Uncategorized

Cinema Sentries

Mad Love (1935) Blu-ray Review: Grotesque ’30 Body Horror

Mad Love would be a long lost Universal horror film had it not been made by MGM. It has a ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Legendary

In my reviews of previous seasons of Legends of Tomorrow, I've discussed my love for how this series understands how ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Breakheart Pass Blu-ray Review: Like an Agatha Christie Western

Take a moment and look at the cover art for this Blu-ray which is the recreation of the original poster. ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Suicide Squad Blu-ray Review: Suicide Isn’t Painless with James Gunn at the Helm

As mentioned in my review of the movie, the main reason for its success is because James “Gunn is a ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights from Poverty Row Blu-ray Review: Independent ’30s B-Movies

Entertainment is often called a recession-proof (or even depression-proof) industry. The theory being that even when people are at their ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Audrey Hepburn 7-Movie Collection Blu-ray Review: More Loverly Than Ever

This collection of Audrey Hepburn’s most memorable starring roles has been available on DVD since early 2019, but has only ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Sheik (1921) Blu-ray Review: A Silent and Problematic Classic

In December of 1912 a beautiful young man with the unlikely name of Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Naked Spur Blu-ray Review: A Classic ’50s Western

The Naked Spur (1953) was the third of five westerns between actor James Stewart and director Anthony Mann. Stewart plays ...
Read More
A poster of the movie Throw Down by Johnnie To

Throw Down Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Brawl Room Blitz

Johnnie To’s Throw Down is a titular double entendre. Not only is it a film about martial arts (kind of); ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Incredible Shrinking Man Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Giant-Sized Fun

I wonder what it is about stories of humans being shrunk down to tiny size or living in a land ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Injustice (2021) Blu-ray Review: An Intriguing Story in An Alternate DC Universe

Based on the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game and the Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One comic book series, ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Ratcatcher Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Definite Punch to the Gut

Despite only having four feature-length films and a handful of shorts, filmmaker Lynne Ramsay has crafted a compelling body of ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Change of Habit Blu-ray Review: Easy Habit to Break

This offbeat film bears the distinction of being Elvis Presley’s final acting role, which is about the only remarkable thing ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 3 Blu-ray Review: Another Must-own for Fans of Avery and Animation

The Warner Archive Collection has released the third volume of their Tex Avery Screwball Classics line, bringing the total number ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Demons I & II Blu-ray Review: Italian Gore Shlock Romp

One of the keys to great schlock is integrity, and sincerity. Schlock that works cannot ever let the audience know ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Come September Blu-ray Review: Hudson Rocks the Riviera

Rock Hudson is in prime leading man form in this beautifully photographed 1961 romp through the Italian Riviera. Hudson plays ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Cheat (1931) Blu-ray Review: Third Time Isn’t the Charm

I'm about two steps away from completely being a classic movie snob. I've loved classic movies pretty much my entire ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Vera Cruz (1954) Blu-ray Review: Twisty Western Caper

Vera Cruz (1954) is an interesting western: it's a buddy movie where the buddies never really like each other. It's ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Torch Singer (1933) Blu-ray Review: A Very Modern Pre-Code

One of the interesting things about reviewing very old films is the tension between my modern standards and my understanding ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) Blu-ray Review: Bedraggled

Woe to the viewer who tries to sit through director Paul Morrissey’s take on The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Flash (2014): The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Review: The Stories Feel Undercooked and Underwhelming

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

A Night at the Opera Blu-ray Review: A Comedy Classic

The Warner Archive Collection has released A Night at the Opera on Blu-ray. It is the first Marx Brothers movie ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Hot Saturday Blu-ray Review: Fascinating Pre-Code Shenanigans

Had Hot Saturday (1932) been made just a few years later, it would have been a completely different film. It ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Blu-ray Review: This Set Is a Must-buy

Sam Katzman got his start in the movies working as a stage laborer in the early 1920s. He moved up ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Blithe Spirit (2020) Blu-ray Review: Bland and Unspirited, But Mann and Fisher Shine

Noel Coward’s play has been adapted for the screen multiple times dating back to 1945, but it’s been long enough ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Love & Basketball Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Love Story That Feels Fresh

There are so many cinematic tales of young love that spans time that are riddled with clichés. They usually have ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Fourth Victim Blu-ray Review: Stay Till the End

A pretty blonde woman lounges languidly in the swimming pool of a large estate. When her cigarette pops a hole ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Mona Lisa Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Mystic Smile

The first time I remember seeing Bob Hoskins was as Eddie Valiant the hard-boiled, yet ultimately soft-hearted detective working for ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Damned Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Demonstrative Descent into Family Destruction

In almost every family, there is, arguably, a hidden sense of evil. When the soul gets twisted and corrupted, so ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Awakening (2011) Blu-ray Review: Half a Great Ghost Story

I love a good ghost story. Unlike any other genre, they seem to be able to create a mood within ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Songs My Brothers Taught Me Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Cinematic Experience

Being an only child, I don't have the experience of the relationships between brothers and sisters. However, seeing those depicted ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Death Screams (1982) Blu-ray Review: Regional ’80s Slasher Artifact

There used to be a thing called regional cinema in the U.S. Hell, there used to be a thing called ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

48 Hrs. / Another 48 Hrs. Blu-ray Reviews: The Boys Are Back on Blu-ray

Expanding their roster of Eddie Murphy titles, the Paramount Presents line has added the two films that comprise the 48 ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Straight Time Blu-ray Review: The Jailbird Blues

Catch me on the right day and I’ll proclaim Straight Time (dir. Ulu Grosbard) the best film of 1978. Based ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Apocalypse ’45 Blu-ray Review: A Brutal Look at the Harsh Realities of the War with Japan During World War II

Over the years, there have been numerous documentaries and movies about World War II, but none of them quite like ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Sergio Martino Collection Blu-ray Review: A Giallo Giant Gets His Due

So, you’ve seen the Dario Argento gialli (highlights include The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspiria, and Tenebrae), ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Alone in the Dark (1982) Blu-ray Review: A Fun and Superior ’80s Cult Thriller

I may have mentioned this in previous reviews, but the 1980s was a major decade for slasher films. Most of ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Window (1949) Blu-ray Review: The Boy Who Cried Murder

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
Cinema Sentries

Mommie Dearest Limited Edition Blu-ray Review: A True Cult Classic

For people of a certain age, wire hangers conjure up images of Joan Crawford. I was around six years old ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Zack Snyder’s Justice League Blu-ray Review: An Entertaining Superhero Spectacle

I am a fan of Zack Snyder's work on 300 and Watchmen. I didn't think Man of Steel showed an ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

In the Good Old Summertime Blu-ray Review: You’ve Got Snail Mail

Modern Hollywood gets plenty of well-deserved grief for rebooting stories before the originals have even faded from memory, but it’s ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Raven (1963) Blu-ray Review: A Silly, Spooky Movie for Children

In the early 1960s, producer/director Roger Corman made a series of movies adapted (to varying degrees) from the work of ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Blind Beast Blu-ray Review: An Assured Vision by Director Yasuzo Masumura

When an alluring young fetish model named Aki visits a gallery exhibiting her nude works, she’s shocked to find a ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Bugsy Malone Blu-ray Review: Bizarre and Charming Kiddie Gangster Musical

Bugsy Malone is one of those movies whose existence is very difficult to explain. It's a pastiche of gangsters and ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

The Brotherhood of Satan Blu-ray Review: Panic in a Small Town

As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, America's cultural mores began to shift dramatically. The birth control pill fuelled the ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Original Cast Album “Company” Criterion Collection: You Could Drive an Actor Crazy

Originating as a series of 11 one-act plays by George Furth, Company evolved into a musical with music and lyrics ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Coogan’s Bluff Blu-ray Review: An Unintentional Precursor to Dirty Harry

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
Cinema Sentries

The Last Man on Earth Blu-ray Review: A Classic Adaptation of Richard Matheson’s Celebrated Novel

As we know, George A. Romero's 1968 masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, created the modern zombie genre that's still ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Ashes and Diamonds Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Polish Masterpiece

A little over a decade ago my wife and I lived in Shanghai, China. At the time, and probably still ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two Blu-ray Review: Filled with Enjoyable Tricks and Treats

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two opens with Bruce Wayne (Jensen Ackles) still under the spell of Poison Ivy (Katee ...
Read More

Search & Filter

Categories

Subscribe!