Posts Tagged ‘drama’
Ordinary People Blu-ray Review: The Puzzle of Life Isn’t Always Complete
It’s a showcase for tremendous acting.
Read MoreSXSW 2022 Review: Master
Mariama Diallo’s narrative logics and ideas are in the right place, even if some of them don’t always stick the landing.
Read MoreHester Street Blu-ray Review: Joan Micklin Silver’s Beguiling 1975 Masterpiece
A great example of the hopes and tragedies immigrants face in their new world.
Read MoreWheel of Fortune and Fantasy Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful and Highly Gorgeous Work of Art
Every character is relatable.
Read MoreGold Diggers of 1933 Blu-ray Review: It’s Perfect
Gold Diggers of 1933 is one of the very best Depression-era musicals.
Read MoreThe Piano Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Jane Campion’s Sublime Masterpiece
There’s isn’t a frame of this dark, Gothic, feminist love story that hits a wrong note.
Read MoreThe Learning Tree Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Semi-Autobiographical Story from Gordon Parks
If you want an understanding on why Gordon Parks is an important filmmaker, then The Learning Tree should make a good starting point.
Read MoreAngels with Dirty Faces Blu-ray Review: A Seminal Gangster Classic
The Blu-ray from Warner Archive is solid.
Read MoreRatcatcher Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Definite Punch to the Gut
A film filled with blunt beauty and unsparing truth.
Read MoreLove & Basketball Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Love Story That Feels Fresh
I thought that Love & Basketball was a strange choice for Criterion, but when I watched the supplements, I saw that it made total sense.
Read MoreThe Damned Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Demonstrative Descent into Family Destruction
The cast is uniformly excellent and willing to take risks.
Read MoreSongs My Brothers Taught Me Blu-ray Review: A Compelling Cinematic Experience
It’s a poetic and soulful film that deserves everyone’s attention.
Read MoreBeasts of No Nation Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Not Soon Forgotten
Newcomer Abraham Attah gives one of the most soulful performances in the history of child acting.
Read MoreShe Done Him Wrong Blu-ray Review: But This Film Will Do You Right
If you love classic film, and want to see something bold but subtle, then you should add this to your collection.
Read MoreMerrily We Go to Hell Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Prime Example of Dorothy Arzner’s Legacy
This 1932 pre-Code masterpiece boldly tackles modern marriage.
Read MoreIrma Vep Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Great Milestone in Olivier Assayas’s Body of Work
It predicted everything that would happen with the moving image, including the unfortunately sanitized cinema of today.
Read MoreSecrets & Lies Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Cinema at Its Best
Secrets & Lies has everything one could ever want in a film.
Read MoreSXSW 2021 Movie Review: Udo Kier is Flawless in ‘Swan Song’
Udo Kier is at a career-best level as an elderly gay man reconciling with his troubled past.
Read MoreTouki bouki Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Deserves to be Seen and Discovered
It is a universal tale of wanting a better way of living, but sometimes having to tread dangerous waters to make those seemingly attainable dreams come true.
Read MoreSmooth Talk Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Teen’s Roller Coaster Ride from Innocence to Harsh Reality
Smooth Talk moves seamlessly from coming-of-age comedy to drama to horror film.
Read MoreMalcolm & Marie Movie Review: A Frustratingly Distressing Acting Showcase
A 106-minute nonsensical shouting match.
Read MoreThe Ascent Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Larisa Shepitko’s Masterpiece
A haunting and unforgettable portrait of war gets a fantastic new upgrade by Criterion.
Read MoreVariety (1983) Blu-ray Review: A Revealing Character Study of a Woman Rediscovering Herself
A moody and very provocative depiction of female obsession and sexuality.
Read MoreBeau Travail Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mysterious, Haunting, and Transformative
Claire Denis’s 1999 masterpiece of jealousy, erotic/repressed desire, and personal destruction makes its long-awaited debut to the Criterion Collection.
Read MoreAn Unmarried Woman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Bold and Groundbreaking
A still fresh, unapologetically honest portrait of a woman’s reawakening.
Read MoreSpring Night Summer Night Blu-ray Review: An Honest Portrait of Small Town Woes and Broken Dreams
Flicker Alley brings much needed new life to a nearly obscure, minimalist, but extraordinary gem of a film.
Read MoreBilly Liar Blu-ray Review: Tom Courtenay’s Performance is Absolutely Spellbinding
The late, great director John Schlesinger crafts a sad but uproarious portrait of a young man’s inner and outer life.
Read MoreTV Review: Twin – A Limited Series
In his new series, Kristofer Hivju gets to play not just one larger-than-life character, but twin brothers who couldn’t be more dissimilar – or more at odds with one another.
Read MoreNow, Voyager Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Superior Tearjerker
A beloved 1942 Bette Davis classic gets a stellar release from the Criterion Collection.
Read MoreFantastic Fest 2019 Review: Koko-di Koko-da: Horror Through Repetition
Dying over and over shouldn’t be fun, but Koko-di Koko-da sure is a creepy joyride.
Read MoreTrue Believer (1989) Blu-ray Review: Blisteringly Performed Courtroom Drama
Briskly paced, excellent acted late ’80s drama stars a disillusioned James Woods and a young, idealistic Robert Downey Jr.
Read MoreThe Snake Pit Blu-ray Review: One of the First and Best Motion Pictures to Bring Mental Illness to Life
A controversial, watershed classic that taps into a relatable topic that afflicts many of us.
Read MoreThe Reflecting Skin Blu-ray Review: A Brutally Surreal Coming-of-Age Gem
A beguilingly weird swan dive into twisted childhood as if made by David Lynch and Terrence Malick.
Read MoreDiamonds of the Night Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Story of Youth Under Fire with a Brilliantly Fractured Eye
A startling and very tense debut from the most unflinching director of the now-ancient Czechoslovak New Wave.
Read MoreThe Miseducation of Cameron Post Blu-ray Review: Understated and Challenging
Chloe Grace Moretz’s amazing performance anchors this timely, funny, and at times difficult film of a sadly still existing subject.
Read MoreA Silent Voice Blu-ray Review: Bully Redemption in a Subdued Tone
An animated drama about a school bully picking on a deaf girl tells a story quiet about redemption and consequences.
Read MoreFar from Heaven Blu-ray Review: Subtle and Graceful Filmmaking
A remarkable and impeccably acted portrait of 1950s suburban malaise from the early 2000s.
Read MoreShame (1968) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Harrowing, Nightmarish Bergman Masterpiece
As unflinchingly honest and unforgiving as a film can ever get.
Read MoreThe Real McCoy (1993) Blu-ray Review: Dammit, Kim!
Kino Lorber places Russell Mulcahy’s heist stinker starring Kim Basinger and Val Kilmer on display for you to give or take.
Read MoreShoplifters DVD Review: Two Hours of Pure, Understated, Humanistic Cinema
One of the very best films of 2018.
Read MoreMikey and Nicky Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Elaine May Should Be Unanimously Acclaimed
A very underappreciated masterpiece of toxic masculinity and bleak relationships.
Read MoreSarah T.: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic Blu-ray Review: A Powerful Performance by Linda Blair
A sobering, if slight look at teenage alcoholism.
Read MoreA Dry White Season Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Truly Gripping Cinema
An unflinching and sadly relevant drama of violence and ongoing oppression.
Read MoreDistant Voices, Still Lives Blu-ray Review: Accurately Captures the Battle of the Sexes
A minimalist, but masterful portrait of harrowing family dynamics.
Read MoreDon’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot Blu-ray Review: Don’t Worry, You Didn’t Miss Anything
Gus Van Sant assembles an impressive cast for a lackluster biopic.
Read MoreGold (1974) Blu-ray Review: Always Believe in Your Soul
Kino Lorber digs up this strange British mish-mash of just about every genre under the ground starring Roger Moore, Susannah York, Ray Milland, and Bradford Dillman.
Read MoreLife Itself (2018) Movie Review: Dour, Sentimental Drivel
The depressing Life Itself will surely be a contender for worst movie of the year.
Read MoreMarrowbone (2018) Blu-ray Review: A Cure for Insomnia
A talented young cast and impressive production pieces can’t save this meandering debut from Sergio G. Sánchez.
Read MoreCondemned! | The Devil to Pay! DVDs Review: Both Worthy of Exclamation Points
The Warner Archive Collection dusts off two pre-Code Ronald Colman classics featuring Ann Harding, Loretta Young, Myrna Loy, and a familiar-looking terrier.
Read MoreNico, 1988 Movie Review: Both Simplistic and Unsentimental
A sublime biopic carried by Trine Dyrholm who excels as the late famed musician.
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