcome to Malta
By Steve Geise |
When a lifelong servant of the church finds herself out on the street, she’s faced with an uncertain future that ...
Read More Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) Blu-ray Review: Fredric March Is Quite Wonderful in the Dual Role
By Mat Brewster |
When I asked to review this film, Cinema Sentries publisher Gordon S. Miller, remembering that I had just reviewed the ...
Read More Tropic Thunder Director’s Cut (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Comedy Pedigree That Guarantees Laughter
By Rons Reviews |
Starring co-writer and director Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Cruise in a rare comedic role, Tropic ...
Read More Happy Birthday to Me (1981) Blu-ray Review: Canuxploitation Slasher Slog
By Kent Conrad |
Post Halloween, the slasher was the go-to low budget money maker. The formula is so simple (young people, bloody death, ...
Read More Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema X Blu-ray Review: In This Corner…Tony Curtis
By Mat Brewster |
Boxing. The sweet science. Gladiators of the ring. Raging war in a small square. Two men bashing their brains out ...
Read More Bullet Train Blu-ray Review: Snakes on a Train
By Steve Geise |
Stuntman-turned-director David Leitch (Deadpool 2) helms this crime caper featuring a colorful collection of scheming assassins gathered on a bullet ...
Read More Adventure Time: Distant Lands Blu-ray: The Saga Continues
By Gordon S. Miller |
Adventure Time ran on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2018. It presented the adventures of a human boy named Finn ...
Read More Island of the Blue Dolphins Blu-ray Review: An Enjoyable Story to Watch Unfold
By Rons Reviews |
Most of us have movies that we watched repeatedly as children. I recall my sister and I watching Island of ...
Read More I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing Blu-ray Review: A Prime Example of the Immediacy and Importance of Films by Women
By Davy |
As a constant daydreamer who also happens to be a member of the queer/LGBTQ community, I totally related to Patricia ...
Read More Eyes of Laura Mars (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Artful Trash
By Mat Brewster |
There has been a lot of Internet chatter over the last couple of years about the death of eroticism in ...
Read More Going Places Blu-ray Review: Traveling Nowhere, Reaching Enlightenment
By Steve Geise |
The title of this 1974 French film is somewhat ironic, considering the rudderless path of its twenty-something drifter characters. Co-written ...
Read More Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror Blu-ray Review
By Mat Brewster |
Creaky old castles up on a hill. Dark stormy nights. Strange noises. Beautiful maidens in flowing white gowns. Repressed desires. ...
Read More Mark of the Vampire Blu-ray Review: A Horror Film Until It Isn’t
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire (1935) is a remake of his silent film London After Midnight (1927), which ...
Read More Mayor of Kingstown: Season One Blu-ray Review: Deserving of a Recall Election
By David Wangberg |
There was a time when Taylor Sheridan was the hot, up-and-coming filmmaker whose work I consistently sought. The first Sicario ...
Read More Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IX Blu-ray Review: A Trio of Amateur Sleuths
By Mat Brewster |
I've been waist-deep in horror movies for the last couple of weeks, it being October and all, but I'm already ...
Read More Siege (1983) Blu-ray Review: One Very Tense and Mostly Unpredictable Action Thriller
By Davy |
Being a gay man myself, I am still terrified to live a world where most people continue to deny the ...
Read More DC League of Super-Pets Blu-ray Review: Sit and Stay for This One
By David Wangberg |
Usually known for being much darker and more adult than its cinematic competitor Marvel, DC films will, on the very ...
Read More The Chocolate War Blu-ray Review: Aims a Rather Sharp Eye on the Weird Rituals of Toxic Male Youth
By Davy |
I've always liked actor-director Keith Gordon. I feel that he remains a very underrated and unique figure of film. He ...
Read More A Fugitive from the Past Blu-ray Review: An Epic from the Past Finally Reaches USA
By Steve Geise |
Director Tomu Uchida’s sprawling 1965 crime drama has finally arrived on home video for the first time outside of Japan. ...
Read More The House of the Lost on the Cape Blu-ray Review: House of Lost Time
By Steve Geise |
Two girls and their elder move into a remote country home and set about cleaning it up for their residence. ...
Read More ELVIS (2022) Blu-ray Review: That Film’s All Right
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director/co-writer Baz Luhrmann tells the story of Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks, who makes an odd, slightly distracting vocal choice) ...
Read More South: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition Blu-ray Review
By Steve Geise |
It’s hard to imagine the trials and tribulations that must have befallen Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to reach the South Pole ...
Read More Rain 90th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: Luminous Joan Crawford Drives the Clouds Away
By Steve Geise |
When a massive monsoon wallops the tiny South Pacific location of Pago Pago, it traps an assortment of colorful travelers ...
Read More Le Corbeau Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Poison Pen French Noir
By Kent Conrad |
France has always been one of the centers of cinema in the world. After all, the Lumiere brothers rivaled Edison ...
Read More Karmalink Blu-ray Review: Dreams of Treasure and Past Lives
By Steve Geise |
When a teenage boy starts having dreams about his past lives, he discovers that he may have the key to ...
Read More Batman: The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition Blu-ray Review: Happy Holiday, Batman!
By Joe Garcia III |
Batman battles mob bosses, a mysterious serial killer and a few super villains as he learns how to be a ...
Read More The Amusement Park Blu-ray Review: Romero’s Most Imaginative and Bleakest Film
By Davy |
George A. Romero, one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the medium, like Wes Craven, didn't make straightforward ...
Read More If…. Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: If Only It Had a Plot
By Steve Geise |
This 1969 UK film has exactly one notable claim to fame: Malcolm McDowell’s first star turn in a film just ...
Read More Kamikaze Hearts Blu-ray Review: A Gritty Deep Dive into the Porn Industry
By Davy |
There are so many facets to the queer film, not just a showcase of bodies. Most people (definitely conservatives) think ...
Read More Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Review: More Than Just Goofy Teens Getting Whacked
By Joe Garcia III |
Massacre at Central High (1976), starring Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens (son of Stella Stevens), Kimberly Beck, Robert Carradine, and Cheryl ...
Read More Death Game Blu-ray Review: Delightfully Unhinged and Truly Unpredictable
By Davy |
The 1970s was perhaps the best decade for horror flicks and suspense thrillers. There's always going to be a discussion ...
Read More The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De La Cruz Blu-ray Review: Archie’s Got Murder in His Mind
By Joe Garcia III |
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De La Cruz (Ensayo De Un Crimen) (1955) shot in Mexico and filmed in Spanish ...
Read More Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Review: A Tender Story of a Woman’s Awakening
By Davy |
As an invalid and kind of recluse who is trapped in the same existence, the same room, the same house, ...
Read More Hiroshima mon amour Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Rich and Rewarding Film
By Mat Brewster |
Expectations are a difficult thing to overcome while watching a film. Especially if said film is considered to be one ...
Read More Facing Nolan Blu-ray Review: All Baseball Fans Should Face Ryan’s Story
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director Bradley Jackson's Facing Nolan details the career of first-ballot National Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan whose accomplishments over ...
Read More Hotel du Nord Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Somber French Realist Classic
By Davy |
I was not always familiar with legendary filmmaker Marcel Carne's work, such as 1938's Port of Shadows, or his 1945 ...
Read More Running out of Time/Running out of Time 2 Blu-ray Review: One Part Great, One Part Unnecessary
By David Wangberg |
It’s always great when a boutique studio like Arrow or Criterion releases a set of films in the same series ...
Read More The Brink’s Job Blu-ray Review: William Friedkin’s Heist Film
By Joe Garcia III |
Directed by William Friedkin, The Brink’s Job (1978) depicts fictionalized events surrounding one of the “crime(s) of the century.” From ...
Read More Ferngully: The Last Rainforest 30th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: A Magical yet Rigid Journey
By David Wangberg |
When revisiting a movie from your childhood, it’s always best to go in with an open mind and the expectation ...
Read More Coming Apart Blu-ray Review: A Realistically Troubling Portrait of Our Deepest, Darkest Impulses
By Davy |
I have seen some pretty bold films about the nature of male-to-female relationships, but only a few of them ever ...
Read More The Burned Barns Blu-ray Review: Two Titans of French Cinema Spar
By Mat Brewster |
In a series of interviews with the crew of The Burned Barns (1973) that is included in the new Blu-ray ...
Read More Force 10 From Navarone Blu-ray Review: A Sequel 18 Years in the Making
By Joe Garcia III |
Force 10 From Navarone (1978) is the direct sequel to The Guns Of Navarone made in 1961. Recast with Robert ...
Read More Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Review: An Early Sci-fi Gem
By Darcy Staniforth |
In a time of incredible special effects and science fiction becoming more reality than fiction, it can be difficult for ...
Read More Back to the Beach Blu-ray Review: Fun, Playful, and an Enjoyable Watch
By Darcy Staniforth |
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello were some of the earliest teen idols. And as the 1980s gave rise to cable television ...
Read More Neptune Frost Blu-ray Review: The Revolution Will Be Televised
By Steve Geise |
This feature film from recording artist Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman is undeniably ambitious, boasting an enticing amalgamation of Afrofuturist ...
Read More South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season Blu-ray Review: COVID Comes to Town
By Gordon S. Miller |
South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season is comprised of two extended episodes, which aired on Comedy Central. Trey Parker and ...
Read More Salt and Pepper / One More Time Blu-ray Review: Stay Away from the Spice Rack
By Rons Reviews |
Ten years before legendary director Richard Donner would bring the Lethal Weapon team to the big screen, he would make ...
Read More Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Review: James Cagney Plays Lon Chaney
By Joe Garcia III |
Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) from Universal International tells the tale of silent film star Lon Chaney, from vaudeville ...
Read More The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Review: Cows Udders End the World
By Kent Conrad |
When three Estonian kids are left in the country to spend the summer with their dairy farming grandpa, they expect ...
Read More The Thin Man Goes Home Blu-ray Review: Bring This Comic Mystery to Your Home
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna ...
Read More Terror Circus Blu-ray Review: Far More Disturbing Than Terrifying
By Rons Reviews |
I’ve seen a lot of good B movies. This may be the first C movie I’ve seen, and though director ...
Read More Flying Guillotine Part II Blu-ray Review: Double the Guillotine, Double the Fun
By Mat Brewster |
In 1975, Shaw Brothers Studio released The Flying Guillotine. It is about an elite group of guards to the emperor ...
Read More Wild Rovers Blu-ray Review: William Holden and Ryan O’Neal Ride into the Sunset
By Joe Garcia III |
Wild Rovers (1971) starring William Holden, Ryan O’Neal and Karl Malden is a playful yet somber look at the lives ...
Read More Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Review: An Action-packed, Enjoyable Adventure for John Stewart’s First Outing
By Gordon S. Miller |
Green Lantern: Beware My Power re-tells how John Stewart became the Green Lantern amidst a larger Justice League story. It ...
Read More Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo Blu-ray Review: A Made-for-TV Dud
By Rons Reviews |
This review is full of references that may be considered spoilers. Ultimately, there is nothing I can write that would ...
Read More Miami Blues Blu-ray Review: A Pastel Sleeper
By Jack Cormack |
Based on the great Charles Willeford novel, Miami Blues (1990; dir. George Armitage) is a darkly comedic neo-noir. It sports ...
Read More Edge of Sanity Blu-ray Review: Anthony Perkins as Dr. Jekyll and Jack ‘The Ripper’ Hyde
By Joe Garcia III |
Edge of Sanity (1988), starring Anthony Perkins and directed by Gérard Kikoïne, is a very 1980s take on Dr. Jekyll, ...
Read More Night Gallery: Season Two Blu-ray Review: The Gallery Expands
By Steve Geise |
If you started your Night Gallery Blu-ray collection with the Season One set (as I reviewed here), the first thing ...
Read More Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen Blu-ray Review: An Absolute Delight All the Way Through
By Davy |
I have seen lots of documentaries about the making of cherished films, but only a few of them really impressed ...
Read More Taza, Son of Cochise Blu-ray Review: Rock Hudson as an Apache Chief
By Joe Garcia III |
Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) is the highly fictionalized story of the Apache chief who takes over after his father’s ...
Read More DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Seventh and Final Season Blu-ray Review
By Mat Brewster |
DC's Legends of Tomorrow is a show that learned to break out of its genre's conventions and embrace the inherent ...
Read More Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Review: Sexy, Funny, and Highly Entertaining
By Davy |
Brazilian cinema isn't always on my radar, but when I actually see a Brazilian film, I realize that there is ...
Read More Planet of the Vampires Blu-ray Review: A Low Budget Masterpiece
By Mat Brewster |
Mario Bava's work as a special effects designer and cinematographer before he became a director is apparent in all the ...
Read More Giallo Essentials [Black Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Back in Black
By Steve Geise |
Arrow Video is back with their third limited-edition box set exploring three lesser-known giallo films from the early 1970s. In ...
Read More The Righteous Blu-ray Review: An Audacious First Film
By Mat Brewster |
A married couple grieving for their lost daughter. A stranger at the door asking for help. Then asking for something ...
Read More The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Review: A Rabbi and a Bank Robber Ride West
By Joe Garcia III |
A Rabbi and a bank robber board a train… that’s where things get really wacky in director Robert Aldrich’s The ...
Read More The Sacred Spirit Blu-ray Review: Mostly yet Unsuccessfully Weird
By Davy |
Sometimes I do admire a slow-burn film, but only when it's done right. It has to have enough style, characterization, ...
Read More Devil in a Blue Dress Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Denzel Washington Makes Solving Mysteries Look Easy
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on Walter Mosley's 1990 novel of the same name, Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress is an engaging ...
Read More Martial Club Blu-ray Review: Come for the Action, Stay for the Moral Lessons
By Mat Brewster |
The more Shaw Brothers kung fu movies I watch the more I get into their grooves and understand their tropes. ...
Read More Desperate Hours Blu-ray Review: Hostage Thriller Boils Over
By Kent Conrad |
Desperate Hours is based on a classic thriller scenario: a family held hostage in their own home by a criminal. ...
Read More Hell High Blu-ray Review: Watching It Is Pure Hell
By Mat Brewster |
The slasher subgenre of horror was in serious decline in 1989. Audiences, even the very forgiving horror hounds, had grown ...
Read More Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VIII Blu-ray Review
By Mat Brewster |
The thing about film noir is that it is a genre without definition. Unlike something like westerns or science-fiction, genres ...
Read More The Adventures of Don Juan (1948) Blu-ray Review: Come in with Flynn
By Mat Brewster |
One of the great joys of becoming a classic film enthusiast is discovering an actor or actress and then immediately ...
Read More Boomerang (1992) Blu-ray Review: A Hilarious Film That Is Still Challenging Stereotypes
By Darcy Staniforth |
I remember seeing Boomerang in theaters when it first came out. I have seen it many times since and still ...
Read More Hero (1997) Blu-ray Review: The Heroic Return of Shaw Brothers
By Steve Geise |
This classic Hong Kong action movie has two big draws for me: a star turn by Takeshi Kaneshiro and direction ...
Read More The Brain from Planet Arous Blu-ray Review: It’s Kind of Fun
By Rons Reviews |
The wait is finally over! The Brain from Plant Arous has been released! Yes, on June 21st Film Detective released ...
Read More Downton Abbey: A New Era Blu-ray Review: A Wedding and a Funeral and More
By Gordon S. Miller |
Time marches on for the beloved characters of Downton Abbey as their second appearance on the silver screen delivers a ...
Read More Strawberry Mansion Blu-ray Review: Seek Out This Surrealistic, Genre-blending Film
By Gordon S. Miller |
Directed and written by Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley, Strawberry Mansion is a surrealistic, genre-blending story that takes viewers on ...
Read More Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Review: Proto Totoro Anime Film
By Kent Conrad |
In my estimation, Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro is one of the greatest films ever made. It's an almost perfect fantasy ...
Read More True Romance Blu-ray Review: Entertaining, Relentless, and Fearless
By Davy |
I wouldn't exactly call the 1990s the greatest decade, but I will say that the movies that came out of ...
Read More Fire in the Sky Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Story
By Darcy Staniforth |
Even with news of UFOs and UAPs in the pages of The New York Times and in the halls of ...
Read More Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Blu-ray Review: It’s No Secret, This Movie Stinks
By David Wangberg |
If David Yates and J.K. Rowling are serious about their plan to make the Fantastic Beasts series into five movies, ...
Read More One-Armed Boxer Blu-ray Review: Delivers a Nuttiness Desired in An Old Kung Fu Movie
By Mat Brewster |
A man walks into a bar and notices another man sitting at his table. He tells the man that he ...
Read More The Worst Person in the World Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Breathtakingly Honest
By Davy |
Seeing The Worst Person in the World, filmmaker Joachim Trier's breathtakingly honest and so in-the-moment take on relationships and finding ...
Read More The Beatles and India: An Enduring Love Affair Blu-ray Review
By Shawn Bourdo |
This new feature-length documentary directed by Ajoy Bose was released June 21, 2022 by MVD Visual on DVD and Blu-ray. ...
Read More Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) Blu-ray Review: Well Worth Watching to See Spencer Tracy Play Against Type
By Mat Brewster |
Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was originally sold as a penny dreadful and ...
Read More The Initiation of Sarah Blu-ray Review: A Made-for-TV Carrie Rip-Off
By Mat Brewster |
In 1976, Brian De Palma released the supernatural horror movie, Carrie. Based upon Stephen King's first published novel of the ...
Read More The Clock Blu-ray Review: Judy Garland’s Time
By Steve Geise |
By 1945, 23-year-old Judy Garland was already a screen veteran with 20 leading roles to her credit. She was also ...
Read More Grease 2 (40th Anniversary) Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Back to Rydell High School Again
By Lorna Miller |
It is hard to believe that Grease 2 came out 40 years. Released four years after the massive hit Grease, ...
Read More Children Who Chase Lost Voices Blu-ray Review: Fantasy Adventure about Loss
By Kent Conrad |
Asuna is a happy girl. She's lucky to be happy since she spends so much of her time on her ...
Read More 5 Centimeters Per Second Blu-ray Review: A Story about Distance
By Kent Conrad |
The title refers to the speed at which cherry blossoms fall to the earth. It is practically the first line ...
Read More The Place Promised in Our Early Days Blu-ray Review: Sci-Fi Sentimental Teenage Drama
By Kent Conrad |
The Place Promised in our Early Days is set on an alternative Earth on the brink of war. Some part ...
Read More Breaking In (1989) Blu-ray Review: Burt Reynolds Performance is the Film’s Strong Point
By Gordon S. Miller |
Written by John Sayles and directed by Bill Forsyth, Breaking In is a buddy picture set in Portland, Oregon. The ...
Read More Kinky Boots Blu-ray Review: A Refreshing and Much-Needed Story about LGBTQ from the Working-Class Perspective
By Davy |
I have to admit, I find that some LGBTQ films are mostly about sex and attractive people having it constantly. ...
Read More The Batman (2022) Blu-ray Review: Matt Reeves Delivers a Fresh Take on the Franchise with a Noiresque Detective Story
By Gordon S. Miller |
As mentioned in my review of the film, “Matt Reeves’s The Batman reboots the franchise and takes the audience back ...
Read More Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse Blu-ray Review: Intentionally Misleading, but Still Enjoyable
By Todd Karella |
The animated television show Teen Titans Go! is normally a short 15-minute episode event, but it has had a few ...
Read More Poupelle of Chimney Town Blu-ray Review: A Whole New World
By Steve Geise |
Following a brief U.S. theatrical run, this charming new anime is now making its way to home video. The story ...
Read More The Red Shoes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: 15 Minutes in Heaven
By Steve Geise |
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s classic 1948 film treads a well-worn path of backstage drama at a stage production, but ...
Read More Trekkies: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review: It’s Logical to Them
By Gordon S. Miller |
Released in 1997, Trekkies is a documentary about Star Trek fandom, particularly as it was in the mid-'90s when the ...
Read More Mississippi Masala Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mira Nair’s Beguiling Sophomore Film
By Davy |
Films about star-crossed lovers has been old as time itself, but we arguably don't get those about interracial or intercontinental ...
Read More Rogue Cops and Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers by Enzo G. Castellari Blu-ray Review: Quintessential Italian Crime Dramas
By Mat Brewster |
God bless Italian filmmakers. They were consistently making great films in an astonishing array of genres for a good three ...
Read More The Carey Treatment Blu-ray Review: A Bland Dose
By Jack Cormack |
The Carey Treatment (1972; dir. Blake Edwards) is an obscurity that should stay one. It’s blander than bland. Based on ...
Read More The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 4K UHD Review: End of the Classic Western
By Kent Conrad |
The ubiquity of the popularity of the Western is a cultural phenomenon that is hard to fathom. It wasn't just ...
Read More Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Review: Another Slasher Movie Where Kids Will Be Kids
By Davy |
I've seen many slasher flicks, especially those from '80s. I was really impressed by some of them, while others totally ...
Read More Uncharted Blu-ray Review: Charted in the Video Games
By Steve Geise |
As I watched the thrilling mid-air action scene that opens Uncharted, I realized that it seemed familiar to me. That’s ...
Read More Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection Blu-ray Review: The Good, the Bad, the Painful
By Rons Reviews |
Being intrigued by the titles in this collection, and the fact that I had not heard of the three Science ...
Read More Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Review: A Cosmic Groundhog Day
By Gordon S. Miller |
The DC Showcase Animated Shorts release Constantine: The House of Mystery is similar to the franchise's Batman: Death in the ...
Read More Singin’ in the Rain 4K UHD Review: A Pure Joy
By Jack Cormack |
Chances are, you’ve seen Singin’ in the Rain. You already know how good it is. (If you’ve not seen it, ...
Read More Twisting the Knife: Four Films by Claude Chabrol Blu-ray Box Set Review
By Steve Geise |
Following quickly on the heels of Arrow Video’s five-film Chabrol box set, this second box set is smaller but contains ...
Read More V/H/S 94 Blu-ray Review: A Rather Mixed Bag
By Davy |
As much as I'm into horror, I have to admit that found footage isn't usually my go-to in the genre. ...
Read More ‘Round Midnight Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Perhaps the Greatest and Most Compelling Jazz Film Ever Made
By Davy |
The late, great Bertrand Tavernier wasn't just a highly influential film critic, he was also an incredible filmmaker with vast ...
Read More The Last Waltz Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And All the People Were Singin’
By Gordon S. Miller |
After years playing together as the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins and then Bob Dylan, the quintent of Rick Danko ...
Read More Man’s Favorite Sport? Blu-ray Review: Rock Out of Water
By Steve Geise |
Rock Hudson stars in this romantic comedy about the author of a well-known fishing guidebook who has never actually fished, ...
Read More Screams of a Winter Night Blu-ray Review: Has a Certain Charm
By Davy |
I may be in the majority here, but I liked James L. Wilson's 1979 anthology film (and sole directorial effort) ...
Read More Parallel Mothers Blu-ray Review: Penelope Cruz Delivers Another Luminous Performance
By Davy |
Spanish filmmaker and living film legend Pedro Almodovar continues to be an immaculate cinematic storyteller and fantastic director of women. ...
Read More Jockey Blu-ray Review: Clifton Collins Jr. Is Simply Marvelous
By Davy |
Clifton Collins Jr. has long been an often overlooked and understated character actor working since the early '90s, but his ...
Read More Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-5 Blu-ray Review: One Pickle, Two Crows, and a Multiverse of Mirth
By Steve Geise |
Rick and Morty is the rarest of TV phenomena: a series so popular that the studio keeps releasing “complete” series ...
Read More Starflight One Blu-ray Review: Takes a Lot of Cheese into Space
By Rons Reviews |
Yes, Starflight One, which was originally called Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land when it premiered as an ABC Sunday ...
Read More The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-Ray Review: One of the Greatest Kung Fu Movies Ever
By Mat Brewster |
I don't know why but there seems to be a great influx of kung fu movies coming to Blu-ray of ...
Read More Eastern Promises (2007) Blu-ray Review: The Fellowship of the Mafia Ring
By David Wangberg |
For most people, Viggo Mortensen’s star power was recognized after his performance as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings ...
Read More To Sleep So as to Dream Blu-ray Review: Ode to Silent Japanese Cinema
By Kent Conrad |
What an odd film. To Sleep So as to Dream (1986), the directorial debut of Kaizo Hayashi is many things. ...
Read More Blue Skies Blu-ray Review: Holiday Inn Revisited
By Steve Geise |
While most musicals would be lucky to have one of the three powerhouses featured in Blue Skies, this film suffers ...
Read More Ordinary People Blu-ray Review: The Puzzle of Life Isn’t Always Complete
By Davy |
Whether Ordinary People deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture over Raging Bull or whether you think it's better ...
Read More Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Review: The Bloody Ballad of Golden Swallow
By Jack Cormack |
Director King Hu’s Come Drink with Me (1966; 95 min) remains fresh after all these years. Produced by Run Run ...
Read More Night Shift (1982) Blu-ray Review: Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy but Comedy Is for This Cast
By Gordon S. Miller |
Night Shift is a notable comedy because of the folks involved. Owing a great deal to their meeting through Happy ...
Read More Monkey Kung Fu & Shaolin Mantis Blu-rays Review: For Those Who Like Animals with Their Kung Fu
By Mat Brewster |
88 Films continues their monthly tradition of releasing excellent versions of classic (and not so classic) Shaw Brothers kung fu ...
Read More All My Sons (1948) Blu-ray Review: Greed Is Not Good
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on Arthur Miller's 1947 play of the same name, which was inspired by a true story, All My Sons ...
Read More Nightmare (1964) Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: A Hidden Gem
By Davy |
When you think of Hammer Films, their versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and even Van Helsing automatically come to ...
Read More Hester Street Blu-ray Review: Joan Micklin Silver’s Beguiling 1975 Masterpiece
By Davy |
There have been so many films about immigrants trying to make a new life in America. Some of them immediately ...
Read More Evil Eye plus The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) Blu-ray Review: Slick in Italian, Murky in American
By Kent Conrad |
Nora has a very bad first night in Italy. The relative she is visiting dies of a heart attack right ...
Read More Village of the Giants Blu-ray Review: Brain Candy
By Rons Reviews |
Could there actually be a film out there that combines the Beach Blanket films and sci-fi films of the '60s ...
Read More The Three Musketeers (1948) Blu-ray Review: Night of 100 Stars
By Steve Geise |
MGM’s 1948 version of this classic tale is full of stars but short on clear direction. The first act plays ...
Read More House of Gucci Blu-ray Review: A Tale of Greed, Ego, and Betrayal
By generaljabbo |
For more than a century, the Gucci name has been synonymous with high-end fashion, luxury, and wealth. Founded by Guccio ...
Read More C.H.O.M.P.S. Blu-ray Review: It’s a Dog!
By Rons Reviews |
A movie from the '70s (1979) about a robot dog starring Valerie Bertinelli, Wesley Eure, Conrad Bain, Red Buttons, Jim ...
Read More Repeat Performance Blu-ray Review: A Curiosity More Than Anything
By Davy |
All film noirs are not created equal. This means that a lot of them completely miss the boat. For every ...
Read More The Flag of Iron & Legendary Weapons of China Blu-ray Review: Two Classics from Shaw Brothers Studios
By Mat Brewster |
Last month in my review of Disciples of Shaolin, I noted how much I loved old kung fu movies as ...
Read More Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful and Highly Gorgeous Work of Art
By Davy |
Life can be merciless, full of unpredictable twist and turns, as well as tragedy and sudden events that can turn ...
Read More La Dolce Vita Blu-ray Review: The High Cost of Fancy Living
By David Wangberg |
Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita clocks in at nearly three hours, the usual length of some big-budgeted epics that would ...
Read More Gold Diggers of 1933 Blu-ray Review: It’s Perfect
By Davy |
The Depression was and still remains one of the most devastating events in American history. So many people were unemployed, ...
Read More The Capture (1950) Blu-ray Review: Complex Modern Western Crime Narrative
By Kent Conrad |
Lin Vanner (Lew Ayres), the protagonist of The Capture (1950), accidentally shoots an unarmed man. He believes the man is ...
Read More Journey to Shiloh Blu-ray Review: Too Many Questions and Questionable Motivations
By Rons Reviews |
Clearly trying to ride on the success of The Magnificent Seven and The Return of the Seven, Journey to Shiloh, ...
Read More 12 Angry Men (1997) Blu-ray Review: One Terrific Movie
By David Wangberg |
While Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of Reginald Rose’s 12 Angry Men is a film that is 100 percent perfect and doesn’t ...
Read More Rich and Strange Blu-ray Review: Marriage in Crisis
By Kent Conrad |
Alfred Hitchcock is known as primarily a director of thrillers, and after he came to the U.S. in 1939 it ...
Read More Fritz the Cat / The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Blu-rays Review: Sex, Drugs, and Counterculture
By Gordon S. Miller |
Scorpion Releasing by way of Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released the cinematic adventures of Robert Crumb's Fritz the Cat. ...
Read More Red Angel (1966) Blu-ray Review: Disturbing War Hospital Drama
By Kent Conrad |
Red Angel is about a war-time nurse, and it lives up to themes implicit in the name. Nurse Sakura Nishi ...
Read More Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Blu-ray Review: An Instant Sci-Fi Classic
By David Wangberg |
At one point, Hollywood gave Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers the same treatment it did to other popular literature such ...
Read More Gambit (1966) Blu-ray Review: A Larcenous Lark
By Jack Cormack |
In director Ronald Neame’s caper flick, Gambit (1966; 109 mins.), a British cat burglar, Harry Dean (Michael Caine), teams with ...
Read More Stage Fright (1950) Blu-ray Review: Second-Tier Hitchcock Is Still Good Cinema
By Mat Brewster |
Stage Fright, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller from 1950 begins with a great curtain that opens to reveal a shot of, not ...
Read More The Piano Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Jane Campion’s Sublime Masterpiece
By Davy |
Despite all the accolades and acclaim, director Jane Campion still seems to be continuously undervalued and taken for granted. That's ...
Read More Prince of the City Blu-ray Review: The NYPD Blues
By Jack Cormack |
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 Shock (1977) Blu-ray Review: Bava’s Final Film
By Kent Conrad |
Shock is the final film that Mario Bava directed and is commonly regarded as an underwhelming swan song. He was ...
Read More Dune (2021) Blu-ray Review: Although Half the Story, Denis Villeneuve Delivers an Entertaining Science Fiction Spectacle
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve wisely chose to only adapt the first half of Frank Herbert's landmark novel Dune, even though the ...
Read More Ragtime (1981) Blu-ray Review: The Movie Needed to be Shorter or Longer to Succeed
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, Milos Forman's Ragtime (1981) is set in the turn of ...
Read More Disciples of Shaolin Blu-ray Review: Socially Conscious Kung Fu
By Mat Brewster |
When I was a kid one of the local television stations used to run what they called Kung Fu Theater ...
Read More Shadow of the Thin Man Blu-ray Review: Bask in the Laughs and Intrigue
By Gordon S. Miller |
Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth title in the six-film series featuring the detective team of Nick (William ...
Read More High Sierra Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Raoul Walsh Tells a Story Twice
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on W. R. Burnett's second novel, director Roaul Walsh's High Sierra (1941) is a captivating crime drama notable for ...
Read More Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Masked Killers, Disrobed Victims
By Steve Geise |
Arrow Video’s second box set collection of giallo classics is now available, arriving less than a month after the first ...
Read More The Old Fashioned Way / It’s a Gift / The Bank Dick Blu-rays Review: A Trio of W. C. Fields Comedies from KL Studio Classics
By Gordon S. Miller |
W. C. Fields got his start in vaudeville as a juggler. He went on to create an iconic comic persona, ...
Read More The Learning Tree Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Semi-Autobiographical Story from Gordon Parks
By Davy |
There have been so many films about growing up where characters (mostly youth) deal with first love, family issues, peer ...
Read More Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Trilogy of Sleaze
By Davy |
As I mentioned in my review for the Red Edition of Arrow's Giallo Essentials, Giallo is a subdivision of Italian ...
Read More Cry Macho Blu-ray Review: Back in the Saddle Again
By David Wangberg |
It’s been some time since Clint Eastwood made a movie that is simply just enjoyable and doesn’t become something weighed ...
Read More The Last of Sheila Blu-ray Review: A Stylish Whodunnit
By Elizabeth Periale |
Fans of games, puzzles, and mysteries will enjoy the 1973 film The Last of Sheila. Written by the dynamic duo ...
Read More Harold and Maude Blu-ray Review: Funeral Freak Flag
By Jack Cormack |
A cult comedy, Harold and Maude (1971; 91 minutes; dir. Hal Ashby) tries a mite too hard to be unusual. ...
Read More Angels with Dirty Faces Blu-ray Review: A Seminal Gangster Classic
By Davy |
James Cagney was one of the great actors of his time, and for all-time. He had a scowl that would ...
Read More It’s a Wonderful Life Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful Film with an Interesting 75th Anniversary Release
By Rons Reviews |
It's a Wonderful Life endures as a Christmas classic after 75 years, though it has taken a backseat to more ...
Read More Giallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Mixed Bag, Solid Box
By Steve Geise |
Just in time for the holiday gift giving season, Arrow Video has repackaged three individual Blu-ray releases from 2018/19 into ...
Read More Wife of a Spy Blu-ray Review: Understated Japanese Spy Thriller
By Kent Conrad |
Wife of a Spy is the latest film by Japanese craftsman Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He was one of several filmmakers, along ...
Read More Night Gallery Season One Blu-ray Review: Rod Serling’s Other Series Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint
By Steve Geise |
Rod Serling will always be most closely identified with The Twilight Zone, but his follow-up series is finally getting Blu-ray ...
Read More Party Girl (1958) Blu-ray Review: Neon Underworld
By Jack Cormack |
Fans of director Nicholas Ray (best known for the James Dean vehicle, Rebel Without a Cause) should enjoy Party Girl ...
Read More The Ghost Ship/Bedlam Double Feature Blu-ray Review: Two Val Lewton Suspense Thrillers
By Kent Conrad |
Val Lewton ran the horror film unit at RKO Picture from 1942 to 1946. The massive success of Cat People, ...
Read More The Beast Must Die Blu-ray/DVD Review: A Somber Film Noir
By Davy |
Film noir is definitely an influential genre of cinema, one steeped with seedy characters, grim atmosphere (with often incredible cinematography), ...
Read More Some Came Running Blu-ray Review: ’50s Melodrama Feels Familiar
By Kent Conrad |
Prestige dramas in each decade in American cinema each tend to have their own flavor, and in the '50s, it ...
Read More Freud Blu-ray Review: Montgomery Clift Exorcises His Demons
By Steve Geise |
This mid-career effort by legendary director John Houston is overlong, clinical, and ponderous, and yet Montgomery Clift’s tortured lead performance ...
Read More Planes, Trains and Automobiles Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Review: This Ain’t No Turkey Trot
By Jack Cormack |
Its premise is simple. And yet, Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987; dir. John Hughes) is cast to perfection, balancing moments ...
Read More Giallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Review: Underrated but Important Films
By Davy |
Despite their basic plots and sometimes slow pacing (deliberate or otherwise), I do enjoy the giallo films of Italian cinema. ...
Read More Lullaby of Broadway Blu-ray Review: Don’t Sleep on This Joyous Delight
By Steve Geise |
Doris Day leads an engaging cast in this fairly conventional but highly entertaining musical. She stars as a young dancer ...
Read More Counterpoint Blu-ray Review: Battle of the Cellos
By Mat Brewster |
Towards the end of World War II, soldiers gather in a bombed-out church to listen to a symphony orchestra as ...
Read More Night Has a Thousand Eyes Blu-ray Review: Psychic Thriller a Near Miss
By Kent Conrad |
What a great title. Night Has a Thousand Eyes. It evokes a sense of mystery, even of terror. The opening ...
Read More ParaNorman (LAIKA Studios Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Strange and Unique Film
By Todd Karella |
Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is your average 11-year-old growing up in Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. Well, as average as any boy ...
Read More The Beast Must Die (1952) Blu-ray Review: Argentinian Revenge Noir
By Kent Conrad |
The structure of The Beast Must Die is the first thing to notice about it. It has a now standard, ...
Read More Coraline (LAIKA Studios Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Fantastic Fairy Tale
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on Neil Gaiman's award-winning children's novella, writer/director Henry Selick's Coraline is a fantastic fairy tale about a young girl ...
Read More The Original Christmas Specials Collection Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Three Gifts, One Stocking Stuffer, One Lump of Coal
By David Wangberg |
For many years, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass dominated the small screens with their holiday specials. Even after the ...
Read More The Bitter Stems Blu-ray Review: Argentine Noir
By Steve Geise |
Alfredo Gasper is a hard-working newspaper reporter in Argentina who has become disillusioned about the trajectory of his stalled career. ...
Read More The Accused (1949) Blu-ray Review: Works Something Like a Film Noir in Reverse
By Mat Brewster |
The classic film noir plot goes something like this: a man, usually a not too bright one, meets a woman ...
Read More Mad Love (1935) Blu-ray Review: Grotesque ’30 Body Horror
By Kent Conrad |
Mad Love would be a long lost Universal horror film had it not been made by MGM. It has a ...
Read More DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Legendary
By Mat Brewster |
In my reviews of previous seasons of Legends of Tomorrow, I've discussed my love for how this series understands how ...
Read More Breakheart Pass Blu-ray Review: Like an Agatha Christie Western
By Mat Brewster |
Take a moment and look at the cover art for this Blu-ray which is the recreation of the original poster. ...
Read More The Suicide Squad Blu-ray Review: Suicide Isn’t Painless with James Gunn at the Helm
By Gordon S. Miller |
As mentioned in my review of the movie, the main reason for its success is because James “Gunn is a ...
Read More In the Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights from Poverty Row Blu-ray Review: Independent ’30s B-Movies
By Kent Conrad |
Entertainment is often called a recession-proof (or even depression-proof) industry. The theory being that even when people are at their ...
Read More Audrey Hepburn 7-Movie Collection Blu-ray Review: More Loverly Than Ever
By Steve Geise |
This collection of Audrey Hepburn’s most memorable starring roles has been available on DVD since early 2019, but has only ...
Read More The Sheik (1921) Blu-ray Review: A Silent and Problematic Classic
By Mat Brewster |
In December of 1912 a beautiful young man with the unlikely name of Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di ...
Read More The Naked Spur Blu-ray Review: A Classic ’50s Western
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Naked Spur (1953) was the third of five westerns between actor James Stewart and director Anthony Mann. Stewart plays ...
Read More Throw Down Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Brawl Room Blitz
By David Wangberg |
Johnnie To’s Throw Down is a titular double entendre. Not only is it a film about martial arts (kind of); ...
Read More The Incredible Shrinking Man Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Giant-Sized Fun
By Mat Brewster |
I wonder what it is about stories of humans being shrunk down to tiny size or living in a land ...
Read More Injustice (2021) Blu-ray Review: An Intriguing Story in An Alternate DC Universe
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game and the Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One comic book series, ...
Read More Ratcatcher Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Definite Punch to the Gut
By Davy |
Despite only having four feature-length films and a handful of shorts, filmmaker Lynne Ramsay has crafted a compelling body of ...
Read More Change of Habit Blu-ray Review: Easy Habit to Break
By Steve Geise |
This offbeat film bears the distinction of being Elvis Presley’s final acting role, which is about the only remarkable thing ...
Read More Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 3 Blu-ray Review: Another Must-own for Fans of Avery and Animation
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Warner Archive Collection has released the third volume of their Tex Avery Screwball Classics line, bringing the total number ...
Read More Demons I & II Blu-ray Review: Italian Gore Shlock Romp
By Kent Conrad |
One of the keys to great schlock is integrity, and sincerity. Schlock that works cannot ever let the audience know ...
Read More Come September Blu-ray Review: Hudson Rocks the Riviera
By Steve Geise |
Rock Hudson is in prime leading man form in this beautifully photographed 1961 romp through the Italian Riviera. Hudson plays ...
Read More The Cheat (1931) Blu-ray Review: Third Time Isn’t the Charm
By Mat Brewster |
I'm about two steps away from completely being a classic movie snob. I've loved classic movies pretty much my entire ...
Read More Vera Cruz (1954) Blu-ray Review: Twisty Western Caper
By Kent Conrad |
Vera Cruz (1954) is an interesting western: it's a buddy movie where the buddies never really like each other. It's ...
Read More Torch Singer (1933) Blu-ray Review: A Very Modern Pre-Code
By Mat Brewster |
One of the interesting things about reviewing very old films is the tension between my modern standards and my understanding ...
Read More The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) Blu-ray Review: Bedraggled
By Jack Cormack |
Woe to the viewer who tries to sit through director Paul Morrissey’s take on The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring ...
Read More The Flash (2014): The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Review: The Stories Feel Undercooked and Underwhelming
By Mat Brewster |
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...
Read More A Night at the Opera Blu-ray Review: A Comedy Classic
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Warner Archive Collection has released A Night at the Opera on Blu-ray. It is the first Marx Brothers movie ...
Read More Hot Saturday Blu-ray Review: Fascinating Pre-Code Shenanigans
By Mat Brewster |
Had Hot Saturday (1932) been made just a few years later, it would have been a completely different film. It ...
Read More Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Blu-ray Review: This Set Is a Must-buy
By Mat Brewster |
Sam Katzman got his start in the movies working as a stage laborer in the early 1920s. He moved up ...
Read More Blithe Spirit (2020) Blu-ray Review: Bland and Unspirited, But Mann and Fisher Shine
By Steve Geise |
Noel Coward’s play has been adapted for the screen multiple times dating back to 1945, but it’s been long enough ...
Read More Love & Basketball Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Love Story That Feels Fresh
By Davy |
There are so many cinematic tales of young love that spans time that are riddled with clichés. They usually have ...
Read More The Fourth Victim Blu-ray Review: Stay Till the End
By Mat Brewster |
A pretty blonde woman lounges languidly in the swimming pool of a large estate. When her cigarette pops a hole ...
Read More Mona Lisa Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Mystic Smile
By Mat Brewster |
The first time I remember seeing Bob Hoskins was as Eddie Valiant the hard-boiled, yet ultimately soft-hearted detective working for ...
Read More The Damned Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Demonstrative Descent into Family Destruction
By Davy |
In almost every family, there is, arguably, a hidden sense of evil. When the soul gets twisted and corrupted, so ...
Read More The Awakening (2011) Blu-ray Review: Half a Great Ghost Story
By Mat Brewster |
I love a good ghost story. Unlike any other genre, they seem to be able to create a mood within ...
Read More Songs My Brothers Taught Me Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Cinematic Experience
By Davy |
Being an only child, I don't have the experience of the relationships between brothers and sisters. However, seeing those depicted ...
Read More Death Screams (1982) Blu-ray Review: Regional ’80s Slasher Artifact
By Kent Conrad |
There used to be a thing called regional cinema in the U.S. Hell, there used to be a thing called ...
Read More 48 Hrs. / Another 48 Hrs. Blu-ray Reviews: The Boys Are Back on Blu-ray
By Gordon S. Miller |
Expanding their roster of Eddie Murphy titles, the Paramount Presents line has added the two films that comprise the 48 ...
Read More Straight Time Blu-ray Review: The Jailbird Blues
By Jack Cormack |
Catch me on the right day and I’ll proclaim Straight Time (dir. Ulu Grosbard) the best film of 1978. Based ...
Read More Apocalypse ’45 Blu-ray Review: A Brutal Look at the Harsh Realities of the War with Japan During World War II
By generaljabbo |
Over the years, there have been numerous documentaries and movies about World War II, but none of them quite like ...
Read More The Sergio Martino Collection Blu-ray Review: A Giallo Giant Gets His Due
By Jack Cormack |
So, you’ve seen the Dario Argento gialli (highlights include The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspiria, and Tenebrae), ...
Read More Alone in the Dark (1982) Blu-ray Review: A Fun and Superior ’80s Cult Thriller
By Davy |
I may have mentioned this in previous reviews, but the 1980s was a major decade for slasher films. Most of ...
Read More The Window (1949) Blu-ray Review: The Boy Who Cried Murder
By Kent Conrad |
There's a good reason to hate films focused on kids: they're obnoxious. If they're cute, it's usually a cuteness at ...
Read More Mommie Dearest Limited Edition Blu-ray Review: A True Cult Classic
By Darcy Staniforth |
For people of a certain age, wire hangers conjure up images of Joan Crawford. I was around six years old ...
Read More Zack Snyder’s Justice League Blu-ray Review: An Entertaining Superhero Spectacle
By Gordon S. Miller |
I am a fan of Zack Snyder's work on 300 and Watchmen. I didn't think Man of Steel showed an ...
Read More In the Good Old Summertime Blu-ray Review: You’ve Got Snail Mail
By Steve Geise |
Modern Hollywood gets plenty of well-deserved grief for rebooting stories before the originals have even faded from memory, but it’s ...
Read More The Raven (1963) Blu-ray Review: A Silly, Spooky Movie for Children
By Gordon S. Miller |
In the early 1960s, producer/director Roger Corman made a series of movies adapted (to varying degrees) from the work of ...
Read More Blind Beast Blu-ray Review: An Assured Vision by Director Yasuzo Masumura
By Steve Geise |
When an alluring young fetish model named Aki visits a gallery exhibiting her nude works, she’s shocked to find a ...
Read More Bugsy Malone Blu-ray Review: Bizarre and Charming Kiddie Gangster Musical
By Kent Conrad |
Bugsy Malone is one of those movies whose existence is very difficult to explain. It's a pastiche of gangsters and ...
Read More The Brotherhood of Satan Blu-ray Review: Panic in a Small Town
By Mat Brewster |
As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, America's cultural mores began to shift dramatically. The birth control pill fuelled the ...
Read More Original Cast Album “Company” Criterion Collection: You Could Drive an Actor Crazy
By Gordon S. Miller |
Originating as a series of 11 one-act plays by George Furth, Company evolved into a musical with music and lyrics ...
Read More Coogan’s Bluff Blu-ray Review: An Unintentional Precursor to Dirty Harry
By Gordon S. Miller |
Coogan's Bluff, notable as the first of five films Don Siegel directed Clint Eastwood, is a typical fish-out-of-water story as ...
Read More The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Review: A Classic Adaptation of Richard Matheson’s Celebrated Novel
By Davy |
As we know, George A. Romero's 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, created the modern zombie genre that's still ...
Read More Ashes and Diamonds Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Polish Masterpiece
By Mat Brewster |
A little over a decade ago my wife and I lived in Shanghai, China. At the time, and probably still ...
Read More Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two Blu-ray Review: Filled with Enjoyable Tricks and Treats
By Gordon S. Miller |
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two opens with Bruce Wayne (Jensen Ackles) still under the spell of Poison Ivy (Katee ...
Read More Friday the 13th 8 Movie Collection Blu-ray Review: The Paramount Films
By Mat Brewster |
In the Spring of 1980, a little-known director named Sean. S. Cunningham made a low-budget horror film called Friday the ...
Read More Back Street Blu-ray Review: Suffer the Silk
By Jack Cormack |
I’m not sure I believe in the idea of a ‘guilty pleasure’; but if I did, Back Street (1961) is ...
Read More The Fortune Cookie Blu-ray Review: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
By David Wangberg |
I’m from a generation that hears the names Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau together in a movie and immediately reverts ...
Read More Thoroughly Modern Millie Blu-ray Review: Thoroughly Charming
By Steve Geise |
This zany musical was a big hit in the 1960s, garnering huge box office and seven Oscar nominations, along with ...
Read More Born for Hell Blu-ray Review: Too Exploitative for the Arthouse, Too Damn Slow for the Grindhouse
By Mat Brewster |
During one long, hot night in Chicago in the summer of 1966, Richard Speck held nine student nurses hostage. Over ...
Read More The Daimajin Trilogy Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set: Stone Cold Kaiju Action
By Steve Geise |
What if a Godzilla-sized monster was a living stone statue who battled evil human warlords instead of other monsters? Japan’s ...
Read More The Transformers – The Movie 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook Review: Still More Than Meets the Eye
By generaljabbo |
Thirty-five years ago, The Transformers took to the big screen in what is, arguably, still the best Transformers movie ever. ...
Read More Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Review: Psycho-biddy Pie
By Jack Cormack |
In this video nasty from 1982, Billy (Jimmy McNichol) is a high school basketball star who lives with his kooky ...
Read More Union Pacific Blu-ray Review: The Great Train Epic
By Mat Brewster |
Westerns love trains. Almost as much as they love horses and saloons. There are westerns where a stranger comes to ...
Read More No Time For Love Blu-ray Review: No Time for Colbert and MacMurray
By Mat Brewster |
Coming off the huge success of It Happened One Night (1934), Paramount quickly began looking for another romantic comedy for ...
Read More Godzilla vs. Kong Blu-ray Review: Clash of the Titans
By Gordon S. Miller |
Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth entry in the Monsterverse franchise, taking place three years after the events of Godzilla: ...
Read More The Herculoids: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Review: The Adventures of the Exotic Eight
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Warner Archive Collection continues to upgrade Hanna Barbera cartoons to high definition with the release of The Herculoids: The ...
Read More Vengeance Trails: 4 Classic Westerns Blu-ray Review: Proving There’s More to Spaghetti Westerns than Sergio Leone
By Mat Brewster |
The western was one of the more prominent genres of American cinema from the 1930s through the 1950s. As it ...
Read More The Dead Zone (Collector’s Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Film
By Shawn Bourdo |
The Dead Zone Collector's Edition (Scream Factory) "In his mind he has the power to see the future / In ...
Read More Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One Blu-ray Review: Gotham for the Holidays
By Gordon S. Miller |
Batman The Long Halloween, Part One is the first of a two-part home-video release based on the 13-issue comic book ...
Read More Thunderbolt Blu-ray Review: A Snooze-fest of Sound and Shadow
By Jack Cormack |
A remake of his earlier gangster film Underworld (1927), director Josef von Sternberg’s Thunderbolt (1929) is his first talkie. Even ...
Read More It Happened at the World’s Fair Blu-ray Review: It Probably Shouldn’t Have
By Steve Geise |
Elvis Presley starred in dozens of films in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and many of them were quite entertaining. This ...
Read More Baise Moi Blu-ray Review: This Movie Didn’t Win Me Over
By Davy |
When it comes to seeking out new films to watch, I sometimes let my curiosity get the better of me. ...
Read More Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Review: Almost a Home Run
By Steve Geise |
Now that it’s mid-summer, it’s peak time to enjoy the national pastime: baseball…in musical form. Warner Archive rounds the bases ...
Read More Deep Cover Criterion Collection Blu-Ray Review: Neo-Noir with a Message
By Mat Brewster |
Russell Stevens (Laurence Fishburne) is a good cop. He's also a black man. And a good, black cop is exactly ...
Read More Pickup on South Street Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Sam Fuller Blends Film Noir with a Cold War Spy Thriller
By Gordon S. Miller |
Samuel Fuller directed and wrote the screenplay for Pickup on South Street, a movie that blends film noir with a ...
Read More Shenandoah Blu-ray Review: Indifference in a Time of War
By Mat Brewster |
Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is a good man. He's built a big, beautiful farm in Virginia. He's raised six sons ...
Read More I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes Blu-ray Review: Limp Mystery Noir
By Kent Conrad |
There's a tendency amongst enthusiasts of film noir to use it as a badge of quality. If some old movie ...
Read More Last Train from Gun Hill Blu-ray Review: Variation on a Western Theme
By Gordon S. Miller |
Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn star are as former friends who become formidable foes over family in director John Sturges's ...
Read More An American in Paris: The Musical Blu-ray Review: C’est Bon
By Steve Geise |
As live musicals shut down during the pandemic, recorded performances stepped in to help fill the entertainment void. The 2014 ...
Read More Years of Lead Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set Review: Transforms Lead into Gold
By Steve Geise |
When most film fans think of Italian genre films of the 1970s, the first term that comes to mind is ...
Read More Explorers Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Kids in Space
By Gordon S. Miller |
The success of family-friendly, space fantasy films like George Lucas's Star Wars franchise and Steven Spielberg's E.T. led to wave ...
Read More The Gilded Lily Blu-ray Review: Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray’s First Team-Up
By Mat Brewster |
By the time The Gilded Lily was made in 1935, Claudette Colbert was a huge star. She'd gained notoriety in ...
Read More Punk the Capital Blu-ray Review: Building a Sound Movement
By Darcy Staniforth |
If you are a punk or a fan of punk and hardcore, you know the importance of Washington DC in the ...
Read More Major Dundee Blu-ray Review: Get Whipped and Bury Your Dead
By Jack Cormack |
Director Sam Peckinpah was a few things: a drunk, misogynist boor; an auteur who was always getting screwed by the ...
Read More His Dark Materials: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Review: Entertaining Adaptation of Popular Book Series
By David Wangberg |
There was an era in the 2000s in which movie studios were desperate to find the next The Lord of ...
Read More Alias Nick Beal Blu-ray Review: A Faustian Noir
By Mat Brewster |
For the last four or five years, I've participated in #noirvember, that's hashtag speak for film noirs in November. It ...
Read More It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Review: Thoroughly Charming Happenstance
By Steve Geise |
You know how sometimes you stumble across a movie you had no intention of watching but end up really liking ...
Read More Icy Breasts Blu-ray Review: A Cool French Noir
By Mat Brewster |
I am a collector, a list maker, and a spreadsheet creator. There is something so satisfying about making a list ...
Read More My Little Chickadee Blu-ray Review: A Delightful Romp Worth Seeing Some Time
By Gordon S. Miller |
My Little Chickadee is one of nine films starring Mae West that Kino Lorber Studio Classics released at the end ...
Read More Irezumi Blu-ray Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman
By Steve Geise |
A wealthy merchant’s daughter becomes a murderous geisha after receiving a huge back tattoo of a spider. At a glance, ...
Read More Visions of Eight Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Octathlon of Olympic Shorts
By Davy |
I'm not what you'd call an enthusiast of sports. Honestly, I don't like, watch, or play sports. I've never been ...
Read More Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (35th Anniversary) Steelbook Blu-ray Review
By Mat Brewster |
I am proud to say that I am a member of Generation X. Or as proud as a Gen X-er ...
Read More World of Wong Kar Wai Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: What a Wonderful World
By Steve Geise |
Wong Kar Wai burst into the international film scene in the 1980s and has remained an icon ever since. While ...
Read More Fool for Love Blu-ray Review: The Sins of the Father Revisited
By Gordon S. Miller |
During the '80s, director Robert Altman made a series of six films that were based on plays. One was Sam ...
Read More Hunter Hunter Blu-ray Review: A Unique and Bold Entry in Modern Horror
By Davy |
Like I've stated in previous reviews, the horror genre continues to be a misunderstood one in film. Most people don't ...
Read More Madame Curie Blu-ray Review: Geniuses Oblivious to Their Attraction
By Steve Geise |
Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon portray the Curies in this biographical film about the early career of the discoverer of ...
Read More Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 Blu-ray Review
By Gordon S. Miller |
Rick and Morty was created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. A series of animated shorts by Roiland that featured ...
Read More Irezumi (1966) Blu-ray Review: Revenge and Obsession
By Kent Conrad |
"Irezumi" is the Japanese word for a style of tattooing. It employs the use of a long wooden-handled needle that ...
Read More Ziegfeld Follies Blu-ray Review: Two Hours of Follies, Half Hour of Jollies
By Steve Geise |
While movie musicals typically follow a paper-thin plot as a device to string together their songs, this oddity ditches the ...
Read More Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers (1973-1977) Blu-ray Review: A Great Overview of the Poliziotteschi Genre
By Mat Brewster |
The Italian Giallo is generally considered to be a subgenre of horror. This makes plenty of sense as they are ...
Read More Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: An Animation Masterpiece
By Gordon S. Miller |
Influenced by artist Frank Fanzetta and Heavy Metal magazine, Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal is an animation masterpiece. The Adult Swim TV ...
Read More The Stylist Blu-ray Review: Director Jill Gevargizian Is out to Change the Horror Genre
By Davy |
Unfortunately, the film industry still continues to overlook the cinematic accomplishments of females, and that also includes horror movies. In ...
Read More Supernatural: The Complete Fifteenth and Final Season Blu-ray Review: A Sad Goodbye to the Winchester Family
By Todd Karella |
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...
Read More There Was a Crooked Man… Blu-ray Review: Revisionist Western Could Have Used a Few More Revisions
By Mat Brewster |
The western is, perhaps, the most malleable and everlasting American film genre. Though it has certainly been in decline for ...
Read More Just a Gigolo Blu-ray Review: Bowie and Dietrich Make the Best of a Misfire
By Steve Geise |
This Berlin-set film arrived at an opportune time in David Bowie’s career, since he was living in the city for ...
Read More Grizzly Blu-ray Review: Jaws with Claws Has Flaws
By Gordon S. Miller |
Producer David Sheldon gleefully announces in an extra that Grizzly was the first to follow in the footsteps of Jaws. ...
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