Uncategorized

Tribeca 2023 Interview: Filmmaker Irene Lusztig Discusses Her New Documentary, Richland

While the summer movie season will feature a lot of discussion about Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which tells the true story ...
Read More

The Package Blu-ray Review: Not so Much a Bad Movie as a Disappointing One

When I was in college, I realized that when you are with a particular group of friends and having a ...
Read More

The Vault (2017) Blu-ray Review: Heist Goes Wrong, Phantom Turned Loose 

The Vault (2017) starts as a cliche heist flick but quickly (and thankfully) turns into an enjoyable yet weird haunted ...
Read More
A blu - ray cover for gory park.

Gorky Park Blu-ray Review: Strange Accents Nearly Ruin a Strong Thriller

Gorky Park (1983), starring William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Joanna Pacula, and Brian Dennehy, is a thriller set in Cold War ...
Read More

Joy House Blu-ray Review: Love and Death on the French Riviera

This 1964 gem exudes cool, from the lead performances by gorgeous stars Alain Delon and Jane Fonda, to the jazzy ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Children of the Corn (1984) Blu-ray Review: The Corn Kids Bring New Meaning to Cult Classic

"Outlander!" still gives me goosebumps when I hear it called out and “He who walks behind the rows” kept me ...
Read More

Renfield Blu-ray Review: Sink Your Teeth into This One

When you allow an actor like Nicolas Cage to completely let loose, it’s almost guaranteed that the performance will be ...
Read More

Anna May Wong Collection Blu-ray Review: To Wong Blu, Thanks for Everything

Kino Lorber’s new box set shines a light on a string of 1930s films starring the iconic Anna May Wong. ...
Read More

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII Blu-ray Review: A Triple Feature from the ’50s

Kino Lorber continues to release lesser-known film noirs in their The Dark Side of Cinema sets. Part XIII includes a ...
Read More

LYNCH/OZ Movie Review: A Slightly Repetitive but Illuminating Deep Dive into Inspired Cinephila

As many of us film buffs already know, legendary and strangely original filmmaker David Lynch has an iconic oeuvre that ...
Read More

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIV Blu-ray Review: Moral Teachings Get in the Way

It just now occurs to me that classic-era Hollywood cinema, especially those low-budget B-Movies, often acted like the Afterschool Specials ...
Read More

If I Had a Million Blu-ray Review: A Mixed Bag

Based on Robert D. Andrews' 1931 novel Windfall, If I Had a Million is an anthology credited to seven directors, ...
Read More

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XII Blu-ray Review: I’m Still Watching and Loving It

The thing about film noir is that it was mostly a B-movie genre. For every noir with A-list stars, directors, ...
Read More

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Blu-ray Review: A Family-Friendly Return of the “Shazamily”

Four years after Shazam!, a charming film starring Zachary Levi as the title character — an adult version of a ...
Read More

Vengeance: A Love Story Blu-ray Review: Nic Cage As a Vigilante Cop 

Nicolas Cage plays an ex-soldier turned stoic detective who has had enough of the broken system that rewards the guilty ...
Read More

Creed III Blu-ray Review: A Crowd-pleaser

As stated when I reviewed the movie, “Michael B. Jordan does double duty for the first time, making his directorial ...
Read More

Violent Streets (1974) Blu-ray Review: Blood and Guts Yakuza Story

It might be a form of survivorship bias, but movies "demystifying" or "deglamorizing" yakuza seem to outnumber any other kind ...
Read More

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Review: A Scruffier Yojimbo

The first director a Western audience thinks of for classic samurai films is Akira Kurosawa. After all, his Seven Samurai ...
Read More

Safe in Hell Blu-ray Review: A Pre-Code Delight

If you do an image search for "pre-Code Hollywood," you'll most likely find a picture of an attractive blonde woman ...
Read More

Trapped Alive Blu-ray Review: An ’80s Hodgepodge of Horror Tropes That Collapses Fast

Three escaped convicts, two girls on their way to a Christmas party, one sheriff deputy, and a cannibal mutant trapped ...
Read More

Fast X Movie Review: Dante Unleashes an Inferno

Fast X opens by taking the audience back to the events of Fast Five when Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul ...
Read More

Branded to Kill Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Yakuza Movie as Experimental Art

Goro Hanada's life is spinning out of control. His wife spends all his money, so he's always on the financial ...
Read More

Clash by Night (1952) Blu-ray Review: A Fritz Lang Dud

In Clash by Night, a former good-time girl, Mae (Barbara Stanwyck), returns home to Monterey, California. Done with her drifting ...
Read More

Wings of Desire Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Stay

Not much happens in Wings of Desire (1987; dir. Wim Wenders), but it’s among the most beautiful of films. In ...
Read More

Return to Seoul Blu-ray Review: A Young Life in Turmoil

We all often wonder who we really are, where we come from, and where we are going. Sometimes we let ...
Read More

Moon Garden Movie Review: A Beautiful, Nightmarish Ride

It’s easy to see that Ryan Stevens Harris’ feature film debut, Moon Garden, takes its cues from established niche directors ...
Read More

Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 Blu-ray Review: It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s DNR!

After Superman became a sensation in comic books, newspaper comic strips, and on the radio, Fleischer Studios, home of cartoons ...
Read More
The Loveless Movie Poster on display of the website

The Loveless Blu-ray Review: A Stylish Mash-Up of Two Very Different Outlaw Biker Classics

They’re loud, fast, and out of control! And that's just the motorcycles! Engines roar and trouble soars when this relentless ...
Read More
Storm Warning on display of the website

Storm Warming Blu-ray Review: A Flawed but Hard-hitting Expose of Small Town Corruption

The 1950s may have seemed somewhat wholesome and Cleaveresque, but make no mistake, there were a lot of worms hidden ...
Read More

It’s Quieter in the Twilight Movie Review: The Final Frontier

Space exploration is one of the most fascinating subjects we’ve been able to conduct in human history. It gives us ...
Read More

A Night at the Family Dog / Go Ride the Music / West Pole DVD Review: Celebrating San Francisco’s Psychedelic Rock Scene

Mercury Studio repackages A Night at the Family Dog / Go Ride the Music / West Pole into a 2-DVD ...
Read More

One Way Passage Blu-ray Review: Book This Voyage

When a convicted murderer gets extradited from Hong Kong to San Francisco, the last thing on his mind is falling ...
Read More
James cagney and de havilland strawberry blondes blu ray.

The Strawberry Blonde Blu-ray Review: A Sweet and Charming Piece of Old Hollywood

The Strawberry Blonde (1941) is directed by Raoul Walsh; stars James Cagney, Olivia De Havilland, and Rita Hayworth; and is ...
Read More

Superman 5-Film Collection 4K UHD Review: Super-Reeve

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Warner Bros.’s new 4K UHD Superman 5-Film Collection (1978-1987)! But is it worth ...
Read More

All-Star Superman 4K UHD Review: Great Comics, Okay Movie

Superman is a difficult character to write good stories about because… he's Superman. Impervious to damage, always the strongest and ...
Read More
Justice league rwby super heroes and monsters blu - ray.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blue-ray Review: When There Is Action, the Film Shines

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsman, Part One has been released direct-to-video and follows a separate storyline from ...
Read More

The Sunday Woman Blu-ray Review: A Strange Little Movie That Defies Expectations and Genre Delineations

An Italian Poliziotteschi by way of Agatha Christie. A murder mystery that's more interested in high society and class distinction ...
Read More

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Review: An Alien Walks into an Airport…

Back in 2002, the Sci-Fi Channel debuted Terminal Invasion, one of their first original productions, under their Saturday Night Movie ...
Read More

Backtrack (1990) Blu-ray Review: Dennis Hopper’s Lost… Piece

Backtrack feels like one of the weird indie comedy-crime-dramas that came out in the wake of Pulp Fiction's success. It's ...
Read More

Two Witches Blu-ray Review: Two Witches Casts a Classic Horror Spell

“You're in the dark now” as hinges creak, shadows creep, candles flicker and danger lurks in shadowy places throughout this ...
Read More

Sisu (2023) Movie Review: A Bloody, and I Mean Bloody, Good Time

What happens when you take John Wick, cross it with Inglourious Basterds, and sprinkle a dash of the Man with ...
Read More

Heat (1986) Blu-ray Review: Burt Reynolds Comes Back Fighting

They call him "Mex." His name is Nick Escaflante (Burt Reynolds), and we meet him drunk in a bar hitting ...
Read More
Hell is For Heroes Movie Poster for a DVD Case

Hell Is for Heroes Blu-ray Review: Slowly Draws One in Just Enough to Guarantee Disappointment

Have you ever come upon a movie that you are sure you must have seen before, but just can’t remember?  ...
Read More

Living Blu-ray Review: Anchored by the Exquisite Metamorphosis of Bill Nighy’s Lead Performance

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, Living is adapted from 1952 Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952) by screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro, who set the ...
Read More

Magic Mike’s Last Dance Blu-ray Review: The Cohesiveness and Comradery of the First Two Installments Is Missing

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a departure from the previous films. While it still offers sexy, astoundingly choreographed dance numbers ...
Read More

TCM Classic Film Festival 2023 Review: Celebrating Film Legacies

My eleventh opportunity to cover the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood provided an opportunity to enjoy some old favorites ...
Read More

Cocaine Bear (Maximum Rampage Edition) Blu-ray Review: Bump This Up to the Top of Your To-Watch List

In the grand cinematic tradition of bear-rampage movies like Grizzly and Grizzly 2 comes Elizabeth Banks's Cocaine Bear, an amusing ...
Read More

The Big Easy (1986) Blu-ray Review: Corrupt Cop Chews Scenery

For Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid), life in the Big Easy is smooth. He's got his big smile (he's Dennis Quaid, ...
Read More

The Seventh Seal Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Chess with Death

The Criterion Collection has just released Ingmar Bergman’s film, The Seventh Seal (1957), in 4K UHD. When I first saw ...
Read More

Sick of Myself Movie Review: The Dark Side of Narcissism

Writer/director Kristoffer Borgli’s new film is the darkest of black comedies, at least until the comedy runs out. He imagines ...
Read More

Sweetwater (2023) Movie Review: Inspirational Sports Story Hampered by Cliches

Martin Guigui’s Sweetwater begins with a sports reporter (Jim Caviezel) getting into a taxicab and start discussing the possibility of ...
Read More

Wild in the Country (1961) Blu-ray Review: Dramatic Elvis in the Country

See Elvis Presley run Wild in the Country. Watch him croon as lovely ladies swoon. There's Millie Perkins, Tuesday Weld, ...
Read More

Black Sunday (1977) Special Edition Blu-ray Review: The Creep in the Blimp

It gets off to a fast start. Yet Black Sunday (1977; dir. John Frankenheimer), one of the better disaster flicks ...
Read More

iMordecai DVD Review: Judd Hirsch Strikes Gold in His Golden Years

iMordecai is the Taxi TV series reunion I never knew I needed, starring alums and fellow Oscar nominees Judd Hirsch ...
Read More

Secret Defense Blu-ray Review: Twisty Secrets Hampered by Indefensible Direction

This French drama gets off to a promising start when a scientist named Sylvie (Sandrine Bonnaire) learns that her father ...
Read More

The Super 8 Years DVD Review: A Remembrance of the Past

Films can be meditative and self-reflecting, meaning they can come from one's own experience (internal or external). This can also ...
Read More

Interview with Actor Cary Elwes on His New Film, Sweetwater, and His Performance as Ned Irish

While most people know Cary Elwes for his work as the dashing Westley in Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride, the ...
Read More

Arsène Lupin Collection Blu-ray Review: Two Hits and a Miss

The famous fictional thief arrives on Blu-ray in this new collection of three of his French theatrical adventures. The Lupin ...
Read More

Star Trek: The Next Generation 4-Movie Collection 4K UHD Review: First 4K Contact

Following up on last year’s six-movie 4K box set of the original Star Trek movies, Paramount has moved on to ...
Read More

Silent Avant-Garde Blu-ray Review: Interesting and Assorted Curiosities

I have come around on silent cinema, and I've always loved experimental/avant-garde films. Putting the two rather misunderstood categories of ...
Read More

Cool Hand Luke 4K UHD Review: Grin Like a Baby, Bite Like a Gator

It’s not I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) (still the best chain gang movie I’ve seen)—but… Cool ...
Read More

The Maltese Falcon (1941) 4K UHD Review: Bogart’s Big Break

Is The Maltese Falcon a film noir? To many viewers, it's not a question. It's black and white. There's crime. ...
Read More

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Review: Superhero Goes Supernatural

Based on the Elseworlds miniseries of the same name written by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace, Batman: The Doom That ...
Read More

The Dark (1979) Blu-ray Review: I’d Be Okay If It Had Stayed in the Dark

The Dark is probably better left there, in the dark. Starring William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel with appearances ...
Read More

Kubrick by Kubrick Movie Review: Stanley Speaks

Director Stanley Kubrick died March 7, 1999, a few months before the release of his thirteenth and final feature film, ...
Read More

Flaming Ears Blu-ray Review: A Striking Experience

Despite the fact that you always hear the demeaning phrase "Cinema is dead", when it comes to many areas of ...
Read More

Dead Silence (2007) 4K UHD Review: Scary Dolls Don’t Do Anything

James Wan has had an interesting career. An absolute underdog, coming from Malaysia via Australia, he made the film Saw. ...
Read More

Knockabout Blu-ray Review: Sticks, Shticks, and Slapstick

Arrow Video continues their new series of Sammo Hung releases with this action comedy from early in his directorial career. ...
Read More

Make Believe Seattle 2023 Review: Smoking Causes Coughing

If you’re in the Seattle area this weekend, Make Believe Seattle Film Festival is making its debut with a fascinating ...
Read More

The Son of the Stars Movie Review: Rare ‘80s Romanian Cartoon Gets Blu-ray Release

Thanks to Deaf Crocodile Films, U.S. viewers will finally get the chance to watch this Romanian sci-fi rarity. The film ...
Read More
Chilly scenes of winter.

Chilly Scenes of Winter Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Star of the Movie Is Director Joan Micklin Silver

Joan Micklin Silver’s Chilly Scenes of Winter is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Ann Beattie. ...
Read More

Babylon 4K UHD Steelbook Review: That Old Hollywood Stomp

Babylon (2022; dir. Damien Chazelle) does for silent movies what Boogie Nights (1997; dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) did for ‘70s ...
Read More

Dragonslayer (1981) 4K UHD Review: Great Dragon, Murky Movie

The title Dragonslayer brings to mind knights in shining armor. Villainous, fire-breathing wyrms. Damsels chained to posts in sacrifice to ...
Read More

Heartland of Darkness Blu-ray Review: Linnea Quigley’s Lost Movie

Heartland of Darkness is truly straight from the 1980s. Filmed in1989 but never released in its entirety until 2022. Known ...
Read More

Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K UHD Review: The Contender

A Philly ham-and-cheese tough with heart, Rocky Balboa is one of cinema’s best underdogs. Say what you like about its ...
Read More

The Retaliators (2022) Blu-ray Review: Crisis of Faith Meets Zombies

Stories about men encountering a crisis of faith are as old as stories, or as old as crises, or at ...
Read More

Millionaires’ Express Blu-ray Review: Chinese Bullet Train

After shining a light on the rise of the Hong Kong film industry with their phenomenal Shaw Brothers box sets, ...
Read More

The Vagrant (1992) Blu-ray Review: Baffling, but Never Boring Horror Film

The Vagrant has about four movies worth of themes and plots, but less than a single film's coherence. It's weird, ...
Read More

Panther (1995) Blu-ray Review: No, Not That Black Panther

From director Mario Van Peebles comes Panther (1995), the highly fictionalized story of the rise and fall of the Black ...
Read More

The House That Screamed Blu-ray Review: A Hallmark of European Horror

I have discovered so many hidden gems in the horror genre. These films contain expert filmmaking, strong performances, sheer atmosphere, ...
Read More

The Magic Flute (2023) Movie Review: Bargain Harry Potter Set to Opera

I’m not familiar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s original opera, The Magic Flute, nor am I familiar with other renditions that ...
Read More

Fill ‘er Up with Super Blu-ray Review: A Down-to-Earth Meditation of Male Bonding and Bruised Masculinity

I always enjoy simple films about the flaws of human beings and how their insecurities and toxicities are made bare ...
Read More

Creed III Movie Review: This Time (Like Every Time) It’s Personal

Michael B. Jordan does double duty for the first time, making his directorial debut on Creed III, the ninth movie ...
Read More

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Blu-ray Review: Puss Meets Death for the Ninth Time

The Shrek series has been dormant in the cinema for over a decade, since the release of the first Puss ...
Read More

Training Day 4K UHD Review: King Kong Ain’t Got Sh*t on Him!

Let’s talk about Training Day (2001; dir. Antoine Fuqua). Modern-day L.A.: Jake, a rookie cop (Ethan Hawke, in an Oscar-nominated ...
Read More
Robert Townsends Hollywood Shuffle Poster

Hollywood Shuffle Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Be the Change You Want to See

When struggling actor Robert Townsend was frustrated by the stereotypical and racist roles he was being offered as a black ...
Read More

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 4K UHD Steelbook Review: Grinding Relentless Horror Classic

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre deserves its reputation. For grisliness, for nastiness. And for excellence. It's a rare movie that ...
Read More

Kubo and the Two Strings 4K UHD Steelbook Review: Stop-motion Tribute to Samurai Cinema

Kubo and the Two Strings is the story of an estranged family coming together. It is the story of a ...
Read More

The Boxtrolls 4K UHD Steelbook Review: Charming, Odd, Ugly Beautiful?

Stop motion animation is a pretty weird medium. It was an early special effects trick, long since superseded by technology. ...
Read More

Palm Trees and Power Lines Movie Review: A Disturbingly Common Premise Given a Modern Feel

There are lots of films about the harsh realities of young adulthood, with emphasis on broken family dynamics, first love, ...
Read More

The Magnificent Seven (1960) 4K UHD Review: McQueen Rising

It’s an Old West spin on a brilliant film, director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. And hey, did it need to ...
Read More

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom Blu-ray Review: Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast

London, 1968. It’s the height and epicenter of the Swinging Sixties, and hip housewife Mrs. Blossom (Shirley MacLaine) is content ...
Read More
Dazed and Confused Criterion Collection Blu Ray Disc

Dazed and Confused Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: School’s Out

Dazed and Confused (1993; dir. Richard Linklater) circuits darkness: On the last day of school before the summer of 1976, ...
Read More

Ice Merchants Movie Review: A Heartrending Winner

These days its amazing that filmmakers are still able to invent new ways to tell stories, especially those centering on ...
Read More

The Fabelmans Blu-ray Review: Steven Spielberg’s Cinema Paradiso

It’s hard to imagine what cinema would be like without Steven Spielberg’s presence. He’s the man who created the first ...
Read More

2023 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films Review

Starting February 17, the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films will be available in over 500 theaters across 75+ theatrical markets ...
Read More

Deadly Games Blu-ray Review: More Like Slays of Our Lives

Deadly Games (1982) is the passion project of writer/director Scott Mansfield and passions do play a large role in this odd ...
Read More

2023 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Review

Starting February 17, the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films will be available in over 500 theaters across 75+ theatrical markets ...
Read More
FTruffaut Collection Book on display of the website

Francois Truffaut Collection Blu-ray Review: L’Enfant Tendre

Director Francois Truffaut was a darling of French New Wave cinema. He left us some good movies. Unlike some of ...
Read More

The Final 19 Movie Review: A Riveting Account of a POW’s Experience

Dan Hefel knew he was going to be drafted eventually. With the Vietnam War intensifying, Hefel decided that it would ...
Read More
Blue White Red Three Colors Poster Image

Three Colors Trilogy Criterion Collection 4K UHD Review: Enigmatic Masterpieces About People Connecting

The Three Colors of this film trilogy, Blue, White, and Red, are so-chosen for the French tri-color flag (sorry, U.S.A.) ...
Read More

Love on the Ground Blu-ray Review: Much Ado About Nothing

This 1984 French drama follows actors rehearsing a play, a time-worn concept of a show within a show dating back ...
Read More

2023 Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Short Films Review

Starting February 17, the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films will be available in over 500 theaters across 75+ theatrical markets ...
Read More
Large view of emily, emma mackey

Emily Movie Review: Frances O’Connor’s Directorial Debut Soars to Wuthering Heights

First-time writer/director Frances O’Connor reimagines the final years of writer Emily Brontë’s life in this stunning period drama, heralding her ...
Read More
The dead will ride, ghostriders, a film poster

Ghostriders Blu-ray Review: They Aren’t Just in the Sky!

MVD Visual brings to Blu-ray a refreshingly clear, remastered print of director/producer Alan Stewart’s Ghostriders (1987). A low budget action/horror ...
Read More
Lets hope its a girl, a film poster

Let’s Hope It’s a Girl Blu-ray Review: Italian Film, Continental Cast

While this Italian film was a critical success in its native land in 1986, winning seven of its national awards ...
Read More
The bride wore black, a film by jeanne moreau

The Bride Wore Black and Mississippi Mermaid Blu-rays Review: Truffaut Does Hitchcock

For much of his career, Alfred Hitchcock was not taken seriously by the critical establishment. His films were hugely successful, ...
Read More

Irreversible: Straight Cut Movie Review: Still Remains an Exhaustive, Challenging Experience

Director Gaspar Noe is one of the true cinematic enfant terribles. People love him or hate him, but there's also ...
Read More

Chicago: Limited Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Review: Rob Marshall Gives Audiences the Old Razzle Dazzle

Musical theater is something that I have always enjoyed. It is often difficult to translate a spectacular and engaging play ...
Read More

That Man Bolt Blu-ray Review: That Man Hammer

At first glance, this movie seems to bear all the hallmarks of a blaxploitation classic: its prime 1973 release date, ...
Read More

Plane Movie Review: Gerard Butler Leads a Satisfying Shoot-’em Up

Directed by Jean-François Richet from a screenplay by Charles Cumming and J. P. Davis, Plane is a satisfying shoot-'em up ...
Read More

Legion of Super-Heroes Blu-ray Review: A Fun Superhero Adventure Geared Towards a Younger Audience

Listed as part of the Tomorrowverse line of animated DC movies, Legion of Super-Heroes has the feel of a pilot ...
Read More

White Woman (1933) Blu-ray Review: Certainly Watchable but Not Much More Than That

In the early 1930s, Paramount Pictures made a name for itself by making films with beautiful women in exotic settings. ...
Read More

Men at Work Blu-ray Review: Put Away the Vegemite. It’s Not the Band from a Land Down Under

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

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

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

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

The male gaze in film has been problematic since the silent age. Sometimes directors (mostly male) unintentionally objectify women on ...
Read More

Darryl Jones: In the Blood DVD Review: The Man in the Stones’ Shadow

While not a well-known name, Darryl Jones is an integral component of the “Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band in the ...
Read More
The cover of invaders from mars.

Invaders from Mars (1953) Blu-ray Review: A Standout in the ’50s Sci-fi Genre

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

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”

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

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

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

The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review: Simply Lovely

What could be better than watching two under-appreciated actors give it their all? It’s watching two under-appreciated actors give it ...
Read More

Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be Movie Review: Adventures in Real and Imagined Past

This thoroughly charming French animated feature takes a unique approach in its storytelling. Rather than solely recounting the fictional adventures ...
Read More

Halloween Ends Blu-ray Review: Rights Many of the Wrongs Committed by Halloween Kills

2018's Halloween was basic but effective because it erased the bad taste left by many of the original franchise's questionable ...
Read More
The poster of the film the whale

From the Couch Hole: Best of Film 2022 – Movies Are Dreams, Doll, That You Never Forget

From 2005 through 2013 and then, after a hiatus, from 2017-2021, I have punctuated each year with an ever increasingly ...
Read More

Broker Movie Review: The Korean Shoplifters

Japanese writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda continues his cinematic explorations outside his native land and language with this dysfunctional relationship drama set ...
Read More

Nobody’s Fool Blu-ray Review: At the Center of the Film’s Charm Is Paul Newman’s Performance

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

This 1968 UK/France co-production boasts star turns from Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull in their prime, automatically making it an ...
Read More

EO Movie Review: One of the Very Best Films of the Year

We as humans have continued to take for granted the role that animals play in the world. They can do ...
Read More
Poster of temple frank lloyd wrights

Unity Temple: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Modern Masterpiece DVD Review: The Restoration and Reopening of a Historic and Beautiful Landmark

Many people know Frank Lloyd Wright for his incredible home designs such as Cedar Rock and the Hollyhock House. However, ...
Read More

Silent Running 4K UHD: Sci-Fi Hippy Dreams Dying

One of the things that made Star Wars such a huge hit was the state of '70s cinematic sci-fi. Because ...
Read More
The Criterion Collection Cooley High Poster

Cooley High Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Coming-of-Age Gem Authentically Told from a Black Perspective

Usually, when you think of Black-oriented films from the 1970s, you mind automatically gears toward the Blaxploitation genre, which usually ...
Read More

The Woman King Blu-ray Review: Delivers a Mighty Roar

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…

From its tagline “He was tough enough for the streets…was he tough enough to leave them?” Walk Proud (1979) starring ...
Read More

Bloom Up: A Swinger Couple Story DVD Review: A Film That’s Not for Everyone

The old saying goes that we don't know what goes on behind closed doors. But what happens when we are ...
Read More

5-25-77 Blu-ray Review: A Long Time Ago in a Town Far, Far Away

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

Our man Guido (Claudio Cassinelli) can't catch a break. Someone snitches on him and his partner Marco (Carmelo Reale) during ...
Read More

Pulp Fiction 4K UHD Review: Jukeboxer

Joy to the world: Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction—a gritty crime romp set in mid-1990s L.A.—is now out in 4K Ultra ...
Read More

The Night of the Iguana Blu-ray Review: A Long Night’s Journey into the Soul

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

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

The 1950s were an incredibly fertile period for science fiction at the cinema. The invention of the atomic bomb and ...
Read More

Let There Be Drums! DVD Review: And There Was Drums and Drummers!

Promotional materials for director Justin Kreutzmann's Let There Be Drums! state “The world’s greatest drummers reflect on the art of ...
Read More

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 4K UHD Review: Calamitous Christmas Classic

Clark Griswold, the epitome of the American Middle-Class male, is on a slow burn. He has a vision of perfection. ...
Read More

The Polar Express 4K UHD Review: Dead-eyed and Dreaming

The Polar Express (2004; dir. Robert Zemeckis; rated G) is a weird, dark flick that should be darker. A motion-capture ...
Read More

Entre Nous Blu-ray Review: Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves

Writer/director Diane Kurys borrowed from her own family history to craft this story about two women finding their way in ...
Read More

A Christmas Story 4K UHD Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!

A Christmas Story (1983; dir. Bob Clark) is a charmer—a sweet and funny yuletide gem that’s never too cute for ...
Read More

Hold Me Tight Blu-ray Review: An Engrossing Multi-character Piece

When I first saw Vicky Krieps in Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread, really holding her own against the likes of ...
Read More

Planes, Trains and Automobiles 4K UHD Review: Thanksgiving’s Annual Lesson

Neal Page is not a bad guy. He's tightly wound, a little too serious, but the most important thing to ...
Read More

Contraband (1980) Blu-ray Review: Explosively Violent Crime Action

Contraband comes in like a cool stylish Italian crime thriller and goes out like a Lucio Fulci gore fest. Being ...
Read More

Elf (2003) 4K UHD Review: Farrell and Favreau Hit

Elf is a strange premise, anchored on a strange performance. Will Ferrell plays the grown-up version of a baby from ...
Read More

Three Thousand Years of Longing Blu-ray Review: George Miller’s Genie

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?

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

As I may have mentioned in previous reviews, documentaries (more than anything in film) have the power to move, enrage, ...
Read More

Blue Hawaii 4K UHD Limited Edition Review: Death by Half-baked Clambake

When did Elvis Presley’s decline start?  From the cradle. I’m no Elvis scholar (I’ve listened to dozens of his albums ...
Read More
The Company Of Wolves Picture Poster Image

The Company of Wolves 4K UHD Review: Little Red’s Wolf Fetish

The Company of Wolves (1984) is only kind of a werewolf movie, in that werewolves in the 20th century took ...
Read More
Make Way For Tomorrow A Film By Leo McCarey Poster

Make Way for Tomorrow Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Children Just Don’t Understand

Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said, “Hell is other people.” That’s hard to disagree with, especially after seeing the way the ...
Read More
We Are As Gods A Film About Stewart Brand Poster

We Are As Gods DVD Review: A Life Well Lived

We Are As Gods takes its title from a line in subject Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, a book Steve ...
Read More
The Kindred Blu Ray Film Poster Image

The Kindred (1987) Blu-ray Review: Practical Effects, Impractical Storytelling

The difference between bad practical effects and bad CG is that bad practical still look like effort. Bad CG looks ...
Read More
Universal Classic Monsters Icons Of Horror Collection Poster

Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Vol. 2 4K UHD Review: They Don’t Make ’em Like They Used To

Halloween is over, but we can celebrate it all year long—am I right? I’m always in a mood to watch ...
Read More
Casablanca 4K Film Poster Image

Casablanca 4K UHD Review: Here’s Looking at UHD

There's an old joke about a woman who saw Hamlet for the first time and hated it. "It was all ...
Read More

Something in the Dirt Movie Review: A Masterpiece of Cosmic, Organic Horror

Brilliant and highly original DIY filmmakers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson already won my heart with such films as Resolution, ...
Read More
A poster of the movie Aqua Teen Forever Plantasm

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Review: Reunited, and It Feels So Good

Fifteen years after Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever, the 11th season of the series, concluded, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is ...
Read More
A Steven Spielberg Film ET The Extra Terrestrial Poster

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: An All-time Classic

What else can one say about E.T., the unfortunately fictional but lovable alien, who whisked his way into our hearts ...
Read More

Dressed to Kill (1980) 4K UHD Review: Hitchcock Outdone

To ‘get’ Dressed to Kill, you probably have to bear a soft spot in your heart for slasher movies. And it ...
Read More

Lost Highway Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Twist

The opening credits of Lost Highway are a POV from a car racing down a darkened highway, its headlights the ...
Read More
A Steven Spielberg Film ET The Extra Terrestrial Poster

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Blu-ray Review: ’80s Friendly Alien Invasion

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

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

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

Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! DVD Review: A Love Letter to the Original Series

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided the writer with a free copy of the DVD reviewed in this Blog Post. The ...
Read More

Zerograd (Zero City) Movie Review: Unique and Surreal

Seeing so many twisted tales of desperation where characters are forced into situations beyond their control, I do get that ...
Read More

Satan’s Little Helper Blu-ray Review: Ripe for Discovery

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

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 Automat DVD Review: A Wonderful Piece of Americana

Horn & Hardart's The Automat was a chain of self-serve restaurants in Philadelphia and New York City, and although only ...
Read More
The Count Yorga Collection Poster Image

The Count Yorga Collection Blu-ray Review: Vampire Wreaks Havoc in California! Read All About It!

From Arrow Video comes Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1972), cult classics and drive-in delights, ...
Read More

Blind Fury (1989) Blu-ray Review: ’80s Action Meets Japan Pulp

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

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

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

When I asked to review this film, Cinema Sentries publisher Gordon S. Miller, remembering that I had just reviewed the ...
Read More
Tropic Thunder Directors Cut Blu Ray Review Poster

Tropic Thunder Director’s Cut (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Comedy Pedigree That Guarantees Laughter

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

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

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

Stuntman-turned-director David Leitch (Deadpool 2) helms this crime caper featuring a colorful collection of scheming assassins gathered on a bullet ...
Read More

Island of the Blue Dolphins Blu-ray Review: An Enjoyable Story to Watch Unfold

Most of us have movies that we watched repeatedly as children.  I recall my sister and I watching Island of ...
Read More

Army of Darkness 4K UHD Limited Edition Steelbook Review: Long Live the Medieval Dead

Army of Darkness was my personal introduction to the Evil Dead. Because of Universal's awful marketing at the time, however, ...
Read More

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing Blu-ray Review: A Prime Example of the Immediacy and Importance of Films by Women

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

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

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

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

Director Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire (1935) is a remake of his silent film London After Midnight (1927), which ...
Read More

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IX Blu-ray Review: A Trio of Amateur Sleuths

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

Being a gay man myself, I am still terrified to live a world where most people continue to deny the ...
Read More

The War of the Worlds (1953)/When Worlds Collide 4K UHD Review: They Came From the ’50s

Producer George Pal’s thumbprint on science-fiction and fantasy films was big. A new limited edition, two-disc set from Paramount Pictures ...
Read More
DC League Of Super Pets Poster Image

DC League of Super-Pets Blu-ray Review: Sit and Stay for This One

Usually known for being much darker and more adult than its cinematic competitor Marvel, DC films will, on the very ...
Read More

TV Review: Love & Rockets: The Great American Comic Book

After 40 years of ongoing publication, the Love & Rockets comic book is long overdue for a celebratory retrospective. Thankfully, ...
Read More

Scream 2 4K UHD Review: You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream… For Less Scream

I doubt the horror movie was ‘dead’ before Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) came out. Hadn’t The Silence of the Lambs ...
Read More

The Chocolate War Blu-ray Review: Aims a Rather Sharp Eye on the Weird Rituals of Toxic Male Youth

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

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

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

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

It’s hard to imagine the trials and tribulations that must have befallen Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to reach the South Pole ...
Read More

The Justice of Bunny King Movie Review: Essie Davis Excels in Familiar Drama

Gaysorn Thavatt’s The Justice of Bunny King premiered at 2021’s Tribeca Film Festival and is finally making its way to ...
Read More

Rain 90th Anniversary Blu-ray Review: Luminous Joan Crawford Drives the Clouds Away

When a massive monsoon wallops the tiny South Pacific location of Pago Pago, it traps an assortment of colorful travelers ...
Read More

Poltergeist (1982) 4K UHD Review: This Movie Is Clean

Director Tobe Hooper is most famous for Poltergeist (1982) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Chainsaw’s a sick, stone classic ...
Read More

The Lost Boys 4K UHD Review: Flashy ’80s Vampire Flick

Half of the The Lost Boys is a moody gothic music-video styled horror movie. The other half is the '80s ...
Read More

Le Corbeau Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Poison Pen French Noir

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

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!

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

George A. Romero, one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the medium, like Wes Craven, didn't make straightforward ...
Read More

Kamikaze Hearts Blu-ray Review: A Gritty Deep Dive into the Porn Industry

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

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

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

The Criminal Life of Archibaldo De La Cruz (Ensayo De Un Crimen) (1955) shot in Mexico and filmed in Spanish ...
Read More

Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Director’s Edition 4K UHD Review: The Starship Ponderosa

Upon its release in 1979, Trekkies greeted Star Trek: The Motion Picture as an Event. Green-lit by Paramount in a ...
Read More

Rachel, Rachel Blu-ray Review: A Tender Story of a Woman’s Awakening

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Poster

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray Review: An Early Sci-fi Gem

In a time of incredible special effects and science fiction becoming more reality than fiction, it can be difficult for ...
Read More
Detachment shown in the move Get Away If You Can

Get Away If You Can Movie Review: Sound Advice

It’s a rarity when the name of the movie tells you what to do if you see it playing in ...
Read More
An emotional scene from Get Away If You Can

Interview with Terrence Martin and Dominique Braun about Get Away If You Can

It’s a daunting task to direct your first feature film in Hollywood. It’s even more daunting when you also commit ...
Read More
The poster of the movie Neptune Frost

Neptune Frost Blu-ray Review: The Revolution Will Be Televised

This feature film from recording artist Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman is undeniably ambitious, boasting an enticing amalgamation of Afrofuturist ...
Read More
The poster of the action comedy Salt and Pepper

Salt and Pepper / One More Time Blu-ray Review: Stay Away from the Spice Rack

Ten years before legendary director Richard Donner would bring the Lethal Weapon team to the big screen, he would make ...
Read More
The poster of the movie Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Review: James Cagney Plays Lon Chaney

Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) from Universal International tells the tale of silent film star Lon Chaney, from vaudeville ...
Read More
Custom Cropped Poster of The Old Man Movie

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Review: Cows Udders End the World

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

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

I’ve seen a lot of good B movies.  This may be the first C movie I’ve seen, and though director ...
Read More
A poster of the movie God Told Me Too

God Told Me To 4K UHD Review: Holy Mindscrew

Larry Cohen, the writer-director of such cult faves as It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, and The Stuff, was a ...
Read More

Event Horizon 4K UHD Review: Atmospheric Space Chiller

At first glance, Event Horizon looks like a rip-off of Alien. A crew in space, far from any aid, investigating ...
Read More
Custom Cropped Poster of the movie Flying Guillotine

Flying Guillotine Part II Blu-ray Review: Double the Guillotine, Double the Fun

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

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

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

This review is full of references that may be considered spoilers.  Ultimately, there is nothing I can write that would ...
Read More
Reno 911, The Hunt for QAnon DVD Cover

Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon DVD Review: Insanity Ensues

If you're a fan of the ridiculous and over-the-top comedy of the Reno 911! series, your fandom will only grow in ...
Read More

Flatliners (1990) 4K UHD Review: Visually Stimulating Psychological Thriller

Doctors lead very exciting lives in movies. Every doctor I've known in real life has been a little dull. Intelligent, ...
Read More

The Capote Tapes DVD Review: Other Voices Help Tell the Story of the Famous Author

The Capone Tapes is a documentary about the life of author Truman Capote (1924 – 1984). The titular tapes were ...
Read More

Miami Blues Blu-ray Review: A Pastel Sleeper

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

Edge of Sanity (1988), starring Anthony Perkins and directed by Gérard Kikoïne, is a very 1980s take on Dr. Jekyll, ...
Read More

Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen Blu-ray Review: An Absolute Delight All the Way Through

I have seen lots of documentaries about the making of cherished films, but only a few of them really impressed ...
Read More

My Old School Movie Review: Something Is Rotten in Scotland

In 1993, a 16-year-old boy named Brandon Lee enrolled at a secondary school in an upscale neighborhood in Scotland. A ...
Read More

Taza, Son of Cochise Blu-ray Review: Rock Hudson as an Apache Chief

Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) is the highly fictionalized story of the Apache chief who takes over after his father’s ...
Read More
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu Ray Review

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands Blu-ray Review: Sexy, Funny, and Highly Entertaining

Brazilian cinema isn't always on my radar, but when I actually see a Brazilian film, I realize that there is ...
Read More

The Nan Movie Review: Bad Grandma

Before Catherine Tate gained recognition in the U.S. with her turns as a Doctor Who companion and a boss in ...
Read More

Planet of the Vampires Blu-ray Review: A Low Budget Masterpiece

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The slasher subgenre of horror was in serious decline in 1989. Audiences, even the very forgiving horror hounds, had grown ...
Read More

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender DVD Review: A Fun Essay

Sometimes I don't get Hollywood. It has an infamously tedious tendency to be really behind the times. It's not exactly ...
Read More

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VIII Blu-ray Review

The thing about film noir is that it is a genre without definition. Unlike something like westerns or science-fiction, genres ...
Read More

The Deer King Movie Review: Beautiful, If Overly Complicated Fantasy

Van, the protagonist of The Deer King, is a big man. Probably the biggest in the salt mine where he's ...
Read More

The Adventures of Don Juan (1948) Blu-ray Review: Come in with Flynn

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

I remember seeing Boomerang in theaters when it first came out. I have seen it many times since and still ...
Read More

Phil Lynott Songs For While I’m Away + Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back In Town: Live at the Sydney Opera House October 1978 DVD Review

Mercury Studios has paired the 2020 documentary Phil Lynott: Songs For While I’m Away, which aired on BBC Two,with the ...
Read More

Hero (1997) Blu-ray Review: The Heroic Return of Shaw Brothers

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

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

Time marches on for the beloved characters of Downton Abbey as their second appearance on the silver screen delivers a ...
Read More

Edge of Tomorrow 4K UHD Review: Groundhog D-Day

It is a strange time to look at a film that earned hundreds of millions at the box-office and wonder: ...
Read More

American Werewolves Movie Review: Has the Vibe of a 1980’s Network Special About Cryptids

The independent production company Small Town Monsters is not afraid to explore topics in the worlds of the strange and ...
Read More

Strawberry Mansion Blu-ray Review: Seek Out This Surrealistic, Genre-blending Film

Directed and written by Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley, Strawberry Mansion is a surrealistic, genre-blending story that takes viewers on ...
Read More
A scene grab from the short film Fireworks

Tribeca 2022 Interview: Producer Annalise Davis Talks Fireworks

Producer Annalise Davis has been in the film industry for nearly 20 years, having worked on films such as The ...
Read More

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Review: Proto Totoro Anime Film

In my estimation, Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro is one of the greatest films ever made. It's an almost perfect fantasy ...
Read More

Fire in the Sky Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Story

Even with news of UFOs and UAPs in the pages of The New York Times and in the halls of ...
Read More
DVD Cover of the movie The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Blu-ray Review: It’s No Secret, This Movie Stinks

If David Yates and J.K. Rowling are serious about their plan to make the Fantastic Beasts series into five movies, ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: The DOC

In the rap and hip hop world, it's one thing to have confidence and ego about being one of the ...
Read More
A scene grab from the short film Fireworks

Tribeca 2022 Review: Fireworks

There have been many films and television series that involve top-level characters carrying out orders to bomb a certain location ...
Read More

One-Armed Boxer Blu-ray Review: Delivers a Nuttiness Desired in An Old Kung Fu Movie

A man walks into a bar and notices another man sitting at his table. He tells the man that he ...
Read More

True Romance 4K UHD Review: Sick Love, Slick Film

True Romance isn't a Quentin Tarantino movie. His name is on the screenplay. It has many scenes which no other ...
Read More

The Worst Person in the World Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Breathtakingly Honest

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 in India, an enduring love affair poster

The Beatles and India: An Enduring Love Affair Blu-ray Review

This new feature-length documentary directed by Ajoy Bose was released June 21, 2022 by MVD Visual on DVD and Blu-ray. ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine

Coming out of the closet for in one of the most difficult things that anyone in LGBTQ community ever has ...
Read More
A scene from the 2022 movie Katrina Babies

Tribeca 2022 Review: Katrina Babies

There is no way that someone could direct a documentary such as Katrina Babies the same way if they had ...
Read More

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) Blu-ray Review: Well Worth Watching to See Spencer Tracy Play Against Type

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was originally sold as a penny dreadful and ...
Read More
A scene from the movie A Rising Fury

Tribeca 2022 Review: A Rising Fury

Starting with the Maidan Revolution in Kyiv in 2013, and leading up to the current invasion from Russia, A Rising ...
Read More
An interactive scene from the movie The Visitor

Tribeca 2022 Review: The Visitor

After spending time in jail for “alcoholism,” Humberto (Enrique Araoz) is three years sober and ready to restart his life ...
Read More
Integrity of Joseph Chambers movie scene

Tribeca 2022 Review: The Integrity of Joseph Chambers

Joseph Chambers (Clayne Crawford), or “Joe” as some call him, is not the kind of man you would think could ...
Read More

The Initiation of Sarah Blu-ray Review: A Made-for-TV Carrie Rip-Off

In 1976, Brian De Palma released the supernatural horror movie, Carrie. Based upon Stephen King's first published novel of the ...
Read More
An emotional scene from the movie A Love Song

Tribeca Film Festival 2022 Review: A Love Song

An unorthodox romance set in a beautiful, vast Colorado backdrop is at the center of Max Walker-Silverman's beguilingly unassuming directorial ...
Read More
An emotional scene from the movie A Love Song

Tribeca 2022 Review: A Love Song

Dale Dickey has been acting for nearly 30 years, and chances are, you’ve seen her in at least one movie ...
Read More
LeVar Burton featuring in Butterfly in the Sky movie

Tribeca 2022 Review: Butterfly in the Sky

The opening scene of Butterfly in the Sky centers LeVar Burton in front of a huge library filled with books. ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Wes Schlagenhauf is Dying

If you said that there are too many pandemic comedies existing now, I would have to agree with you. However, ...
Read More
Late Night Movie Review Poster Image

Late Night Movie Review: Emma Thompson Is Incredibly Pitch Perfect

While Late Night is full of high points, one of its best ones is how it points out the fallacies of any ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Out of Order

Sometimes the big city can bring a lot of you, including your search of love after heartbreak. This appealingly familiar ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

Produced and directed by Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, and Stuart Samuels, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story documents the love ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Nude Tuesday

I've never been married nor have been in a relationship, but I have seen enough on film and TV to ...
Read More

Raiders of the Lost Ark Limited Edition Steelbook 4K UHD Review: Cinematic Adventure Perfection

Watching as a child, I knew that Raiders of the Lost Ark was a great adventure. It had everything you ...
Read More
A scene from the movie Peace in the Valley

Tribeca 2022 Review: Peace in the Valley

It’s a sad coincidence that Tyler Riggs’ Peace in the Valley premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival as the nation ...
Read More

Candyman (1992) 4K UHD Review: Urban Legend, Urban Horror

Of the many great things about Bernard Rose's Candyman, one of the best is that it isn’t structured like a ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Employee of the Month

Belgian director Veronique Jadin's Employee of the Month (L'employée du mois) reveals how hostile a workplace can get when people, ...
Read More

The Clock Blu-ray Review: Judy Garland’s Time

By 1945, 23-year-old Judy Garland was already a screen veteran with 20 leading roles to her credit. She was also ...
Read More

Fanny: The Right to Rock Movie Review: Queens of Rock & Roll

Directed by Bobbi Jo Hart, Fanny: The Right to Rock, a documentary on the all-female rock band, Fanny, is a ...
Read More
An emotional scene from the movie Rounding

Tribeca 2022 Review: Rounding

Alex Thompson’s Rounding is classified as a psychological thriller, and it has the necessary elements to categorize it as such. ...
Read More

Tribeca 2022 Review: Closing Dynasty

Written and directed by Lloyd Lee Choi Closing Dynasty is a quietly humanistic short portrait of how we really do ...
Read More

Offseason Movie Review: Holistically Brilliant

A Shudder exclusive, Offseason is the newest film from writer and director Mickey Keating. Broken into chapters, the film starts ...
Read More
A limited edition poster of the movie Grease

Grease 2 (40th Anniversary) Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Back to Rydell High School Again

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

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

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

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

Written by John Sayles and directed by Bill Forsyth, Breaking In is a buddy picture set in Portland, Oregon. The ...
Read More

The Untouchables 4K UHD Review: De Palma Lite

Great artists sometimes create beneath their gifts, just for a lark. This describes the role Brian De Palma plays in ...
Read More

The Police: Around the World (Restored & Expanded) Review: An Entertaining Scrapbook from the Band’s Early Days

Originally available on VHS and Laserdisc, The Police: Around The World (Restored & Expanded) is now available on DVD and ...
Read More

Dashcam (2021) Movie Review: Rob Savage’s Film Misses the Mark

Dashcam is the new film from writer and director Rob Savage who received a lot of attention and acclaim after ...
Read More

12 Monkeys (1995) 4K UHD Review: Time-Travel Tragedy

Terry Gilliam lives to be idiosyncratic. In a British comedy troupe, Monty Python, he was the American. In Hollywood filmmaking, ...
Read More

The Batman (2022) Blu-ray Review: Matt Reeves Delivers a Fresh Take on the Franchise with a Noiresque Detective Story

As mentioned in my review of the film, “Matt Reeves’s The Batman reboots the franchise and takes the audience back ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse Blu-ray Review: Intentionally Misleading, but Still Enjoyable

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

Following a brief U.S. theatrical run, this charming new anime is now making its way to home video. The story ...
Read More

Trekkies: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review: It’s Logical to Them

Released in 1997, Trekkies is a documentary about Star Trek fandom, particularly as it was in the mid-'90s when the ...
Read More

Wild Things 4K UHD Review: High Level Sleaze

Wild Things is trash. But it's a kind of exquisite trash. It's the best Cinemax-style soft porn ever made. It's ...
Read More
Cinema Sentries

Mississippi Masala Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mira Nair’s Beguiling Sophomore Film

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

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

The Carey Treatment (1972; dir. Blake Edwards) is an obscurity that should stay one. It’s blander than bland. Based on ...
Read More

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Review: Another Slasher Movie Where Kids Will Be Kids

I've seen many slasher flicks, especially those from '80s. I was really impressed by some of them, while others totally ...
Read More
A scene from the 2022 movie The Last Victim

The Last Victim (2022) Movie Review: A Victim of Mediocrity

One of the most interesting things about Naveen Chatapuram’s directorial debut The Last Victim is that, by the end, the ...
Read More

Uncharted Blu-ray Review: Charted in the Video Games

As I watched the thrilling mid-air action scene that opens Uncharted, I realized that it seemed familiar to me. That’s ...
Read More
Poster from the movie Say Hello to This Gem

Adieu Lacan Movie Review: Say Hello to This Gem

One of the tricks of adapting a stage play to film is making sure that the film is able to ...
Read More

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Movie Review: Sam Raimi’s Magic Saves a Jam-packed Script

After Doctor Strange director and co-writer Scott Derrickson stepped away due to creative differences, director Sam Raimi was given the ...
Read More

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Season 13 and The Gizmoplex Debut Today

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is a show that will not die. It has moved through so many incarnations, starting on ...
Read More

Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection Blu-ray Review: The Good, the Bad, the Painful

Being intrigued by the titles in this collection, and the fact that I had not heard of the three Science ...
Read More

Search & Filter

Categories

Subscribe!