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Viva La Muerte! Blu-ray Review: A Hypnotically Demented Ride

Once in a while, a film comes along and completely leaves me flabbergasted. In the case of Spanish filmmaker Fernando ...
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My Love Affair with Marriage Blu-ray Review: Animation, Songs, and Science

Writer/director Signe Baumane spent over seven years creating this whimsical animated feature film about a young woman’s struggles with romantic ...
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Cinema Sentries

Fail Safe Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: It’s the End of the World as They Know It (and No One Feels Fine)

In January 1964, filmgoers could see a Cold War story about the frantic negotiations between the United States and the ...
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Dark Night of the Scarecrows 1 & 2 Blu-ray Review: A Decent Set for Diehard Fans

Ever since I first saw Frank DeFelitta's 1981 made-for-TV horror/suspense cult classic Dark Night of a Scarecrow, I never forgot ...
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The Boy and the Heron Blu-ray Review: The Return of the King (of Animation)

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, his first feature film in 10 years since announcing his retirement after The Wind ...
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Hard Miles Movie Review: 762 Miles to Freedom

The uplifting sports biopic genre has a lot of murky waters to wade through to win the hearts of the ...
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The Watchers (2024) Blu-ray Review: Weak Plot but Strong Direction from Ishana Night Shyamalan

The Watchers marks the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, who produced. The movie ...
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Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III Blu-ray Review: Yakuza Behind Bars

Like courtroom dramas and police procedurals, prison stories have the convenience of ready-made conflict. Prisoners versus guards. Gangs versus gangs. ...
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A Queen’s Ransom Blu-ray Review: James Bond and The One-Armed Swordsman Can’t Save This Stinker

In May of 1975, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip became the first reigning English monarchs to visit ...
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Black Mask Blu-ray Review: Ridiculous Fun

Black Mask begins with Jet Li being surrounded by a couple of dozen soldiers with heavy firepower. He's asked to ...
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A Man Called Tiger Blu-ray Review: The Action Is Well Made and Worth Watching

Bruce Lee and director Lo Wei worked together on two films, The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972). ...
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Empire of the Ants Special Edition Blu-ray Review: Beware of Them Man-made Monsters!

From producer Samuel Z Arkoff and director Bert I. Gordon, who brought you the cult classic The Food of the ...
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Doubt (2008) Blu-ray Review: A Masterclass of Acting

Sometimes in life there are things that make you question everything you thought you knew, and that will cause serious ...
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Tokijiro: The Lonely Yakuza Blu-ray Review: Romance and Bloodshed in 18th Century Japan

My expectations going into Tokijiro: The Lonely Yakuza were that it was going to be a fairly typical lone warrior-type ...
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Game Night 4K UHD Review: Game of Life Offers Monopoly of Laughs

Co-directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Game Night is a comedy-kidnap-caper film starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams ...
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Assignment in Brittany DVD Review: Vive La Resistance!

Assignment in Brittany, directed by Jack Conway (Viva Villa, 1932), is a 1943 World War II espionage thriller that's got ...
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High Crime (1973) 4K UHD Review: The Italian Connection

Made during the infamous Italian Years of Lead (a decades-long period of political turmoil and heavy street violence), High Crime ...
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Door-to-Door Maniac Blu-ray Review: Come for Johnny Cash, Stay for the Devil

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash, and I'm here to kill you". That is not the way the famed country and western ...
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Black Mass (2015) 4K UHD Review: Government-Approved Gangsterism

Gangster movies tend to hang on loyalty. Gangs tend to hang on loyalty. The lower thugs not giving up their ...
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The Food of the Gods (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: A Goofy Cult Classic with a Message

Bert I. Gordon (1922-2023) was kind of a wunderkind, creating sci-fi and B-horror movies with often low-budgets. He was also ...
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Man on the Moon Blu-ray Review: Jim Carrey Brings Andy Kaufman to Life

After working together on The People vs Larry Flynt, director Milos Forman reteamed with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski ...
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The Apartment (1996) Blu-ray Review: No, Not the Billy Wilder One

Despite sharing a title with an all-time Hollywood classic, this 1996 French production has no other similarities to the Jack ...
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IF 4K UHD Review: The Opposite of a Magical Adventure

John Krasinski directed, co-wrote, and co-starred in 2018’s dark thriller A Quiet Place. In 2020, Krasinski wrote and directed A ...
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My Penguin Friend Movie Review: Homeward Bound in the Southern Hemisphere

Joao is a humble old fisherman eking out a living with his wife on the rural coast of Brazil, both ...
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Blu-ray Review: Captures the Film’s Visual and Auditory Thrills

As stated in my review of the movie, “Director George Miller makes an epic return to the Wasteland for Furiosa: ...
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Observe and Report Blu-ray Review: Two Jokes and Ray Liotta

Written and directed by Jody Hill, Observe and Report concerns itself with the security detail at the Forest Ridge Mall ...
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Navajo Joe (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: Burt Reynolds Works with the Other Sergio on This Unique Spaghetti Western 

Sergio (no, the other one) Corbucci directs and Burt Reynolds stars in Navajo Joe (1966), a violent Spaghetti Western that ...
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The Lady from Shanghai 4K UHD Review: Twisty, Twisted Noir Classic

Except maybe Citizen Kane, everything Orson Welles directed has a kind of asterisk by its name. However good the movie ...
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Squirm (Special Edition) Blu-ray Review: The Best Southern Gothic, Killer-Worm Flick Ever Made

The 1970s just might be the greatest decade for horror movies. There were so many types of horror back then: ...
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Bless Their Little Hearts Blu-ray Review: A Testament to the Importance of Socially Conscious Filmmaking

As an incredibly loyal film lover, I'm always looking for that great cinematic discovery; something that represents a crucial step ...
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Swan Song (2023) DVD Review: Revelatory All-Access Pass to the Creation of a Ballet

Nope, this isn’t the Mahershala Ali Apple TV+ movie. It’s also not the indie starring Udo Kier in drag. Instead, ...
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Demons & Demons 2 4K UHD Review: Completely Bonkers in the Best Possible Way

From his debut film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, in 1970 to Opera, his last great film, made in ...
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Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Review: Life After the War

One of the most effective themes of the recent Godzilla Minus One, which was the most successful Japanese language film ...
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The Seduction (1982) Blu-ray Review: Better Than the Razzie Awards Would Have One Think

The Seduction, written and directed by David Schmoeller, stars Morgan Fairchild as a popular news anchor and Andrew Stevens as ...
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Scab Vendor: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist Movie Review: An Artistic and Fascinating Journey

Obsession, drive, and demons. All three things can both fuel a person's life or destroy it. Tattooist, artist, and writer ...
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Deadpool & Wolverine Movie Review: Welcome to the MCFU

The merc with the (filthy) mouth returns in yet another multiverse mash-up that bids farewell to the Fox Marvel Universe ...
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Risky Business Criterion Collection Review: Introducing Tom Cruise and Guido the Killer Pimp

Written and directed by Paul Brickman, 1983’s Risky Business turned Tom Cruise into a superstar. And it isn’t just dancing ...
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Tchao Pantin Blu-ray Review: Funny Name, Fantastic Film

Tchao Pantin (or So Long, Stooge as it is sometimes called) doesn't do anything fresh or original within the noir ...
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The Lost Weekend Movie Review: Don the Writer; Don the Drunk

The Lost Weekend was co-written by director Billy Wilder and Charles Bracket, author of the novel of the same name. ...
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The Linguini Incident (Director’s Cut) Blu-ray Review: The Bowie Film That Almost Got Away

Once upon a time, David Bowie played a romantic lead in a U.S. feature film that received virtually no theatrical ...
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The Fall Guy (2024) Blu-ray Review: An Entertaining Industry Send-Up

Ryan Gosling stars in The Fall Guy as stunt man Colt Seavers, recreating the role of Lee Majors played in ...
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Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Movie Review: What We Talk About When We Talk About Fame

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four, including ...
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Anselm Blu-ray Review: Wim Wenders Continues His Fascination with the Arts

Director Wim Wenders is the rare creator able to shift between narrative and documentary features as he wishes, excelling in ...
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Black God, White Devil Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Could Not Be More Relevant

Once in a while, a film comes along and redefines my perception of the limitless possibilities of filmmaking. Influential Brazilian ...
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Under Western Stars Blu-ray Review: Mr. Rogers Rides to Washington in His First Starring Role

Under Western Stars (1938) from Republic Pictures finds Roy Rogers taking the lead reins in his first starring role. The ...
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DogMan Blu-ray Review: The Silence of the Dogs

Writer/director Luc Besson’s latest effort focuses on the jailhouse interactions between a deranged criminal and the psychiatrist assigned to his ...
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Challengers Blu-ray Review: A Sexy but Shallow Jules & Jim Tennis Epic

There are many films about love triangles, ones that actually have something to say about male ego, masculinity, masochism, and ...
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Rebecca (1940) Movie Review: Last Night I Dreamt I Went to Manderley Again

Rebecca is Alfred Hitchcock’s lovingly crafted ghost story, a haunted house suspense thriller where the ghost is Rebecca herself. She ...
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The Mask of Fu Manchu Blu-ray Review: Pre-Code Lunacy with Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy

The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), directed by Charles Brabin, is a melodramatic pre-Code horror movie that stars Boris Karloff ...
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Le samouraï Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Well-Executed French Neo-noir

Directed and co-written by Jean-Pierre Melville, Le samouraï stars Alain Delon, as professional hitman Jef Costello, whose detached coolness, which ...
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