Posts Tagged ‘drama’
A Woman of Paris Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Search for Fulfillment During the Jazz Age
Not top-tier Chaplin, but I like it enough to recommend it to fans of his work.
Read MoreThe Mother and the Whore Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Brilliant, Vulgar, and Intimate Landmark
I’m really glad that Criterion made this film available.
Read MoreMiracle Mile Blu-ray Review: A Hidden Gem of the Apocalypse Genre
A great mixture of humor and menace.
Read MoreThe Lords of Flatbush Blu-ray Review: Before Rocky and the Fonz
The movie does however feel…like connected vignettes while the soundtrack reminds me of a Peanuts TV Special.
Read MoreEvil Does Not Exist Blu-ray Review: Unpredictable and Highly Fascinating
A terrific film from one of today’s most visionary filmmakers.
Read MoreTotem Blu-ray Review: A Lyrical Celebration of Life Amidst Impending Tragedy
Sad but hopeful, bewildering but relatable, simple but profound.
Read MoreDoubt (2008) Blu-ray Review: A Masterclass of Acting
A powerhouse cast enhances John Patrick Shanley’s searing adaptation of his own popular stage play.
Read MoreBless Their Little Hearts Blu-ray Review: A Testament to the Importance of Socially Conscious Filmmaking
A low-key but intensely resonant portrait of domestic squalor.
Read MoreBlack God, White Devil Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Could Not Be More Relevant
A feverish, haunting portrayal of extremism and dead-end inhumanity.
Read MoreChallengers Blu-ray Review: A Sexy but Shallow Jules & Jim Tennis Epic
It does realistically showcase how grueling tennis can really be.
Read MoreClass Blu-ray Review: Pre-Brat Pack Comedy Drama That Pops Like Flat Champagne
Class isn’t sure if it wants to be a slapstick, Animal House style comedy with some crude Porky’s moments splashed about or a drama that’s more The Graduate-esque.
Read MoreMisunderstood (1966) Blu-ray Review: An Unusually Mature Portrait of Childhood
One of those rare films that gets childhood accurately right.
Read MoreHousehold Saints Blu-ray Review: The Entire Cast Is Terrific
A warm and beguilingly low-key portrait of vibrant Italian-American life.
Read MoreMaking a Killing (2018) DVD Review: The Mayor, the Priest, and the Mortician Walk Into a Bar…
Making a Killing, although not bad overall, is totally saved by Michael Jai White
Read MoreThe Rain People Blu-ray Review: She’s Driving Her Life Away
Coppola manages to keep it interesting as he weaves three different lives together in The Rain People.
Read MoreAll That Money Can Buy (aka The Devil and Daniel Webster) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review
The “gullible man and the Devil” legend gets a thoroughly modern spin in a 1940’s classic.
Read MoreOver the Edge Blu-ray Review: Hits Close to Home
The kids are not alright in this overlooked 1979 cult classic.
Read MoreUna Familia de Tantas (A Family Like Many Others) Blu-ray Review: A True Cine Mexicano Classic
Una Familia de Tantas does a great job presenting a time of change in one family’s history, where new ways come crashing into the old.
Read MoreDrifter Blu-ray Review: A Taboo-breaking Time Capsule
An awkward but weirdly interesting portrait of queer culture.
Read MoreHere’s Flash Casey DVD Review: His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep, and Andy Hardy Walk into a Bar…
There’s a lot of story going on for such a short runtime.
Read MoreGentleman Jim Blu-ray Review: Still Packs a Punch
A lighthearted drama that packs a punch and has some good laughs.
Read MoreLe Combat Dans L’ile Blu-ray Review: An Overlooked Surprise by an Underrated Filmmaker
A stylish gem of the French New Wave.
Read MoreDesperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy DVD Review
A flawed but still fascinating pseudo-doc about a groundbreaking masterpiece of American cinema.
Read MoreThe Edge of the World Blu-ray Review: Director Michael Powell’s First Masterpiece
Michael Powell’s early solo effort is a romantic and swift portrait of resilience during changing times.
Read MoreBefore Night Falls Blu-ray Review: Expresses the Overall Importance of Artists and Their Art
A profound, evocative portrait of liberation against extreme boundaries.
Read MoreNo Bears Blu-ray Review: A Powerful Work About the Passion for Filmmaking
A simple but profound portrait of the resilience of creative expression.
Read MoreNil by Mouth Blu-ray Review: A Strong, Gripping Example of British Cinema
A brutal and relentless portrait of working-class angst and family dysfunction.
Read MoreHardcore Blu-ray Review: A Solid and Nervy Depiction
A flawed but compelling and uncomfortable depiction of the dark netherworld of pornography.
Read MoreMillennium Mambo Blu-ray Review: A Lyrical and Subtle Film
A neon-drenched portrait of aimless youth that creeps on you if you look at it closely.
Read MoreThe Servant Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Scathing, Subversive Film of Class, Sexuality, and Manipulation
A subtly nasty power play of British social mores.
Read MoreReturn to Seoul Blu-ray Review: A Young Life in Turmoil
A frustratingly honest character study and stark portrait of cross-cultural complications.
Read MoreStorm Warming Blu-ray Review: A Flawed but Hard-hitting Expose of Small Town Corruption
t is perfect? No. Is it relevant? Unfortunately, yes.
Read MorePalm Trees and Power Lines Movie Review: A Disturbingly Common Premise Given a Modern Feel
A familiar story gives way to a creepy and shattering portrayal of growing up.
Read MoreIce Merchants Movie Review: A Heartrending Winner
A wordless but lyrical animated short tale of love, loss and daily responsibilities.
Read MoreIrreversible: Straight Cut Movie Review: Still Remains an Exhaustive, Challenging Experience
A dark and unflinching masterpiece of French extremity gets a new recut and reevaluation.
Read MoreEO Movie Review: One of the Very Best Films of the Year
A bold and exasperatingly inventive view of life through the eyes of an equine hero.
Read MoreHold Me Tight Blu-ray Review: An Engrossing Multi-character Piece
A mostly successful and somber family drama.
Read MoreEuphoria: Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Review: Full of Candor, Humor, and Empathy
A raw, gritty, tough, and terrifyingly modern television show on teen angst.
Read MoreI’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing Blu-ray Review: A Prime Example of the Immediacy and Importance of Films by Women
A charming and quietly resonant film about queerness and the ambitions of women.
Read MoreThe Chocolate War Blu-ray Review: Aims a Rather Sharp Eye on the Weird Rituals of Toxic Male Youth
An interesting, but not entirely successful portrait of bizarre boarding school politics.
Read MoreRachel, Rachel Blu-ray Review: A Tender Story of a Woman’s Awakening
A dated but still sensitively crafted character study of repression with a career-defining performance by the great Joanne Woodward.
Read MoreHotel du Nord Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Somber French Realist Classic
A prime example of Marcel Carne’s attention to fully showcasing the depths of humanity.
Read MoreComing Apart Blu-ray Review: A Realistically Troubling Portrait of Our Deepest, Darkest Impulses
A disturbing, but highly impactful experiment of toxic masculinity and sexual exploration that’s way ahead of its time.
Read MoreThe Worst Person in the World Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Breathtakingly Honest
This incredible, deep, and fully fleshed-out film because it gives us fellow thirty-somethings a much-needed voice.
Read MoreTribeca 2022 Review: Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine
The short’s mixture of sci-fi and themes of family bond is definitely relevant.
Read MoreTribeca Film Festival 2022 Review: A Love Song
A minimalist but heartfelt drama of love that has seen it all but hasn’t quite given up on it.
Read MoreMississippi Masala Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mira Nair’s Beguiling Sophomore Film
A teaching lesson for how to truthfully tell a cinematic story centering on race relations and the boundaries that unfortunately always come with them.
Read More‘Round Midnight Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Perhaps the Greatest and Most Compelling Jazz Film Ever Made
Legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon gives a fantastic, Oscar-nominated performance as Dale Turner, a brilliant, world-weary New York musician but troubled alcoholic living in Paris.
Read MoreParallel Mothers Blu-ray Review: Penelope Cruz Delivers Another Luminous Performance
Another example of Almodovar’s typically extraordinary filmmaking gifts and proves that he’s still got it.
Read MoreJockey Blu-ray Review: Clifton Collins Jr. Is Simply Marvelous
There is authenticity that gives it a documentary feel.
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