Uncategorized

Sex, Power, and Money: Films by Beth B Blu-ray Review: A Filmmaker of Incredible Vision and Prescience

By Davy | Sep 15, 2023

As an extreme film buff, I always appreciate and seek out filmmakers and films that challenge the usual and obviously ...

The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection DVD Review: A Fantastic Set

By Gordon S. Miller | Sep 9, 2023

This three-disc set features 75 digitally remastered cartoons from the Walter Lantz Archive. The biggest star to come out of ...

Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Review: The Set Is Really a Lot of Fun

By Davy | Jul 25, 2023

Going through history, there's always hidden gems of pop culture that seem lost forever, whether it's film or television. However, ...

Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: A Good Start to Becoming a Cartoon Collector

By Gordon S. Miller | Jul 13, 2023

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 1 presents 20 Warner Brothers cartoons, 10 each from the 1940s and '50s. Not sure ...

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

By Gordon S. Miller | May 14, 2023

After Superman became a sensation in comic books, newspaper comic strips, and on the radio, Fleischer Studios, home of cartoons ...

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

By Davy | Apr 5, 2023

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

Ice Merchants Movie Review: A Heartrending Winner

By Davy | Feb 20, 2023

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

2023 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 17, 2023

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

2023 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 16, 2023

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

2023 Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Short Films Review

By Davy | Feb 15, 2023

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

Cinema’s First Nasty Women Blu-ray Set Review: Thoughtfully Highlights Unknown Performers from Different Walks of Life

By Davy | Dec 29, 2022

When Donald Trump called opponent Hilary Clinton a "nasty woman" at a 2016 televised debate, the term came back to ...

A scene grab from the short film Fireworks

Tribeca 2022 Interview: Producer Annalise Davis Talks Fireworks

By David Wangberg | Jul 1, 2022

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

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

By Kent Conrad | Jul 1, 2022

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

Tribeca 2022 Review: Fireworks

By David Wangberg | Jun 29, 2022

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

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

By Davy | Jun 23, 2022

Coming out of the closet for in one of the most difficult things that anyone in LGBTQ community ever has ...

Tribeca 2022 Review: Out of Order

By Davy | Jun 15, 2022

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

Tribeca 2022 Review: Closing Dynasty

By Davy | Jun 11, 2022

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

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Review: A Cosmic Groundhog Day

By Gordon S. Miller | May 3, 2022

The DC Showcase Animated Shorts release Constantine: The House of Mystery is similar to the franchise's Batman: Death in the ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Radical Honesty

By Davy | Mar 12, 2022

I can't say much about dating. I've never been on a date, so I have no experience. However, watching movies ...

2022 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 24, 2022

ShortsTV presents the 17th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary, ...

2022 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 24, 2022

ShortsTV presents the 17th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary, the ...

2022 Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Short Films Review

By Davy | Feb 23, 2022

ShortsTV presents the 17th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary, ...

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

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 21, 2021

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

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2 Blu-ray Review: A Second Helping of Silliness

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 15, 2020

The Warner Archive Collection has released the second volume of their Tex Avery Screwball Classics line, bringing the total number ...

Batman: Death in the Family Interactive Movie Review: Ready Viewer One

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 12, 2020

A sequel to the animated film Batman: Under The Red Hood, which I previously reviewed, Batman: Death in the Family is an animated film ...

Worst Cartoons Ever! DVD Review: They Stink!

By Gordon S. Miller | Jul 24, 2020

[It was a tradition Friday nights at San Diego Comic Con to visit Jerry Beck's long-running panel, Worst Cartoons Ever!, ...

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: A Must-Own for Animation Fans

By Gordon S. Miller | Jun 14, 2020

When it comes to the work of legendary animation director Fred “Tex” Avery, the stories typically show order giving way ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 (1978-1980) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | May 17, 2020

From January 2018 to December 2019, Kino Lorber Animation released the entire run of 124 Pink Panther cartoons produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises ...

2020 Oscar-nominated Animated Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 26, 2020

On January 29, ShortsTV will debut THE 2020 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS at the IFC Center in New York City ...

A Sister Live Action Short Review: Utilizes Minimalism to the Fullest

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 25, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar A Sister is a film that relies heavily on the atmosphere. It's a dark film, literally. ...

The Neighbor’s Window Live Action Short Review: Leaves a Lasting Impact

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 24, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar I love it when films tell a thing or two about life, smoothly sharing a ...

Brotherhood Live Action Short Review: Family and the Cruel World

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 22, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar Brotherhood could have been a minimalistic tale of a family confronting a circumstance, which although it ...

Nefta Football Club Live Action Short Review: A Light Film with a Heavy Moral

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 17, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar Nefta Football Club is a great case study to convey a message through the film instead ...

Saria Live Action Short Review: Agonizing and Heartbreaking

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 15, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar Bryan Buckley's Saria is based on 2017's tragedy when 41 girls orphan girls lost their lives to ...

Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2 Blu-ray Review: The Love Triangle Continues

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 29, 2019

After a disclaimer about the unfortunate ethnic and racial depictions that occur in a few shorts, Popeye the Sailor: The ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 5 (1976-1978) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | May 5, 2019

As mentioned in my past reviews of past volumes, Friz Freleng was an instrumental figure in animation history because of ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 4 (1971-1975) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 16, 2019

As originally mentioned in my review of Volume 1, Friz Freleng was an instrumental figure in animation history because of ...

Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: Impressive Visuals but Disappointing Audio

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 22, 2018

From July 2007 through November 2008, Warner Brothers released three volumes of Popeye the Sailor cartoons on DVD, which contained ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 3 (1968-1969) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 20, 2018

As mentioned in my review of Volume 1, Friz Freleng was an instrumental figure in animation history because of his ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 (1966-1968) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jul 2, 2018

As mentioned in my review of Volume 1, Friz Freleng was an instrumental figure in animation history because of his ...

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 1 (1964-1966) Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 8, 2018

Anyone who who grew up watching Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes, surely remembers the unusual name “Friz Freleng” in the ...

RiffTrax Live: Summer Shorts Beach Party! Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jun 19, 2017

Working together on Rifftrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show must have been as much fun for for the cast as it ...

Vitaphone Varieties, Volume Three: 1928-1929 DVD Review: Utterly Amazing

By Luigi Bastardo | Apr 28, 2017

After nearly five years since the last installment in the intermittent series, the Warner Archive Collection has assembled another amazing ...

2017 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 9, 2017

Through the wars of the past and the present to the wars that we battle in our own bodies, this ...

2017 Oscar-nominated Animated Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 9, 2017

North America owned the Animation Short Film category this year with three from the United States and two from Canada, ...

Strange and Unusual Christmas Films DVD Review: I Am in Hell, Help Me

By Luigi Bastardo | Dec 17, 2016

A longstanding idiom states "'Tis better to give than to receive" ‒ and that theory definitely holds true with Alpha ...

2016 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 24, 2016

This year the Oscar-nominated short documentary films all address uncomfortable subject matter that most people don't want to talk about. ...

2016 Oscar-nominated Animated Short Films Review: An Excellent Group

By Mat Brewster | Jan 30, 2016

If the Oscars have any real meaning (and let's be honest, they mostly don't outside of very rich, very famous ...

2016 Oscar-nominated Live Action Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 28, 2016

The five Academy Award-nominees for this year's Live Action Short Film originated from Europe, the United States, and one production ...

Looney Tunes Musical Masterpieces DVD Review: Bugs and the Gang’s Tunes are Looney Fun

By Elizabeth Periale | May 29, 2015

Looney Tunes Musical Masterpieces, a recent release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, is a fun-filled musical romp through classic cartoons. ...

2015 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 1, 2015

This year's nominated short-subject documentaries include two films from Poland, two films from the United States, and one film from ...

2015 Oscar-nominated Live Action Short Films Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 29, 2015

The Academy Award-nominees for this year's Live Action Short Film originated from Europe and Asia. They feature an intriguing collection ...

2015 Oscar-nominated Animated Short Films Review: Feast is Far and Away the Best of the Five

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 27, 2015

Written by Chris Morgan Animation would seem to be particular conducive to the short film format, as cartoons have been ...

Classic Shorts from the Dream Factory, Volume 3 DVD Review: The Lost Stooges

By Luigi Bastardo | Oct 17, 2014

The early filmic legacy of The Three Stooges - or the comedy troupe of Howard, Fine, and Howard, as they ...

The Vitaphone Comedy Collection, Volume Two – Shemp Howard (1933-1937) DVD Review: Thank You, Warner Archive!

By Luigi Bastardo | Jun 24, 2014

After leaving the original vaudeville version of a comedy company that would later come to be known to the world ...

The 2014 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films Review: Great Talent and Creativity on Display

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 2, 2014

The Oscar Nominated Short Films is the perfect opportunity for general theater-goers to see the Live Action, Animation and Documentary ...

Pierre Etaix: Criterion Collection DVD Review: Affordable Pricelessness

By Luigi Bastardo | May 20, 2013

For many of the "average" citizens living within the confines of the continental United States of America, the concept of ...

Pierre Etaix Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Bringing Etaix’s World to Life

By Critical curmudgeon | May 8, 2013

“The defining characteristic of comic cinema,” says French comic, clown and filmmaker Pierre Etaix, “is that it begins with a ...

Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals DVD Review: With a Little Help from Their Little Friends

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 10, 2013

Written by Brandie Ashe By virtue of their respective species, Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse are sworn enemies. Tom chases ...

2013 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts Review: From Mediocrity to Absolute Perfection

By Cinema Sentries | Feb 5, 2013

Written by Ben Platko I have seen a lot of short films. Many of them were mediocre at best, steeped ...

2013 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts Review: Davids vs. Goliaths

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 31, 2013

Written by Ben Platko Animated short films are often relegated to film festivals, and as a result go almost unnoticed. ...

The Flying House Project DVD Review: A Travesty of Animated Proportions

By Cinema Sentries | Dec 29, 2012

Written by Brandie Ashe Early 20th-century artist and cartoonist Winsor McCay is not exactly a household name, at least in ...

Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2 Review: A Very Entertaining Roster

By Gordon S. Miller | Nov 26, 2012

Originating as a division of Lucasfilm in 1979, Pixar Animation Studios has gone onto the become one of the industry's ...

Prep & Landing: Totally Tinsel Collection DVD Review: A Totally Tinsel Way to Spend Christmas

By Cinema Sentries | Nov 22, 2012

Written by Kristen Lopez In 2009 ABC put out a Christmas special that blended the wit and animation of Pixar ...

Queen: Greatest Video Hits DVD Review: Talent, Style, and Grace on Display

By Greg Barbrick | Aug 29, 2012

If ever there were a band suited to the format of music videos, Queen were it. Even though there were ...

By Luigi Bastardo | Jul 26, 2012

Anyone who has always been a fan of the immortal slapstick comedy The Three Stooges brought us over the course ...

Tom and Jerry: Around the World DVD Review: A Bad Trip

By Luigi Bastardo | May 7, 2012

In all the world of home media, there is perhaps nothing as dreaded as the proverbial “best of” compilation — ...

A Hollis Frampton Odyssey Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Essential Collection of Avant-Garde Treasures

By Dusty Somers | May 2, 2012

The Films There isn’t much experimental film represented within the Criterion Collection library, but when the good folks there do ...

Ann Arbor Film Festival 2012 Review: Films in Competition, and Films by Phil Solomon

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 31, 2012

Films in Competition Honestly, I wasn’t terribly thrilled about attending this selection of competition films, namely because of Soft Palate. ...

Ann Arbor Film Festival 2012 Review: Poetic Injustice and The Strawberry Tree

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 30, 2012

Written by Ben Platko Poetic Injustice – Short Films from the Arab World The “Poetic Injustice” program of short films ...

Ann Arbor Film Festival 2012 Review: Student Film Showcase and Out Night

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 29, 2012

Written by Ben Platko Student Film Showcase There’s something special about the raw creative talent of student filmmakers. Experimental festivals ...

Ann Arbor Film Festival 2012 Review: Opening Night

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 28, 2012

Written by Ben Platko Tuesday night marked the beginning of a historic week. An aged George Manupelli stood on stage ...

Tom and Jerry: In the Dog House DVD Review: Out with the New and In with the Old

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 12, 2012

Written by Chad Derdowski Tom and Jerry, the ever-battling animated cat and mouse duo, have been at odds with each ...

Looney Tunes Super Stars: Pepe Le Pew DVD Review: Le Win

By Luigi Bastardo | Feb 25, 2012

As some of us sit and wonder if we’ll ever see one über-definitive ginormous anthology that delivers every Looney Tunes ...

2012 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts Review: Bring Tissues, Because You’re Going to Cry

By Will McKinley | Feb 17, 2012

Stanislavsky once said, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” At least I think he was the one who ...

2012 Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Short Films Review: A Mixed Bag of Nominees

By Dusty Somers | Feb 9, 2012

Before the 84th Academy Awards take place on Feb. 26, you still have time to catch up with some of ...

2012 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films Review: Five Strong Nominees Vie for Gold

By Dusty Somers | Feb 7, 2012

No matter how much of an Oscar completist you are, by the time February rolls around, it’s usually the short ...

Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Volume 3 DVD Review: As Fun as Ever

By Greg Barbrick | Nov 11, 2011

Warner Home Video are now offering the third installment in their Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures DVD series, and ...

Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1 DVD Review: A Study in Animation

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 6, 2011

Pixar Animation Studios has been the most consistently creative and innovative production company over the past twenty years. The company ...

Have a Laugh! Volume 3 and 4 DVD Review: Samplers of Disney’s Animated Stars

By Gordon S. Miller | Jul 17, 2011

Disney’s Have A Laugh! series is aimed at introducing classic Disney cartoons to young children. Both recent volumes offer five ...

Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Volume 2 DVD Review: Another Helping of the Famous Twosome

By Greg Barbrick | Jul 15, 2011

Tom and Jerry have been entertaining audiences for over 70 years now, and we still can’t get enough of them. ...

Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Volume 1 DVD Review: Fun Stuff For All

By Greg Barbrick | Mar 8, 2011

As we all remember, Tom and Jerry were the precursors to the wonderfully subversive Itchy and Scratchy on The Simpsons. ...