Author: Rebecca Wright

Blu-ray Review: Heavy Traffic

A combination of crude animation and live action, Heavy Traffic (1973) was Ralph Bakshi’s follow up to the popular Felix the Cat. Filled with autobiographical resonance and unmistakably raunchy, Heavy Traffic follows a young New Yorker, as he struggles to…

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Blu-ray Review: Three Faces West

Released in 1940, Three Faces West is a lesser known entry in John Wayne’s long and varied filmography. Part The Grapes of Wrath and an anti-Nazi propaganda movie, Three Faces West is a bit of an odd duck when considering…

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Blu-ray Review: In Old Arizona

Credited with being the first outdoor western photographed with sound, In Old Arizona was originally shot as a silent film, and later re-filmed after The Jazz Singer, the movies first talkie, captivated audiences and left them wanting more. Modern audiences…

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Blu-ray Review: The Last Ride

Hank Williams’ death at the age of 29 in the backseat of a baby-blue Cadillac on New Year’s Day 1953 has intrigued fans for six decades. The details of exactly how he died remain unclear, though hardly surprising given his…

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Blu-ray Review: Quartet

Though sweet and predictable, the talented cast’s affable charm makes Quartet impossible to pass up. More than forty-five years after becoming a star on the heels of his role as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman finally makes his…

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Blu-ray Review: The Miracle of the Bells

Slightly odd and highly saccharine to be sure, The Miracle of the Bells (1948) hasn’t gotten a lot of respect over the years. By 1948, Frank Sinatra’s supposed mob association was openly discussed. As a result, his portrayal of a…

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Blu-ray Review: The Magic Christian

Loosely adapted from the novel by satirist Terry Southern, 1969’s The Magic Christian was largely dismissed upon its release as being “messy,” and “incomprehensible.” Fans of the film contend that this was deliberate, that the film was an attempt to…

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DVD Review: Teen Wolf – Season 2

Available now on DVD, the second season of MTV’s Teen Wolf (loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name), is decidedly darker than the first. As the season begins, Jackson (Colton Haynes) finds himself bitten by Derek Hale…

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Blu-ray Review: Reuben, Reuben

Adapted by Julius J. Epstein (best known for co-writing Casablanca) Reuben, Reuben is based on a novel by Peter De Vries, which had first been turned into a stage play. Intelligent, literate and featuring some wonderful poetry, Reuben, Reuben manages…

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