DVD Reviews

Ladies and Gentlemen, Robert Eggers has arrived.  The Witch is easily the most disturbing horror film I’ve seen in theaters in a long, long while. Writing and directing an impressive debut, the creative artist behind The Witch has done a lot of things right, including the research ...

Toss this title in $10 dollar "so bad it's hilarious" bin at Wal-Mart, folks, because that's where Gods of Egypt is headed. Visionary director Alex Proyas (Dark City) goes the loopy B-movie route and, at the very least, offers audience a chance to laugh with his latest feature Gods of  ...

Fritz Lang brought Woman in the Moon to life a mere two years after his most important film, Metropolis. It is a less ambitious adventure but still manages to break the established rules of the time period as it combines science-fiction with espionage and romance and delivers   ...

There is something painfully simple at work deep in the mechanics of Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. It is a child-like simplicity that woefully recalls some of the problems a lot of people had with Brave. Neither one is a bad film but, if I am being completely honest, both   ...

It is safe to say that Disney's Zootopia is the shot in the arm that the animated community needed. It's exciting, funny, and completely (without apologies, mind you) subversive at each and every turn. Whip-smart and wild, it's the one sure thing this weekend when it  ...

With more bang than it has any right to, 10 Cloverfield Lane sizzles as a convergence of two seemingly unrelated ideas provide an entertaining and wildly cracked ride. It is, hands down, the best genre film I've seen since Cabin in the Woods. High praise indeed and,   ...

It was required viewing in my freshman film course.  That was my introduction to The Manchurian Candidate and, after having written many words about it, the film continues to seer its way into my thoughts.  One can easily glance at its cast and dismiss it BUT only fools   ...

‘Tis a rare thing, nowadays, when Hollywood will throw a buck at something that doesn’t have a Roman numeral next to it, or you have to place ‘re’ in front of make, boot, imagined, or some other such gentle euphemism for GAURANTEED buck, so we’ll run with it. It’s a brave  ...

Let’s go back.  Let’s go way back.  It’s hard to imagine now, but once upon a time ago there was no such thing as "digital noise".  The Internet was not around, iPads were still only on Star Trek, and cell phones were the size of bazookas.  Those were days free from distractions.  ...

This one flew under the radar for this reviewer, but by all accounts did good business at the box office. Looking at the cover it appeared the The Intern was a rehash of Anne Hathaway’s shtick from The Devil Wears Prada (movie posters these days really suck), but one look at the  ...

The third time is the charm for Shout Factory with their blu-ray release of the American teen comedy-drama television show (complete with its own built-in cult following), Freaks and Geeks! Created by Paul Feig with Judd Apatow as executive producer, Freaks and Geeks  ...

There was simply no way to predict it.  With Peter Capaldi returning to the controls of the TARDIS for his second run as the beloved Doctor Who, there was every hope that it could be but no one – NO ONE – expected the Ninth Series of the rebooted Doctor Who to be ...

Disney’s mostly-live-action reimagining of its 1967 classic The Jungle Book is a dazzling visual spectacle that tinkers very little with the original’s underlying story while providing an astonishingly new look and feel to the world of man-cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi), black panther ...

"I used to be someone," reads a cardboard sign held up by Hannah (Jennifer Connelly), a homeless woman on the streets of Manhattan in the movie Shelter. Hannah and another vagrant, Tahir (Anthony Mackie), meet and slowly fall in love. He's an illegal Nigerian immigrant  ...

The hugely popular Comedy Central skit team of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (aka Key & Peele) triumphantly make the transition from television sketch comedy to big screen success with Keanu, a film that will have you doubled over with laughter when you’re not ...

So begins Marvel’s continued domination in the costumed hero department, as their Phase 3 comes out swinging in high style. After the Russo brother’s proved their talent with Cap in The Winter Soldier, it seemed they replaced former Marvel golden boy Joss Whedon ...

Jeremy Saulnier returns.  The writer and director of the crowdfunded and critically acclaimed Blue Ruin strikes fear into moviegoers and color aficionados with Green Room, a tension-filled horror film about a punk band at the mercy of a bunch of neo-Nazis.  You read   ...

I have to ask you this.  Do you believe in God?  You’re going to need that faith in order to survive this one, brothers and sisters.  The Darkness is a dull ride through familiar roads with actors and actresses more talented than the trappings of this bland and forgettable  ...

It seems the go to reason to revisit classic characters, if one is to ask creative folk, is revisiting their stories with a new perspective. Setting aside the realities of modern cinema, it’s with that assertion that I sat down to this, the umpteenth go around, of Mary Shelley’s  ...

Shane Black's The Nice Guys hits on so many different levels, it certainly won't come as a surprise if we look back at this as the exact moment the buddy cop flick was awakened from its 30-year slumber.  Sure, the genre has seen many come and go since Black's Lethal ...

Time is a thief” utters Alice Through the Looking Glass’s star Mia Wasikowska. In some kind of weird self-aware pronouncement, she reminds us that somehow it’s been six years since Burton’s motley crew of Lewis Carroll-inspired characters convened for their epic  ...

Arriving for the first time on blu-ray, Alex Haley’s Roots is sure to capture the attention of those who originally watched the 8-episode narrative.  It’s hard for me to see that this release has much of a life outside of that circle.  It is quickly being replaced with The History  ...

Fascinating.  Truly fascinating.  The behind the scenes story of Tim Burton’s take on Superman is a thrilling and wondrous rollercoaster ride of emotional ups and downs.  It is as profound disappointment that all we have of the production are a handful of items, a couple  ...

I literally have tears in my eyes as I write this.  The new 4K scan with HDR grading of the director’s cut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a thing of beauty.  The space battle sequences inside the Mutara Nebula in this transfer are an absolute delight as the color grading ...

It was only a matter of time before Dory got her own picture. Granted, no one could have imagined it would take Pixar 13 years, but we’re finally going back to Nemo’s reef to pay another visit to the forgetful blue tang and her finned, scaled, feathered, and tentacled ...

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud), Midnight Special is a richly dark treat that recalls some of the best moments from the slew of science fiction movies released during the 1980s.  It is ambitious and imaginative, refusing to provide answers while  ...

The Shallows just might be the sleeper hit of the summer.  Straightforward, intense, and with just a hint of symbolism, The Shallows gets the balance right for the summer season and delivers an engaging story of survival.  Of course, whether or not YOU like like the movie ...

Something strange happened on the evening of the 24th of January this year.  People were actually watching Fox again; a lot of people.  When all fast-tracked Nielsen figures were in, the network reported that 13.5 million people, on a Sunday night after extended NFC  ...

Director Steven Spielberg is no stranger to the fantastical realms that collide in his faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s classic book.  For many people like myself, Spielberg’s films were the main courses of our cinematic outings growing up. His filmography  ...

There are few other visual effects artists that I know of who continually inspire filmmakers as significant to the medium than that of special effects guru Ray Harryhausen.  His name alone conjures up images of giants, sword-fighting skeletons, monsters, and, hell, Medusa  ...