Originally released by The Criterion Collection in 2002, The Complete Monterey Pop Festival consists of three iconic D.A. Pennebaker films: Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays Monterey, and Shake! Otis at Monterey. Held on a June weekend in 1967, Monterey was the …
Blu-ray Review: The Jericho Mile Kino Lorber / 1979 / 97 min / Not rated / Jul 03, 2018
After several years directing commercials in England, Michael Mann spent the latter half of the 1970’s writing scripts for several popular television shows, including Starsky and Hutch, Police Story and the popular Angie Dickinson cop drama, Police Woman. Eventually, he …
Blu-ray Review: Prefontaine (Special Edition) Kino Lorber / 1997 / 107 min / Rated PG-13 / Jul 03, 2018
Co-writer/director Steve James’ (Hoop Dreams) Prefontaine tells the story of Steve Prefontaine, considered by many America’s greatest long-distance runner of all time. Holding the American record in seven different distance track events, Prefontaine was favored to win gold at the …
4K UHD Review: Jack Reacher Paramount Pictures / 2012 / 130 min / Rated PG-13 / Jun 26, 2018
Based on the Lee Child novel One Shot, Jack Reacher hits the ground running. A man drives to a parking deck overlooking the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, loads a sniper rifle with handmade bullets, and kills five people walking …
Blu-ray Review: Barry Lyndon (Criterion Collection) Criterion / Spine #897 / 1975 / 185 min / Rated PG / Oct 17, 2017
Long an admirer of Stanley Kubrick, I count 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb among my favorite films of all time. However, Barry Lyndon, a period piece based …
Blu-ray Review: 2 Weeks in Another Town Warner Archive Collection / 1962 / 107 min / Not rated / Jun 19, 2018
Vincente Minnelli—one-time husband of Judy Garland and father of Liza—became famous largely as a result of the lavish musicals he directed during his time at MGM. Some of his best-known films include Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), An American …
4K UHD Review: Dirty Grandpa Lionsgate Films / 2016 / 110 min / Unrated / Jun 12, 2018
Dan Mazer is the long-time writing and producing partner of Sacha Baron Cohen and has worked with him on various projects, including Borat and Brüno. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Mazer’s directorial debut, Dirty Grandpa would rely so …
Blu-ray Review: How Do I Love Thee? Kino Lorber / 1970 / 110 min / Rated PG / May 15, 2018
In 1970, it was hard to imagine that a comedy with a cast that included Jackie Gleason (Skidoo), Maureen O’Hara (McLintock!) , Shelley Winters (Harper) and Rosemary Forsyth would be a complete box office bomb, yet it happened. A decidedly …
Blu-ray Review: Ruby Gentry Kino Lorber / 1952 / 82 min / Not rated / Apr 17, 2018
Had Ruby Gentry been released just a few years later, it might have been mistaken for a Tennessee Williams adaptation. Instead, it was written directly for the screen by Silva Richards, who provided Joan Crawford with one of her most …
Blu-ray Review: Trading Places (35th Anniversary Edition) Paramount Pictures / 1983 / 116 min / Rated R / Jun 12, 2018
Released in 1983, Trading Places has the feel of a 1930’s screwball comedy. Set in Philadelphia during the holidays, this modern reworking of Mark Twain’s Prince and the Pauper concerns two men of vastly different backgrounds who switch places. Louis …