Three years after the disappointment of Dune, David Lynch returned to form with Blue Velvet. The film begins, appropriately enough, with the opening credits superimposed over a beautiful piece of blue velvet swaying in the breeze. The tone of Angelo …
4K UHD Review: Cold Pursuit
A typical revenge film with a bit of a twist, Cold Pursuit has Liam Neeson as snow-plow driver Nels Coxman tracking down the thugs and drug dealers responsible for his innocent son. He kills them one-by-one, feeling no guilt for …
Blu-ray Review: Princess Mononoke (Collector’s Edition)
The first of Hayao Miyazaki’s films to make a real impact in North America, Princess Mononoke was originally released in Japan back in 1997, and two years later stateside. The story concerns A young warrior named Ashitaka is inflicted by …
Blu-ray Review: A Face in the Crowd (Criterion Collection)
Greeted by mixed reviews and disappointing box office returns, 1957’s A Face in the Crowd has since earned classic status in the minds of many film scholars. In 2008, A Face in the Crowd was selected for preservation in the …
Blu-ray Review: The Great Buster – A Celebration
Director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) has long been known as leading Hollywood historian, having written books on such luminaries as Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, and John Ford among others. For his latest project, Bogdanovich directs and …
Blu-ray Review: On the Basis of Sex
As the saying goes, timing is everything. On the Basis of Sex, a well-intentioned biopic focused on the early career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it arrived too late. Released on the heels of last summer’s fascinating RBG, a comprehensive portrait …
Blu-ray Review: The Blue Knight
A 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles police department, Bumper Morgan (William Holden, Sabrina) is just days away from retirement. Years patrolling the streets have left him more than a little jaded, not just by the criminals he’s sworn to …
Blu-ray Review: Wanda (Criterion Collection)
Simplistic yet gripping, Wanda, the first and only film directed by Barbara Loden, left me wondering what could have been. Filmed in 1970 on a shoestring budget of $115,000, Loden, got the idea for the film from a story she …
Blu-ray Review: Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
First appearing in 1930, generations of girls have followed the adventures of teenaged sleuth, Nancy Drew. Evolving with the times, and changes in American culture and taste, a line of books featuring the heroine has been in constant publication for …
Blu-ray Review: Big Wednesday
Inspired by director John Milius’ own experiences surfing in Malibu during the 1960’s, Big Wednesday is a coming-of-age story for the Vietnam War era. Co-written with fellow surfer and journalist Dennis Aaberg, Big Wednesday spans from 1962 to 1974, following …