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Cinema Sentries

Vera Cruz (1954) Blu-ray Review: Twisty Western Caper

Vera Cruz (1954) is an interesting western: it's a buddy movie where the buddies never really like each other. It's ...
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Torch Singer (1933) Blu-ray Review: A Very Modern Pre-Code

One of the interesting things about reviewing very old films is the tension between my modern standards and my understanding ...
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The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) Blu-ray Review: Bedraggled

Woe to the viewer who tries to sit through director Paul Morrissey’s take on The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring ...
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The Flash (2014): The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Review: The Stories Feel Undercooked and Underwhelming

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The ...
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Leonard Maltin featuring in Star Struck

Book Review: Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood by Leonard Maltin

He has covered the entertainment industry since he was 13 years old. At some point, maybe even right now, his ...
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On Broadway DVD Review: Start Spreading the News

After an unprecedented 18-month shutdown caused by the pandemic, Broadway finally started reopening many shows last month. Oscar-nominated director Oren ...
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From the Couch Hole: Big Friendly Polar Bear

Previously on FTCH, we had monsters in our cereal, on our cookies, and in the blood that dripped from our ...
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A Night at the Opera Blu-ray Review: A Comedy Classic

The Warner Archive Collection has released A Night at the Opera on Blu-ray. It is the first Marx Brothers movie ...
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Hot Saturday Blu-ray Review: Fascinating Pre-Code Shenanigans

Had Hot Saturday (1932) been made just a few years later, it would have been a completely different film. It ...
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Young Sheldon: The Complete Fourth Season DVD Review

As the CBS hit series The Big Bang Theory, finished its 12th season, I recall being intrigued by the prospect ...
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Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Blu-ray Review: This Set Is a Must-buy

Sam Katzman got his start in the movies working as a stage laborer in the early 1920s. He moved up ...
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Blithe Spirit (2020) Blu-ray Review: Bland and Unspirited, But Mann and Fisher Shine

Noel Coward’s play has been adapted for the screen multiple times dating back to 1945, but it’s been long enough ...
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Love & Basketball Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Love Story That Feels Fresh

There are so many cinematic tales of young love that spans time that are riddled with clichés. They usually have ...
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The Fourth Victim Blu-ray Review: Stay Till the End

A pretty blonde woman lounges languidly in the swimming pool of a large estate. When her cigarette pops a hole ...
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From the Couch Hole: Whisky Bottles Piled High

Previously on FTCH, we had some good Mountain Dew and some terrible Doritos. It was a week for peace, Pop-Tarts ...
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Mona Lisa Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Neo-noir with a Mystic Smile

The first time I remember seeing Bob Hoskins was as Eddie Valiant the hard-boiled, yet ultimately soft-hearted detective working for ...
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Book Review: Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer

Censorship is a long and deranged form of limitation toward the freedoms and boundless expression in all forms of media, ...
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The Damned Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Demonstrative Descent into Family Destruction

In almost every family, there is, arguably, a hidden sense of evil. When the soul gets twisted and corrupted, so ...
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Dune (1984) 4K Ultra HD Review: Beautiful, Fascinating Mess of an Adaptation

Dune is probably unfilmable. The problem is not the special effects required, nor is it the scope of the action. ...
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The Awakening (2011) Blu-ray Review: Half a Great Ghost Story

I love a good ghost story. Unlike any other genre, they seem to be able to create a mood within ...
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Songs My Brothers Taught Me Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Cinematic Experience

Being an only child, I don't have the experience of the relationships between brothers and sisters. However, seeing those depicted ...
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Death Screams (1982) Blu-ray Review: Regional ’80s Slasher Artifact

There used to be a thing called regional cinema in the U.S. Hell, there used to be a thing called ...
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Children of the Corn (1984) 4K Ultra HD Review: Beating Up Kids in 4K

In the cottage industry of Stephen King adaptations, it's strange that one of his early stories about killer kids has ...
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From the Couch Hole: Come and Join the Living

Previously on FTCH, we doubled up on Vaughn and King, and we went lime, chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, and frosted sugar ...
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48 Hrs. / Another 48 Hrs. Blu-ray Reviews: The Boys Are Back on Blu-ray

Expanding their roster of Eddie Murphy titles, the Paramount Presents line has added the two films that comprise the 48 ...
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Straight Time Blu-ray Review: The Jailbird Blues

Catch me on the right day and I’ll proclaim Straight Time (dir. Ulu Grosbard) the best film of 1978. Based ...
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Apocalypse ’45 Blu-ray Review: A Brutal Look at the Harsh Realities of the War with Japan During World War II

Over the years, there have been numerous documentaries and movies about World War II, but none of them quite like ...
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The Sergio Martino Collection Blu-ray Review: A Giallo Giant Gets His Due

So, you’ve seen the Dario Argento gialli (highlights include The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspiria, and Tenebrae), ...
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Alone in the Dark (1982) Blu-ray Review: A Fun and Superior ’80s Cult Thriller

I may have mentioned this in previous reviews, but the 1980s was a major decade for slasher films. Most of ...
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The Window (1949) Blu-ray Review: The Boy Who Cried Murder

There's a good reason to hate films focused on kids: they're obnoxious. If they're cute, it's usually a cuteness at ...
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Mommie Dearest Limited Edition Blu-ray Review: A True Cult Classic

For people of a certain age, wire hangers conjure up images of Joan Crawford. I was around six years old ...
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Copshop Movie Review: A Fun, Exciting Watch

“Copshop” is a slang term for a police station and is the title of Joe Carnahan’s newest film. Set in ...
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From the Couch Hole: Got to Pay Your Dues

Previously on FTCH, we went into Cream and KrispyKreme. The previous episode was pretty funyan and we talked about Love/Hate ...
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Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster Movie Review: A Warm Love Letter

For many movie fans, Boris Karloff lumbered onto their screens as Frankenstein’s monster or as the Mummy. And for others ...
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The Village Detective: A Song Cycle Movie Review: Meditation on Ruined Film

Around 2016, an Icelandic fishing boat caught something unusual in their nets. The ship was a bottom trawler, which sends ...
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TIFF 2021 Movie Review: ‘As in Heaven’ Both Distresses and Visually Captivates

Tea Lindeburg’s feature directorial debut As in Heaven isn’t exactly categorized as a horror film, yet it almost feels like ...
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The Nowhere Inn Movie Review: Make Plans to Check In

St. Vincent decides to try out smoking during the production of her concert tour documentary film, declaring to her friend ...
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The Cat O’ Nine Tails 4K Ultra HD Review: Convoluted Giallo Murder Mystery

The frustrating thing about Dario Argento is not the bad parts of his movies: it's the good ones. When he's ...
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Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog DVD Review

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided the writer with a free copy of the DVD reviewed in this Blog Post. The ...
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Zack Snyder’s Justice League Blu-ray Review: An Entertaining Superhero Spectacle

I am a fan of Zack Snyder's work on 300 and Watchmen. I didn't think Man of Steel showed an ...
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Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection 4K Ultra HD Review: 4K, The Final Frontier

In celebration of the 55th anniversary of the debut of the Star Trek TV series this month, Paramount has released ...
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Book Review: Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It by Eve Golden

If you saw a headline about a blonde bombshell actress living in a “pink palace” with her muscular husband, pack ...
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From the Couch Hole: When the Stars Start Falling

Previously on FTCH, we went under the dome, shrieked about Skittles, and mused on murders in the building. This week, ...
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TIFF 2021 Movie Review: Odessa Young and Josh O’Connor Dazzle in Sensual ‘Mothering Sunday’

After scripting the BBC miniseries Normal People which was cited for its frank portrayal of sexual intimacy, screenwriter Alice Birch ...
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In the Good Old Summertime Blu-ray Review: You’ve Got Snail Mail

Modern Hollywood gets plenty of well-deserved grief for rebooting stories before the originals have even faded from memory, but it’s ...
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Book Review: Alien 3 by Pat Cadigan, based on the Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson

Alien 3 has been saddled with challenges since it was first announced. Multiple directors and screenplay efforts came forward, and ...
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Cinema Sentries

From the Couch Hole: Dreaming My Life Away

Previously on FTCH, we spoke about sassy spirits, snakes in the spice aisle, and spicy sweet Dew. This week continued ...
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Bob Marley and The Wailers: The Capitol Session ’73 Review: A Glimpse at the Legend on the Cusp of Fame

Bob Marley and The Wailers’ The Capitol Session ’73 was lost to history until researcher Martin Disney unearthed a three-minute clip ...
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Cinema Sentries

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Marvel Delivers a Dynamic Duo

After Marvel concluded Phase Three of their Cinematic Universe with the galaxy-spanning, time-traveling, superhero-packed epic Avengers: Endgame, it was understandable ...
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Bob Marley & the Wailers: The Capitol Session ’73 Album Review

Tuff Gong and Mercury Studios present Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Capitol Session ‘73 (although known as The Wailers ...
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