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Cinema Sentries

Dune (2021) Blu-ray Review: Although Half the Story, Denis Villeneuve Delivers an Entertaining Science Fiction Spectacle

Director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve wisely chose to only adapt the first half of Frank Herbert's landmark novel Dune, even though the ...
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Ragtime (1981) Blu-ray Review: The Movie Needed to be Shorter or Longer to Succeed

Based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name, Milos Forman's Ragtime (1981) is set in the turn of ...
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Disciples of Shaolin Blu-ray Review: Socially Conscious Kung Fu

When I was a kid one of the local television stations used to run what they called Kung Fu Theater ...
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Shadow of the Thin Man Blu-ray Review: Bask in the Laughs and Intrigue

Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth title in the six-film series featuring the detective team of Nick (William ...
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High Sierra Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Raoul Walsh Tells a Story Twice

Based on W. R. Burnett's second novel, director Roaul Walsh's High Sierra (1941) is a captivating crime drama notable for ...
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Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Masked Killers, Disrobed Victims

Arrow Video’s second box set collection of giallo classics is now available, arriving less than a month after the first ...
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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

W. C. Fields got his start in vaudeville as a juggler. He went on to create an iconic comic persona, ...
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The Learning Tree Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Semi-Autobiographical Story from Gordon Parks

There have been so many films about growing up where characters (mostly youth) deal with first love, family issues, peer ...
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Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Trilogy of Sleaze

As I mentioned in my review for the Red Edition of Arrow's Giallo Essentials, Giallo is a subdivision of Italian ...
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DVD Cover of Cry Macho featuring Clint Eastwood

Cry Macho Blu-ray Review: Back in the Saddle Again

It’s been some time since Clint Eastwood made a movie that is simply just enjoyable and doesn’t become something weighed ...
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The Last of Sheila Blu-ray Review: A Stylish Whodunnit

Fans of games, puzzles, and mysteries will enjoy the 1973 film The Last of Sheila. Written by the dynamic duo ...
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Harold and Maude Blu-ray Review: Funeral Freak Flag

A cult comedy, Harold and Maude (1971; 91 minutes; dir. Hal Ashby) tries a mite too hard to be unusual. ...
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Angels with Dirty Faces Blu-ray Review: A Seminal Gangster Classic

James Cagney was one of the great actors of his time, and for all-time. He had a scowl that would ...
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It’s a Wonderful Life Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful Film with an Interesting 75th Anniversary Release

It's a Wonderful Life endures as a Christmas classic after 75 years, though it has taken a backseat to more ...
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Giallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Mixed Bag, Solid Box

Just in time for the holiday gift giving season, Arrow Video has repackaged three individual Blu-ray releases from 2018/19 into ...
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Wife of a Spy Blu-ray Review: Understated Japanese Spy Thriller

Wife of a Spy is the latest film by Japanese craftsman Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He was one of several filmmakers, along ...
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Night Gallery Season One Blu-ray Review: Rod Serling’s Other Series Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint

Rod Serling will always be most closely identified with The Twilight Zone, but his follow-up series is finally getting Blu-ray ...
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Party Girl (1958) Blu-ray Review: Neon Underworld

Fans of director Nicholas Ray (best known for the James Dean vehicle, Rebel Without a Cause) should enjoy Party Girl ...
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The Ghost Ship/Bedlam Double Feature Blu-ray Review: Two Val Lewton Suspense Thrillers

Val Lewton ran the horror film unit at RKO Picture from 1942 to 1946. The massive success of Cat People, ...
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The Beast Must Die Blu-ray/DVD Review: A Somber Film Noir

Film noir is definitely an influential genre of cinema, one steeped with seedy characters, grim atmosphere (with often incredible cinematography), ...
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Some Came Running Blu-ray Review: ’50s Melodrama Feels Familiar

Prestige dramas in each decade in American cinema each tend to have their own flavor, and in the '50s, it ...
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Freud Blu-ray Review: Montgomery Clift Exorcises His Demons

This mid-career effort by legendary director John Houston is overlong, clinical, and ponderous, and yet Montgomery Clift’s tortured lead performance ...
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Review: This Ain’t No Turkey Trot

Its premise is simple. And yet, Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987; dir. John Hughes) is cast to perfection, balancing moments ...
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Giallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Review: Underrated but Important Films

Despite their basic plots and sometimes slow pacing (deliberate or otherwise), I do enjoy the giallo films of Italian cinema. ...
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Lullaby of Broadway Blu-ray Review: Don’t Sleep on This Joyous Delight

Doris Day leads an engaging cast in this fairly conventional but highly entertaining musical. She stars as a young dancer ...
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Counterpoint Blu-ray Review: Battle of the Cellos

Towards the end of World War II, soldiers gather in a bombed-out church to listen to a symphony orchestra as ...
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Night Has a Thousand Eyes Blu-ray Review: Psychic Thriller a Near Miss

What a great title. Night Has a Thousand Eyes. It evokes a sense of mystery, even of terror. The opening ...
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ParaNorman (LAIKA Studios Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Strange and Unique Film

Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is your average 11-year-old growing up in Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts. Well, as average as any boy ...
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The Beast Must Die (1952) Blu-ray Review: Argentinian Revenge Noir

The structure of The Beast Must Die is the first thing to notice about it. It has a now standard, ...
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Coraline (LAIKA Studios Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Fantastic Fairy Tale

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 ...
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Five Original Christmas Special DVDs are available

The Original Christmas Specials Collection Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Three Gifts, One Stocking Stuffer, One Lump of Coal

For many years, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass dominated the small screens with their holiday specials. Even after the ...
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The Bitter Stems Blu-ray Review: Argentine Noir

Alfredo Gasper is a hard-working newspaper reporter in Argentina who has become disillusioned about the trajectory of his stalled career. ...
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The Accused (1949) Blu-ray Review: Works Something Like a Film Noir in Reverse

The classic film noir plot goes something like this: a man, usually a not too bright one, meets a woman ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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); ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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