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Trust Me (2014) Movie Review: Jerry Maguire with an Unfortunate Ending

To review the story of Trust Me without addressing the ending is to overlook perhaps the most glaring issue in ...
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When Jews Were Funny DVD Review: Looking for Mr. Goodman

With the star-studded roster of talented comedians interviewed for this project, Canadian documentarian Alan Zweig's When Jews Were Funny begins ...
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Cold in July Movie Review: Suspense Thriller Degenerates into Gratuitous Violence

I never thought I'd be typing these words, and please believe me when I write that this is not a ...
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Riot in Cell Block 11 Criterion Collection DVD Review: Stuck in Folsom Prison

Directed by Don Siegel, the 1954 movie Riot in Cell Block 11 offers a gritty, authentic look at the prison ...
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The Art of the Steal (2013) DVD Review: A Canadian Caper Film

Written by S. Edward Sousa A viewer's got to be leery of a film with so many production companies attached ...
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Il Sorpasso Criterion Collection Review: An Endearing, Incisive Road Movie

The comedy of Dino Risi's road movie Il Sorpasso hums along beautifully, just like the gorgeous Lancia Aurelia convertible one ...
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Blu-ray Review: Thar’s Murder in Them Hills!

Written by Kristen Lopez If The Maltese Falcon was “the stuff that dreams are made of,” then The Treasure of ...
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The Maltese Falcon (1941) Blu-ray Review: The Stuff Dreams Are Made of

Continuing my Humphrey Bogart film-watching... Set in 1941 San Francisco, The Maltese Falcon follows detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) who ...
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Master of the House Criterion Collection DVD Review: As Boring as it is Important

As a self-confessed film buff, I have to admit that my knowledge is severely lacking when it comes to silent ...
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Blu-ray Review: A Secret Best Left Untold

One fateful day as a geeky movie kid in the late '80s, I discovered a recently-released-to-home-video VHS of something called ...
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Tribeca 2014 Review: Black Coal, Thin Ice: Uneven Film Noir Spiced with Humor and Horror

Black Coal, Thin Ice (Bai Ri Yan Huo), a very noir detective story with hints of both humor and nihilism, ...
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Tribeca 2014 Review: 5 to 7 Is a Witty Comedy That Wilts into a Soggy Love Story

Watching 5 to 7 is like eating an entire box of creamy, sugary, overstuffed bonbons. The first few are delicious, ...
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Tribeca 2014 Panel: Stories by Numbers Review: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Data?

Today, there's granular, detailed data on what people watch, when they watch it, on what device and at what time ...
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Little Feat: Live in Holland 1976 Review: Featfans, Rejoice!

They call themselves “Featfans,” and are to Little Feat what the Deadheads are to the Grateful Dead. Recently the Featfans ...
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Cinema Sentries

2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day Three and Four

Day Three Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) had me up and raring to go for Day Three.  Anything starring ...
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God’s Pocket Movie Review: One Last Chance to See Philip Seymour Hoffman

What would Roger Sterling, the character John Slattery plays on Mad Men, think of God's Pocket? (The film is actor ...
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Cinema Sentries

2014 TCM Classic Film Festival Review: Day One and Two

The 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival was my fourth and favorite. It may have been the festival programming or the ...
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Martial Arts Double Feature: Hapkido / Lady Whirlwind (1972) DVD Review: The Return of Angela Mao

While I haven't completely forgotten every single bit of my life as an awkward teenager in the '90s, there aren't ...
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20 Feet from Stardom Movie Review: Backup Singers Take Center Stage

When 20 Feet from Stardom won the Best Documentary Film award at the most recent Oscars, there was some chatter ...
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Bill Elliott Detective Mysteries DVD Review: From Deadeye to Dick

At the tail end of his career in motion pictures, a longtime western star by the name o' Wild Bill ...
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Joan Crawford Stars in Montana Moon, I Live My Life, and The Bride Wore Red from Warner Archive Collection

What images come to mind when one hears the name “Joan Crawford”? Faye Dunaway in a close-up so close she ...
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The Nut Job Blu-ray Review: Amiable Enough to Entertain the Kiddos

Universal Studios is releasing on Blu-ray and DVD The Nut Job on April 15. The animated film is set in ...
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An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story DVD Review: Justice Prevails

An Unreal Dream recounts the story of Michael Morton, a man who kissed his wife and son goodbye before heading ...
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Out of the Furnace Blu-ray Review: Burning Too Many Fires

Out of the Furnace is a frustrating misfire, made all the more dispiriting by the unwarranted high caliber of acting ...
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Fargo (Remastered Edition) Blu-ray Review: Such a Super Film but Not so Super an Edition

When you think about the Coen Brothers' 1996 masterpiece Fargo you likely think of it as a Frances McDormand movie. ...
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SEAL Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines (2014) DVD Review: aka The Dyslexic Subtitle Movie

Years ago, film producers seemed to take an unnatural amount of pride in increasing the numerical value of their franchises, ...
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The Hidden Fortress Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Gold Standard

A long time ago in a country far, far away, esteemed director Akira Kurosawa filmed a grand adventure that took ...
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Philomena Blu-ray Review: A Simple Story Told Really Well

Philomena Lee had a child out of wedlock. This was in Ireland in 1951 so her father sent her to ...
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I Am Divine DVD Review: Hairspray and Hilarity

Written by Kristen Lopez I've loved The Little Mermaid since I was five years old. Ursula is one of my ...
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Knights of Badassdom Blu-ray Review: Verily Indeed

Knights of Badassdom is a horror comedy in the vein of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil or ThanksKilling. It never ...
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Saving Mr. Banks Blu-ray Review: A Heartwarming Story

It is rare that I am interested in watching a movie a second time after a recent viewing. It is ...
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The Bigamist (1953) DVD Review: A Sensitive Treatment of the Subject

I must admit that my prurient interests were piqued by the title of The Bigamist (1953). This Ida Lupino-directed film ...
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Frozen (2013) Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: A Fairy Tale about True Love

Starting with the 1931 Silly Symphony short, “The Ugly Duckling,” the stories of Hans Christian Andersen have long been a ...
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Kagemusha Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And a Thief Shall Lead Them 

From his debut as a director with Sanshiro Sugata (1943) through to Red Beard (1965), director Akira Kurosawa averaged releasing ...
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Ran Criterion Collection DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa’s Final Masterpiece

Ran is Kurosawa's last masterpiece from a man who made many. He made three more films afterwards, but none came ...
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Boardwalk DVD Review: Death Vish

New York City used to be a dangerous place. No, really. This will not be news to anyone who lived ...
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Sunrise (1927) Blu-ray Review: A Visual Masterpiece from the Silent Era

 At the very first Academy Awards, F. W. Murnau's Sunrise was the winner of the Unique and Artistic Production, considered ...
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Himizu Movie Review: Compellingly Weird Coming-of-age Drama

Weird movies (and Sion Sono makes nothing but weird movies) can only be really successful story vehicles if they properly ...
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Guilty of Romance Movie Review: Sexy Thriller with Tacked-on Murder

Izumi seems like the perfect wife, by her husband's sterile and demanding definition of perfect. She has his slippers in ...
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100 Years Of Wrigley Field DVD Review: A Century of Baseball on Chicago’s North Side

The Friendly Confines, three words that conjure up images of sold-out games, fans watching from rooftops, the ivy on the ...
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In the Name of the King 3: The Last Mission Blu-ray Review: Why Do I Torture Myself Like This?

Sometimes, all it takes is the right angle - whether you're a Nigerian prince trying to give away free money, ...
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Eric Clapton: The 1970s Review DVD Review: Between Cream and 461 Ocean Boulevard

The video company Sexy Intellectual specialize in unauthorized biographies, such as From Straight to Bizarre: Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper and ...
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Fibber McGee and Molly Double Feature (1942-1944) DVD Review: The Mediocre and the Stinky

In this day and age, the idea of a real-life couple appearing together in a motion picture, on the television, ...
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Cinema Sentries

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (Deluxe Edition) DVD Review: Star-studded, Jam-packed, Mid-career Celebration of One of Rock’s Greats

The 1980s were not particularly kind to Bob Dylan.  There were a few highlights including successful tours with Tom Petty ...
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The 300 Spartans Blu-ray Review: Caveat Emptor

The 300 Spartans debuts on Blu-ray in conjunction with the theatrical release of 300: Rise of an Empire, which expands ...
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Zaytoun Movie Review: A Heavy Subject with a Light Touch

More than a little melodramatic in places, Eran Riklis' Zaytoun is a tale of unexpected friendship in seemingly impossible circumstances. ...
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300 Movie Review: A Bit of the Old Hyperviolence

Brothers and sisters, lend me your eyes so I many share with you all the tale of brave Leonidas I, ...
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Wicked Blood Blu-ray Review: Southern Meth Generic Crime Drama

The film's title, Wicked Blood, implies that it will be about family, and I suppose it is. It evokes the ...
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Love Is a Racket (1932) DVD Review: Yeah, Figured That One Out Already, Thanks

First of all, allow me to say that, although the gossip column of the newspaper has expanded enormously into entire ...
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