4K UHD Review: The Color Purple
When The Color Purple hit theaters back in 1985, I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. I had read Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and I was conflicted about some of the changes made. Age and time have softened my stance. While I still don’t care for some of […]
The Player (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)
A stubbornly independent filmmaker, director Robert Altman was known for making films that no one else dared to touch. MASH, one of Altman’s biggest successes, had been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. It was a difficult shoot, but Altman took on the challenge. In an admission that was decidedly un-Hollywood, Altman said […]
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (Blu-ray)
Few will deny Richard Pryor’s place as one of stand up comedy’s true geniuses. As with many comedians who emerged both before and after him, Pryor was plagued by demons; demons that provided the source of some of his best comedy. One of the reasons Richard Pryor was so special was that nothing was off […]
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Six (Blu-ray)
Initially, Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of those series that just got better as time went on. The characters became much more developed, and the actors were much more comfortable in their roles. The storylines became more focused, and the overall execution smoothed out. The fifth season saw the series at its peak […]
Blu-ray Review: The Lion King (Diamond Edition)
Disney’s 32nd animated feature, 1994’s The Lion King was its darkest since 1985’s The Black Cauldron, and, in many ways, a departure from the light-heartedness of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. There are moments of fun and humor, to be sure, but the undercurrent is of a far more serious, “adult” […]
Blu-ray Review: The Color Purple
Warner Bros. | 1985 | 153 mins. | PG When The Color Purple hit theaters back in 1985, I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. Though I was only twelve at the time, I had read Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and I was conflicted about some of the […]
Blu-ray Review: The Player
New Line Cinema | 1992 | 124 mins. | Rated R A stubbornly independent filmmaker, director Robert Altman was known for making films that no one else dared to touch. MASH, one of Altman’s biggest successes, had been passed over by over a dozen other filmmakers. It was a difficult shoot, but Altman took on […]
DVD Review: Annie Leibovitz – Life Through A Lens
As a long time subscriber to both Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, I feel like I know Annie Leibovitz well. Granted, I’ve never met her, but some of her pictures are burned in my memory: John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the January 22, 1981 Rolling Stone cover, shot the day of Lennon’s death, the […]