DVD Reviews

Well, here we are again. Another 4K offering from the back catalogue of James Cameron. This time heading back to the film that put him on the map: The Terminator. As with all these remastered Cameron offerings in the latest generation of physical media, the end result brings with it controversy  ...

There’s something intrinsically fun about the idea of pairing a romantic comedy with a slasher film. On paper, Heart Eyes—directed by Josh Ruben and penned by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy—seemed poised to carve out a unique niche. The  ...

In which the cult-approved Nicolas Cage fights off demonic animatronic mascots! He even dances in one key sequence as he gets ready for the ultimate battle against the last remaining heavy, ol Willy himself! I mean, seriously, HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG WITH THIS IDEA? ...

I’ve been waxing lyrical recently on some critically revered flicks and their rare confluences of casting, writing and execution to form classics for the ages. But it’s not just drama masterpieces that spawn a classic. If those elements are present, even the most critically ignored genres, such  ...

Few industries throw up more roadblocks against first-time success than the Hollywood filmmaking machine. It's hard out there in Tinseltown for a first timer. Sure, there are plenty of success stories; Jordan Peele hit it big with his Get Out, while Sam Mendes struck gold – quite literally – with American Beauty. And let’s not forget  ...

James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown is not your conventional biopic. Instead of attempting to capture the full, sprawling life of Bob Dylan, it zooms in on a defining four-year stretch (1961-1965), where a shy guitar-strumming vagabond transformed into a cultural force that irrevocably  ...

Advertised as a high-octane thriller, and marking the return of Mel Gibson to the director’s chair, Flight Risk sets out to rekindle the adrenaline and suspense of those beloved ‘90s action thrillers like Air Force One and Con-Air. Unfortunately, it only flirts with that potential before crashing and  ...

Number Five is alive…and armed to the teeth!  Imagine if the robot in Short Circuit was programmed by the government to wipe out certain members of our society.  Electronic genocide in an easy bake machine!  Now, imagine if that said robot could also rebuild itself and go right back to killing in the ...

Sometimes in filmmaking, timing is everything. Consider the timeliness and relevance of the release of Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, which is both a gripping historical drama and a thought-provoking meditation on the power and responsibility of media in times of crisis.

Through the  ...

The obscene child returns!  Please understand, though, Amadeus is not - nor has it ever been -the boring 18th century period piece you might possibly expect it to be. There remains something absolutely engaging when it comes to watching Director Milos Forman’s adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus.   The film is absolute charm ...

Not often in Hollywood have we witnessed as illustrious a career as that of Clint Eastwood’s. From starring in cinema classics such as Unforgiven, Dirty Harry, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly, to also directing additional classics such as Mystic River, Gran Torino, and the aforementioned  ...

Halina Reijn’s Babygirl is a daring, intoxicating exploration of desire, repression, and feminine power, making it a standout entry in modern romance films. Starring Nicole Kidman in what may very well be one of her most daring performances, alongside Harris Dickinson and Antonio ...

If stripteases in mining gear, hearts boiling alongside hot dogs, or dead women tumbling around in dryers aren’t your cup of tea then, well, I do believe there might be something wrong with you.  My Bloody Valentine, being made in the wake of John Carpenter's Halloween EXPLOSION, is Canuxploitation  ...

To this day, there remains something insanely special about director Brian De Palma’s Carrie.  It is based on the once-discarded novel by Stephen King, but was painstakingly adapted for the screen by Lawrence D. Cohen.  Cohen got everything about King’s first novel right and – with  ...

It’s hard to believe that You’re Next, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, has never before been available in 4K here in the United States until now.  But, thanks to Lionsgate Limited, Americans can finally get their hands on this eye-popping restoration which was previously only available in  ...

Make no mistake, Panic Room - hailing all the way from the year 2002 - is director David Fincher’s underrated masterpiece.  There are moments of suspense in this neo-noir gem which are definitely not for the weak of heart, with one early stand-out sequence has to be when Jodie Foster has to  ...

Forget about the wooden stakes, the garlic, and the kisses of death on the neck. Everyone knows that’s not really how you fend off a vampire. That’s just Universal Studios movie lore. As depicted in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024), breaking the curse of a vampyr is a far more complicated  ...

After gaining international fame and recognition following the release of her 2017 debut feature film Revenge, French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat entered a very dark and lonely place in her personal life. In her forties and contemplating the reality of success, fame, and fortune, those self-defeating thoughts of “what am I ...

Thirty years have gone by already since David Fincher unleashed his masterful beast of a thriller and reinvigorated his feature career (Alien 3 did not go well for him, and he returned to commercials for a time), cemented Brad Pitt as a megastar, made household names of Gwyneth Paltrow and ...

Action. Atmosphere. And Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken saying things like, "Sad story.  You got a smoke?"  Do I really need to say any more?  Escape from New York, from writer/director John Carpenter, is the perfect mix of genres from a director who could do no wrong throughout the 1970s ...

Because who doesn’t like a practical joke?! “On a clear day you can see the Kennedys.”  That line of dialogue is one of the many clever lines in this cult classic from 1986.  April Fool’s Day, directed by Fred Walton and written by Danilo Bach, is an undeniable masterpiece of mood and mayhem that  ...

Well folks, we have another weekend in Hollywood where two blockbuster juggernauts square off with one another to grab box office gold. Remember last year’s Barbenheimer which saw Barbie and Oppenheimer slug it out to the tune of a $250 million dollar opening weekend  ...

When this film was originally released FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, we really wanted writer/director Sam Raimi to be back in the business of scaring the pants off of us and making us howl with laughter. We got exactly what we wanted with Drag Me to Hell even if Raimi remained relatively quiet until  ...

Jackie Brown is one badass motherfucker.  This film, full of extremely smart characters who are all trying to outmaneuver their competition over Ordell’s $500,000 “retirement”, continues to be the ugly step-child in Quentin Tarantino’s highly consistent filmography.  Many fights have started among my friends with  ...

A fortuitous trip to Poland several decades ago by filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg eventually turned into A Real Pain, a delightful and poignant exploration of family, friendship, and the passage of time. With a blend of humor and heartfelt reflection, the film resonates deeply with its audience ...

Filmmaker Edward Berger, who brought us the heartbreaking anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front in 2022, revisits emotion and intrigue in Conclave, which offers a riveting exploration of one of the most secretive and ancient processes in the world—the selection of a new  ...

Released in 2004 with about 7 months between the original film, Kill Bill Volume 2 tells the story of The Bride, a former assassin who decides to leave her clan when she finds out she’s pregnant. Thurman is great in the role, she’s far less bubbly than she has been in the past, and everyone  ...

Once Upon A Time in El Paso, Texas . . . Step into the blood-soaked revenge saga of Quentin Tarantino's iconic Kill Bill: Volume 1 with this stunning SteelBook Edition. Featuring Uma Thurman as the relentless Bride, this explosive tale of vengeance and redemption is a masterclass in action filmmaking, blending  ...

Directed by André Øvredal and written by Bragi F. Schut Jr and Zak Olkewicz, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is exceptionally well done.  It is brooding and darkly realized, bringing to life “The Captain’s Log” chapter from a chapter from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, a chapter which is somewhat  ...

“Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie?  Or are you gonna bite?” If one needed to sum up who Quentin Tarantino was in one word, I think the best one would be “pioneer.” He ushered in a new wave of film that is replicated over and over again, ad nauseum, until the entire pool is over saturated with ...