Douglas Norton

Douglas Norton contributes thoughtful reviews and commentary on documentaries, dramas, and a wide variety of screen releases for MovieMet. His writing balances evaluation with context, helping readers quickly understand what a film is trying to do and whether it succeeds.

WHIPLASH - Blu-ray review
ReviewsFeb 25, 2015

WHIPLASH - Blu-ray review

Andrew Neyman has a problem. Played by Miles Teller in the Oscar-winning film “Whiplash,” he’s an ambitious musician, a drummer in one of the elite music schools in the country. When the school’s top

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DOWNTON ABBEY, SEASON FIVE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 25, 2015

DOWNTON ABBEY, SEASON FIVE - Blu-ray review

The period drama juggernaut "Downton Abbey" rolls on in Season 5, and creator Julian Fellowes has programmed in some minor course corrections addressing the several disappointments of Season 4. Don’t

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
BY THE GUN - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 21, 2015

BY THE GUN - Blu-ray review

“By The Gun” is about guns, duh. It’s also about organized crime, honor, family, more guns, and angry men shouting at each other in between long, terse silences. Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian in the “Na

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
REACH ME -Blu-ray review
ReviewsDec 31, 2014

REACH ME -Blu-ray review

How’s this for a tortured metaphor? While watching “Reach Me,” I was reminded of ads from a certain national taco chain. You know, where a stentorian voice-over exhorts the glories of yet another

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
INSPECTOR LEWIS: SERIES 7 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsDec 28, 2014

INSPECTOR LEWIS: SERIES 7 - Blu-ray review

As restrained and craftsman-like as ever, Series 7 of the Inspector Lewis mysteries doesn’t exactly break new ground, but still hits the right notes of character and complication in the unusually dang

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL - Blu-ray review
ReviewsDec 23, 2014

WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL - Blu-ray review

Next to “starring Jim Carrey,” the movie poster phrase that gives me the deepest case of heebie-jeebies is ‘based on a true story.” Too often a flimsy excuse for blowhard platitudes, or a convenientl

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
STONEHEARST ASYLUM - Blu-ray review
ReviewsDec 19, 2014

STONEHEARST ASYLUM - Blu-ray review

A Gothic thriller that wears its humble aspirations proudly, like a grimy but well-tied cravat, **“Stonehearst Asylum”**has pretty much everything one could expect from a period piece with the word ‘a

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE OFFICE: THE COMPLETE SERIES - DVD review
ReviewsDec 05, 2014

THE OFFICE: THE COMPLETE SERIES - DVD review

It seems incredible now that “The Office” was first viewed as a risky proposition in its first season. 9 seasons and 201 episodes later, it stands as one of the great TV comedies, daring and hilarious

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS COLLECTION - DVD review
ReviewsNov 29, 2014

UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS COLLECTION - DVD review

In the excellent DVD box set “Universal Classic Monsters,” Universal Studios puts it all together in a 21-disc, 30-film collection that covers all of their monster features released between “Dracu

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
WHAT IF - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 28, 2014

WHAT IF - Blu-ray review

The romantic comedy seems to be a genre on continual life-support—never healthy enough to ditch the I.V., but never quite bad enough to have the plug pulled. With “What If,” the rom-com rolls side

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
AUTOMATA - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 16, 2014

AUTOMATA - Blu-ray review

In the predictably dystopian future of **“Automata,”**Earth’s ecosystem has collapsed, leaving only walled cities surrounded by radiation-blasted desert. The city inhabitants are served by a legion of

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE JOHNNY WORRICKER TRILOGY - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 14, 2014

THE JOHNNY WORRICKER TRILOGY - Blu-ray review

As much a barometer of contemporary political morality as a political or espionage thriller, the three films of the Worricker trilogy paint the town in various shades of gray. Bill Nighy stars as Joh

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN - DVD review
ReviewsNov 06, 2014

THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN - DVD review

The ‘found footage’ horror film “The Taking of Deborah Logan” takes a questionable premise and quickly finds ways to make it even more regrettable. In this space, I have previously confessed my guilt

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
GOOD PEOPLE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 30, 2014

GOOD PEOPLE - Blu-ray review

In the new thriller "Good People," James Franco and Kate Hudson are Tom and Anna Wright, a young American couple living in a London flat, trying to start a family while renovating a diseased-looki

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DELIVER US FROM EVIL - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 25, 2014

DELIVER US FROM EVIL - Blu-ray review

Bon vivant and genteel man-about-town Jerry Bruckheimer throws the considerable bulk of his cinematic hat into the occult thriller ring with the new release “Deliver Us From Evil.” Aussie Eric Ba

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DICK CAVETT'S WATERGATE - DVD review
ReviewsOct 25, 2014

DICK CAVETT'S WATERGATE - DVD review

On the 40th anniversary of the most famous political scandal in American history, PBS has released the new DVD “Dick Cavett’s Watergate.” Through a combination of fortuitous timing and journalist

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SEX TAPE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 21, 2014

SEX TAPE - Blu-ray review

It’s in the nature of film comedy to stretch the believability of their premises to the breaking point (“Hangover” trilogy, I’m looking in your direction). And it’s in the nature of comedy audiences t

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS: SEASON ONE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 11, 2014

THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS: SEASON ONE - Blu-ray review

What to do, what to do. Lots of airtime to fill between “Sharknado” installments and Smackdown episodes. What can we here at SyFy do about that? Hey, look, here’s an already cancelled New Zealand TV s

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
ARE YOU HERE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 05, 2014

ARE YOU HERE - Blu-ray review

Matthew Weiner found popular and critical acclaim with his TV series “Mad Men,” creating a rich, detailed world in the life and times of Don Draper. But things are a little bumpier in the comedy-drama

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DEAD WITHIN - DVD review
ReviewsSep 14, 2014

DEAD WITHIN - DVD review

More a study in isolation than an end-of-days zombie thriller, “Dead Within” confidently ignores the usual tropes of living dead horror, looking instead at the question “What’s more lethal—beastie

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
APPLESEED ALPHA -Blu-ray review
ReviewsSep 01, 2014

APPLESEED ALPHA -Blu-ray review

By most standards, the “Appleseed” series has a long history. Starting as a manga series in 1985, Masamune Shirow’s creation has seen the original 4-volume manga collection, three feature length films

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
PING PONG SUMMER - Blu-ray review
ReviewsAug 17, 2014

PING PONG SUMMER - Blu-ray review

Part sweetly predictable coming-of-age story, part loving 80’s movie throwback, “Ping Pong Summer” sits in that comfortable spot between empty nostalgia and cloying earnestness. Newcomer Marcello

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE WIPERS TIMES - DVD review
ReviewsJul 19, 2014

THE WIPERS TIMES - DVD review

Ypres. A city in Belgium. It’s pronounced “ee-pruh”, but in the parlance of the British Army in World War I, called “Wipers.” And in this shell-frayed pocket of the great, muddy overcoat of WWI, an ex

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
HELIX: SEASON 1 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJul 05, 2014

HELIX: SEASON 1 - Blu-ray review

A vast, chilly wasteland. Violence and madness. Reason competing with animal instinct. No, it’s not a documentary about Black Friday shopping at Walmart. In the 13-episode SyFy original series **“Hel

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE BOONDOCKS, SEASON 4 - DVD review
ReviewsJul 03, 2014

THE BOONDOCKS, SEASON 4 - DVD review

While the production history of “The Boondocks” is not as tortured as, say, “Community” or “Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark,” Aaron McGruder’s animated series has seen its fair share of bumps and bru

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
AFFLICTED - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJul 01, 2014

AFFLICTED - Blu-ray review

The found footage horror movie has come in for a lot of abuse lately, much of it deserved. With few exceptions, the trope of “here’s the footage we found with the mutilated bodies” has become a self-s

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
A FIGHTING MAN - DVD review
ReviewsJun 17, 2014

A FIGHTING MAN - DVD review

As much a workmanlike parade of stock characters as a movie, “A Fighting Man” takes a standard boxing movie premise and runs it through its paces with moderate competence, if not inspiration. Dom

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE ESCAPE ARTIST - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJun 13, 2014

THE ESCAPE ARTIST - Blu-ray review

Sometimes familiarity breeds not contempt, but satisfaction. Formulas stick around when they work, whether it’s the Pythagorean theorem or the recipe for Coke or the genre conventions of the legal thr

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
PARTS PER BILLION - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJun 02, 2014

PARTS PER BILLION - Blu-ray review

Since Roland Emmerich has pretty much cornered the market on big-scale steroid-enhanced end of the world extravaganzas, the makers of “Parts Per Billion” go the opposite direction. If “2012” was a

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THAT AWKWARD MOMENT - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMay 28, 2014

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT - Blu-ray review

Tired of romantic comedies where you actually like the main characters? Exhausted by people acting in rational and/or intelligent fashion? Ready for a movie where you smile contentedly when the leadin

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
BAD COUNTRY - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMay 24, 2014

BAD COUNTRY - Blu-ray review

South Louisiana in the 80’s, we’re told in the film’s opening voice-over, was ”hell with the lid off.” Whether it was a screw-top lid is not mentioned. Maybe a canning jar, maybe not. Perhaps a pop-to

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE MONUMENTS MEN - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMay 21, 2014

THE MONUMENTS MEN - Blu-ray review

Genial and episodic, and always on the verge of loosing track of its own storyline, most of “The Monuments Men” plays like an efficient and good looking shaggy dog story told by veterans sitting a

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
POMPEII - 3D Blu-ray review
ReviewsMay 17, 2014

POMPEII - 3D Blu-ray review

“Pompeii” is an old-fashioned B-movie playing dress up as a 3D action-adventure epic . Like a goofy, likeable, gawky junior high kid wearing his dad’s suit (and using his dad’s steroids, too). The fi

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
CALL ME CRAZY: A FIVE FILM - DVD review
ReviewsMay 12, 2014

CALL ME CRAZY: A FIVE FILM - DVD review

A follow-up to Lifetime’s breast cancer-themed “Five,” the anthology “Call Me Crazy: A Five Film” presents five (!) short stories revolving around the theme of mental illness. Each story is named

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE STORY OF THE JEWS - DVD review
ReviewsMay 09, 2014

THE STORY OF THE JEWS - DVD review

First, a small complaint. Once there was a Jewish man who had talents beyond those of mortal men. He achieved what some would call miracles, and his work convinced millions of people of his special, c

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE, SEASON 2 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsApr 16, 2014

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE, SEASON 2 - Blu-ray review

Season 2 of “The Bletchley Circle” takes us back to London, circa 1952, and back in the company of everyone’s favorite quartet of former female code-breakers turned amateur sleuths. Okay, maybe no

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
KILL YOUR DARLINGS - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMar 19, 2014

KILL YOUR DARLINGS - Blu-ray review

Based on true events, “Kill Your Darlings” tells the story of a pivotal year in the life of poet Allen Ginsberg, early in his literary life, when he was studying at Columbia. Played by Daniel Radc

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMar 16, 2014

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS - Blu-ray review

“Inside Llewyn Davis” stars Oscar Isaac as the titular folk-singer, struggling with his career, an elusive housecat, and his own self-destructive impulses in the 1961 Greenwich Village folk scene. He

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
ICE SOLDIERS - Blu-ray review
ReviewsFeb 28, 2014

ICE SOLDIERS - Blu-ray review

On the Blu-ray box for the new actioner “Ice Soldiers,” the PR team has put a blurb that opines “Ice Soldiers” is “the best super soldier movie since the first “Universal Soldier.” Where I sit, t

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DOWNTON ABBEY, SEASON FOUR - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 28, 2014

DOWNTON ABBEY, SEASON FOUR - Blu-ray review

It’s rare I’ve written a review that feels more futile from the outset. The train has most definitely left the platform. If you’re on board the “Downton Abbey” Express already, by the current release

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
1 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 26, 2014

1 - Blu-ray review

Though NASCAR reigns with a greasy fist in the arena of U.S. auto racing, outside America, Formula One drivers are superstars, and the sport is avidly followed by legions of fans every bit as die hard

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
JUSTIFIED: SEASON 4 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 15, 2014

JUSTIFIED: SEASON 4 - Blu-ray review

The compelling backwoods noir of “Justified”continues inSeason 4, where old-school lawman Raylan Givens finds himself tangled in a thirty-year-old mystery that started with a sky-diver crateri

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
RUN - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 12, 2014

RUN - Blu-ray review

It’s been said by people hipper than me that once a movie gets made about ‘the latest craze’ (break dancing, crumping, bacon-flavoring), that means the concept is already done and on it’s way into our

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
KHUMBA - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 11, 2014

KHUMBA - Blu-ray review

The second feature release from the Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios, “Khumba” is a genial winner for children and adults alike, and a visual treat besides. Jake T. Austin (“Wizards of W

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE SMURFS 2 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 30, 2013

THE SMURFS 2 - Blu-ray review

In “The Smurfs 2,” the next installment of the macabre Grand Guignol saga of sin and retribution, evil wizard Gargamel returns with another dastardly plan to blanch, boil and puree the adorably hued d

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
ALL IS BRIGHT - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 23, 2013

ALL IS BRIGHT - Blu-ray review

“I am not a thief.” When recently paroled Dennis writes these words, he believes them. And defiantly sticks them to the window of the house where his estranged wife lives. He’s going straight. But lif

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
INTO THE WHITE - DVD review
ReviewsNov 07, 2013

INTO THE WHITE - DVD review

Inspired by true events, “Into The White” tells the World War II story of two air crews shot down over the frozen wilderness of Norway in 1940. The five soldiers must band together to survive the

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
ONLY GOD FORGIVES - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 25, 2013

ONLY GOD FORGIVES - Blu-ray review

In "Only God Forgives," writer and director Nicolas Winding Refn continues his cage-fight with the boundaries of genre film in his latest, an existential revenge story set in the dark underworld o

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
BEFORE MIDNIGHT - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 21, 2013

BEFORE MIDNIGHT - Blu-ray review

A lot can change in 20 years. Just ask Jesse and Celine. In “Before Midnight”, we catch up with the stars of the film series that began with their first meeting, 1995’s “Before Sunrise”, and continued

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
AFTER EARTH - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 13, 2013

AFTER EARTH - Blu-ray review

“Hey Dad, can we have a catch?” “Hey Dad, can we work on my science project?’ “Hey Dad, can we star in a $130 million summer tent pole science-fiction feature film?” Some children’s lives really are

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
STUCK IN LOVE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 06, 2013

STUCK IN LOVE - Blu-ray review

It’s tough being a successful, award-winning writer, with a huge house on the beach. In the comedy/drama “Stuck In Love,” Greg Kinnear plays William Borgens, a novelist who finds himself in a bit of

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THIS IS THE END - DVD review
ReviewsSep 29, 2013

THIS IS THE END - DVD review

According to star, co-director and co-writer Seth Rogen, approximately 50 percent of “This Is The End” was improvised. After viewing the film, this number seems a generous under-estimation. What you

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
HELL ON WHEELS: SEASON TWO - DVD review
ReviewsSep 23, 2013

HELL ON WHEELS: SEASON TWO - DVD review

Interest in Westerns seems to come and go in cycles, but our continued interest in the West never really seems to wane. The mythology of the West provides a deep well to draw on for stories that refle

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
KILLING SEASON - Blu-ray review
ReviewsAug 25, 2013

KILLING SEASON - Blu-ray review

In the thriller “Killing Season,” the circumstances of the Bosnian conflict of the early 90’s are used as the backdrop for a forgettably routine twist on the “most dangerous game” idea. Robert De Nir

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
WHAT MAISIE KNEW - Blu-ray review
ReviewsAug 16, 2013

WHAT MAISIE KNEW - Blu-ray review

Too often movies treat children like fragile china—beautiful, but easily chipped and broken. Sometimes, kids are stronger, more loyal and resilient than we know. Maisie is one of those kids. The titl

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
AFTERSHOCK - Blu-ray review
ReviewsAug 11, 2013

AFTERSHOCK - Blu-ray review

In an earthquake, everyone thinks of what goes on during. Well, duh. But in Chilean director Nicolas Lopez’s film Aftershock, the question is “What happens after the buildings fall down?” The

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE HAPPY POET - DVD review
ReviewsJul 24, 2013

THE HAPPY POET - DVD review

“The Happy Poet” tells the story of Bill, a struggling poet who takes his last bit of money and a paltry loan from the bank to start a food stand. A food stand that sells, not hot dogs like the lo

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
ENDEAVOUR: SERIES ONE - DVD review
ReviewsJul 24, 2013

ENDEAVOUR: SERIES ONE - DVD review

The respectable tradition of literate, off-screen-violence murder mysteries proves it still has life in its creaky British bones in the new series “Endeavour.” This three-disc set presents five featur

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DEFIANT REQUIEM - DVD review
ReviewsJul 17, 2013

DEFIANT REQUIEM - DVD review

Out of darkness comes a light. In the face of a tragedy so vast and cruel it shakes the soul to even consider, a group of musicians joined together to spark hope through performance. **“Defiant Requi

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
TOUCH - DVD review
ReviewsJul 17, 2013

TOUCH - DVD review

Sometimes you can feel a movie teetering on the brink, balancing on that mysterious knife-edge of story and character, just one small tonal shift away from a different, and usually lesser, film. **“T

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
KIND HEARTED WOMAN - DVD review
ReviewsJul 11, 2013

KIND HEARTED WOMAN - DVD review

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” --Plato In the documentary “Kind Hearted Woman,” director David Sutherland’s shines a light on the close-quarter battles of Robin Charbonne

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
CONSTITUTION USA WITH PETER SAGAL - DVD review
ReviewsJul 03, 2013

CONSTITUTION USA WITH PETER SAGAL - DVD review

It’s the feel good document of the year! If you read one parchment this year, make it this one! Soon to be appearing in a high-school civics class near you! No, seriously, it’s really important. In t

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
INSPECTOR LEWIS: SERIES SIX - DVD review
ReviewsJun 27, 2013

INSPECTOR LEWIS: SERIES SIX - DVD review

Oh, the comforts of reliable routine. Shower, shave, dress. Campaign, take office, lie. Find the body, investigate the murder, solve the crime. In the British TV series “inspector Lewis,” the stan

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJun 20, 2013

SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION - Blu-ray review

“Sometimes I live in the country, sometimes I live in town, Sometimes I get a great notion to jump in the river and drown.” --Goodnight, Irene Sometimes there are things we just have to

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE AWAKENING - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJun 08, 2013

THE AWAKENING - Blu-ray review

Sometimes the most compelling ghosts aren’t the ones that hover in the halls or stack the furniture on the kitchen table. The ones in our own heads haunt just as well. In “The Awakening,” Rebecca

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA - DVD review
ReviewsJun 06, 2013

SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA - DVD review

A chair. A table. A microphone and a glass of water. Oh, and the notebook. The notebook. Can’t forget the notebook. What could be simpler? “Swimming to Cambodia” is a filmed version of one of the

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
10 BUILDINGS THAT CHANGED AMERICA - DVD review
ReviewsMay 05, 2013

10 BUILDINGS THAT CHANGED AMERICA - DVD review

**“10 Buildings That Changed America”**does exactly what it says on the label—a modest chronological survey of ten cornerstones of American architectural style, starting with Thomas Jefferson’s Virgin

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsApr 21, 2013

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE - Blu-ray review

What do you do after the War? When The Great Event of Your Lifetime is over, how do you get on with ‘normal’ life? The four women in “The Bletchley Circle” are all asking themselves that question. Du

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
CRUSH - Blu-ray review
ReviewsApr 14, 2013

CRUSH - Blu-ray review

The digital world has opened up a whole app store of new fears and threats for makers of ‘pretty teens in peril’ movies to exploit (there’s a joke about Pandora/Pandora’s box in there somewhere). Cybe

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
PHILIP ROTH UNMASKED - DVD review
ReviewsApr 12, 2013

PHILIP ROTH UNMASKED - DVD review

In the opening scene, Philip Roth states he will soon face two “calamities”: death and biography. “Let’s hope the first happens first” he says. The fact that he equates biography as an event on the s

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
STAND OFF - DVD review
ReviewsApr 07, 2013

STAND OFF - DVD review

It’s hard to tell what the folks behind “Stand Off” thought they had when they started off on this misbegotten project. Quirky slice of life? Local color comedy? Reasonable excuse to avoid doing the l

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED - DVD review
ReviewsApr 02, 2013

SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED - DVD review

So what was Shakespeare going on about with that light that keeps “breaking Yonder’s window,” and that “solid flesh tutu?” Why was Yorick so poor? “To be or not to be?” What’s up with that? If you’ve

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN - DVD review
ReviewsMar 24, 2013

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN - DVD review

Everyone knows how this ends. Barclays paid a truckload of money to get the naming rights, boss man Bruce Ratner got his development, and Nets part-owner Jay Z got his courtside seats. The little guys

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SECRETS OF HIGHCLERE CASTLE - DVD review
ReviewsMar 16, 2013

SECRETS OF HIGHCLERE CASTLE - DVD review

Fans of “Downton Abbey,” and of homes that look like museums, should chortle with repressed delight for the new PBS release “Secrets of Highclere Castle.” Home to the Carnavon family for 300 year

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SHOOTING ROBERT KING - DVD review
ReviewsMar 16, 2013

SHOOTING ROBERT KING - DVD review

“(Journalists) are all damaged goods. If they weren’t when they went in (to a war), they are when they come out.” These words come from photographer Robert King, the subject of the documentary**“Shoot

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE INSIDER - Blu-ray review
ReviewsMar 02, 2013

THE INSIDER - Blu-ray review

It is an unpleasant truth that conscience usually carries a cost. Behind every feel-good story of justice achieved is a check paid in blood or dishonor or cold, hard reproach. Few films have demonstra

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE CLIENT LIST: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD review
ReviewsMar 01, 2013

THE CLIENT LIST: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD review

Difficult economic times call for difficult choices. When the money gets tight and the husband skips town, some women take a second job, some get public assistance. And some take a job at a massage pa

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
FAREWELL, MY QUEEN - DVD review
ReviewsFeb 23, 2013

FAREWELL, MY QUEEN - DVD review

With many historical epics, there’s an unwritten playbook. Focus on the important personages, keep the visual vocabulary grand and sweeping, present the larger picture. Be epic. In the new French-lan

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
MIMESIS: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - DVD review
ReviewsFeb 19, 2013

MIMESIS: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - DVD review

A search on IMDB for the keyword “zombie” brings up a list of 1862 items. TV, movies, games, whatever. One thousand, eight hundred. And sixty-two. For comparison’s sake, the word “juicebox” brings up

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SMILEY - DVD review
ReviewsFeb 17, 2013

SMILEY - DVD review

“Smiley” is an ambitious re-imagining of Marcel Proust’s monumental seven volume series “In Search of Lost Time”, where a group of emoticons, led by the titular colon-parenthesis and trapped in th

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
MAFIA - DVD review
ReviewsFeb 15, 2013

MAFIA - DVD review

For a lot of people, a job is a job is a job. You do what the man tells you, you cash your paycheck, you go home. Why go out of your way trying to make the best widget at the factory? I make this (al

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SLEEP TIGHT - Blu-ray review
ReviewsFeb 03, 2013

SLEEP TIGHT - Blu-ray review

Cesar is unhappy. He has never been happy, and states that he is, in fact, incapable of being happy. So we meet him standing on the ledge of the apartment building where he works, staring into the voi

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
THE INNKEEPERS - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 26, 2013

THE INNKEEPERS - Blu-ray review

Haunted hotel. Raise your hand if you immediately think of “The Shining.” There’s a good chance that after viewing “The Innkeepers,” that may change. “The Innkeepers” is director Ti West’s chilli

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
SO UNDERCOVER - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 26, 2013

SO UNDERCOVER - Blu-ray review

So…anyway, Denise and I saw this, like, Blu-ray movie. I think it was called “So Undercover” and OMG it had Miley Cyrus in it and…oh, did you see Jimmy and that girl at the mall, like, he was all OVER

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
DOWNTON ABBEY: SEASON 3 - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 22, 2013

DOWNTON ABBEY: SEASON 3 - Blu-ray review

On the surface, the PBS series “Downton Abbey” seems an unlikely candidate for pop culture phenomena. In a 140-character, flash-cut world of post- modern irony, who has the patience for a stately

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
WHY STOP NOW - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 18, 2013

WHY STOP NOW - Blu-ray review

The road to artistic greatness is often strange and twisted, and occasionally in movies, involves actual artistry. But rarely has a musician gone through as much on the day of the Big Audition as Eli.

  • By Douglas Norton
  • Reviews
MANKIND: THE STORY OF ALL OF US - Blu-ray review
ReviewsJan 05, 2013

MANKIND: THE STORY OF ALL OF US - Blu-ray review

“Mankind: The Story of All of Us” is an ambitious 3-disc, 12-part series aired on the History Channel. Anyone familiar with that channel can safely guess at the filmmaking techniques employed here

  • By Douglas Norton
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RAGS & RICHES: THE MARY PICKFORD COLLECTION- DVD review
ReviewsDec 28, 2012

RAGS & RICHES: THE MARY PICKFORD COLLECTION- DVD review

The three-disc DVD set “Rags & Riches: The Mary Pickford Collection”presents three full-length features --“The Poor Little Rich Girl,” “The Hoodlum”and“Sparrows”-- from the first true inte

  • By Douglas Norton
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THE DUST BOWL - Blu-ray review
ReviewsDec 09, 2012

THE DUST BOWL - Blu-ray review

From his break-through documentary “The Civil War” to this, his latest work for PBS, filmmaker Ken Burns has shown an unrivaled gift for finding the telling human detail in larger events of history. W

  • By Douglas Norton
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DARK HORSE - DVD review
ReviewsNov 17, 2012

DARK HORSE - DVD review

Everyone tells themselves lies to get through the day. In a dark and dangerous universe, where disaster can claim the unwary and the righteous alike, sometimes self-delusion is the only way to keep th

  • By Douglas Norton
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THE PACT - Blu-ray review
ReviewsNov 10, 2012

THE PACT - Blu-ray review

Like romantic comedies, time travel novels and push cart hot dogs, it really doesn’t pay to think too much about the contents of supernatural horror films. If you’re going to get anything out of viewi

  • By Douglas Norton
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HIGH GROUND - DVD review
ReviewsNov 04, 2012

HIGH GROUND - DVD review

Director Chris Brown’s superb documentary “High Ground” follows a team of eleven Iraq and Afghan war veterans and their mountaineer guides in their quest to ascend Mount Lobuche, a 20,000 foot peak in

  • By Douglas Norton
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METALOCAPLYPSE: SEASON 4 - DVD review
ReviewsOct 28, 2012

METALOCAPLYPSE: SEASON 4 - DVD review

For three seasons of the Adult Swim animated series “Metalocalypse”, viewers have followed the chaotic, clueless, blood-soaked parade that is the band Dethklok. The most popular band in the world, so

  • By Douglas Norton
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BLOODSTAINED MEMOIRS (SPECIAL EDITION) - DVD review
ReviewsOct 25, 2012

BLOODSTAINED MEMOIRS (SPECIAL EDITION) - DVD review

David Sinnott’s documentary**“Bloodstained Memoirs”** presents a series of interviews with professional wrestling greats, both contemporaries like Chris Jericho and Mick Foley, and old-school greats l

  • By Douglas Norton
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DAVID BLAINE: DECADE OF MAGIC - DVD review
ReviewsOct 20, 2012

DAVID BLAINE: DECADE OF MAGIC - DVD review

Since his breakthrough special “Street Magic” in 1996, Illusionist and self-proclaimed “endurance artist” David Blaine has become a cottage industry of extreme, high-risk stunts. “Decade of Magic” col

  • By Douglas Norton
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Starsuckers - DVD review
ReviewsOct 11, 2012

Starsuckers - DVD review

If you have the ability to walk upright or even just fog a mirror, it should be painfully apparent that the world has an obsession with celebrity. Or perhaps more accurately, the possibility of being

  • By Douglas Norton
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THE LADY - Blu-ray review
ReviewsOct 10, 2012

THE LADY - Blu-ray review

The nation of Burma, or Myanmar, has seen a continuing struggle to establish democracy in the face of a brutally repressive military regime. The “lady” of the title, Aung San Suu Kyi, has ong been the

  • By Douglas Norton
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RED LIGHTS - DVD review
ReviewsOct 01, 2012

RED LIGHTS - DVD review

The tag line for Rodrigo Cortes’ feature “Red Lights” asks “How much do you want to believe?” One could say this question applies to the viewers of this ambitious, uneven paranormal thriller as mu

  • By Douglas Norton
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MY SUCKY TEEN ROMANCE - Blu-ray review
ReviewsSep 05, 2012

MY SUCKY TEEN ROMANCE - Blu-ray review

Austin-based writer/director Emily Hagins completed her first feature when she was only 12 years old. The making of that film, "Pathogen," was the subject of a documentary called "Zombie Girl: The Mov

  • By Douglas Norton
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KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE - DVD review
ReviewsAug 24, 2012

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE - DVD review

Managing editor's note: This is an older film, but we're posting it now because we don't have a review in our database . . . and also to introduce a reviewer new to Movie Met! It has become a clich

  • By Douglas Norton
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