I’ll come clean: I missed “How to Train Your Dragon” when it first landed in theaters during 2010. These animated flicks seem to be a dime a dozen these days, and I probably wasn’t all that intere
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
Say what you will about modern comedies. And judging from what Hollywood has kicked out in the last, say, five years, you might be able to muster up a whole lot. But once in a while something comes al
Perhaps there is no greater testament to the enduring strength of Shakespeare’s plays than the rich, incredibly varied interpretations th
When I first heard about “Big Hero 6,” its homonym main character Hiro, and his brother Tadashi, I wondered how Disney would be able to deliver a robotics story involving Japanese-named characters
Historically, action films tend to fall into two different categories. The first one is a $200 million explode-a-ganza with whomever the current crop of action studs are (think Michael Bay). The secon
Jean-Luc Godard's “Every Man For Himself” (1980) opens with an elegant pan across a cloudy blue sky accompanied by a melodic orchestral arrangement, sound and image in perfect harmony. Anyone familiar
Jean Renoir's “A Day In The Country” (“Partie de campagne”, 1936) has its legion of devotees, finishing in the top 100 in the most recent “Sight & Sound” critics poll. While it is undeniably beautiful
Tough guys and kids. What is it that makes them so fascinating? In “Leon: The Professional” an assassin reluctantly “adopted” a girl whose family was murdered and taught her the trade. In the 2010 Sou
An old man prays for death so that he will no longer be a burden to his granddaughter. A swordsman dressed in black appears behind him and grants his request with a single brutal stroke. An avenging
The Charlie Brown character will never, ever grow old. Charles Schulz likely had no idea when he initially created the humble, gentle boy and his critical but trustworthy sidekicks, but he was in real
As I wrote in my review of “The Wonder Years: Complete Series,” this coming-of-age TV comedy-drama gets it right. Lots of thin
Ever have the feeling that when your day starts off on the wrong foot, it’s going to be one stumble after the next, until you can go to bed and get a fresh start the following morning? That’s what ha
Kids who love “Frozen” owe a big thank-you to the Disney staffers who made “101 Dalmatians.” Animation had grown to be such an expensive proposition that it took 600 people to bring the previous f
In 2007, a British audiologist named S.J. Watson wrote a psychological thriller about a woman with amnesia who, like the protagonist in “50 First Dates,” could not build short term memories because th
I fully stand by my review of season one of “Banshee” and season two stays right on course with all the violence and sex that Cinemax can throw at you. It is apparent some lessons were learned from th
It had to happen. With so many gritty, sex-filled dramas on cable TV and with prostitutes taking center stage in such series as “Deadwood,” you knew that eventually there’d be a melodrama set entirel
I caught “My Winnipeg” (2007) at its debut screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. After the screening, the first question to director Guy Maddin was from a man who introduced himself as
The woman is a joyful eccentric, full of fanciful stories and extravagant behavior. The man is her opposite, a surly homebody with a curmudgeon’s disdain for the outside world. Still grieving the loss
Ursula K. Le Guin fans won’t recognize her Earthsea series in this 2006 Studio Ghibli animated adaptation—at least that’s what Le Guin thinks. And Hayao Miyazaki was of the opinion that his son, Goro,
“The Judge” is a relatively simple film that wants you to think that it is more complicated. To do this, it drops in multiple subplots that have all reared their ugly heads in prior similar titles
I've figured out by now that I simply have nothing useful to say about screwball comedies. I don't like them. I have watched more than half of the supposed very best of the genre and I don't find a si
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
What do you get when you cross “Casablanca” with “The Sun Also Rises,” “The Dawn Patrol,” and “Beauty and the Beast”? If you animate it and throw in your own vision (and a few seaplane pirates), you
During Shakespeare’s time, men dressed like women because women weren’t allowed onstage. But there’s always been a fascination (fetish?) with men donning dresses. Tyler Perry as Madea makes just about
“Pom Poko” is one of three new-to-Blu Studio Ghibli titles from Disney, along with “Porco Rosso” and “Tales from Earthsea,” that are scheduled for February 3 release. Based on an idea by Hayao Miy
“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
I knew absolutely nothing about “Men, Women & Children” when it showed up. And after watching it, I know even less. Why? Because it’s bad. Very bad. And it brings down a decent cast and director w
I’ll say this for South Korean cinema: what they do, they do with style. And “The Pirates” has plenty of it. Director Lee Seok-hoon pays obvious homage to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise
When “Glee” debuted in 2009 and excited fans so much that they started calling themselves “Gleeks”—short for “Glee” geeks—I thought the show would have a lifespan of a boy band. Just a flash in the pa
According to a 2013 World Health Organization global review of violence against women, roughly 40 percent of murdered women were killed by a boyfriend or husband. That’s a pretty frightening statistic
The Hollywood Foreign Press announced the winners of the 72nd Annual (2015) Golden Globe Awards at a gala today, with co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler offering up a funny final perfomance, if the
Aspiringly trashy in a nervy, low-budget kind of way, “88” takes a standard revenge thriller and folds it into origami convolutions of narrative that include murder, gunfire, lip stitching, gratuitous
Movie Metters tend to like outrageous things, and **“Archer”**seems to be especially popular with our audience. When I reviewed Season 1 of “Archer,” the animated spy spoof that airs on FX, I called
There seem to be two types of zombie films. One will be a serious take full of symbolism and you will never hear the actual word “zombie.” The other will be a balls-out Zomedy where chaos reigns and e
“Tooth Fairy 2” is the direct-to-video sequel to “Tooth Fairy” (2010), which starred Dwayne Johnson. And you have to give The Rock credit. He made sure he was busy when they decided to make “Tooth Fai
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
I never saw Season 1 of “The Newsroom,” but that didn’t keep me from getting instantly hooked on the second—one that earned Jeff Daniels an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Mayb
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
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
I don’t think I’m unique in saying that when it comes to biopics of music icons I’m wanting two things, really: insight into their lives, and a full complement of music to make me remember and appreci
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
Edith Wharton is known for three novels: The House of Mirth (1905), Ethan Frome (1911), and The Age of Innocence(1920), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. But she wrote much more than tha
A documentary that brims with both an old-fashioned spirit of adventure and a self-congratulatory hubris, “James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D” takes you to the “last frontier on Earth”, the deep
This time of year, it’s easy to want to indulge. But perhaps this is the reason that a quiet, subtle film can sometimes sneak up on you without any warning to knock your socks off. Enter **“The Good L
I left the Marvel Universe when I started college and return there only to check my “stash” in the attic occasionally, so my memory of the Guardians of the Galaxy is hazy. Maybe everyone else’s is,
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
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
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
After twenty years of trying I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never truly love any film described as a screwball comedy. My working hypothesis is that I am missing the apparently common-
“The Hundred-Foot Journey” goes a surprising number of places for such a short trip. It’s a love story, a story about culture clash, an underdog success story, and a movie that celebrates food—albeit
My wife summed “Into the Storm” up way better than I probably can, and she doesn’t write for this web site: “It’s sort of like part ‘Blair Witch,’ part ‘Jurassic Park’ and a whole lot of ‘Twister.
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
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
They had it all. They wanted more. While that may sound like the motto of America’s wealthiest 1 percent, it’s the tagline to "Satellite," an indie film from writer-director Jeff Winner (“You A
I love “Jersey Boys” the musical. I’ve seen it in San Francisco, Las Vegas (twice) and Portland, OR. And I would see it again. And again. I would take my parents, my wife, my in-laws, you name it. For
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
The revenge film genre is a relatively easy narrative to get viewers to buy into. It taps into most people’s fantasy world while keeping them a safe distance from getting into any real trouble. The re
I suppose if desperate times call for desperate measures, the place you might look for guidance is “Tammy,” which lands on Blu-ray disc soon. Given how disjointed a motion picture this is, however
When Disney released “Planes” in 2013 and advertised that it was “from above the world of ‘Cars,’” they invoked Pixar’s highly successful animated auto-racing adventures. But, as I wrote in my 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
This is Dwayne Johnson’s movie. Pure and simple. All other characters, plot lines, special effects and miscellaneous film elements are basically irrelevant. “Hercules” represents Johnson’s coming
It began as a TV special aimed at encouraging young people to vote in the 1972 election—the first time 18 year olds could cast a vote for president. But it evolved into a showcase for million-selling
"Blessed be America, a nation reborn. " "The Purge" was one of the surprise hits of 2013. Produced on a meager budget of $3 million, it went on to
Hell hath no fury like a woman (or, apparently, Baby Boomer) scorned. Disney’s live-action “Maleficent” has irked and annoyed more than a few of the generation that saw the studio’s animated “S
Striking its way onto Blu-ray disc for the first time is “Kingpin,” a late 1990s comedy from the Farrelly brothers that you’ve probably heard of and seen a few moments of in passing during its per
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
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
Fans of “The Wonder Years” have been waiting for the series to finally come to DVD, and patiently so, because they know the problem: getting permission for the series’ backdrop ‘60s and ‘70s music
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
The main body of this review was written by James Plath for the 2004 DVD release of “La Dolce Vita” (1960) by Koch Lorber. The Video, Audio, Extras, and Film Value sections were written by Christopher
Saturday mornings were always about TV cartoons, but during the ‘50s there were also a great many Westerns that young audiences could enjoy. Besides reruns of primetime horse operas like “Broken Arrow
Motown. It was a nickname for Detroit, but more people knew it as Berry Gordy’s record label—one that specialized in soul, pop, and rhythm and blues. Just as Chess Records became synonymous with the
When Disney first brought “Sleeping Beauty” to DVD in 2003, they did so after a painstaking five-year restoration, and the result was breathtaking. Even in standard definition the colors were pris
There are a lot of good documentary filmmakers out there. Most of what they produce is somewhat similar and unoriginal in its structure, ebb and flow. This doesn’t make them bad filmmakers, of course.
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
It was way back in 1959 when Disney made their first sporting film loosely based on a real event, and that movie—“Third Man on the Mountain”—inspired the Matterhorn bobsleds at Disneyland. No new att
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
In the same way “Left Behind” puts a faith-based spin on the apocalyptic genre, **“Persecuted”**takes a similar approach to the political/conspiracy thriller, pitting a man of strong religious convict
I hadn't forgotten how great “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul” (1974) is, but it sure is nice to be reminded every now and then. Absurdly prolific German dynamo Rainer Werner Fassbinder had a little down tim
The creators and writers for “Reign,” a popular CW series, must have been fans of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, because they chose to ignore history and follow the more fantastic (and yes,
It seems everyone has an opinion about “Gone with the Wind,” and if you don’t, I’d like to meet you. Pretty much everyone has seen it, or at least parts of it, and if you haven’t, I’d like to meet
To me, the gold standard for twenty-first century sci-fi films was established when I saw “District 9. ” Man versus alien, wrapped within a government conspiracy plot and a love story. It worked ever
Sordid. Adjective. Involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt. If you’re a film critic who’s tasked with reviewing the indie flick **“Sordid Lives,”**you start
Philip Seymour Hoffman died in February 2014, but he was such a prolific actor that we’ll be seeing him well into the near future. **“God’s Pocket”**is the first of his 2013-14 projects to reach home
Is college worth the cost? The answer to this relatively simple question used to be a resounding yes, but in today’s economy, more and more young people and their families are pondering whether or not
“All That Jazz” (1979) pits choreographer-director Bob Fosse's razzle-dazzle vs. lead actor Roy Scheider's serene confidence to create a movie musical like few others. Fosse, who also co-wrote the sc
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
If**“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”**feels more like a ‘70s conspiracy thriller, that’s because it is one. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were heavily influenced by espiona
No wonder nobody likes skeptics. In 2004, an Arkansas man boating through the swamp spotted an ivory-billed woodpecker, a species thought to be extinct since the early part of the twentieth century.
If filmmakers Scott Glosserman and Nic Hill initially set out to present an “neutral” examination of Wikipedia they fortunately had the good sense to drop the pretense after speaking to the site's co-
If you really want to know how good a set “Star Trek: The Compendium” is, and whether or not it’s worth adding to your Blu-ray library, do what I did and show the two films to someone who has neve
Impactful. Aside from the “Ken Burns Effect”—the documentarian’s trademark slow pan and scan and pullback on a still photograph to give it cinematic life—you’d have to say that the distinguishing c
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
Back in the days when Gary Cooper was patrolling Hadleyville in “High Noon”, there were certain Western genre structures that were reliably adhered to. The good sheriff, donning a white hat, needed to
William Randolph Hearst did everything he could to prevent Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” from playing in theaters because the maligned “hero” of that film, Charles Foster Kane, was obviously Hearst. Th
There are more than a few problems with “Blended,” which lands in stores soon from Warner Bros. Rather than be persnickety and go after the boring script, the uninspired performances or the well b
Zombie movies are big again, and a sub-genre that’s emerged in recent years is the zombie Western. “The Quick and the Undead” may have kick-started the trend back in 2006, because a number of zombie W
“Bee People” looked like a film that was going to tell me more about something that I already know: that honeybees are in steep decline, and that anyone who appreciates the little things in life (
Sometimes you just don't connect with a film in any way. A half hour into “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!” (1990) I was wondering why anything that was happening was actually happening. After that, I focused
The main body of this review was written by John Puccio in 2002 for the MGM/UA DVD releasethat year. The rest of the review was written by Christopher Long in regards to the 2014 Blu-ray release by Cr
Like many of the characters in John Cassavetes' films, Sarah Lawson (Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes' wife) is all impulse and no filter. To want or to need is to act immediately on that desire with no thou
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
*Man is a religious animal . . . the only religious animal that has the true religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’
“The Suspect” stars Yoo Gong as Ji Dong-cheol an quiet yet deadly agent from North Korea who has defected to South Korea. When we meet Ji he is reeling from the murder of his wife and daughter and
Pixar takes the same kind of pride and care with their “Toy Story” characters as Walt Disney did with his beloved Mickey Mouse. Whether it’s a major motion picture, a half-hour TV special, or one of t
"The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" and "Fun and Fancy Free" are being billed as a 2-Movie Collection, but this release could just as easily have been called a 3-Movie Collection. Also includ
On the heels of what will probably be a relatively successful new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film, Paramount is releasing a documentary that takes the entire franchise back to its roots. And what
When I took psychology in college, my instructor told the class about a study that was conducted by a well-rounded team of psychologists. The study was to see how a person's IQ measured up to their ov
The people who made “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” must suffer from Jan Brady Syndrome—the second child who’s forever in the shadow of an older sibling. In the case of this 1971 Disney blend of live
Sometimes critics can overanalyze a book or film when it can be as simple as one thing: the “wow” factor. People were flat-out wowed by “[The Little Mermaid](http://moviemet.com/review/little-mermaid
With “Bears,” DisneyNature proves one thing beyond a doubt: the studio that once “owned” the nature film market with its True-Life Adventures—imaginatively shot wildlife shorts and longer, Oscar-w
"Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers" is that rare Disney animated feature that’s tough to recommend, even for youngsters in the family. Made in 2004 as a direct-to-video offering, the Mi
“Hercules” has always struck me as an underrated film—maybe because it has a little more attitude than your typical Disney animated feature. Like Avis or Chicago, it tries a little harder to be hi
When the press release for **“Woodstock: 3 Days of Piece and Music 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Revisited”**showed up in my Yahoo! Inbox, I wasn’t sure whether or not I should request a copy for r
Well, South Korea and Thailand have been able to pump out some pretty entertaining action films over the last handful of years. They have proven to match and even surpass Hollywood entertainment level
In 1980, movie audiences watched Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton take revenge on their lying, cheating, sexist pig of a boss (Dabney Coleman). The movie was “Nine to Five,” and the light com
With **"Isabelle Dances into the Spotlight,"**American Girl celebrates 10 years of being in the filmmaking business. What began as a way to add historical backstories to dolls that “came” from certain
Walt Whitman famously began his poem “Song of Myself” with the phrase “I celebrate myself,” then ended with “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” He celebrated life, and part of life
Throwback films come around every once in a while with relative degrees of success. These are films that pay homage to a certain decade of filmmaking. They are not obvious movies that pull every histo
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
It’s seldom that a DVD set is packaged like a Blu-ray collection, but maybe the 100th Anniversary of World War I was enough for Warner Bros. to make an exception. This **“World War I Centennial Commem
If "Rio" showed that 20th Century Fox Animation had finally moved into Disney’s neighborhood, with "Rio 2" they’ve taken off their shoes and propped their feet up on the coffee table. This talente
I’m one of those who reads a movie title like it’s a headline, and the tagline as if it were a subhead. So initially the cover packaging for “Made in America” made no sense to me: “Dream It. Do It.” T
You can’t help but wonder whether or not the modern day biblical adaptations that grace the silver screen every so often are in any way, shape or form like what really happened. Or didn’t happen. Or s
I remember being a snot-nosed nine year old and seeing the television commercial for "Saturday the 14th. " At the time, it looked to be pretty humorous. I especially remember the line "I have bats in
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
"A new era has begun. The age of the Transformers is over…" Oh, where to even begin with this movie. We might as well start with the plot, such as it is. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" concluded
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
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
*The following text begins with the review written by John J. Puccio for the 2002 Miramax DVD release of “A Hard Day's Night.” The rest is written by Christopher Long on the occasion of the 2014 Crite
Directors working with Robin Williams have often expressed the same concern: How do you get the naturally manic comedian to tone it down, just a little? But it was a non-issue for Mike Nichols (“The
There are probably quite a few more family friendly movies out there than this one. There are also probably quite a few better films out there. But, let’s just stop kidding ourselves and get right to
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
I had a more difficult time digesting “Winter’s Tale” than I initially anticipated, and perhaps the fact that it will plop (or flop, depending on your opinion) into homes in late June has somethin
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
Veteran Hong Kong director Clarence Fok Yiu-leung (who was born in Canada) has a resume full of actioners and thrillers under his belt. Rumor has it that Mario Kassar originally wanted him to direct “
I’m going on record, right here, right now: “The Lego Movie” is the best Blu-ray set I have reviewed in 2014. This packaging from Warner Bros. has more or less everything a viewer could want, and
Comedy legend Jerry Lewis jumps to life in “The Nutty Professor 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition,” landing on Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Featuring Lewis in his best known role, this well-crafte
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
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
Based on Charlotte Gray’s book Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike, this first-ever Discovery Channel scripted series was shot in six episodes and aired as a three-part miniseries. **“Kl
Flashy lead characters and modern technology are the foundation that “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” stands on as it adds another layer to the popular character that the late Tom Clancy developed in a
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
“The First World War” aired in 2003 as a 10-part miniseries. Since then, this 500-minute history—which was based on a book by Oxford professor Hew Strachan and directed by Corina Sturmer, Marcus K
As I talked to my dad moments before popping the “McLintock!” Blu-ray disc into my machine, he commented that when he was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, many adults he knew (my grandparents in
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
“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
I like Kevin Costner, and I like action films about hit men. But “3 Days to Kill” felt more like 117 minutes to fill, with screenwriters Luc Besson and Adi Hasak throwing in so many clichés that,
Mill Creek continues on with their affordably priced genre sets, this time bringing "Kickin' it Shaolin Style", a 12 movie collection of Shaolin themed fighting films. Stretching from the early 70
If you’re a fan of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, the question you want answered immediately is whether this Blu-ray collection is worth buying. I get it. But whether YOU get it depends o
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
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
My family and I have this ongoing argument about “Napoleon Dynamite.” They think he’s a fairly normal character who is as the studio describes: listless and alienated. I think he’s got some develo
My wife sighed it best. “Why is it that in every film about an elderly couple, one of them has to have a serious illness, usually some kind of dementia?” I don’t know, but at times “Still Mine”
There are funny movies. And then there’s “Blazing Saddles.” Depending on who you ask, “Blazing Saddles” is among the funniest movies of all time. And if you’ve ever seen it, you likely agree. Thi
Warner Bros. is seemingly forever digging into its catalog to kick out more and more titles on Blu-ray disc. Next in line is “The Bridges of Madison County,” one of those movies that I saw tidbits
Epidemic movies have been a reoccurring topic since the seventies. “The Andromeda Strain” brought a clinical, docudrama approach; “Outbreak” introduced 90’s film-going crowds to possible worldwide obl
Girls love horses, or so says conventional wisdom. It’s why My Little Pony was so big in the toy industry, and why girl-and-her-horse books and film adaptations like “Black Beauty” were so successful.
If ever there was a film in need of updating, it’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a 1947 fantasy-comedy designed to showcase the talents that star Danny Kaye had for song, dance, comedy, and multi
Fairy tales. When we’re young we believe in them, until we realize that, in real life, the dragon isn’t always slain, and a frog that’s kissed is all too often just what he appears: a fat old croaker.
“The Carol Burnett Show” is a tough one for me to review, because it’s a variety show, and that brand of television is nearly extinct. Only “Saturday Night Live” carries forth, and with more comed
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
As it has been stated before, HBO has had an exceptionally strong run of shows since "The Sopranos. " One strength all the series have had since then is the ability to not overstay their welcome. “Tre
Harold Lamb only cares about one thing: being the most popular man at Tate University (described in a title card as “a large football stadium with a college attached” and looking an awful lot like USC
“The King of Comedy” is a strange film. It stars Jerry Lewis, but cast against type in a serious dramatic role. It’s about an aspiring stand-up comedian with a goofy name (Robert De Niro as Rupe
Like many kids of my generation, I loved the original “Little Rascals” comedy shorts—not as much as “The Three Stooges,” but enough to feel some measure of excitement when one of them was rerun on tel
With a movie franchise, too often the law of diminishing returns applies. Creative teams lose their energy as a series goes on . . . and on, and sameness creeps in. We’ve seen it with the Barbie franc
In my This Week column, I used the word “inane” to describe Vince Vaughn’s latest comedy, and I stand by that language. But “Delivery Man” is also surprisingly entertaining, if you’re able to chec
When Fox got back into the animation game in 1994, I and probably half the world envisioned the kind of spirited competition the studio gave Disney during the Golden Age of cartoon shorts. But that ha
Not 10 minutes into “Barbie: The Pearl Princess” my daughter remarked, “I like these movies, but they really need to do something different. Every time it’s either a princess, a fairy, or a mermai
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
I knew it had to arrive at some point. As I sat down to watch “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which cusses its way onto Blu-ray disc from Paramount Pictures quite soon, I firmly believed there would be
The first fifteen minutes of “The Hidden Fortress” (1958) are as accomplished as anything in Akira Kurosawa's body of work. In the first shot we meet the peasants Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matashichi
“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
“Wicked Blood” is a strange film. There’s no other way to put it. It’s a standard mafia double-cross movie with a mob boss and henchmen and small-time drug trafficking and an underling that tries
Nazis. Like zombies, they just keep coming back. Sometimes AS zombies. But in**“Iron Sky”** the last remnants of the Third Reich are star trekkers. Having escaped to the dark side of the moon followi
Since “George Washington” (2000) opens with a teenage girl's dreamy, wise-beyond-her-years narration as the camera floats in slow-motion through waving fields of grass and glides along railroad tracks
Director Steve McQueen told BBC News that his wife, a historian, was the one who suggested he make a film about slavery, and it was she who discovered an obscure 1853 memoir by Solomon Northrup for hi
Please accept my apologies, but I gave up on "Blue Is The Warmest Color" (2013) at the ten-minute mark. This is no way a reflection on the movie's quality, but my own reaction to director Abdellatif K
“The Agony and the Ecstasy” is aptly titled. There are moments in this 1965 historical drama that are almost agonizing to watch, while other scenes tend toward the sublime. That wasn’t the intent
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
Steven Soderbergh made it difficult for auteurist critics from the very start. The chameleon-like director who has hopped genres and budget levels more than any other major filmmaker over the past two
Based on George R.R. Martin‘s third book of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, ‘A Storm of Swords’, the third season of the HBO series**"Game of Thrones"** is beginning to hit its stride much like m
2013 was a good year for animation, with audiences enjoying high-profile titles like “Monsters University” and “Frozen” (Disney), “The Croods” (DreamWorks), “Despicable Me 2” (Universal), “Cloudy with
My teenage son liked **“Thor: The Dark World”**better than the first film, and so did more than 140,000 “users” at the Internet Movie Database, who gave it a collective 7.5 out of 10, compared to a 7.
Any film that articulates how the human spirit can try, fail, get back up, try again, fail again, get back up and not take “No” for an answer is bound to find its way to a soft spot in somebody’s hear
If Robert Rodriguez hadn’t thrown experimental bio-weapon-created zombies at audiences back in 2007 with “Planet Terror,” the plot of “Code Red” would seem more impressive. But this 2013 action-h
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
Bruno Barreto (“Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands”) and his screenwriters faced a difficult challenge with **“Reaching for the Moon,”**a period drama set in the ‘50s: to tell the story of a relationship
The English civil war—a struggle for the crown and titled lands that was fought between the houses of York and Lancaster—lasted 30 years (1455-1487). Dubbed the War of the Roses, it was a period in En
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
A screenwriter friend of mine once remarked that there were only two kinds of movies: ones in which the hero leaves his home/land and encounters something or someone that challenges him, and ones in w
“The Turin Horse” and “Jeanne Dielman” are my ideas of cinematic bliss. When frustrated viewers complain that “nothing happens” in a movie, save me an aisle seat. By that standard, Andrei Tarkovsky's
As I re-watched**“In the Heat of the Night”** on Blu-ray, I was struck by two things: how much this film, like “Cool Hand Luke,” evokes the Sixties, and how, incredibly, it still manages to feel timel
The stage version of A Chorus Line, which opened in 1975, won nine Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and remains the sixth longest running Broadway show, ever. With music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyr
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
“A.C.O.D.” stands for adult children of divorce, as you’ll learn if you decide to take on this 87 minute comedy that brings together some awfully recognizable faces for what turns out to be a very
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
“Frankenstein: The Real Story” is really a compilation of three programs that aired separately on the History Channel and A&E: “It’s Alive! The True Story of Frankenstein” (A&E, 1995), “Frankenste
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
When I reviewed Season 1 of **“Archer,”**the animated spy spoof that airs on FX, I called it a curious blend of office humor and James Bond parody, with a little “Arrested Development” thrown in for g
*The following is a review of the the new three-disc set from Criterion's Eclipse Collection: “Late Ray” which includes the films “The Home and the World,” “An Enemy of the People,” and “The Stranger.
When the film version of “Mary Poppins” opened in 1964, fans of the P.L. Travers books made the inevitable comparison and concluded that they were apples and oranges. Disney had transformed the first
My teenage son has read every one of the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, and as our family watched “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” the sequel to the 2010 fantasy-adventure
If you watch any international news at all, you’ve no doubt seen clips of bulls hoofing it through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona, chasing, running alongside, and being pursued by throngs
Writer-director Peter Berg must have paid attention to the criticism that “Zero Dark Thirty” received last year: that there was too much behind-the-scenes drama and not enough focus on the actual SEAL
The meeting of the World Cinema Project and the Criterion Collection is a fortuitous one. Criterion's stated mission to distribute “important classic and contemporary films” seems modest and straight
Musicals often make the transition from stage to screen, but operas? Not so much. Opera is highbrow, while movies play to the masses. In the case of “Carmen Jones,” though, the transition had an e
*“Grey Gardens” was released by Criterion in 2001 with Spine Number 123. In 2006 they released the follow-up version assembled from outtakes, “The Beales of Grey Gardens” on a separate disc (Spine Num
Anybody who seeks power almost certainly can't be trusted with it. The ambitious unnamed protagonist (Gian Maria Volonté) of “Investigation of a Citizen Under Suspicion” (1970) would openly admit that
This is my third tour through “Nashville” (1975) and it will probably be my last. When Criterion first announced Robert Altman's “Nashville” as an upcoming release, my Facebook feed exploded with hos
It is difficult to imagine a more fan-friendly artifact than the documentary “One Direction: This Is Us.” Following the planet-conquering band on their recent tour of world domination, “This Is Us” mi
I love a good thriller. And “Prisoners” is probably the best thriller I’ve seen since “Zodiac,” which I happen to think was the best film made from 2000 to 2009. Not flashy, but instead gritty, gr
Some TV series get tired and stale after just a few seasons, with writers recycling plots, adding babies, or shaking up the cast to try to breathe new life into them. But **“The Simpsons”**keeps rolli
So many titles are released as special “anniversary editions” that offer no new bonus features or content that it’s almost a relief to see that the “Big: 25th Anniversary” Blu-ray offers two ways
Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski conspired to reinvent the pirate movie, so why would it surprise anyone that they’d give a complete makeover to the legend of “The Lone Ranger”? Zane Grey fans poin
I would put “Raiders of the Lost Ark” up against any action/adventure film made since its 1981 release and feel confident that it would be able to hold its own. C’mon, this thing is a classic. Som
American author Tom Clancy died in October 2013, and Paramount is releasing four films based on four of his best-selling novels together on Blu-ray for the first time in **“The Jack Ryan Collection.”*
*The following is a review of the Criterion Collection's new 27-disc mega-set "Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman," released on Nov 26, 2013. * If ever a blade went snicker-snack, it is surely Zatoichi's
As any movie fan knows, 1939 was a very good year for Hollywood. Not only did theaters show eventual Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind,” but there was also the genre-defining Western “Stagecoach
“Mary Poppins" stands with “The Wizard of Oz” as one of the all-time great children's films adapted from books, and one reason is certainly the memorable music. Richard and Robert Sherman won an O
I’m a sucker for swashbucklers. Like Jimmy Buffett, I probably should have been a pirate or a seafaring man, but was born too late. Then again, that never stopped Johnny Depp, or those in Hollywood
My daughter isn’t a fan of black-and-white movies. Or dramas. Or old movies. Or ghost stories. Or films made in the old academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, which translates to today’s widescreen TVs as a
Critic Northrup Frye suggested that the final stage in genre development was parody or self-parody, and you’ll get no argument from [John Wayne](http://moviemet.com/review/john-wayne-film-collection-d
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
On numerous occasions Katharine Hepburn called Spencer Tracy the love of her life, and they remain one of Hollywood’s golden couples. Trivia buffs probably know that they began their affair in 1941 wh
Muppets. Say the word and different characters spring to mind, so distinctive that it’s easy to focus on their personalities and forget the technical aspects—that it was Jim Henson’s blending of ma
Disney’s “Frozen,” which opened today in 3D and 2D versions, is a princess movie that doesn’t feel like a princess movie—even though there are two of them in it, as well as a handsome prince. It
Our family was really won over by the 2010 Christmas comedy “Nativity!” (which the rest of the world seemed to overlook), but we wondered what we’d think of it after multiple viewings. Is it a sleeper
“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
“Hey! Where did you get those clothes? At the toilet store?” There are movies out there that I flock to when I need to unwind and separate myself from the world around me. There are films I frequen
As surely as any Esther Williams or Jackie Chan flick, “Frances Ha” (2013) sells the distinctive screen appeal of its star, Greta Gerwig. You will either buy in or you won't, but if you resist the pit
**“Getaway”**failed before it even got going. Any film that puts Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez into a car together and forces them to interact while they drive around really fast is bound to start and
Anyone familiar with Larry David’s work on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Seinfeld” knows that he runs the gamut of coincidence, irony, awkwardness and anxiety-ridden obsessiveness. He has a unique and u
The first part of this review was written by John Puccio in 2004 in regards to Warner Bros. SD release of “City Lights.” The rest of the review was written by Christopher Long for the 2013 Criterion B
Yasujiro Ozu's exceptional “Tokyo Story” (1953) yields potential readings to suit all temperaments. The die-hard optimist might draw inspiration from the dignified manner in which the characters endu
Nearly every time Disney releases a major animated feature, some fly-by-night outfit tries to catch a tailwind and market a generic DVD by the same title (since titles can’t be copyrighted), hoping th
In a familiar premise, Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) wants more out of life than what his biological limitations or station in life will allow. His is the same spirit that made man want to fly—only this fello
Australia has brought the world some terrific films that have wide audience appeal such as “Mad Max”, “Muriel’s Wedding” and “Gallipoli”. They can do grittiness and black humor with the best of them.
D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” made a bundle of money but was criticized for its amorality, prompted by what, to many, seemed like a glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith responded by u
Desperate people do desperate things, and every so often, those things pan out a-okay. More often than not, however, they blow up and get really messy, really quickly. That’s essentially the premise b
I don't know if I believe in love at first sight, but “Tabu” (2012) had me hooked from the very first shot. Photographed in sun-bleached black-and-white, an intrepid explorer stands forlornly in the
In a 1961 Fox film, a crew aboard a nuclear-powered submarine went deep under the sea to try to save the world. In this 1966 feature from Fox, a crew aboard a nuclear-powered submarine is miniaturized
"GoldenEye," from 1995, marked Pierce Brosnan's first appearance as Ian Fleming's super spy, James Bond. Disregarding the two aberrant versions of "Casino Royale," Brosnan became the fifth actor to as
Timing is everything. It was crucial to the success of Operation Overlord--better known as D-Day--and it's always been important in the movie industry. Some very good films managed nothing but Oscar s
Warner Bros. is at it again with another collector’s edition box set, this time celebrating one of the most recognizable young faces in Hollywood history, James Dean. The **“James Dean Ultimate Collec
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
According to an article I may or may not have actually read, during the shooting of “The Big Lebowski” Jeff Bridges was very concerned with his motivation. To prepare for each new scene, Bridges asked
“Girl Most Likely,” an indie comedy produced and starring “Bridesmaids” leading lady Kristen Wiig, finds her playing a similarly damaged and vulnerable character in this film as she did in “Brides
Timing is everything, which makes **“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition”**hitting Blu-ray disc today especially convenient given the fact that the second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolat
A film that starts with a romantic overture and a bit of slapstick comedy involving a terrier chasing a squirrel doesn't exactly announce itself as an entrant in the horror genre. But then again“The U
I was going to write that Michelangelo Antonioni is the only director who can really make me care about the crises of beautiful rich people, but that's not entirely accurate. First of all, Sofia Coppo
Lately Universal seems to be on a two-year cycle with Barbie movies: one year they release two films, the next it’s three. In 2013 the studio has already released the ballet-oriented “Barbie in the Pi
There are so many film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” that it’s tough to keep track of them all. But most of them have one thing in common: they tend to scare the crap out of chil
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
I like the way way that indie cinema has lately managed to retain the characteristics that set indie pics apart from commercial movies, but jettisoned the notion that happy or uplifting endings are to
Mill Creek Entertainment's release of double features can be hit or miss. Typically the pairings are odd at best with only a few being a combo of films that you would watch right after one another. Re
Watching **“The Internship,”**I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was reliving “Stripes” all over again—only instead of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis as the laid-back, unconventional “leaders” of a bun
Halloween beckons. Instead of spending the days leading up to this fear inspired annual late October day watching edited mid-1980s horror flicks on AMC, why not try on **“The Conjuring”**for size? It’
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
When “Cars”(2006) was first announced, I wasn’t terribly optimistic. I thought Pixar’s streak of hits was going to end at six with 2004’s “The Incredibles,” because I had seen Twentieth Century Fo
Escape aboard your rickety ship from the Island of Lost Souls. Go on, sail right into the storm, what can be worse? By the time your ship wrecks, you've blown so far of course you stumble ashore in an
Here's hoping Hollywood never gets around to remaking “I Married A Witch” (1942). The rumored Tom Cruise project(with Danny DeVito directing) from ten years ago might merely have been a disposable nui
“Monsters University” makes complete sense as a prequel—the first time, by the way, that Pixar has attempted such a thing. That’s because in the original “Monsters, Inc.” the two main monsters are
My father taught American history and geography for 35 years to middle school students. We were raised to know, among other things, that history was, is and will always be extremely important. This sa
“Shrek the Musical” opened at the Broadway Theatre on November 8, 2008 and closed a little more than a year later, after 441 performances. For Broadway, that’s a short to medium run, but it wasn’t
I had heard that the animated Disney Channel series “Gravity Falls” had been well received by audiences and critics, so it surprised me when my teen boy and ‘tween girl refused to watch it with me
The action-comedy buddy-cop movie as we know it really surfaced in the ‘80s. Though coerced-con Eddie Murphy and undercover cop Nick Nolte weren’t on equal footing, they hit all the right notes in a 1
Dennis Hopper's first leading role isn't exactly an early template for his intermittently volcanic career. As Johnny Drake, Hopper plays a soft-spoken sailor who is so shy and tentative he clutches hi
Mention Dean Martin and the average person thinks of his long partnership with Jerry Lewis (1946-1956), or his 1960s “Rat Pack” association with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter
After the box-office failure of “The Magnificent Ambersons” and a bitter fight with RKO over the allegedly out-of-control production of “It's All True,” Orson Welles's wunderkind status was in jeopard
“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
The late Irwin Allen was famous for two things: disaster movies like “The Poseidon Adventure,” and campy melodramas that were so bad they would have been complete disasters had they not been so uninte
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
Dreamworks Animation has really been pushing Pixar lately, and they’ve done it again with**“The Croods.”** There are eye-popping allusions to “Avatar” and jaw-dropping sequences of cataclysmic clouds
In this 2011 documentary, women share their experiences growing up dark-skinned, and social psychologists tell what effect that had on their psyches and try to explain where the attitude came from tha
When you are dealing with a subject such as the undead taking over the world, there are a couple of different ways of tackling the project, one would be to make it a serious effort such as Romero’s or
Another day, another film from the past taken into the present with a 3D enhancement. This time it’s the timeless, cherished classic, “The Wizard of Oz.” I suppose when your 75th birthday rolls ar
“It's not whether you cry, it's whether the audience thinks you're crying.” - Ingrid Bergman Scribbled among my viewing notes while watching this boxed set is the line: “Bergman is not the most convi
For the first time, the entire run of “Mama’s Family”—the ‘80s sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence as a southern matriarch who always has a thing or two to say—is out on DVD. And for the time being, it’s o
I should have known from the opening scene that “The Hangover Part III” was trouble. We see supreme bad guy/trouble maker Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) running full speed ahead on his way out of a Bangk
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
I’ll level with you. I’m not a Trekkie. Sure, I know the big names in the Star Trek franchise (it’s hard not to), but if you had me try to differentiate from film to television show to action figure,
Warner Bros. asked that I not just write another boring old review of “The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition,” which hit Blu-ray disc earlier this week and packages all three Chris
Nobody got more mileage out of Hans Christian Andersen’s story of “The Little Mermaid” than Disney. And I’m not just talking about three sequels and countless product tie-ins. Though the studio’s
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
XLrator Media, founded in 2010, focuses on second and third tier movie releases aimed at “enthusiast genres and categories that are underserved by the major studios and most independents.” I applaud t
“A Letter to Three Wives” begins where mysteries often end: with a gathering of “suspects.” Three society wives about to embark as volunteers on a boat excursion for underprivileged children are h
“V/H/S/2” is not a direct sequel to last year’s found footage horror compilation but more of a second volume following the same format of people breaking into a house and finding some very disturb
You can cross another Best Picture off your Blu-ray want list. Sony is releasing “From Here to Eternity” in HD for the first time on October 1, and the 1953 military drama still holds up today. It
Post-WWII Atomic Age paranoia produced at least one good by-product: all those wonderfully campy horror flicks that featured mutants grown to enormous size because of radiation. Japan gave us “Godzil
Zombie movies can be easy to make because they are relatively cheap to produce. All you need is an isolated area for the characters to hold up in and some no name actors for fodder. The only area of t
The main review was written by Christopher Long for Criterion's 2004 SD release of “Slacker.” The Video, Audio, Extras, and Film Value sections address the 2013 Blu-ray re-issue by Criterion. "I ma
Ingmar Bergman didn't exactly believe in the healing potential of catharsis. The mother-daughter confrontation that powers “Autumn Sonata” (1978) begins as a cordial, if strained, greeting. Charlotte
They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but have you tried scorning a tech geek lately? Tony Stark did it years ago, and it comes back to bite him—and the President of the United States—in **
Hammer Studio’s “Hands of the Ripper” has been quoted as “expertly mixing the sophistication expected of Hammer's films with the gore its new audiences demanded.” This statement is decidedly true
**“The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow”**is a mystery to me. It’s listed as a 2013 TV movie starring the voice talents of Hank Azaria as Gargamel, Fred Armisen as Brainy, and Alan Cumming as Gutsy
I was born in 1985, just a few years after the first “Friday the 13th” film hit American theaters and freaked audiences out something awful. I remember watching most of the films in this series on net
By the early 1960s, the spy movie had begun to supplant the Western as America's genre of choice, a transformation prompted largely by the staggeringly successful screen debut of James Bond in "Dr. No
The idea of “camp”—performances exaggerated theatrically, for comic effect—has been around since the early 1900s, but it didn’t really take off until the ‘60s, when the definition expanded to include
The main review below was written by John Puccio in regards to the 2001 DVD release of “La Cage Aux Folles” by MGM/UA. The rest of the review was written by Christopher Long and addresses the 2013 Blu
Art is often used as a vehicle in film to mock human nature. It can be done subtly or in an over the top manner that satirizes the lengths that some go to to preserve their artistic mojo. Boris Rodrig
*“Listen up, ladies and gentlemen! Our fugitive has been on the run for 90 minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground, barring injuries, four miles an hour, that gives us a radius of six miles. Wh
Chris Potamitis was able to pull of the biggest heist in U.S. history back in 1982, lifting $8 million from the armored car company he worked for. An elaborate caper such as that surely took a lot of
I once went to an academic conference in London, and after a long, long day of travel finally arrived at the University of London dormitory where I had booked a room. I checked in at the front securit
Ernst Lubitsch's “To Be Or Not To Be” (1942) must be one of the slipperiest films ever made. In the first few scenes, we see Hitler window-shopping in Warsaw with a crowd of gawkers in his wake. We so
If someone decides to mount a festival to showcase films whose plots revolve around a wedding, it could go on for months. The latest entry in this burgeoning sub-genre comes from Denmark. **“Love Is A
Have you ever watched a movie where you feel like you're in trouble? Where it does such a good job of portraying the badness in a deed that it feels realistic? After the first four minutes of the Bara
Those of you who’ve been reading reviews on this site since the early days, when it was named DVD Town, may recall that reviewer [John J. Puccio](http://moviemet.com/review/many-adventures-winnie-pooh
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
Brock Cole is an award-winning children’s author whose novels for young adults have often been the subject of controversy. More than any of his peers, he’s had his books appear on the American Library
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
Michael Bay is back, and if you’re a fan of his, you’ll love what he brings to the table with “Pain & Gain,” a brutally violent but occasionally brutally hilarious dark comedy action flick with so
It’s hard to fathom now, but the WWII action-drama “Combat!” aired during family hours on ABC between 1962 and 1967. That is, whole families sat down together to watch this realistic one-hour seri
Television series that gain quickly popularity during their first season almost are certain to be setup for disappointment for their sophomore effort. Audiences build up expectations regardless of wha
Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) has always played by the rules and now he's paying for it. The 50-something banker has a respectable job, a dream house in Scarsdale, and a devoted wife (Frances Reid)
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
To a non-surfer, surfing movies always seem to have the same strengths and weaknesses. We get to meet some pretty interesting and crazy guys (by most standards of normalcy), and we get to watch them t
If you’re playing Trivial Pursuit and this question comes up—What was the first film to win a Best Picture Academy Award for Fox?—the answer is “Cavalcade,” a 1933 sweeping drama that follows on
Cinemax, in hopes of changing its image has delved into the world of primetime action drama series driven towards the core demographic of men who are 18 to 50 years old. One of those shows created by
“’The Hot Flashes’ should be appealing enough in its humor and approach to a meaningful, under-appreciated issue that it could become a mainstream hit for an older female audience”—Slant Magazine
Detective film fans can rejoice thanks to the “Charlie Chan Collection” landing on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Perhaps slightly lesser known than Sherlock Holmes, but better known th
In September 2008, Criterion released three Max Ophuls films simultaneously on DVD: “La ronde” (1950), “Le plaisir” (1952), and “The Earrings of Madame De...” (1953). The following review is an edited
Anne: “What would you say if no one came to your funeral?” Georges: “Nothing, presumably.” That line provides one of the few light moments in**“Amour,”** a drama in French by Austrian director Mich
YES! A rock ‘em, sock ‘em, full length animated feature with the big time super heroes we all know and love kicking butt and taking names. What more could a comic book fan ask for? Well, he or she mi
Three years after Jim Henson’s Muppets debuted on American television, the Muppet gang made the leap to the big screen with this 1979 “origin” story of how the ragtag group got together and made it to
It’s tempting to compare **“A Werewolf Boy”**to the “Twilight” series, since both deal with love between a human and a supernatural being, and both were aimed at teenage audiences. But the difference
Of the three titles Disney recently released on Blu-ray for the first time, “Robin Hood” (1973) stands out as the weakest entry, in terms of bot
As I wrote in my review of Season 3, “Community” has found a niche fan base that can appreciate the spirit of community college—home of the Great American Second Chance. Unlike four-year bastions
I’m a fan of puzzlers and mindbenders—as long as it also feels believable. I start to squirm when a brain teaser teases more than it displays braininess, or when a mindbender bends logic just a bit to
In the ‘50s, drama meant melodrama, and there’s plenty of good melodrama in “Niagara,” a masterful bit of film noir suspense that’s worthy of Hitchcock. It’s directed by Henry Hathaway, better kno
With characters like DJ Bootytime and DJ Hardcap, plus a terrible script and some plain old flat out lousy acting, **“House Party: Tonight’s the Night”**seems destined to fail. And it does just that.
“Fruitvale Station” is the best film about the Black experience in modern day America since “Do the Right Thing.” It is just as good as other films that attempt to comment on and contextualize the
The first Disney movie with attitude. That's the tagline for this 1988 animated feature, which draws its inspiration from Charles Dickens'Oliver Twist. But instead of setting it in Dickens' Victo
In the words of bumbling TV spy Maxwell Smart, “The Sword in the Stone” missed it by THAT much—Disney’s Golden Age, that is. Most students of cinema date the high point of Disney animation from 19
In November 1956, **“Love Me Tender”**introduced Elvis Presley as an actor. By that time he had already made his TV debut as a performer on “Louisiana Hayride,” singles like “That’s All Right” were pl
“Bus Stop” (1956) is an odd duck. It’s considerably more over-the-top than William Inge’s Broadway play, upon which it’s loosely based, with one of it’s webbed feet dipping directly into the water
“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
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
The main body of this review was written by John Puccio in regards to Criterion's 2000 SD release of “Lord of the Flies,” one of the earlier films in the Criterion Collection (Spine # 43). The other s
I have so little interest in Ang Lee's second English-language feature "The Ice Storm" (1997) that I don't even feel like providing an argument as to why I have so little interest in it. The film, wri
I've only recently discovered just how beloved “Babette's Feast” (1987) is. When I mentioned it in a film discussion group, faces lit up and one woman declared that it was possibly her favorite movie.
Stephen Fung‘s follow-up to “Tai Chi Zero” (reviewed here) picks up right where the original left off. **"Tai Chi Hero"**begins with a narr
Indie films used to be exclusively quirky dramas or dramedies, but something happened over the past who-knows-how-many years to change all that. Small studios and micro-budget filmmakers have turned t
Shin Bet is the Israel Security Agency responsible for protecting that nation against terrorism. Their motto? “Defender that shall not be seen.” Or identified. Except for the leader, we’re told in thi
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
Although there are a few surprises along the way, **“Cloudburst”**is a relatively simple journey from Point A to Point B. It’s also a mixture of genuine and manipulated emotion, and of organic and sto
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
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is a very loud, over-stylized and more or less ridiculous action film that pushes almost every limit you can think of as it relates to suspending your disbelief. I’ll admit
Though “Last Resort” started slowly, many industry experts expected that steady growth in a tough time slot opposite Fox’s “X Factor” and NBC’s back-to-back sitcoms (“The Big Bang Theory” / “Two a
The mountain climbing genre has its fair share of examples, from "The Eiger Sanction" to "Vertical Limit" to the over the top "Cliffhanger. " There is a trifecta of innate occurrences in this particul
Five years after Baz Luhrmann went crazy and cranked out the eccentric and slightly surrealistic musical “Moulin Rouge!,” director Kenneth Branagh did something similar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
Belief is an irrelevant concept in the era of computer-generated cinema, but back in an age when the movies still had something to do with photography audiences believed in Harold Lloyd. For a gruelin
South Korean director Park Hoon-jeong is on record as saying that he’s a big fan of “The Godfather” saga, and “New World” is his stylish entry into the gangster/mafia genre. Though billed as a thr
“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
The opening credits of Kenji Mizoguchi's “Sansho the Bailiff” (1954) informed viewers that the 11th century-set film took place in “an era when mankind had not yet awakened as human beings.” Mizoguchi
I'm pretty sure the talking heads interviewed for this documentary agreed to participate for one main reason: they really like to say the name Sholem Aleichem. And why not? It rhymes and it's got that
Every so often, a movie comes along that doesn’t really leave any grey area in its title. Basically, what I’m saying is that some films more or less tell you exactly what they’re about at face value,
“Phantom” (2013), which is “inspired by actual events,” tries to tell the story of a Cold War-era Soviet submarine voyage that almost launched WWIII. But a hokey script laden down with clichés sin
It seems fitting that a film about the person some would consider the most important man ever to play a Major League Baseball game lands on Blu-ray disc the very same day the 2013 MLB All Star Game wi
Whether you like it or not, author Stephenie Meyer created a worldwide phenomenon with her Twilight series. The books were adapted into a hugely successful film franchise as Twi-hards turned out in
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
The main body of this review was written by Eddie Feng in 2004 regarding the 2003 SD release of the film by New Yorker. The other sections of the review are written by Christopher Long and address the
In a 1968 appearance on William F. Buckley's “Firing Line,” Allen Ginsberg reads his poem “Wales Visitation.” He moves his hand as if conducting his own personal symphony, and his rhythmic, rapturous
After a handful of daughters, General Jarjayes is in a panic. He has no son, and he desperately needs one to carry on the military tradition in his family. When his wife births yet another daughter, h
Antipodes has been one of my favorite words ever since I bingoed out with the singular form of the word in a Scrabble game. In its broadest sense, antipode (my word processor only recognizes the plura
Imagine, if you can, an America in which state legislators pass laws that tell citizens who they can or cannot marry. Imagine further, if you can, that these laws are derived primarily from the belief
Every so often, we need a really good laugh. And a funny movie is a great way to do that. There are more than a few comedies out there, and in a genre that’s changed quite a bit over time, it’s always
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
Not much else other than the medium of film can bring you enormous events from the past into the current age and simultaneously entertain and educate you. Whether told through small personal stories o
Let me begin this review by admitting I’m too old to find “21 & Over” hilarious. Then again, I was too old when I turned 23 and discovered that there was more to life than getting drunk at the ba
“Movie 43” is a comedy anthology with a simple premise tying together 13 different segments, each directed by a different director: a presumably washed-up screenwriter (Dennis Quaid) pitches a scr
“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
I have so much to say about “Marketa Lazarova” (1967) that I feel I should only say a little. Even a brief report so soon after seeing such a remarkable film is like relating the experience of riding
Watching “At Long Last Love,” I wondered if this 1975 comedy-musical featuring the music of Cole Porter was the inspiration for “Across the Universe” (2007), with its all-Beatles soundtrack, or “M
Watching “No,” the 2012 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, it’s hard not to think of the film that won big that year. Like “Argo,” this drama from Pablo Larrain is based on a tr
When I reviewed the Blu-ray of**“Oz the Great and Powerful”** I knew without seeing it that the 3D version would be even more spectacular. Why? Because so many visual elements in the film seemed to be
“Combat!” was the longest-running WWII drama on television, airing on ABC from 1962-1967. And Season 3 was the biggest direct hit with the viewing public. That year, “Combat!” became the 10th most
Mill Creek Entertainment forges on with their budget conscious releases that help bring obscure little films to the public in an HD format. Many of these releases are of older films in which easily co
H.G. Wells's vision of a future radically transformed by technology has proven accurate enough; he simply missed on the scale. Wells dreamed of gigantic machines that enabled heroic achievements; mass
When I first heard that Disney was planning to make a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” I thought, what next? A prequel for “Gone with the Wind” or “Casablanca”? It seemed both arrogant and ill advised.
It’s hard to argue against the success Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has achieved in just about everything he has done. Johnson, as a student, won a national championship as a defensive tackle with the Un
Aaron Sorkin, writer of "The West Wing", "The Social Network" and "Moneyball" has a sort of trademarked handle on fast talking, maybe not so realistic but damn entertaining dialogue. His latest work i
An updated version of a classic fairy tale, “Jack the Giant Slayer” is a fun, albeit slightly misdirected, ride through the 14th century land where royalty rules, peasants exist to serve and giant
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
I don’t give a rat’s behind how many kung fu movies you’ve seen, or how many films over stylize martial arts these days so they look sexy. “Enter the Dragon” is, hands down, the best of them all.
It’s about damn time someone updated that silly fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel. It’s so 1800s. You know, the one where the little kids wander into the woods and leave a trail of bread crumbs to fo
My wife and I loved “The West Wing,” so we were interested to see **“House of Cards,”**an American political drama that’s actually an adaptation of a 1990 BBC miniseries—which itself was based on the
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
“Breaking Bad” took up where “Weeds” left off, with an average person facing financial woes turning to drugs as a way of solving the problem . . . but with the drug progressing from marijuana, in
I’m going to go out on a limb here and venture a guess that most people have seen a porno movie at least once in their lives. Those who have will agree that there’s nothing artistic about them and no
I love films that offer commentary on our present culture, and cherish their ability to excessively overdo the minutest details so they can make their points. In some cases, this approach doubles as f
What’s fascinating about “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” is that it’s the kind of property that Disney usually produces as a live-action adventure. Not all the dots connect in this 2001 feature, and t
There will be no spoilers in this review, for the simple reason that, try as I did, I couldn’t make it till the very end. I didn’t care, and when that happens there’s only one thing to do: turn off th
In biographical documentaries, we’ve learned to expect the unpleasant revelation, the twist that reveals the darker character. It’s that darkness that makes a person interesting, right? So while watc
After watching John Cusack play a cold-blooded Black Ops agent in “The Numbers Station,” I’m convinced that I could probably handle the job. All you have to do is look numb and detached as you wal
He was only 5’9,” but he stood taller because he was a Barrymore. Contemporary moviegoers know John Barrymore as the grandfather of Drew, and the two of them share this much in common: they struggled
Their names were the stuff of legend: Matilda the Hun, Mountain Fiji, Susie Spirit, Little Egypt, Ninotchka, Tina Ferrari, Hollywood, and, of course, Big... Bad... Mama! And just at their peak, the le
When I think of witches, I envision women with long black hair, moles on their faces, broomsticks in their hands and curled fingers adjusting pointy black hats. I think of phrases like “Double double,
Before I re-watched “The Verdict”—new to Blu-ray this week—I could only recall one image from the film: that of star Paul Newman as alcoholic attorney Frank Galvin, playing pinball in a dark bar.
Jubal Troop is one heck of a name for a Western character, isn't it? It's the kind of name you can spit right into a cuspidor from clear across the room. Credit goes to novelist Paul I. Wellman, but i
In**“Brubaker,”** a 1980 prison movie, Robert Redford plays Henry Brubaker, the newly appointed warden to Wakefield State Prison, where, for the first half hour we see him admitted as an inmate and ob
Now the remake just looks stupid. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the 2007 version with Russell Crowe and Batman, but at the time I hadn't seen the 1957 original in almost twenty years and didn't revis
“The First Time” is the second feature film from writer-director Jon Kasdan—Lawrence’s son—and it has some good things going for it. The screenplay is well constructed, for one, and the film showc
“Viva Zapata!” is a tough film to review—almost as tough as “Song of the South” would be if Disney had the cojones to release that picture—because just about all the Mexicans are played by Caucasi
Yesterday I saw a news story about a 41-year-old Miami plastic surgeon who allegedly attacked his girlfriend over a Facebook posting, forcing her head into a toilet, then stuffing a rag in her mouth a
You don't have to believe in God to believe that Father Greg Boyle is doing God's work. The Jesuit priest began tending to his parish in the gang-infested Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles in the
**“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
Is there anyone on the planet who hasn’t heard of Bob Marley? Or heard at least one of the Jamaican reggae legend’s songs? His greatest hits album, “Legend” (1984)—released t
With films like “Jack Reacher,” hitting stores in a sharp Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy combo pack from Paramount, questions are rarely related to the action or entertainment value. Both are there,
Time Life just released “China Beach: The Complete Collection” in a handsome boxed set that features all four seasons in individual keep cases, for those who’d rather ditch the box and put them on
Director and star Sir Laurence Olivier doesn't shy away from center stage in this adaptation of Shakespeare's “Richard III” (1955) nor would any sane person want him to. By stripping away or at least
Horror movies have a built in success formula. It all starts with their audience, mostly young folks ranging from 13 to 25 years of age looking for cheap and safe thrills. And since it’s not high art,
So, you've heard about "Snake Eyes" and you think you've seen it all before. Well, you're not psychic and you're not crazy. You have seen it all before. Writer-director Brian DePalma has often in his
The word ‘masterpiece’ gets tossed around a little too frequently when discussing certain films. However, there is no other way to describe “Schindler’s List,” except to call it a masterpiece. Spielb
Every day, billions of people work with machines they don’t understand. How many of us talking monkeys actually know how a cell phone works? But all around us is the biggest machine of all, complex an
“Shanghai Noon” isn’t just a fun pun on the Gary Cooper classic Western, “High Noon.” It’s a clever variation on the buddy cop picture, with Jackie Chan showing both his comic chops and his martia
It's tempting to think of 1950s Japanese cinema as the bleakest of wastelands, a litany of unending misery from “Sansho the Bailiff” (1954) to “The Ballad of Narayama” (1958) to “Fires on the Plain” (
“Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War” is a 26-part series that initially ran on Canadian television. All 13 hours are presented on 4 DVDs in this excellent Time Life DVD set, which tells the story o
According to the “Not Fade Away” press release, the title was cited as one of the top 10 films of the year by the Associated Press, New York Times and more. I suppose, from a filmmaking or artisti
Philip Kaufman, director of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “The Right Stuff” helms his newest movie “Hemingway and Gellhorn”, a look into an exploratory time of Ernest Hemingway’s life in
Former ballerina and Mrs. World 2006 winner Sofya Skya stars and co-directs (along with Robert Crombie) the action/revenge story**“Assassins Run.”**The film is kind of “Taken” meets “Haywire” with the
That Pierre Étaix's comedies do not tickle my funny bone is of no relevance to you and hardly even to me. I am not here on rain on anyone's parade, and a parade is more than justified because Étaix's
People know from past comments that I’m not a huge fan of 3D movies. Been there, done that—back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, as a matter of fact, when the public’s fascination with stereoscopic vision peaked
It's 1160 and a good man is hard to find. Rival Japanese clans have been dueling for power for most of the century and as “Gate of Hell” (1953) opens, the rebel Minamoto warriors have seized a special
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
It was 1984 and Americans were on course to re-elect a shitty, sadistic, semi-sentient president. In a fucking landslide. What better way to piss them all off than for a smartass Brit to flip them the
It seems gun control is stepping back to the forefront for many Americans, which makes a film like “Gangster Squad” all the more timely. Its theatrical release was, after all, impacted by the movi
“Pawn Stars” meets “Pimp My Ride” in History Channel’s car flipping reality show “Counting Cars.” The 30 minute program, which recently debuted its second season profiles recurring “Pawn Stars” ap
I was anxious to watch**“Delhi Safari”**because it’s the first animated feature from India that I’ve run across, and the first Indian 3D animated film—though it’s only being released stateside in DVD.
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
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
As a young boy who collected bugs, butterflies, rocks, and basically anything in the natural world that could be captured and observed for a while in a 10- to 50-gallon tank, I was a big fan of Disney
Director Paul Verhoeven somehow gets away with what could be SyFy channel caliber films by making them wildly entertaining romps. He is able to blend serious, kick ass action with light, wink-wink act
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
Between “The Commitments” (1991) and “Almost Famous” (2000) there was another movie about the music scene that’s overlooked. And that’s surprising, since **“That Thing You Do!”**was Tom Hanks big-scre
Many people complain that there are no new ideas left for movies anymore. There is some truth to that considering we are given either sequels or remakes annually that hardly push any creative boundari
With a title like "The Suicide Forecast," this film sure has an eye-catching and cheerful DVD cover. It turns out that this South Korean film does have a fine edge of humor woven through an entertaini
**“The Bible: The Epic Miniseries”**carries a blue-and-white Dove symbol on its back cover, but it’s awfully tiny and doesn’t actually say “Family Approved.” After watching this popular HISTORY Channe
**“H2O: Just Add Water”**is an Australian TV series obviously intended for teen and pre-teen audiences. But the creators and writers add a lot more than water. Every episode of this 2006 series, which
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
Tiffany Shlain's documentary “Connected” (2011) is a bit of a trap. The free-associative narrative structure begs to be criticized for its lack of focus, for its potpourri of subject matter, but Shlai
I loved animated films as a kid, and still do. But as with live-action films, there still has to be an interesting (and hopefully original) plot, characters we care about, and strong, believable dialo
**“Howdy Kids: A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup”**ought to be called “Howdy Boomers,” because the people most likely to grab a copy are the ones who grew up watching these half-hour TV Westerns. T
Oil up the gloves and break out the baseball caps. Baseball season is just three days away. And those three days seem meant for baseball movies to fuel fans' optimism about teams that realistically (w
The historical romance genre is one that can see its movies go one of two ways. The first, less entertaining way sees a movie pick a historical/royal figure, put them in a lot of big wigs and fancy co
Henri Verdoux (Charles Chaplin) is an odd little man, a former bank clerk who loses his job in the Depression and opts for a new career in “liquidating members of the opposite sex.” Verdoux stockpiles
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
In 2008, newly elected President Barack Obama announced he would assemble a cabinet inspired by Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln—the same book tha
Cartoonist David Low first introduced the pot-bellied, walrus-mustached Colonel Blimp to British readers in the 1930s. In single-panel installments, the military lifer held court from a Turkish bath,
With HBO's lineup primarily drama driven it is nice to watch “Veep”, a flat-out comedy basted with R-rated sarcasm and some hilarious satire pointed at the political system and those who work in i
I’m mildly ashamed to begin this review of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” by stating that I’ve not read J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. It probably would have helped me to contextualize th
As I wrote in my review of Season 1, **“H2O: Just Add Water”**is an Australian TV series obviously intended for teen and pre-teen audiences. But the creators and writers add a lot more than water. Eve
Curious George is one those children’s lit characters that’s so prominent it’s easy to think of him as having always existed. But George’s history is actually quite brief. The husband-wife writer and
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
“(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
During the exploitation heyday of the 70’s with films like “Shaft”, “Vanishing Point” and “Foxy Brown”, there was a boom of not so subtle of low budget violence, sex and revenge. They weren’t terribly
“Rust and Bone” is an odd title for a film, and after watching it I still couldn’t tell you what it means. Then again, “Rust and Bone” is an odd film as well. If you had the subtitles and volume s
There are two Hitchcocks, really. First, there’s the one who’s taught in film classes. Alfred Hitchcock directed 67 films, and not one of them—not “Rebecca,” not “Notorious,” not “Strangers on a Trai
After watching “Zero Dark Thirty” with us, my mother-in-law quipped, “Zero Stars Thirty,” but then softened. “Two stars.” That’s probably still a little harsh, but I have to side with her rather
**“Living in a zoo can be very sad People stare at you and make you mad. Oh how I wonder what they would do If animals stared at them like they were in a zoo?” -sung by Chris Peterson in the “Zoo Anim
Call him Pi. He’s a legend among sailors and a man who can spin a good yarn. So can Yann Martel, whose 2001 novel was the basis for this live-action/CGI film from Ang Lee, which recently won four Os
The Robert Rodriguez produced and written horror flick “Curandero: Dawn of the Demon” made its debut all the way back in 2005 at the L.A. Screamfest horror movie festival. The film received decent buz
I’ve seen Cirque du Soleil twice in person, and during each show, I was pretty impressed with the performance’s ability to keep my attention over a period of time. I appreciate the willingness from th
The blob is a metaphor, you see, a metaphor for... it's just a blob. And it is the purest blob the cinema has ever seen. It spent untold millennia soaring through space inside of a meteor just so it c
“Ministry of Fear” (1944) had its share of detractors, among them Graham Greene who despised this adaptation of his wartime novel. Fritz Lang, who directed the adaptation, had considerable misgivings
“Mulan” is a wonderful piece of Disney animation and storytelling that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.**“Mulan II”**may be less inspired, but it’s also one of the best direct-to-video sequels
When "Shrek" took a playful slap at the sun-is-shining, birds-are-chirping world of Disney animation, audiences were absolutely delighted. What audacity, we read from all the reviewers. But let’s not
I touched a Dardenne. “The Kid With a Bike” (2011) had just screened at the Elgin Theater during the Toronto Film Festival, and I was winding my way along the side of the building trying to get back
I vividly remember being a little kid and watching the opening scene to the very first “A Nightmare on Elm Street” with my older brother. He told me that if I was already beginning to freak out over F
My first thought after watching **"The Imposter"**was that I had to think back to my seventeen year old self back in 1995 and try to remember if I had heard about the news story or not. Even though th
News programs were already polling the man on the street for soundbite reactions to hot button issues and marketers were mining kinda-big-data to determine what features consumers wanted in their next
The Disney philosophy for its animated features has been fairly simple: make a movie that will appeal to adults as well as children, and balance every laugh with a tear. That changed somewhat with "Be
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
Like "Pinky and the Brain," each episode of "Phineas and Ferb" begins the same way, with the two main characters wondering what to do. But rather than trying to take over the world in every episod
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
*Funny and uplifting?*A drama about a wealthy quadriplegic and his caretaker, who happens to be an ex-con from the projects? It sounds more like the weeper of the week. Or a crime scene waiting to hap
People really love their pets. As someone who doesn’t own a pet, even I know that. In a lot of cases, people love their pets more than they love some of their own relatives, perhaps even immediate fam
It’s hard to watch a documentary focused on the American health care system these days and not draw comparisons to Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” Moore has a knack for taking a serious, hot-button issue, an
When “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Brave” came out of Disney-Pixar studios last year, it felt like a case of babies being switched at birth. But it really was the Pixar gang that produced “Brave,” a pr
In 1983, actor and Monty Python alum Graham Chapman recorded an audiobook version of his “A Liar’s Autobiography.” Directors Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson and Ben Timlett have taken those recordings and ma
Right out of the gate, there is an "Ocean's 11" vibe to director Dong-Hoon Choi’s**“The Thieves. "** It’s flashy, has an ensemble cast and starts off just as light-hearted. In its native country it wa
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
“H2O: Just Add Water” is an Australian TV series obviously intended for teen and pre-teen audiences. But the creators and writers add a lot more than water. Every episode of this 2006 series will
“On the Waterfront” (1954) is so frequently hailed as a pivot point in naturalistic acting that it's easy to overlook its hodge-podge collection of disparate performance styles. Marlon Brando's Terry
Everything I know about musicals I more or less learned from my father. He was the one who brought this genre into my life and our home as I was growing up. It’s fair to say that I wasn’t all that thr
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
Redneck culture seems to have seeped its way into popular culture in the last year or so, mostly through reality TV, specifically TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” The show has been a huge success for
Celebrity is the ultimate entitlement. I know that's not a revelation, but this new documentary about trend-setting fashion editor Diana Vreeland (1903-1989) is a potent reminder. Vreeland blazed a w
“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
“They would never cancel Game of Thrones! It’s a crossover hit, it’s not just for fantasy enthusiasts, they’re telling human stories in a fantasy world.”Ben Wyatt, "Parks and Recreation"That is
After seeing “Skyfall”—the 23rd film in the James Bond franchise—I’m not inclined to argue who’s the best Bond, who’s the ultimate Bond villain, who’s the best Bond “girl,” or who sang the best Bo
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
Babar isn’t your average elephant:He’s French . . . well, insomuch as he’s the creation of French children’s book author Jean de Brunhoff, who first wrote about “le petit elephant” in *Histoire de
After a randomly aired animated short became a viral hit on the internet, “Adventure Time” creator Pendleton Ward was picked up by Cartoon Network to bring his creative talents into mainstream viewing
If I base my evaluation of 1976’s “A Star is Born,” recently released in a Warner Bros. Blu-ray book, solely on the music, the film is fine. Not great, mind you. But fine. The music was written fo
News: Recurring “Storage Wars” bidder Mark Balelo was found dead in his car at his auction house in Simi Valley, outside of Los Angeles on Monday. TMZ first reported the story and also says th
If you're looking for withering portraits of human abjection and total societal collapse (and who isn't?), you might as well start your search with Japanese films of the 1950s. Start with “Sansho the
Taking place in 2004, “Allegiance” involves a small National Guard unit stationed at Camp Sullivan in New York state who is about to be deployed to Iraq due to a lack of military manpower. One of
By mid-May of 2012, sales of 3D TVs increased by 74 percent . . . but according to the NPD Group, which released the report, just 14 percent of people surveyed said they expected to buy a 3D TV someti
Scholastic Video—part of the New Video Group—has assembled a distinguished series of books-on-video that use original drawings and sometimes modify them or animate them to make them more film-friendly
I am increasingly of the opinion that film critics review far too many films. This is a film, you write about films, therefore you are qualified to write about this film. And besides we can't find any
**“Animaniacs”**is the kind of cartoon series that will either rivet you to your seat or have you running for the exits. Produced by Steven Spielberg and aired on TV during the ‘90s, these animated s
Before reading further, please understand that I enjoy scary films. And horror films. And films made with targeted fear. Please also understand I do not enjoy films that are made just to turn a profit
Like most twelve year-old boys, Ivan (Nikolai Burlyaev) thinks he knows everything; unlike most twelve year-old boys, he has good reason to believe so. Coming of age in the heart of WW2, Ivan has alr
Let's see if I can come up with a joke that is as original as anything in this movie...hmmm... How about "There's 80 minutes of my life I will never get back. " If you've seen any of the "Paranormal A
F.W. Murnau's “Nosferatu” (1922) was adapted without permission from Bram Stoker's novel “Dracula” and, in some ways, falls short of the source material it exploited. Where Count Dracula was a seducti
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
Onscreen, Kevin James is a likeable guy. He just needs to pick projects that release his inner Doug Heffernan—that Everyman package delivery driver from “The King of Queens” who knew his limitations,
“Is This A Zombie?” is the heartwarming story of an average high school guy who is killed, turned into a zombie, then transformed into a magical girl. He lives with a necromancer, another magical girl
“Seven Psychopaths,” which is written and directed by Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges”), invites comparison. You almost get a sense of déja vu as you watch. In terms of pacing and structure, it feels
**“Flight”**made some noise prior to its theatrical release, but when I asked friends who had gone to see it what it was about, they stressed it was Denzel Washington’s film from start to finish. Of c
Based on the novel Cross by thriller author James Patterson, “Alex Cross” is the third film to be adapted from one of his novels. The first two, 1997’s “Kiss the Girls,” and 2001’s “Along Came a Spide
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
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
*When there’s a smile in your heart There’s no better time to start It’s a very simple plan You can do what the birdies can At least it’s worth a try You can fly! You can fly! You can fly! You can fly
“Searching for Sugar Man” is generating a lot of positive energy.It received Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Best Documentary.The Blu-ray cover announces a 100 percent “fresh” rating from
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
Ever stop a movie and after it's finished the first thing that pops in your head is "What the #*$@ did I just watch? " It happens from time to time and even if the movie isn't great, it's still brough
Sony Pictures Animations’ **“Hotel Transylvania”**cost an estimated $85 million to make and it broke even shortly after its second week in theaters . . . a big reason why there’s already a “Hotel Tran
The first time I saw “Cabaret” was during my sophomore year of high school. I was fortunate to take an Introduction to Film Studies elective taught by my freshman English teacher. I remember him i
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.
Normally Woody Allen reserves his cinematic love letters for New York City, but in 2011 he shared his passion for Paris in “Midnight in Paris,” and he does the same with Rome in **“To Rome with Love,”
Mark Tonderai's horror "House at the End of the Street” was a bit of a diamond in the rough for Relativity Media. Shot in Ottawa, Ontario in April of 2010 on a $10 million budget, the biggest name
Cao Cao is defined as a warlord and one of the last great chancellors of the Eastern Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. He has had many different incarnations in the movies such as 1931's "
Every now and then the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences goes a little haywire and makes an exception to its rule of only according Best Picture Oscars to films about epic battles, monumenta
"People coming, going; nothing ever happens. " Lewis Stone, "Grand Hotel" Not only that, the movie itself was a long time coming to Blu-ray. Over eighty years, in fact. But it was an Oscar winner for
When I noticed that “The Wise Kids” was a Christian-themed drama involving Southern Baptist teens, I assumed it was the work of Sherwood Pictures—the film ministry offshoot of the Sherwood Baptist
HBO's "Life's Too Short" is another mockumentary style show from Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant. It follows Warwick Davis, star of "Willow" and is in the "Harry Potter" films, as he attempts to
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1934) runs just seventy-five minutes, and Alfred Hitchcock doesn't waste a second of precious screen time on plausibility. Bob (Leslie Banks) and Jill Lawrence (Edna Best)
I had never watched an episode of “Being Human” before popping in Disc One of this “Complete Second Season” set. I knew it was going to be a struggle when I was driven to distraction by the fact that
[NOTE: The following review was written for Criterion's 2004 SD release of “The Tin Drum” . That release included the 142 minute theatrical release of the film which, at the time, was the only one kno
I still, for the life of me, can’t figure out why anyone would want to be on a reality show. Aside from the ever-present intrusive cameras there’s the daily pressure to be “interesting” or “entertaini
“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
William Friedkin has made a career by pushing the artistic envelope with his films. "The Exorcist" which is arguably his most known film has several scenes in that film that are still shocking to this
Frankenweenie. Like “Frankenhookers,” the title alone is enough to make you giggle. That’s giggle, mind you. Mel Brooks may have squeezed laughs out of audiences with “Young Frankenstein,” but in
Director Monte Hellman's "Two-Lane Blacktop" (1971) is the greatest American road movie ever made. I state this as fact, not opinion. At the same time, it's difficult to hold up "Two-Lane Blacktop" as
When I think of Zorro, I think of Guy Williams in the popular Disney TV series, or I think of Antonio Banderas in two more recent films. I do not think of Alain Delon (“Rocco and His Brothers,” “Le Sa
Aside from being pure entertainment, Sports is also seen as the great hope of the masses. Anyone that has pure talent can succeed, no matter where on the planet you are from. There are innumerable acc
This past New Year’s Eve, my wife and I turned on both of our options for a musical countdown on TV and thought, This is the best they can do for the biggest, ball-dropping party of the year? What hap
It took Disney a while to get up to speed in the area of interactive TV shows for toddlers and tykes, but in 2006 the Disney Channel pulled out all the stops, borrowing a few ideas from the old “Micke
“World without End” was an eight-episode miniseries based on the novel by Ken Follett and intended as a sequel to the 2010 miniseries “The Pillars of the Earth.” But this sequel, which aired in 20
After pioneering films like Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park proved computer generated effects to be commercially viable, there was a boon in the old creature feature style films in the mid nineties usi
Ever since writer-director Quentin Tarantino shot to fame with “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) and “Pulp Fiction” (1993), fans have eagerly awaited his films. The reason Tarantino stands out from the rest is
The seven or so Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are popular with the grade school set because they expresses a point of view that many young readers can identify with: the smart kid, the essentially good
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
In the 1990 Paul Verhoeven classic, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a man who kept having recurring dreams of Mars and wanted to go on a virtual vacation there to see if he could find out more. But there
“Babes in Toyland” was 1903 operetta by Victor Herbert that was frequently produced at the community theater level and first made into a movie in 1934 starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Disney
Amy Tan burst onto the literary scene with her 1989 novel,The Joy Luck Club, which tells the story of four Chinese immigrants whose 30-year tradition of friendship and mahjong is interrupted when on
Robin Cook is a doctor who found his second calling as a novelist writing bestselling medical thrillers—31 of them, to date. Coma (1977) was his first major novel and probably his best known, because
Anthologies can sometimes be tricky endeavors. Each story needs to be entertaining yet unique enough to necessitate being broken up into smaller stories while still maintaining a solid theme throughou
One cannot begin to encompass what is covered in Music Box‘s release of **“The Story of Film: An Odyssey”**without leaving many, many omissions on the table. It took seven years to produce and takes m
A film with five people credited as “Hopi Prophecy Consultants” would normally send me bolting to my panic room, but “Koyaanisqatsi” (1983) is my time-lapse crack and it provides such an immersive aud
Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a button-pushing middle manager who resists a soul-crushing bureaucracy by escaping into literal flights of fantasy. Imagination is the only weapon he has against the all
**“The Simpsons”**became the longest running scripted primetime TV series in 2009, and before that it set records for being the longest running American sitcom and longest running animated TV series.
There are seven not-so-magnificent reasons why I wanted to give “Ice Age: Continental Drift” a lousy rating:The plot is right out of Saturday morning cartoons. The screenwriters just HAD t
As awards season consumes December and my fellow critics pretend they just hate hate hate composing “best of” lists as they eagerly share those hated “best of” lists, I find myself returning again and
I don’t have to tell gamers that “Halo 4: Forward unto Dawn” is based on the “Halo” video game series that began in November 2001—a series so popular that it helped establish and solidify Xbox’s p
Andre Waters was a beast. Some of my fondest memories watching football as a teenager involve “Dirty Waters” administering brutal hits to receivers who had heard the stories, but couldn't believe the
Although**“Heavyweights”**is a 1995 film, it’s a throwback to the early Disney live-action films that coasted on their premises and were content to provide lightweight entertainment and nothing more.
There’s a joyous scene in “Beasts of the Southern Wild” in which the bayou residents of an isolated Louisiana community nicknamed “The Bathtub”—so named because they live on the other side of a po
Lena Dunham’s first full length feature was an indie film called “Tiny Furniture. " She served as director, writer and the main character. It was successfully received by critics and garnered her some
“The following is my explanation.” In retrospect, it's difficult not to think of the first spoken line of Christopher Nolan's first feature film as a promise of everything that was to come, or perhap
Here’s one for the trivia games: What movie did Warren Beatty make after he and Dustin Hoffman stunk up the theaters with “Ishtar,” Elaine May’s contemporized version of the old Crosby-Hope “road” pic
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
A beautiful, blonde woman is taking a shower in a movie shown in a theater. The theater audience calmly watches her. Screechy music begins to play. A man stands outside the theater doors, listening to
Guillaume Canet is an actor turned director seemingly taking the same career path as Ben Affleck. Both at one time were considered heartthrobs but have now focused more on directing mature thrillers w
Few films have successfully mined the territory of high concept special effects comedy since the genre-shaping release of “Ghostbusters” in 1984. That film’s singular blend of eye-popping effects, def
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” isn’t really so odd. A junior-high age kid gets picked on at school, he falls for a girl who’s taller and more popular than he is, he plays soccer (sort of), and de
I really want to like Guillermo del Toro's films. He seems like a very likeable man who supplies geek chic that isn't drenched in pop culture irony. He produces thoughtful genre films that adhere to t
Toward its memorable climax, Pi Patel (Irfan Khan), the lead protagonist and narrator of director Ang Lee’s 2012 film “Life of Pi,” explains the meaning of his journey at sea by saying, “Without Richa
You have to wonder if Seth MacFarlane ever has time to sleep. The man has built himself an animation empire at Fox as the creator of "Family Guy," "American Dad," and "The Cleveland Show. " He writes,
I can't imagine anyone watching “Heaven's Gate” (1980) for the first time on this Criterion Blu-ray would identify it as the “unqualified disaster” Vincent Canby labeled it upon its release, a label a
The story of **“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”**revolves around Toula Portakalos (Nia Vardalos), a plain wallflower that is part of a vibrantly Greek family living in the suburbs of Chicago. After a brief
What starts out as a quest to confront her mother turns into a new life and new family for Nicoletta, the heroine of "Ristorante Paradiso," the first title released by Nozomi under their new "Lucky Pe
"Those aren't pillows! " After writing, directing, and producing a string of comedy hits about teenagers, John Hughes ("Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink," "Ferris Bueller's Day
Usually it is fairly easy to categorize most good films. They fit into either main genres or sub genres that have niche but clearly defined audiences. It gets harder when a movie has the potential to
Films described as “raunchy,” “erotic,” or “bawdy” usually send me running for cover. I've always thought this was because I am exceedingly old-fashioned in my sensibilities, but in the context of Pie
Now, if all of you could just look into this neuralizer while I talk about “Men in Black 3”. That really was a young Tommy Lee Jones from the Sixties you saw in time-travel flashback, not Josh
Thanks for the adventure. Now go have yourself a new one. So a dying Ellie has written in her adventure scrapbook, one she had previously left blank in order to fill with pictures when she finally
After watching “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” I racked my brain trying to think of another stoner film that didn’t have drugs in it—not even drug references—and I’ve been coming up empty. I
“Finding Nemo” has to be one of the most-anticipated Blu-ray releases—especially after this year’s theatrical re-release of the film in 3D. The 2003 animated adventure has now grossed over $900 mi
In "Playing God", Eugene Sands (David Duchovney) has lost his medical license due to losing a patient on the emergency room operating table while under the influence of narcotics. With a lot of fr
If you can’t wait to hear Hugh Jackman sing the role of Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” when it opens in theaters on December 25, you might consider picking up a copy of the 1999 London stage revival
John J. Puccio Ranjan Pruthee William Lee *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, John J. Puccio, Ranjan Pruthee, and William David Lee all take a look at the movie, with John als
“Portlandia: Season 2” can best be described as quirky and may take several skits to warm you up to its particular brand of humor. The format of each show is a main skit throughout an entire episo
Fictional characters coming to life are nothing new. Before “Ruby Sparks” we most recently saw it in “Stranger than Fiction,” where Will Ferrell realized he was a fictional character and tried to
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
I’m not sure if Charles Dickens would be amused or appalled at the wide range of adaptations of his enduring cautionary tale, but it seems like just about everyone has had a crack at the Scrooge story
If Pixar has become a victim of its own success, you could use the “Pixar Short Films Collection: Vol. 2” as Exhibit A to show that the studio has become more commercial—even before they hooked up
You have to wonder why studios lavish enormous sums of money on films written and directed by people who have never made a full-length film before. Maybe they're expecting another "Citizen Kane. " Wha
A lot of people—probably none so much as Tobey Maguire, who played Peter Parker/Spidey in the first three films from Sam Raimi—raised their eyebrows when Sony announced that **“The Amazing Spider-Man”
PBS Distribution recently released two series on Blu-ray and DVD: “Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl” and **“Broadway: The American Musical.”**Watching the latter, I couldn’t help but think that it couldn’t ha
Warner Bros. already released "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2," to high-definition Blu-ray in separate three-disc sets; now they've released both films in a single, six-disc box s
In 2009, TV Guide named “Friends” Number 21 on their list of the Top 50 Shows of all-time, and it could have gone higher. Over 10 seasons fans became incredibly close to this group of twentysomethings
Count me among those who thought the first Blu-ray release of**"Patton"** was just fine. But the anti-DNR crowd complained loudly enough so that Fox apparently heard and remastered the 1970 Best Pictu
It’s hard to say what “Painted Skin: The Resurrection” is actually about. It’s not so much a story as it is an experience of different visual themes. The first and foremost of which is Love. This
Thirteen is supposed to be unlucky. Many hotels don’t even have a 13th floor. But for the Pixar Animation crew it’s just another number in their unbelievable string of hits: [“Toy Story” (1995)](http:
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
"This movie is a comedy. I wanted to be sure and clarify that right up front, because when the film was first released to the paying public they didn't seem to realize it was supposed to be funny. " -
The thing about any cult classic is that if too many people like it, it's not a cult classic anymore. So, a genuine cult film has to be just eccentric enough to make it controversial, with only a smal
Bond returns to the cinema to celebrate his 50 year anniversary in "Skyfall. " Daniel Craig plays James Bond again, opposite the villain Silva, played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem. The story is sim
SOME NOTES ON “RASHOMON” SINCE YOU SURELY DON'T NEED YET ANOTHER REVIEW OF THIS MASTERPIECE:“Rashomon” is certainly a film about the elusive nature of truth and the unreliability of witnesses
As such, it's good that Warner Bros. chose to remaster on Blu-ray the original, 1946 "Postman Always Rings Twice" from MGM with John Garfield and Lana Turner simultaneously with their own 1981 remake
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
Music Box Films, distributor of such films as “Monsieur Lazhar” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” releases “Last Ride”, an austere, character driven piece dealing with relationships, barren ge
David Lean’s 1962 biopic of T.E. Lawrence is a long movie (227 minutes) that was a long time in the making (24 months in pre-production, plus 14 months of shooting). Small wonder, then, that **“Lawren
"This film was made with the enthusiastic co-operation of the Orient Line--who gravely disapproved of the whole thing. " Having talked to any number of people over the years about British comedy, I'v
Set in a historical fantasy version of ancient China, "Incredibly Ever After" weaves a campy, delightful tale that explores the relationship between a husband and wife with a unique twist - they are s
It’s curious how Christmas mythology has evolved in cinema. With “Miracle on 34th Street” the concept of letters to Santa being answered was tackled head-on, reassuring youngsters everywhere that San
As the 2012 Presidential race gathered steam, we saw political candidates and political pundits working overtime to acquire vital gains in votes. That is obvious given the nature of the closely-fought
Note: Jim Plath provides his thoughts on "Fantasy Island" while William Lee contributes the episode rundown as well as the video, audio, and film value portions. **"Fantasy Island" according to Jim
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
“Company,” for those who haven’t heard of it, is a musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 1970 and won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, and, when it was revived a
The following review was written by John Puccio for the 2003 SD release of “Rosemary's Baby” by Paramount. The Video, Audio, Extras and Film Value section are written by Christopher Long in conjunctio
Twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—as an individual performer and as a member of the influential Buffalo Springfield folk-rock band—Neil Young has had a storied career, though it was r
“Because even though success is a reality, its effects are temporary. You get hungry, even though you’ve just eaten.” – Don Draper, “Mad Men,” Season Five Late in season five of the enthralling “Mad
"War has rules, mud wrestling has rules... Politics has no rules. " --Ross Perot, Presidential candidate 1988 It was not coincidental that Warner Bros. released their political satire "The Campaign"
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
When I think of wartime British cinema, I think about stiff upper lips and odes to endurance on the homefront, but Gainsborough Pictures created a very different on screen world in the mid-1940s. It w
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Eddie provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. "I didn't know you wer
I admit that while watching “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1971) I did, on a few occasions, shout “Damned hippies!” Or at least I thought it. Turn on and tune in, man, but if you're going to let your seven y
With a known cast like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mickey Rourke, Lily Taylor and Mark Margolis, you would think a movie should be coherent and polished looking. Instead,“The Courier” is a confused piece
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
The main review was written by the legendary Eddie Feng in 2002 in conjunction with Criterion's 2-disc SD release of Wong Kar-Wai's “In the Mood for Love” (2000). The Video, Audio, Extras, and Film Va
Fox recently unveiled the first wave of titles in the Filmmakers Signature Series, a handsome low-priced Blu-ray series featuring a director-approved HD transfer and a 26-page (28, counting covers) fu
Ben Franklin was wrong when he wrote how “nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” If he had lived into the age of cinema, he probably would have added “disappointing sequels” to the
Some films grow on you. Others start to weigh like a growth, or a scruffy beard and dirty clothes that you just can't wait to shed—like the four hillbillies that young Pete is trying to escape in this
From the moment that we’re shown a clip of each character’s situation in England that has them ripe to retire not at Southend-On-Sea or Swansea, but in India, we know that their adventure in this come
“Prometheus” was arguably the biggest film of 2012, grossing more than $400 million and producing a buzz like no other film. It began as the fifth installment of the “Alien” series, but at some po
I’m no expert on Tinker Bell. Peter Pan (complex) maybe, but not Tink. So for this film I’m relying on my 10-year-old daughter, who falls within the target age range of the Tinker Bell films that Disn
The first "Madagascar" CGI animation was innovative and lighthearted, punctuated by likeable characters and catchy music. The second "Madagascar" film, "Escape 2 Africa," was still OK, just not quite
In 2009, a firestorm erupted over the release of "The French Connection" on Blu-ray. Though director William Friedkin said in an introduction to the film that the Blu-ray represented the best vers
As you wish? Maybe. But there seem to be as many editions of “The Princess Bride” as there are Dread Pirate Roberts. There was the initial release, then two-disc “Buttercup” or “Dread Pirate Ro
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
Grandmom always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say about somebody, don't say anything at all. So enough about the Mets, and on to the details of the “Mets 50th Anniversary Collector's
Director Anurag Basu’s “Barfi!” (2012) is the latest Bollywood blockbuster that has got everyone talking. The hype is immense, and the film is already generating an Oscar buzz as one of the films in t
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
The early 1990’s were a down time for the horror genre. The eighties had saturated the horror market with endless sequels using every situation imaginable ranging from innocent holidays like Valentine
If you think the practice of cost-cutting by filming two movies at the same time is a modern convention with things like "Back to the Future 1 & 2" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3," you wouldn't e
On April 20, 2012, the Boston Red Sox staged an elaborate on-field celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, the only baseball park ever to last a century as an active venue (Wr
Marcel Carné's “Children of Paradise” (1945) occupies a unique place in French film culture for at least a few reasons. It was shot, with much publicity, entirely during the Occupation, but premiered
Perhaps it is a bit difficult to understand why “Les Visiteurs du Soir” (1942) was a runaway commercial hit during the German occupation of France. The sumptuously staged medieval fairy tale must have
If you are a fan of "Paranormal Activity" reality-type horror stories, the ones pioneered by "The Blair Witch Project," you might like 2012's "Chernobyl Diaries. " Or not. It's just as corny, just as
As a Cubs fan, I’m still reeling from the team’s 101-loss season, but having “A League of Their Own,” one of my all-time favorite baseball movies, come out on Blu-ray for the first time is some co
Maybe it’s the London fog, or the peg-legged bat with his in-your-face fangs. Maybe it’s the villainous rat tinkling a bell to punish a drunken mouse for a slip of the tongue by feeding him to his gia
The main body of the review was written by Jim Plath on the occasion of the 2004 SD release of “Eating Raoul” by Sony. The rest of this reviews has been written by Christopher Long, and addresses the
One of the most-anticipated movies of 2012, “The Hunger Games” arrived in theaters in March, with record box-office receipts for a non-sequel in midnight showings, as well as a record for the highest
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Tim give their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Shots. The Film According to John:
When irony rules and most tongues are permanently grafted into cheeks, I suppose it's pretty churlish to complain about a movie taking itself too seriously. But after watching “The Game” (1997) again,
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
In the near future, the world reels from an outbreak of a mysterious illness called the Medousa Virus. It is so named because it reduces the human body to a stone-like corpse. There is no cure, and th
Mention John Huston and a film buff is apt to start speaking rapturously about the director’s debut, “The Maltese Falcon” (1941)—or perhaps “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “Key Largo,” “The Asphal
Disney is all about wishes, so when Walt decided to turn the popular fairy tale “Cinderella” into a full-length animated feature, he used Charles Perrault’s version, in which the Frenchman introduced
Creature features were one of the more offbeat and just plain fun by-products of the nuclear age, when just about any living thing could grow large enough to ravage cinematic cities and we’d believe i
I can give you several reasons why I shouldn’t like “Hart of Dixie”:It’s “Northern Exposure” without the indie edge and truly quirky characters.It’s an unabashed romantic dramedy in the tr
In a recent conversation with my friend about horror movies, she remarked something that made me think about the modern horror genre as a whole. She said, “Horror movies by their nature are meant to s
I was 13 when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes made their fall 1963 debut in a Marvel comic—a group that originally featured Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp, and Thor as they banded together to fight The Hulk. Maybe
Like “Arrested Development” and “The Office,”“Modern Family” is shot using a lot of hand-held cameras and quick pans, pull-backs and zooms, with no laugh-track and a snappy narrative style. Like
"Family is the only real wealth. " Let's say you were old enough to remember the TV series "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971), the Gothic daytime soap opera that starred Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, a
"Sometimes, dead is better. " In 1989 Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" became a hit box-office attraction. It could hardly have been otherwise, given that so many of the author's other works had already
To go along with their serious dramas, HBO also has several lighthearted dramadies in their scheduling. The third (and seemingly last) season of “Bored to Death” revolves around the lives of three
Perhaps because of the 2012 Presidential election season, Warner Bros. released two movies on Blu-ray dealing with the U.S. Presidency: "The American President," the Rob Reiner film with Michael Dougl
“The Carol Burnett Show” is a tough one for me to review, because it’s a variety show, and that brand of television is nearly extinct. Only “Saturday Night Live” carries forth, and with more comed
Sometimes it can be hard to review lower budget movies that cover similar ground as more successful award winning higher budget movies. In 1997, “Boogie Nights” came out and introduced the 70’s to mod
In 2004, Universal Pictures and Mattel made the first Barbie film to feature original music, and “Barbie as The Princess & the Pauper” did well as direct-to-video installment in the popular animated s
From the mean streets to the clean streets . . . and cul de sacs. That’s the leap single dad George (Jeremy Sisto, “Law & Order”) makes when he panics after finding a condom in the bedroom of his 16-
"Meet me at Omar's. Be ready for me. I'm going after that truck. " "How? " "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go! " And, lo, the skies did open and there burst forth on Blu-ray "The Lord of the R
You’ve got to give James Cameron credit. He’s a fearless filmmaker, and it turns out that he’s just as fearless when it comes to daring stunts . . . like boarding a three-person submersible and descen
America is a dog-loving country. There are so many canines in my neighborhood that when I take a walk I can almost feel people looking at me funny, wondering why I’m not attached to something on a lea
I’ve said in the past that for a TV video series that's based on a collection of books solely designed to promote a line of dolls and accessories, the American Girl films are really quite good. In cas
It’s a fascinating idea to use a child who’s an arithmetic prodigy as the central character of the film’s plot in “Safe” (2012). An eleven-year old, Mei (Catherine Chan), can memorize long numbers and
HBO has been able to string together a rather impressive line of hit shows. With shows like “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under” and currently “Game of Thrones,” HBO is continually reinventing ideas, keep
Vittorio De Sica's story of a sad sack old pensioner and his adorable dog is the ultimate “check your pulse” movie. “Umberto D.” (1952) can thaw out the iciest hearts, burrow through the scaliest armo
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
Note: In the following Blu-ray review, John Puccio and Justin Cleveland provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film Acco
I'm glad that Eclipse releases movies like this. I just wish that they weren't, like, this. I won't embarrass either of us by pretending to know much about Norman Mailer, and I will settle fo
In previous decades, TV heroes were near perfect or only slightly flawed—unless, of course, they were private investigators, in which case they were lovable crime solvers who used inside connections t
"I believe you call it love. " --September "Existence. Quantum entanglement. Philosopher's Stone. Psychometry. Viral therapy. Ethereal plane. Gravitons. Time paradox. Psychogenesis. Bilocation. Psych
“Blade: The Animated Series” is part of a project to introduce western Marvel characters to the Japanese audience with animation tailored towards traditional anime. The plot of “Blade” loosely fol
Now, wait a minute; I know what you're going to ask: Didn't New Line already release the extended versions of "The Lord of the Rings" to Blu-ray a year earlier? Yes, they did, in a beautiful, fifteen-
YA Entertainment brings us yet another great Korean drama - the hilarious romantic comedy, “Protect the Boss.” With a title like that, you might think this was some sort of show about bodyguards or ma
Recently, Swedish author Stieg Larsson has received a lot of accolades for his bestselling three-part book series popularly known as the “Millennium” series. But, even before Larsson’s unstoppable pos
Kenny Ortega’s claim to fame is that he choreographed and directed the “High School Musical” series that became a bona fide phenomenon. But his first Disney movie came 14 years earlier with “Newsies,”
For those folks who have Blu-ray players but somehow missed getting one or more of the four "Terminator" films in high-def, here they are in a big box set from Warner Bros. No, WB didn't produce the f
One scene in “Quadrophenia” (1979) captures the absurdity and sincerity of youthful rebellion in all its sure-to-embarrass-you-in-the-future glory. Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) says to his friend Kevin
My goodness, New York used to be so crowded! Released in 1928, Paul Fejos' “Lonesome” begins with the big city waking up as “the machinery of life begins to hum.” In a dizzying montage, cars choke th
I grow more prudish by the day, and I have now reached a point where I avoid watching films with graphic sexual content just as I have always tried to avoid people who discuss their (alleged) sexual e
“Darling Companion” sounds like the title of an Oxygen or Lifetime TV movie. Unfortunately, though it’s directed by Lawrence Kasdan (“The Big Chill”) and features a slew of stars, it also plays li
The “Wolverine: The Animated Series” is part of a project to introduce western Marvel characters to the Japanese audience with tailored animation towards traditional anime. Iron Man, X-Men and Bla
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
If you've ever read a book by Nicholas Sparks or seen a movie adaptation of any of his works, you know the formula. Sparks is a romance writer who struck it big in the literary world with "The Noteboo
There are so many heartbreaking moments in “A Separation” (2012) that it would be difficult to write about all of them in this review. But one scene that specifically stayed with me came in the film’s
“Quick” is a new super-charged action film from Korean director Beom-gu Cho who also wrote the screenplay...eh…or should I say plot. There is a speedy action-filled prologue introducing the main
TV and film adaptations of successful children’s books can be dicey. What makes for a good read sometimes doesn’t make for compelling film or TV show. Things have to be changed, things have to be cut,
I doubt many critics would offer “Rosetta” (1999) as a prime example of Hollywood-style filmmaking, but in some ways the title heroine is the perfect embodiment of textbook screenwriting advice. Film
"For those about to rock, I salute you. " *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Tim provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Pa
There is one moment in “La promesse” (1996) that I will never forget. Fourteen year-old Igor (Jérémie Renier) assists his father Roger (Olivier Gourmet) in the family business, which involves maintai
“Glee” is a musical soap opera, and Season 3 features the series’ trademark near-nonstop performance numbers and plenty of suds. How soapy? Three screen minutes hardly pass before one character i
The Golden Age of Disney animation is associated with Walt Disney and the “Nine Old Men” who animated and directed the studios features during the early years. Disney died in 1966, four years before “
I was hesitant to pop in the 35th Anniversary Edition of “The Rescuers,” because, as fans of the 1977 Disney animated film know, it’s always been a little rough-looking: heavy grain, indistinct ed
"In loving memory of Kim Jong-il" I enjoyed Sacha Baron Cohen's voice characterizations in the "Madagascar" cartoons and his performance as the station inspector in Martin Scorcese's "Hugo. " I never
Though a pirate-lover, I’ll confess that I never got into Talk Like a Pirate Day. But give me Errol Flynn as “Captain Blood,” Burt Lancaster as “The Crimson Pirate,” or more recently the listing port-
The New York Post called it “Toddlers & Tiaras” meets “Real Housewives,” which normally would be enough to send me running in the opposite direction, rather than watch the Lifetime reality series **“[
Jean Renoir’s “La Grande Illusion,” a.k.a “Grand Illusion” (1937), is hailed by film critics as one of the greatest films ever made, also appearing in the all-time top-ten French films list. By the ti
You had to know that one day America’s community colleges would provide the fodder for a TV sitcom. Filled with “non-traditional students”—that is, not your newly minted high school grads who see four
“Bernie” is a curious film. Based on a real murder story, it’s a blend of mockumentary and dark comedy, with Jack Black playing assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede, who ingratiated himself wit
A limpet, as you probably know, is an undersea mollusk, a small, gilled snail that clings to the rocks in fresh or salt water. It's an apt name for the main character in 1963's "The Incredible Mr. Lim
After watching “Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure,” I found myself both admiring this sequel and noting things about it that are peculiar to sequels and TV animation. That leaves me torn be
Ben Wheatley is a relatively new talent in Britain in the last several years who has a focus on gritty crime stories. His first feature film was “Down Terrace” which was a crime picture with a similar
There seem to me three levels of Disney animation: the feature films, the TV-style full-length movies and sequels, and animated versions of the A.A. Milne beloved books for children. The latter, in Di
In my This Week column I wondered whether it was worth the upgrade to go for the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray of “Spaceballs,” and after watching the movie and the bonus features I’m thinking probably
Five animated Disney features come to Blu-ray on August 21, with the most high-profile being “Pocahontas,” which is being marketed in a 2-Movie
Baby Boomers will fondly recall Disney’s True-Life Adventures, a series of short films and full-length features that introduced viewers to the seals of “Seal Island” (1948), the beavers of “Beaver Val
You like old movies? You like mysteries? You like comedy? You like British football? You get it all in this 1939 British comedy-mystery set in the milieu of British football. Sure, it's dated and not
Like anything else, in cinema when you start with a good idea, it’s hard to go TOO wrong. A professional hit man going back to his high school reunion? It’s the ultimate fish-out-of-water comedy premi
I completely forgot that the original “Total Recall” (1990) is still so much fun, until I watched the latest “Total Recall” (2012). The new remake is a very serious, “blast-them-all” ride, lacking cha
Fun, but fluffy . . . and flakey. That is, “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” is a lot like Romy (Mia Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow)—two twentysomething Valley Girls who think that life
Cyrano de Bergerac was a real French dramatist whose exploits inspired Edmond Rostand to write an 1897 play that made de Bergerac forever famous. Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of the story of this
When Movie Met was still DVD Town, several people emailed to tell us that they thought we shouldn’t bother reviewing old movies, because people know them well enough; rather, we should concentrate on
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since “Adventures in Babysitting” played in theaters—that is, until you look at the fashions. It’s pure ‘80s, in all its poofy-haired, shoulder-padded
While a lot of fans consider "Full Metal Jacket" one of the best war movies of all time, if not thebest, I have never been fully able to reconcile the more routine action of its second half with the
Whitney Houston shines in her most underrated film, a 1996 remake of “The Bishop’s Wife” directed by Penny Marshall (“A League of Their Own,” “Big”). If you check out the Internet Movie Database (imdb
The Three Stooges were and remain a cultural institution, despite every generation having the same debate about whether all the eye-poking, head-sawing, and physical abuse produce laughs at some socia
The History Channel made history this year with “Hatfields & McCoys,” a three-part miniseries that earned 16 prime time Emmy nominations—a record for History Channel productions. Part 1 drew an au
By the time Gainsborough Pictures released "Fanny by Gaslight" to most of the world in 1945, audiences had already seen at least two movies with "Fanny" in the title and several more with "Gaslight" i
Director Kang Je-gyu had taken off sevem years since his last attempt at an epic war film, “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War,” which people had dubbed “the Korean 'Saving Private Ryan,'” with the st
“Ultimate simplicity leads to purity” --Yamato, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” There is a famous saying in India: “Work is Worship,” which is well applicable to the main protagonist in the documentary “Jiro
“Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” opens with a story told in the manner of a fairy tale, accompanied by simple artwork in the style of a child's picture book. The story is about a nearby
Dr. Wheeler "likes to do things her own way. " I don't know about you, but I love conspiracy theories. I mean, wouldn't it be cool if the government really did recover space-alien bodies at Roswell,
Odds are, if you enjoy British movies (or movies in general, for that matter), you'll recognize the name Carol Reed. He's the director who gave us "The Third Man," "Odd Man Out," "Our Man in Havana,"
Only the Mets could end a historic no-hitter drought with a one-hitter. For years, baseball fans grew up hearing that there were only two franchises that had never tossed a no-hitter: the Mets and th
“Down By Law” (1986) begins with a shot of a mausoleum, and with a few vintage Jarmuschian lateral tracking shots through the deserted streets of New Orleans, eventually settles on a set of characters
Eclipse Series 34; Jean Grémillon During the Occupation includes three films: “Remorques” (1941), “ Lumière d'été” (1943), and “ Le ciel est à vous” (1944). When people say “I don't get it” in resp
**"You know the French film ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'? When I first heard the title, I thought ‘Finally someone's gonna tell the truth about the bourgeoisie!' What a disappointment. " -
"Let's show the world we can dance Bad enough to strut our stuff" -"Shake Your Groove Thing," Peaches & Herb Movies like "Anchorman" and TV shows like "That 70's Show" use their 70's-era settings
Peter Sellers began his career on stage in the late Forties, moved to radio, then to small roles in motion pictures, ever bigger roles in smaller films, and finally full-fledged stardom by the early 1
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's film begins at dusk with a fire-breathing dragon that turns out to be a car skirting along a dirt road, its sunset-orange headlights scattered and distended into a tail-shape by pl
If you grew up anywhere in the civilized world, you probably played Clue (or Cluedo outside of North America) at some point in your life; maybe you still play it. Along with things like Monopoly, Scra
I recently watched the documentary called "The Elephant in the Living Room," which was about people who keep exotic (and possibly dangerous) animals in their homes as pets. It dealt mostly with a man
“God Bless America” (2011) starts with a pulsating opening sequence. In these scenes, the main protagonist, Frank (Joel Murray), enters a house with a shotgun and goes on a shooting spree, killing a f
"Some of these tank trips can get pretty creepy. " --Bob Balaban If you can forget for a minute all of its pretentious ideas and scientific nonsense, 1980's "Altered States" provides some dazzling vi
In 1973, “Pink Floyd” released their record-breaking achievement, “Dark Side of the Moon.” It went on to sell approximately 34,000,000 copies worldwide, and the album is listed in the “Guinness Book o
"Talking pictures? That means I'm out of a job. At last I can start suffering and write that symphony. " Some people consider "Singin' in the Rain" the greatest musical ever made, and it isn't just t
For Sean Connery there was, indeed, life after Bond. For most Bond actors this has not always been the case, Daniel Craig possibly excepted. But for Connery, he went on to do any number of notable fi
Except for a dog and a vulture, the animals in “Home on the Range” look nothing like Disney characters, drawn in a more angular style and with harsher details. And the overall look of the backgrou
Some movies seem perfectly suited for high-definition Blu-ray treatment. Take, for instance, "Spawn. " This 1997 adaptation of Todd McFarlane's popular comic-book character may have a befuddled story
Tomorrowland may be a success at the theme parks, but Disney hasn’t had much luck venturing into animated space. Apart from “Lilo and Stitch,” which was as all about Hawaii except for a few visiting a
Unless you’re a sucker for scenery—and as John J. Puccio pointed out in his DVD review, “Under the Tuscan Sun” is gorgeous to watch—you’l
My daughter loves dogs, but like a lot of people since “Marley & Me” she’s skittish around new dog movies, afraid that she’ll invest her time and emotions only to have to watch the cute little thing d
*The following review covers the Criterion releases of two films directed by Steven Soderbergh and featuring the monologist Spalding Gray: “Gray's Anatomy” (1997) and “And Everything is Going Fine” (2
*The following review covers the Criterion releases of two films directed by Steven Soderbergh and featuring the monologist Spalding Gray: “Gray's Anatomy” (1997) and “And Everything is Going Fine” (2
A lot of viewers may think that the 2011 Oscar winner for Best Picture, "The Artist," was a remarkably innovative achievement because its filmmakers made it look like an old, black-and-white silent pr
Like “A River Runs through It,” this Lasse Hallström film incorporates fishing as metaphor, with shots of salmon, the river, and fly-fishing running intermittently through the narrative so that it bec
Like the genre itself—indie comedies—the title will repel some people and attract others. I was intrigued, especially given the cover art and the premise. This one’s about a test-tube-baby genius who
"Oh, how I've missed you, Holmes. " Any fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes who somehow missed the first of director Guy Ritchie's movies about the man will probably g
“Fractale” tells the story of a boy named Clain Necran who lives alone on a small, sparsely populated island. His only company is a pair of “Doppels,” a sort of virtual reality hologram projection con
Paul Newman received eight Best Actor Oscar nominations over the course of his illustrious career, winning only once. He wasn’t recognized for memorable performances in “Cool Hand Luke” or “The Hustle
Richard Hannay is a remarkably adaptable fellow. After enjoying a night at the music hall, he thinks he has received an unexpected bonus when an exotic young beauty asks to go back to his London flat.
It’s probably an overstatement to call it a “phobia,” but I’m fearful of small-budget romantic comedies. The cover packaging almost always looks as if it were shot by the same guy who poses high schoo
Based on the novel by Julia Leigh, writer-director Daniel Nettheim presents “The Hunter” (2011) as one man’s journey in the Australian landscape. While the film’s title might suggest some sort of a hu
"Make love? But no one's done that for hundreds of centuries. " "In some things, the old-fashioned ways are best, after all. " Austin Powers, eat your heart out: 1968's "Barbarella" was satirizing th
“Mirror Mirror” is a strange film, and not in a “Big Fish” way. It’s as if director Tarsem Singh (“Immortals”) couldn’t decide whether to go with indie quirkiness, tongue-in-cheek comedy, revision
The year America turned 200 was the last time prior to **“The Artist”**that a mostly silent film—Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie”—was featured in a major theatrical release. But the bigger milestone is that
Film may be the ultimate mausoleum, preserving our celluloid heroes as fixed memories for generations, but Hollywood has seldom valued its history unless it's bankable. Who has time for yesterday unle
“Evita” has more in common with an opera than it does a movie musical. Apart from a few words scattered here and there, no one has any dialogue that isn’t sung, rather than spoken. For film audien
"Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything. " --Burt Reynolds, "Deliverance" Dueling banjos? Dueling heroes? Dueling villains? Dueling themes? Dueling scenery? One can enjoy Jo
I had never heard of**“Newsies,”**and since it’s a Disney live-action musical, that’s no small thing. As it turns out, the 1992 offering was the first feature-length film directed by Kenny Ortega (“Hi
The difference between “formulaic” and “contrived” is often the difference between a light comedy and its sequel. That’s certainly the case with “Sister Act” and **“Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
I was never a fan of TV’s “21 Jump Street” because I was way older than the target audience—so I came to the 2012 action-comedy with a fresh pair of eyes and no expectations. Well, other than having s
“A Bag of Hammers” is a 2011 dramedy that’s indie through and through. The characters and situations are quirky, the dialogue is smart (or at least it tries to be), the soundtrack is alternate roc
First, a brief history of the ups and downs of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy. After becoming a star on "Saturday Night Live" i
I am as far from an expert as you can get, but I have always thought of the banjo as an instrument that can never sound contemporary. I suspect this was just as true in, say, 1940, as it is today. Eve
Dr. Harvey Karp and The Happiest Baby, Inc. have just rereleased DVDs of “The Happiest Baby on the Block” and “The Happiest Toddler on the Block”—both based on bestselling books by the same na
After 2010's "Clash of the Titans," audiences waited with bated breath and peeled eyeballs for the appearance of its sequel, 2012's "Wrath of Titans. " Now that the wait is over and the film has compl
“Meatballs” (1979) occupies a special place in the comedy genre for a couple of reason. First and foremost, the film launched the big-screen careers of director Ivan Reitman (“Stripes” and “Ghostbuste
"Everyone and everything is interconnected in this universe. Stay pure of heart and you will see the signs. Follow the signs, and you will uncover your destiny. " --Jeff Understand, 2011's "Jeff, Who
I suspect I have become too jaded (or perhaps the correct word is traumatized) by decades of American indie quirk and its army of eccentric china doll outsiders heroically refusing to shatter under th
The best thing about 2012's "Project X": It's only eighty-eight minutes long. The second best thing about "Project X": Even if you watch the extended cut, it's only ninety-four minutes. The worst th
Criterion's Blu-ray release of Charlie Chaplin's “The Gold Rush” includes both the original 1925 silent film, and the 1942 re-release with full score (by Chaplin) and added narration (by Chaplin). Bel
Men in the pre-Internet era sure were desperate for porn. Exploitation master Kroger Babb was keenly aware of that fact when he bought the rights (well, sort of) to a film by a still relatively unknow
“If you can't trust your friends, well what then?” Danny Boyle is best known today for shooting award-winning, feature-length Nike commercials, but he began his film career with this award-winning, f
Before there was "Love Story" with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal from 1970, there was...wait for it... "Love Story" from 1944. Well, OK, there have been almost three dozen movies titled "Love Story" fro
The history of television is full of novelty sitcoms, like “My Mother the Car” (about a man’s dead mother who comes back as an automobile), “My Favorite Martian” (about a Martian who rooms with an Ear
If anything, I suspect that Robert Greenwald's new documentary “Koch Brothers Exposed” (2012) undersells the sheer vileness of the scions of wealth who have leveraged a nearly unparalleled stash of pr
There are so many TV shows that, especially if you don’t have pay cable, it’s tough to keep up. Somehow I’ve managed to miss “Entourage,” the HBO series that’s loosely based on the early Hollywood yea
Like “Schindler’s List” (1993),**“In Darkness”**tells the story of a gentile who saves a number of Jews from the Nazi holocaust. But while O
“Franklin & Bash” was promoted in the UK as “’Ally McBeal’ with balls,” and I think that’s fair. Like the popular late ‘90s series, this one is a comedy-drama involving lawyers whose antics are ju
"You're a f...ing crazy man! " "And that's a fact. I believe you're getting the hang of this. " Maybe the ironic title says it all: There is no such thing as "A Perfect World. " Clint Eastwood co-sta
I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to write this review, but the devil made me do it. When “Ghost Rider” (2007) cruised onto Blu-ray, I gave it a good [review](http://moviemet.com/review/ghost-rider-blu-r
Stories of underdogs in the sports genre are nothing new for Hollywood. Since sports movies date back to the silent era, the list of sport movies is growing every year, making the stories more familia
ommy Lee Jones is one of those well-known actors who possesses a ton of talent and charisma and has made a boatload of movies. Yet I'm betting you know him best from his co-starring roles in "The Fugi
As I watched “Chicago in Chicago,” a sold-out concert recorded in 2010 at the Charter One Pavilion in the city where the group formed, I was struck by the fact that the musical group Chicago has had a
I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to write this review, but the devil made me do it. When “Ghost Rider” (2007) cruised onto Blu-ray, I gave it a good [review](http://moviemet.com/review/ghost-rider-blu-r
"Princess Jellyfish" is based on a comic aimed at adult women by Akiko Higashimura. There are 9 volumes of the series out in Japan, the first 4 of which have been used to create this delightful animat
Note: No spoilers in this review. Only description of the tone and mood of the movie. I need to set a few ground rules. First, I'm not a reviewer. I'm the Editor-in-Chief and I'm a programmer.
I’m a sucker for all things medieval. That period in history fascinates me as much as the Roman Empire or the Wild West. Knights, ladies, castles, codes of honor, jousts . . . it’s all so essentially
In the Sixties, Mad Magazine debuted a Cold War version of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, but with a pair of coyotes. “Spy vs. Spy” featured one spy in white and the other, identically
“I'm not gonna rock the boat. Rockin' the boat's a drag. What you do is sink the boat!” - Putney Swope I took several pages of notes while staying “Up All Night” with these five films by Robert Downe
The premise of “Albert Nobbs” (2011) tells a touching tale of a woman, who has disguised herself as a man Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) for the last thirty years. Albert works as a hotel waiter in Dublin
Here’s a simple quiz: You’re at the multi-plex and three movies are playing. Which one are you apt to see, based on the title alone? a) "A Princess of Mars" b) "John Carter, Warlord of Mars" c) "John
Just when you thought Disney missed the royal barge by pitching “The Princess Diaries”(2001) to an audience a little older than the ones snapping up all those princess toys and accessories, along
Curiously, this past decade the entertainment industry seems to have been gripped by an Armageddon and post-Apocalyptic fever that almost rivals the Cold War atmosphere I experienced growing up. But i
"Crazy? You want to see crazy? " "Lethal Weapon" fans will no doubt be delighted to see the whole series in one, big, high-definition, Blu-ray package, with a slew of extras besides. Let's look at al
Abbas Kiarostami's Tuscan sun-dappled enigma is the cinematic gift that is going to keep on giving for decades. When the renowned Iranian director announced plans to shoot his first film outside of h
"What was that? " "It's a scary noise in a dark cave. Keep moving. " The question you're probably wondering is, Why is there a "2" in the title? Is it a sequel? Well, not exactly. It's more of a, sor
One of my numerous shortcomings as a film viewer is a severely limited tolerance for films featuring hyper-macho, confrontational characters. I'm certain “Goodfellas” is a masterpiece, but the constan
Only God in Heaven could create a physical beauty as breathtakingly stunning as French actress Emmanuelle Beart's. Depressingly, Beart's first American film was the hellish disaster "Date With an Ange
Bollywood cinema has changed a lot for the better in the last decade or so, partly due to the arrival of new filmmakers willing to break the conventional Bollywood format and style for more substance
In 1939, “Stagecoach” became the first so-called “adult” Western, bringing a new kind of complexity and seriousness to a genre that had mostly wallowed in B-movie Gulch. But it took television a while
You do not feel guilty when you squash a fly . . . and I think that means something. We’ve all played this game. What if you could have ONE super power, which one would you choose? And who hasn’t,
The following is a review of Criterion's May 2012 Blu-ray release of “Being John Malkovich.” The main body of the review was written by John Puccio for the 2000 SD release by Polygram USA. Christopher
In 2003, Steve Martin and Queen Latifah made their only film together: “Bringing Down the House,” which, if you can believe the box blurbs, Larry King said is “one of the funniest movies ever.”
Steve Martin fans can create some space on their shelves with the purchase of the 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of “Father of the Bride,” because the three-disc set includes “Father of the Bride” a
In 1989, British audiences saw a made-for TV movie about a young solicitor (lawyer) who was sent to a tiny, isolated village on the salt marshes to settle the estate of a childless woman who had recen
The opening titles of “La terra trema” (“The Earth Will Tremble”, 1948) declare that the film takes place in the Sicilian fishing village of Aci Trezza, but that its events occur anywhere that “men ex
Bear with me for the teensiest of spoilers. There's a wonderfully quiet moment in the generally loud blockbuster “The Avengers” that sticks in my memory. Preparing to fight with the Hulk, Thor (Chris
The opening shot of “Haywire” (2012) introduces us to the main protagonist, Mallory Kane (Gina Carano), in a laid-back manner. The camera stays firmly focused on Mallory as she tries to closely inspec
I grew up on Westerns, so it doesn’t take much to hook me. But people under 50—those who can’t remember when Westerns ruled television and box-office cowboys rode off with big gate receipts—apparently
On numerous occasions Norman Mailer told interviewers that Hemingway was a big influence. That’s clear in the writing, but especially obvious from his lifestyle. Born 24 years after the burly, bombast
"I bet you a magnum of champagne to ten cigarettes I do escape. " Here's one that's well titled: Not only does "The One That Got Away" aptly describe the film's contents, but it says something about
Unlike many fantasy series, the “Underworld” franchise isn’t based on novels or comic books. It comes straight from the minds of screenwriters Len Wiseman, Kevin Grevious, Danny McBride, and John Hlav
Margaret Thatcher’s place in history is secure. With 11.5 years in office, her time as Britain’s prime minister was the longest of the 20th century. She’s also the only woman ever to hold the position
If you looked up the term “minimalism” in a film dictionary, you would almost certainly see a still of a low-angle 50 mm lens shot from any of Yasujiro Ozu's 30+ surviving films as illustration. But t
From YA Entertainment comes a Korean drama that I had looked forward to seeing for a long time - the romantic comedy, “Lie to Me.” Gong Ah-Jung is a smart, confident career woman who is good at her j
When my wife and I first saw "Nosferatu the Vampyre" in a theater, a man behind us said to his companion, "I can't believe this movie; it's just like every other "Dracula" I've ever seen. " No, I want
The Czech New Wave was a an unlikely flowering that yielded a colorful and variegated bloom despite having its roots in seemingly infertile soil. Of course, Communist state-run film programs have prod
*"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound
Director Ti West’s “The House of the Devil” (2009) made him a fan favorite in the horror genre. Although the film offers nothing new to the genre, it was praised for creating horror elements from real
I don’t get it. “Men in Black II” had a bigger budget than the original 1997 film. Barry Sonnenfeld was onboard to direct again, and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones signed on to repeat as agents L
Never have so many people done so little of substance for something no better than its predecessor. You remember 2010's romantic comedy "Valentine's Day"? It was the sudsy ensemble movie from directo
"¡Alambrista!” (1977) is such an immersive experience that its abrupt narrative ruptures really pack an emotional wallop. The opening shot of water flowing through an irrigation ditch plunks us right
In his DVD review, Movie Met’s John J. Puccio noted that **“Men in Black”**was among the funniest movies of the ‘90s—so popular that it became the hi
The Wisconsin Film Festival features a wide variety of feature-length films from different countries, allowing moviegoers to sample films from many genres. This year was no different than previous yea
Director Mario Monicelli said that he liked to tell stories about a group of people who reached beyond their means and failed in the process. Comedy predicated on such a premise usually invites viewer
I visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) when I was in South Korea last November, and it was a strange experience. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war, since the Korean War ended
The Wisconsin Film Festival features a wide variety of feature-length films from different countries, allowing moviegoers to sample films from many genres. This year was no different than previous yea
DreamWorks no doubt transferred director's Todd Phillips's 2000 comedy "Road Trip" to Blu-ray because of the enormous popularity of his later comedy "The Hangover. " With so many better films in the D
I have not read The Loop, a novel by Joe Coomer that was named a New York Times Notable Book. I have seen the movie it was based on, though, and I can report that “A Bird of the Air” is not a notabl
It was the largest ship of its time, carrying 2,223 passengers and crew on its now-infamous maiden voyage. But she was fitted with only 20 lifeboats, and because of low fills and confusion just 710 pe
Sometimes I wonder if there really is someone out there writing the jokes. In 2003, a guy named Chris Moneymaker made a lot of money from other people at the World Series of Poker. And in 2008, a guy
"You just never know who's gonna walk through this door. " It would be redundant, I'm sure, to call 2009's "Thor at the Bus Stop" a quirky, little, low-budget independent film. I mean, "quirky," "lit
For a time, everything that producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg touched turned to gold. Seventies' gold—which makes it open-shirt, heavy-link, neck-chain gold, meaning Spelling and Goldberg
This is an odd one, and I'm guessing that most viewers who see it fall into one of two diametrically opposed camps. On the one hand, you've got those folks who love it, cherish it, find it adorable, h
If I were making a movie that was in any way derivative, I’d try to camouflage the fact. But Music Box decided to capitalize on the association, changing the original title (“Goethe!”) to **“Young Goe
The instant that David Freese lofted a triple over the flailing glove of a stumble-drunk Nelson Cruz to tie the game in the ninth, all was revealed to me. The Cardinals were going to win the World Ser
A skeptic might wonder if asking a group of influential contemporary economists to explain what went wrong in the financial crisis is akin to asking a group of MTV programming execs why pop music star
*Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and his colleague Justin Cleveland provide their opinions of the movie, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts
"Guys, what exactly does third base feel like? " "Like warm apple pie. " Universal's "American Pie" was meant as a throwback to the raunchy teen comedies of the 80's, specifically films like "Por
On April 24, Sony will release DVDs of two anime TV series starring Marvel heroes: X-Men” and “Iron Man,” the latter a 2010 12-episode continuing storyline about Tony Stark’s expansion into Japan
George Clooney recently joked that the pressure is off him to do nudity, now that Michael Fassbender is working. We’re not five minutes into “Shame” before Fassbender’s big swinging dick—there’s
"Each evening from December to December Before you drift to sleep upon your cot, Think back on all the tales that you remember Of Camelot. " The knock on "Camelot" when it first came out in 1967, and
I'm old school when it comes to my “Sesame Street,” and I'll go to my grave believing that Elmo is a punk. Kevin Clash, however, is definitely not a punk, not one bit. Kevin Clash is a dreamer, a tale
“At least use the conjunctive form!” (Silence) “I capitulate. Then write it as you see fit.” Yes, you can expect such fireworks and more in “Literary Translators Gone Wild!” AKA “The Wo
James Mangold’s “Kate & Leopold” (2001) offers something new, at least in its attempt of not adopting a formulaic romantic approach seen countless times now. The idea of time travel is nothing new in
It took awhile for “Dark Shadows” to pick up a head of steam. When it was first introduced into the 1966 ABC daytime television line-up, “Dark Shadows” was all about Victoria Winters (Alexandra Mo
“Why does God allow capital punishment?” – Werner Herzog, “Into the Abyss” Director-screenwriter Werner Herzog certainly knows how to produce realistic emotions from his characters. This becomes appa
Time constraints prevent from taking an in-depth look at this hefty new set from the Criterion Collection, but even the basic details should pique the interest of most film buffs. The early days of B
Hello Wisconsin! I can’t vouch for the other seven seasons, but “That ‘70s Show: Season 1” is the best TV show I’ve seen that didn’t crack the Nielsen Top 30. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, the charact
"Stella! Hey, Stella! Hey, Steeelllaaaaaaa! " A lot of viewers today probably forget that the Academy nominated WB's 1951 film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" for twelve Oscars, winning four. T
Winch. Largo Winch. It might not have the same cachet, but this 2008 French film features the same kind of hero, plot, exotic locations, femme fatales, exaggerated action sequences—even music—as th
“I expected it to be more about animals.” My wife said it, but we were all thinking it. Though the family agreed that “We Bought a Zoo” was a solid film, it also felt like a California version of “Th
“Nobody’s been through what we’ve been through . . . not since the San Francisco earthquake.” “Everyone in this frickin’ city is on painkillers or booze.” “Depressed? Angry? Anxious? Aren’t we all.”
No, it's not a music video of the old Steppenwolf song. "Born to Be Wild" is a brief (forty-one minute), 2011 nature study, primarily intended for youngsters and originally shot and released for theat
I have long since moved from lapsed Catholic to atheist, but twelve years of Catholic education (no horror stories here; it was great) guarantees that the image of Christ on the cross has a special re
I’m not here to put down James Cameron’s “Titanic” (1997). It is a well-written, well-acted soap opera that openly and honestly tugs on the viewer’s heartstrings, and its leviathan success at the box
Once it gets its motor revved up, “The War Room” rockets along at such breakneck speed that it’s difficult even to find a logical place on the DVD to hit pause for a bathroom break. This might not be
There's something comforting about seeing old, familiar faces in old, familiar roles. That's Clint Eastwood in 2002's "Blood Work," the actor back doing one of the things that appeared most natural fo
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Will comment on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. The Film According to John: "Ask n
Charles Dickens was to Victorian England what Mark Twain was to America—a writer-celebrity whose work was widely read. People may know him primarily for “A Christmas Carol,” but his novels—Bleak House
One of the most-anticipated movies of 2012, “The Hunger Games” finally arrives in theaters, with record box-office receipts for a non-sequel in midnight showings, as well as a record for the highest s
I’ve always wondered about animators and visual effects artists. When they’re on their game, do they resent it when the writing team doesn’t produce at the same level—the way an NFL defense must secre
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. " The American Film Institute voted "Casablanca" the second-best American film ever made. "Entertainment Weekly" gave it
Critics called it “TV junk food,” but this “Happy Days” spin-off really caught on with viewers. Though “Laverne & Shirley” was a mid-season replacement, it still finished #3 in the Nielsen ratings its
"You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything. " You can count the great private-eye flicks on the fingers of o
Steven Spielberg and I are of the same generation, and when we were still wearing shorts and packing cap pistols there were all sorts of horse movies and TV shows to inspire our play. Girls had “Blac
Understand my reasons for allotting 2011's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" the final score I did. I'd give it a 10/10 for having its heart in the right place; a 6/10 for stretching that heart almo
In 1987, Elisabeth Shue starred in “Adventures in Babysitting,” an action-comedy that followed the trajectory of “The Out-of-Towners” and the tone of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” “The Sitter,” whi
First, some interesting trivia. Well, at least this stuff is interesting to me, but I'm easy: "The Bodyguard" got generally dismal reviews when Warners released it in 1992 and then went on to take in
By its nature, film is a visually dynamic medium, carrying power to entertain us, be it a drama, documentary, or an action film. There are different components at work; the mix of visual images with s
English director Gerald Thomas made the first of the "Carry On" comedies, "Carry on Sergeant," in 1958 and continued making them through twenty-nine more motion pictures, ending with "Carry On Columbu
I have great gaps in my education and cultural awareness, as if I’ve been oblivious because of constant texting—and I don’t even own a cell phone! I came to **“Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life”**completely c
Ralph Bakshi specializes in low-budget animation—animation that thumbs its nose at Disney and established filmmaking conventions. My wife walked past as I was screening the 35th Anniversary Edition of
"Seven days. " Note: In the following Blu-ray review John Puccio and Yunda Eddie Feng comment on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Movie Acc
In an opening voiceover, Matt King (George Clooney)—a successful attorney living on Oahu whose great grandfather married Hawaiian royalty, then inherited a huge chunk of island real estate—says that p
What if the stuff your childhood was built on was more than ideas and fantasy, but instead a fairly important component to your protection from evil and all the devastation it brings with it? Dependin
At 158 minutes, David Fincher’s Americanized version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is six minutes longer than the Swedish version but shorter than the sprawling Swedish TV version. I find that
Some people never grow up. You've heard the phrase often enough, and it's among the primary themes in 2011's dark comedy "Young Adult. " Only it isn't a comedy about delayed adolescence in the sense
Has HBO set a new standard in television with its new series “Game of Thrones”? With the huge success of “Six Feet Under,” “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood,” and “Rome,” HBO remained synonymous with the best
Greek mythology is confusing. It can be dizzying trying to trace the lineage and exploits of just one of the gods, demigods, or half-mortal bastards of the gods. So what do writers Charley and Vlas P
“Tooth Fairy 2” is the direct-to-video sequel to “Tooth Fairy” (2010), which starred Dwayne Johnson. And you have to give The Rock credit. He made sure he was busy when they decided to make “Tooth Fai
Penguins were big in 2006 when Warners made their first "Happy Feet" movie. In fact, that earlier movie did so well, it not only earned a ton of money, it won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film o
What do you do to revive a once-proud franchise that’s been on life-support for at least a decade? How do you breathe life into a brand that hasn’t produced anything really respectable since “Muppets
“A Lonely Place to Die” is a high-concept film with a low budget—one that begins like “127 Hours” but turns into “Deliverance. " That
"Great snakes! " We're living in interesting times, indeed, when directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are making 3-D extravaganzas and animated features. Yet such was the case in 2011
It's been fascinating to watch Demi Moore's metamorphosis over the years, from sweet, innocent little thing to full-fledged sexpot. Here, in 1996's "Striptease," she's in all-out hottie mode, aided an
My teenage son wanted to stay up later after the family went to bed, because we had just watched “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride” and he was hot to see “The Lion King 1 ½.” But the movie wasn’t on
Back in 1999, John J. Puccio posted one of the first DVD reviews of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” calling it “one of Python’s wackiest films, while being one of their most wildly uneven, too.
“The Lion King” (1994) had some pretty intense, Bambi’s-mother-got-shot moments that made an otherwise wonderful animated film a bit iffy for smaller children. Not only was one of the character’s pare
The complicated and unhappy life of nurse Jackie continues in the third season of the “Nurse Jackie” series. Before I go any further, I want to highlight that this review is, in fact, for the third se
Pardon me if I get a little choked up, but this is Rainer Werner Fassbinder we’re talking about. The term “force of nature” may be greatly overused, but there’s no better description for the dynamo th
"No means no. Isn't that what we tell women? Do men deserve less? " Uh-oh. It's another Michael Douglas character having trouble with women. You'd think his screen characters would have learned bette
“National Lampoon’s The Legend of Awesomest Maximus” is for people who want to see nudity without the stigma of watching porn, and for those who’d rather suffer through 87 minutes of mostly bad co
Sometime in the late 1700's, during the era when Korea was known as "Josun," a young girl named Yoon-hee struggles to support her mother and ailing younger brother. Unusually well-educated for a girl,
*Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, Yunda Eddie Feng and Dean Winkelspecht join John in providing their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting
There’s only one thing wrong with “The Interrupters”—a 2011 documentary about people who survived their inner city upbringing and are now trying to help others do the same by “interrupting” before
"Why would my key fit into your father's machine? " Because I go to the movies almost every week, I see a lot of trailers. It seemed as though I watched the preview for 2011's "Hugo" about 800 times
In an essay in the Criterion booklet for “Vanya on 42nd Street,” author Steven Vineberg writes: “the project… strips down Chekhov’s late-nineteenth century story (“Uncle Vanya”) about Russian intellec
He is not an outlaw; he is...the most interesting cat in the world! If you loved him in "Shrek" 2, 3, and 4, you'll probably love him even more in this 2011 animation devoted entirely to that charmin
One I’ll soon be a grandpa All the pretty girls will call me “sir” Now, where they’re asking me how things are Soon they’ll ask me how things were I thought of those lyrics by Jimmy Buffett as I wa
Most people know about Pol Pot’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Vietnamese sympathizers because of the 1984 war drama “The Killing Fields.” Most Cambodians, we get the feeling from this new documen
I have been known to say that the courtroom is the place that good movies go to die, but even if you find the theatrics of the American jurisprudence system as appealing as a Nancy Grace marathon, Ott
"I've always been lucky when it comes to killing folks. " --William Munny *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray Book review, both John and Jim provide their opinion of the film, with John also writin
Since Mary Shelley’s cautionary novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was published anonymously in 1818, there have been count
I’ve lost track of where we are in the “Is it a documentary?” debate. Does Werner Herzog still need to take up arms against the actuality-shackled “accountants” of direct cinema, or do his ecstatic wa
"Information is power. " In the past few decades, Clint Eastwood has become one of America's finest directors, and I admit I'm a big fan of his movies. Early on he became a Hollywood icon as a movie
“Hazel” was a half-hour situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1961 to September 1965. Hazel Burke (Shirley Booth) was a live-in maid and housekeeper who has been a part of George Baxte
Wikipedia lists about 420 full-feature TV shows and films capturing the plays and life of Shakespeare, making him one of the most-filmed author of all time. So why is Shakespeare so important? And why
Is there life after “Zorro”? Surely there must be, but Catherine Zeta-Jones hasn’t managed to find it since clashing swords with Antonio Banderas in two tongue-and-cheek action films. “No Reservations
You just want to slap the handsome right off of Alain Delon's ridiculously flawless face. The 24-year old star of “Purple Noon” (1960) is a walking special effect who no doubt had a very special effec
“Manhattan”(1979) was Woody Allen’s comedic follow-up to “Annie Hall” (1977), with his drama “Interiors” wedged in-between. In “Manhattan,” Allen has more to say about people, relationships, and h
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, Yunda Eddie Feng joins John in commenting on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. "The fault is not in ou
“5 Star Day” is an indie film, and it shows. All the earmarks are here: the peppy and fun indie music soundtrack, the long takes featuring characters in interestingly framed settings, the smart or wan
In the 1970’s, rock music was literally riding the waves of an epic foundation. Most bands delivered the core sounds that would influence, shape, and mold the music that followed in its tracks. For th
"The life that I have is all that I have, The life that I have is yours. The love that I have of the life that I have, Is yours and yours and yours. " Audiences seem to love stories based on real p
It’s always the way, isn’t it? When one sibling shines, the shadow all but enshrouds the other. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born into a musical family in which his sister, five years older than he, w
When “Some Like It Hot” was such a critical and popular success in 1959—snagging six Oscar nominations and winning Best Costume Design while charming audiences with the trio of Marilyn Monroe and Jack
Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Woody Allen Film Ever. That’s four Oscars . . . and the general consensus. “Annie Hall” remains as glib, intellectual
“The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975” sounds like a rap album, but it’s really a rap sheet on the U.S., summarizing the abuses and prejudices heaped on African Americans during those years as descr
Alfred Hitchcock has a reputation for three things: style, suspense, and his distinctive profile, which turns up in cameo in every film. His 1946 film **“Notorious”**also has a reputation for three th
American audiences (and most others too, I suspect) have probably seen as many “revisionist” samurai films as classical ones, so de-romanticized portraits that undercut the myth of the honorable warri
There is an interesting interview segment with Paul Schrader on the Blu-ray edition of “Tiny Furniture” (2010). In this interview, Schrader discusses how “Tiny Furniture” fits into a new form of indie
Anyone who grew up buying baseball cards remembers that special thrill of the unknown with each fresh pack. The mystery of the wrapper had an allure that exceeded the actual contents of the pack. The
“The Mighty Macs” sounds a little like “The Mighty Ducks,” which is unfortunate, because viewers might think they’re getting another lovable loser sports comedy like “The Bad News Bears.” But this
The “Buddies” live-action talking dog movies are Disney’s biggest direct-to-video moneymaker. “Air Buddies”—a puppy version of the popular “Air Bud” series—was launched in 2006. “Snow Buddies” followe
“You’re very lucky to be miserable.” – Alvy Singer to Annie Hall Even at 194 minutes, Robert B. Weide’s documentary can’t claim to provide a comprehensive view of the career of one of America’s most
In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, and since then over 500 Oregonians have chosen to end their lives under a law that remains controversial nearly two decad
A gangster, “A,” tells a person, “B,” that he is not happy with another gangster “C,” and that person, “C,” is not happy with a gangster “D.” The gangster “D” kills a gang member, “E,” and later finds
Like most films about politics, “The Ides of March”—named for the day Julius Caesar was assassinated by his friend, Brutus, and other dissidents—is more the result of observation and compositing t
My fondest childhood memories of playing Monopoly revolve around two key phases of the game. First, there was the selection of which token to play; I always wanted to be the dog, but if mom picked fir
Cast Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson in a movie and you’re setting the audience up for what they expect will be a riotous comedy. And “The Big Year” could have been. Birding as a subject has
*I originally wrote this review for the 2007 SD release of “La Jetée” and “Sans Soleil.” The Video, Audio, Extras, and Film Value section have been re-written for the 2012 Blu-ray re-release by Criter
The faces may be new, but not the concept. **“Geek Charming”**is an opposites-attract story set in high school and starring Sarah Hyland (“Modern Family”) and Matt Prokop (“High School Musical 3”). It
“Downton Abbey” won an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries and a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series. But it didn’t win a top-series BAFTA Award, which is ironic, considering that this British series be
Why is the rum always gone? Johnny Depp, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” “It’s bullshit, isn’t it?” Johnny Depp, “The Rum Diary” But in “The Rum Diary,” Depp’s chara
First, we watched the boys go to White Castle, and later we saw them escape from Guantanamo Bay. Now, we're treated to their madcap escapades around the holidays. "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas" fro
The Costa Concordia was a cruise ship named to signify the hope of “continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations.” With its thirteen decks each named for a different European nation,
When trouble is near, I am not slow, It’s up up up, and away I go! Powered by the milquetoast voice of 98-pound weakling Wally Cox, “Underdog” flew onto NBC’s animated Saturday morning line-up on O
A biopic is normally a tricky affair to produce. It is easy to get off track and lose sight of expected objectives. A biopic, the way I see it, represents a character study of a person who has left a
"Ga-Rei-Zero" explores the relationship between two girls who are not related by blood, but who are as close as sisters. When betrayal and tragedy befall them, it is the strength of their bond that wi
This is the night, it’s a beautiful night, and we call it bella notte . . . . It turns out that one of the greatest animated love stories of all time was a December/May romance. In one of the bonus
Why is the rum always gone? Johnny Depp, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” “It’s bullshit, isn’t it?” Johnny Depp, “The Rum Diary” But in “The Rum Diary,” Depp’s chara
**Eclipse Series 31: Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin includes three films by the director: “Poto and Cabengo,” “Routine Pleasures,” and “My Crasy Life,” all three of which are reviewed below.
I thinks it’s safe to say anytime a conversation arises concerning epic pop and rock bands of the 1960’s, The Doors are sure to come up at some point. Granted, the five multi-platinum records The Door
In a far off distant future, in a far off distant galaxy, a motley collection of humans and aliens gather to take part in one of the craziest, most dangerous events ever imagined. It is the Redline, a
New Jersey has gotten a lot of TV exposure over the last decade, and I wouldn’t exactly call it positive. Whether you’ve watched the mob action of “The Sopranos,” the ready-to-rumble “Real Housewives
“Designing Women” peaked its fifth season, finishing #6 in the Nielsen ratings behind “Roseanne,” “Murphy Brown,” “Cheers” and “Home Improvement” (tie). And it’s worth noting that three of the top
*"Bring me my Bow of burning gold: Bring me my Arrows of desire: Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my Chariot of Fire. I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my han
There’s one thing I can say about every bullfighting movie I’ve seen: I’m always rooting for the bull. I don’t know if director Francesco Rosi considered this possibility when he made “The Moment of
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray Book review, Yunda Eddie Feng joins John in commenting on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, and Extras. The Film According to John: Cont
Over the years, I have developed a love-hate relationship with “The English Patient” (1996). On one hand, I appreciate its epic grandeur and opulent images, but on the other hand, its characters leave
Note: In this joint review, John J. Puccio and Justin Cleveland provided their thoughts on the film while William D. Lee reviewed the video, audio, and extras. The Film According to John: Orson
It's probably the film you most love to hate. Or the film you hate to love. It's one of the biggest box-office hits of the 70's. It's one of the biggest romances of all time. It features one of the bi
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about film critics, it’s that they tend to be perverts, and I mean that in the most complimentary manner possible. Some of my best friends are film critics, and they
Jane Campion’s “The Piano” (1993) is a powerful testament to blind passion, bringing in a wave of unexpected consequences for its protagonist, Ada (Holly Hunter). The opening sequence shows Ada with h
Two primetime sitcoms in the Fifties focused on a child in the family: “Leave It to Beaver” (1957) and “Dennis the Menace” (1959). Both series ended in 1963, but “Dennis the Menace,” which was based o
Though Gina Carano is a former MMA fighter and American Gladiator, it would be a stretch to say that she is the real thing if, by real thing, we mean that she’s an actual black-ops super agent capable
“Indian recipes are like ragas” – Akbar, “Today’s Special” I clearly remember the day I clashed with my brother--who is a professional cook and has been a sous chef at several restaurants--about how
Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” (2000) is not my favorite of his films, but watching it again on the occasion of Criterion’s 2012 Blu-ray upgrade, I noticed one marvelous scene that had escaped my atten
Unlike some critics, I don’t have a problem with advocacy films. It’s just that too often advocacy ends up taking the place of aesthetics when filmmakers either try too hard to win converts or else pr
Paramount Pictures, the oldest continuously operating movie studio in Hollywood, celebrates its one-hundredth birthday this year, having opened its doors for business in 1912. In honor of the celebrat
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, Yunda Eddie Feng joins John in commenting on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film According to
You may or may not remember 2007's "Paranormal Activity" or 2010's "Paranormal Activity 2," depending on how interested you were in fake reality shows about ghosts and demons or how patient you were g
Hollywood often tinkers with real-life stories, exaggerating or adding sensational elements to make them more suspenseful as films. But no one had to do much to the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, the form
In his 2006 documentary, director Chris Paine asked, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” His 2011 follow-up shows that the real answer was a Shyamalan-style twist: it was never dead at all. I see… living c
“Real Steel” has all the brainless fun of Rock’em Sock’em Robots and the heart and rousing fight sequences of “Rocky.” If you’ve seen “Rocky,” you know pretty much the whole story of “Real Steel,” wh
"The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption" is a sequel to the prequel of a prequel to the sequel of a remake. You got all that? Universal had a smash hit in 1999 with a big-budget remake of their c
America in Primetime” is a four-part documentary that aired Sundays on PBS between October 30 and November 20 this past year. Fans of TV will enjoy seeing the wide array of clips and recent interviews
The most common statement made about “An Idiot Abroad” is that “You either find Karl Pilkington hilarious or you don’t.” There’s no doubt into which camp Ricky Gervais falls. In the introduction to ea
Years ago I entered a classroom, sat on a desk facing my students, and was so astounded by the vacant looks on their faces that I invited them to come up and sit on the desk beside me to share the vie
“The World According to Garp” (1982) may have shown the world that the stand-up comic and star of TV’s “Mork & Mindy” had some acting chops, but “Good Morning, Vietnam” proved that Robin Williams coul
Bringing together a blend of documentary, music, and dance, Alma Har’el’s “Bombay Beach” is able to pull together a story of a community living on the fringes of society, with almost no contact with a
“Favelas” is a word popularly used to describe the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro. These places are not controlled by any state or federal agency. Rio’s favelas are located on the edge of the city, wit
The premise is certainly intriguing enough. Based on the book by Beverly Lewis, "Saving Sarah Cain" concerns a self-absorbed yuppie whose life abruptly changes when she travels to Lancaster County, Pe
“Life, above All” has the feel of a cinematic fable. It’s the kind of win-for-losing drama that Hemingway might have written if Santiago were a schoolgirl in a South African community beset by AIDS, r
I wonder if there is such a thing as being too good to be true, when that thing really is true? The preface to "Reach for the Sky" tells us that "Douglas Bader has become a legend in his own life tim
The box copy for “Medea” reads, “In this haunting tale, Medea sacrifices everything to win the heart of Jason, captain of the Argonauts, but when he spurns her love, Medea exacts a scorching revenge t
“And in a perfect act of serendipiocity or serendipaciousness, he runs into in a beautiful, attractive English girl with a boyfriend.” – Jonathan, “Serendipity” In the opening moments of “Serendipity
To begin, let me be clear that I’ve never been the biggest fan of “The Rolling Stones,” and for good reason: In 1981, they went on a world tour and claimed it would be their last world tour ever. The
*As a cook, tastes and smells are my memories, and I’m in search of some new ones. So I’m leaving New York and hoping to have a few epiphanies around the world. I’m looking for extremes of emotion and
When you finish watching this film, you'll find yourself thinking twice about shaking hands with anyone. Steven Soderbergh's 2011 film "Contagion" provides a dire warning of what could happen when we
“Moneyball” is reminiscent of “Jerry Maguire.” It’s a sports movie that’s more about people than it is about sports, which makes it appeal to a wider audience--even my wife, who’s not a big fan of
“Glee: The Concert” is “Glee: The 3D Concert” without the 3D. Audiences who were reluctant to plunk down extra money to see the film in 3D may have made the right choice, because other than a conf
Now that Christmas is over, I think it's safe to talk about director Rene Cardona's 1959 Mexican film "Santa Claus. " No, it's not a Christmas slasher film or a Christmas horror film. It is ostensibly
Oscar season is close at hand, and you know what that means: another nomination for Meryl Streep, American cinema’s reigning grand dame. Streep has been nominated more times than anyone (16), but surp
The release of “Warrior” (2011) clearly suffered from bad timing. If this movie came out before the theatrical release of “The Fighter” (2010) or after a considerable gap, then “Warrior” could have do
New York had Tin Pan Alley, Memphis had Beale Street, New Orleans had the French Quarter, and Chicago had an open-air market that was first recognized by the city in 1912 and declared a “blighted area
David Cross (“Mr. Show,” “Arrested Development”) created this half-hour situation comedy set and filmed in the UK, where it first aired. **“The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,”**which so
"Preposterous, trying to put a tail on a fish! " --Dr. McCarthy OK, so 2011's "Dolphin Tale" throws every family-movie cliché in the book at us. Not to worry. The movie features a cute kid and a dolp
Like some intellectuals, Woody Allen has a pretentious streak that occasionally comes out in his films. But with “Midnight in Paris” he confronts that attitude head-on through a know-it-all character
George the First is in the White House, the U.S. bombs Iraqi forces in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm, and Boris Yeltsin wins the first free election in Russia. Phil Collins and Gloria Est
You'll recall that the premise of the "Final Destination" series, which started back in 2000, is that in each film a different group of young people escape imminent demise, only to find Mr. Death stal
"There are three ways to make a living in this business: Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat. " --John Tuld, "Margin Call" Director J.C. Chandor´s "Margin Call" (2011) opens with a long, notable sequence
December 7 was the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a date that Franklin D. Roosevelt correctly predicted would “live in infamy.” Before TV’s “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” bef
You may already have heard three things about "The Help," which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray today: --The film has Oscar written all over it. It does. I'd be very surprised if it didn't receive a
"Another Earth" won the Alfred P. Sloan special jury prize at Sundance 2011, and it's found an appreciative fan-base that responds to the whole notion of alternate selves . . . something which, in thi
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Dean provide their opinions of the films, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. Paramount released all
You'd better like the music here because there's precious little plot to enjoy. Fortunately, the songs are memorable, the characters charming, and the romance sweet. Together, they're more than enoug
For a film that revolves around a teen with a case of existential angst so bad that he can't bring himself to do any homework for school--because what's the point, we all die alone some day anyway--"T
Cinema history is full of stories of celebrities plucked from obscurity. Lana Turner was discovered at a soda fountain in Hollywood, former bit player Harrison Ford while building a cabinet for George
The Film According to John: Let me begin by admitting that I've never quite understood the allure of Leonardo DiCaprio that so many other filmgoers have found. I mean, he seems always in demand by
"Cowboys & Aliens" has one of those high-concept titles that tells you exactly what you're going to get. Just like "Snakes on a Plane" had snakes on a plane, "Cowboys & Aliens" has cowboys and aliens.
2011 marks the 30th year since "The Smurfs" debuted on North American television as a Saturday morning cartoon, which means that the original audience for those little blue creatures (and collectible
"One hundred and eleven years ago, when I was ten years old, my family crossing the Great Plains was wiped out by a band of wild Indians. " --Jack Crabb, "Little Big Man" A penetrating historical epi
What an odd masterpiece "12 Angry Men" (1957) is. Few films have ever telegraphed their endings so clearly and incessantly; from the early moment when Henry Fonda persuades his first fellow juror to v
This time it's CBS's turn to release "My Fair Lady," turning it out in high-definition Blu-ray picture and sound. It's the least they could do for one of the world's best musicals ever, even if they m
“It was like a symphony of placid beauty.” That’s how International Chess Master Anthony Saidy describes Game Six of Bobby Fischer’s legendary 1972 match with Boris Spassky, and any patzer who has st
"Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.... Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. " It must be the Christmas season. How can we tell? It's time for yet another edition
Rumors about Tuesday's Blu-ray release of "West Side Story" started swirling many weeks ago, with two points of contention: First, that the overture visual sequence, the Saul Bass credit sequence was
I love it when a film surprises me. One look at the cover for "Water for Elephants" and three words came to mind: cheesy, melodrama, chick-flick. The artwork looks like the cover of a paperback roman
"Toy Story" (1995) made history as the first completely CGI animated feature. But "Toy Story 2" (1999) is also one for the books. Why? Because it's one of the rare Hollywood sequels that's equal to th
Screenwriter Michael Arndt told a virtual roundtable that "writing ‘Toy Story 3' was a three-year ordeal of anxiety and barely suppressed panic. And the only person more desperate and panic-stricken t
"He knows if we find them and destroy all the horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him. I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest. There's more: One of them is at Hogwarts. " --Ha
"Role/Play" is a gay-interest film, and I feel as if I should offer up the disclaimer that I am not, myself, gay. But I don't believe you have to be in order to review a film like this, any more than
It's your own fault, John Lasseter. Because your studio's first 11 films were home runs, every time your guys go to their computers the public expects another awesome at-bat. That would be unreasonabl
"Art is the Tree of Life," William Blake once wrote. "Science is the Tree of Death. " That's an extreme statement, of course, but it illustrates that Blake was a humanist who valued art and artistic e
Before there was John Le Carré or Graham Greene or Ian Fleming, there was Erskine Childers, whose 1903 novel "The Riddle of the Sands" paved a prototypical pathway for all twentieth-century spy thrill
Watching "Disneynature: African Cats," I realized within minutes (as most viewers would) that this film was totally different from three previous Disneynature releases--"Earth," "Oceans" and "The Crim
Think of 2011's "Horrible Bosses" as "Nine to Five" meets "The Hangover. "
"In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight, Let those who worship evil's might Beware my power... Green Lantern's Light! " *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both
Never heard of "Brand New Day"? Join the club. Neither had I, so I had no idea what to expect. Maybe that's just as well. This quirky, offbeat Australian musical-comedy likes to surprise. It also has
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Justin provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Movie According
Although Marvel released the first X-Men comics in 1963, I didn't buy any of them. After all, comics cost 10-15 cents apiece, and the only liquid assets you had as a 13-year-old kid were those that
The legend of King Arthur has been told countless times and through numerous interpretations. Some of the most well-known versions include the 1960 Broadway musical, John Boorman's dark fantasy "Excal
When you consider the term "epic" in relation to motion pictures, you may think of "Gone With the Wind," "The Ten Commandments," "Spartacus," "El Cid," "Lawrence of Arabia," or "Gladiator. " But, cert
As I wrote in my Season 2 review, the "Sons of Anarchy" are like scruffy Sopranos, and this FX TV show looks and plays out an awfully lot like that old HBO series. Instead of the mafia with rival mob
After British actor Dirk Bogarde's rise to stardom in the light comedy "Doctor in the House" in 1954, he began alternating starring roles in comedies and dramas, supplementing the humorous "Doctor" se
It was the favorite movie of "Cheers" barflies Norm and Cliff, who "na-na-na'ed" the theme song every time they marched off to watch it together. Along with "Jaws," "Star Wars," "The Bridge on the Riv
Tim Burton, who always looks as if he's wearing 3D glasses, told the Bollywood Reporter earlier this spring that he has mixed feelings about 3D. "I don't think it should be forced on anybody," he said
While "Zombieland" (2009) was a dark comedy that played like a comic book brought to the big screen, "Stake Land" (2010) is a straight, serious horror-thriller. In one post-apocalyptic world, America
"Wrecked" (2010) draws inevitable comparisons to "Cast Away," the 2000 tour de force in which Tom Hanks played a modern-day Crusoe plane-wrecked on a deserted island. Like "Cast Away," there's really
Disney's "Prom" reportedly cost $8 million to make and grossed only $10 million in theaters. At the Internet Movie Database fans rated it a paltry 4.2 out of 10, and it fared no better with Rotten Tom
"The Christian Traveler" sounds like a Travel Channel show for believers, but it's the most recent collection from Questar Entertainment and Reader's Digest, bundled films pertaining to Biblical sites
When in August of 2011 Warner Bros. decided to release four Sylvester Stallone pictures on Blu-ray, I had to wonder anew at how studios make their decisions about these things. I also had to wonder wh
Like "The Battle of Algiers" (1966), "Outside the Law" (2010) tries to offer a balanced view of the 1954-62 war that was fought by Algerian nationalist groups seeking independence from their French oc
DVD Town's Michael Hiscoe called it "not much more than a colorful distraction from reality," but I beg to differ. "Rio" is the closest the 20th Century Fox animation crew has come to matching the loo
"Donnie Darko" is a bit like a teenager: brooding, complex, rebellious, and difficult to comprehend. Which is perfect, because the 2001 film is about a title character (Jake Gyllenhaal) who's all thos
Some films have a wise air about them. Just as "When Harry Met Sally" captured the essence of male-female relationships, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" conveys everything that is hilariously and poigna
"Overboard" (1987) is a male fantasy. It's a reverse Cinderella tale. It's also the best of two romantic comedies that Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell made together (the other being 1984's "Swing Shift.
Like fellow writer Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard has made a nice little career out of creating wacky characters who live in sunny climes and get themselves involved with murders, squeeze-plays, con men
"How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this? " The question you're probably asking right now is, Why are the folks at Paramount re-releasing a Blu-ray edition of "Ferris Bue
"You vultures…circling the city…tearing off the flesh from everything that is innocent. " --Hobo Directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino reignited the horror-exploitation genre with their do
"Limitless" is a film that strikes me as being ironically limited by a concept that doesn't hold up if you think about it too much. What if you could take a pill that would allow you to use 100 perce
In the 1950s and 1960s, a group of British novelists and playwrights came to be identified as the "angry young men. " The writers themselves were "angry young men" (though writer Shelagh Delaney was,
For the longest time, the so-called problems "Entourage" characters dealt with on-screen were so far fetched to the average non-movie star viewer that in some cases it was difficult to relate. Guys wi
The idea of the naïve country boy getting an indoctrination into big-city ways goes all the way back to Aesop, whose 5th-century B.C.E. tale of "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse" was a lesson in t
Some people don't get British comedy. At times, I'm one of them. I can appreciate several of the Monty Python features, but, well . . . then there's the others. It's not just that it's droll. Sometime
If Nicolas Cage and Adam Sandler found themselves sitting at the same awards banquet table, they could pass the entire evening by comparing notes on their "I Hate You" anti-fan clubs. Often, it seems,
In his DVD review, John J. Puccio remarked that he's "always had the sneaking suspicion that people who like the music in ‘Hair' are the very establishment types the film deplores. " Me, I had the opp
I have mixed feelings about "The Long Riders," and that puts it somewhere in the 6-7 range on the DVD Town scale. On the one hand, there's much to admire in this Walter Hill story of the James-Younge
I watched Louis Malle's "Black Moon" (1975) about a year ago and in keeping with the spirit of the film, I have chosen to review it before watching it again, jumbled and half-remembered. I'll watch it
"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. " *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Eddie comment on the films,
I'm sure some sociologist somewhere someday will want to analyze the significance of the American Film Institute's top two choices for funniest movies of all time being about guys in drag, "Some Like
Most television networks strive for at least one gritty program or two. It seems everyone has a cop or detective series these days, but these so-called "dramas" usually wind up being about fast talkin
Woody Allen is no stranger to the world of cinema. Since making his debut movie, "What's up Tiger Lily? " in 1966, Allen has directed about forty-four feature films, thus making him one of the most pr
This is maybe my least-favorite installment in the "Potter" series, the movie being very dark and depressing and never seeming to develop much forward momentum. In any case, Warner Bros. have now give
The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, started out strong with "Dumb & Dumber" in 1995, continued on a mildly humorous track with "Kingpin" in 1996, and hit a home run with "There's Something About M
Call me oblivious, but I had never even heard of "Tigerland," a low-budget 2000 film that has a kind of "Blair Witch Hunt" rawness to it. That, of course, will be a salt-lick to some and salt rubbed i
Adam Sandler's career has come a long way in a short time. The guy who got his start as Opera Man on "Saturday Night Live" eventually became much better known for outrageous stuff like "Happy Gilmore"
I didn't think it was possible, but "True Blood," HBO's smash hit television series about vampires in rural Bon Temps, Louisiana, has officially weirded me out. Season two dug a bit deeper into the So
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu should be crowned the undisputed King of Pain. I am not talking about a WWF champion who derives pleasure from inflicting pain on his opponents, but a director who
"Araya" (1959) is not a documentary in the traditional sense, but then again neither is any other documentary. With its towering pyramids of salt stretching out diagonally towards the horizon, this st
One can understand Paramount's desire to get "Beverly Hills Cop" out on Blu-ray as soon as possible. The 1984 action comedy is probably Eddie Murphy's most popular film, if you discount his vocal work
In 2010 Turner Classic Movies aired an ambitious project, "Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood," a seven-part, seven-hour documentary on the history of Hollywood movie stars and equally famou
Brad Bird is proof positive that the Disney Animator Training Program works. Three years out of high school, the aspiring animator got a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Ar
Because there are so many ballet-minded girls in the world, it's a shame "Black Swan" is such a dark, R-rated film that they can't watch it until they're old enough to date--which, for most dads, mean
In a virtual roundtable with online journalists, co-director Byron Howard said that they were "initially very disappointed when 'Tangled' didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Before the 2003 "shock and awe" attack against Iraq, President George W. Bush and his staff claimed that their intelligence proved Saddam Hussein had materials that could only be used for building "we
There's no reason for the first half of "Birdemic: Shock and Terror" to exist, and not much more for the second half, but it does have a cool scene right in the middle and a catchy theme song. So it's
"The Hungry Ghosts" is an awful title for a film, even if it does come from a Buddhist expression, but that's what writer and first-feature director Michael Imperioli decided to call it. Imperioli, of
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Jim provide their thoughts on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film According to
The summer in between my freshman and sophomore years at the University of Oregon, I worked new student orientation and helped incoming students get acclimated to campus before starting classes in the
Like the Harry Potter series, the late Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon. It sold more than 27 million copies worldwide in 40 countries on
From 1982, "48 Hrs. " remains one of the better action-comedy buddy pictures you'll find. Eddie Murphy is a hyperkinetic standout in his first major motion picture, and Nick Nolte matches him shot for
As I wrote in my DVD review, I can't remember a recent British costumer that I've enjoyed more than "Downton Abbey," which was released on DVD the same month that it aired on PBS. The acting is first-
"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the King's horses, and all the King's men Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again. " The phrase "inspired by actual events" is a well
A few days ago, Frits van Paaschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels, went on CNBC to tout his company's growth story. One of the main drivers for future explosive growth will be the "billion or more" people th
It didn't win any major awards. Most critics and audiences only gave it marks in the 7 out of 10 range. But somehow, "An Affair to Remember" has emerged as an iconic American romance, alluded to in
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Eddie provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film According to
Paul W.S. Anderson is not one of my favorite filmmakers. He has consistently destroyed franchises that I had high hopes for and he decides to hand the reins of "Death Race" over to "The Marine 2" dire
"I'll be seeing you, Susan. " You say you like film noir? You like films in the "Double Indemnity" mode or "The Postman Always Rings Twice"? Then you might enjoy this 1951 noir thriller from soon-to-
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly was quoted as saying "It's Jaws gone wild! " when discussing Piranha 3D. By ‘gone wild,' I'm certain that my fellow reviewer was comparing Alexandre Aja's
"What has become of our nation? The human life is less than the cost of a drink. " -- Sabrina Lall For Delhiites, the Jessica Lall story is well known for its tragedy and injustice, but it is still a
I consider myself an adventurous film buff who can take anything a movie might throw my direction. Horror doesn't bother me, nor do films about war, torture and the like. If it's gruesome, I deal with
Director Robert Rodriguez started his filmmaking career with 1992's "El Mariachi," a Spanish language action film that introduced a character and a trilogy. Three years later, Rodriguez continued his
"I was an only child. He was an only dog. " You say you like warm family dramas, especially ones that involve sweet, lovable canines? Say, a movie in the "Old Yeller" tradition? Then you may have fou
In Chinese cinema, the era between the 1960's and 1970's was dominated by renowned studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest with their array of martial arts (kung-fu) films and costume dramas. In
In his review of the bare-bones Blu-ray release of "Avatar," Dean Winkelspecht called it "the single biggest technological leap in filmmaking since '[Star Wars](http://moviemet.com/review/star-wars-tr
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, John and Tim comment on the movies, with John writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. SHREK Reviewed by John J. Puccio "Shrek" w
"The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships" is a direct-to-video film that was made in 2008 and intended, obviously, as a means of stimulating conversations in college classes on
During the Vietnam War--one of the few times that the military gave journalists full access--TV audiences routinely saw live coverage from the front. Sometimes journalists spoke into the cameras as th
The best thing about this Blu-ray double feature is getting both of the first two live-action/CGI "Scooby-Doo" movies in high definition. The worst thing about this Blu-ray double feature is having to
"Come in this world with nothing, leave with nothing. But at least the world knows who the fuck we are. " It's debatable as to exactly how much of the world "knows who the fuck" the White family of B
"The Sound of Music" is the most popular stage show in the world, with 500 performances produced annually in the U.S. alone. And the 1965 film version? How could it have been anything less than specta
It seems to me if you were a fan of the TV series and you liked the first movie, you might enjoy "Sex and the City 2. " If, however, you never cared for the TV show and didn't see or didn't like the f
If the original "Predator" (1987) had a bit of a "Dirty Dozen" vibe to it, with muscleman-turned-action hero-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and wrestler-turned-action hero-turned-governor Jesse
Ever since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" wowed audiences worldwide with its breathtaking brand of artistic martial arts, many period films from then on have tried to emulate or surpass that same fo
Be . . . their . . . guest, be their guest, put the picture to a test, pop the Blu-ray in your player and let Disney do the rest. Oh the sound does resound, extra features do abound, if there's bet
"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? " "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" has almost nothing in common with Stanley Kubrick's classic film that starred Kirk Douglas in the title role. The hit serie
I challenge you to find a more perfect scenario under which to review "Community: The Complete First Season" on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. For you see, my "real job" is in undergraduat
I've mentioned before my love of mystery and detective stories, and "Se7en" is one of the best of its kind. Yet, after seeing it during its theatrical release in 1995, the ending so disturbed me I had
The Blu-ray high-definition audio quality alone makes this Blu-ray disc of the "Lost in Space" movie a respectable investment. It's still not a good movie, but it's a good-sounding one. To be honest,
Online game developer Jeff Kinney had an idea for a comic strip, but nobody like the concept. No matter. He just took the material and created Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a junior-high memoir of sorts tha
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. " As of this writing, Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" was the last full-length studio picture filmed in 65 mm, a
There's a scene near the end of "Vacation" where the Griswold family goes on a roller-coaster ride, and it reminded me of Chevy Chase's career. When his work has been up, it's been very, very up ("Sat
Say it ain't so, Joe. Er, Tom. Say you're not a villain. I mean, not our Forrest Gump, not our castaway who was sleepless in Seattle, who was Big, who saved Private Ryan, who cracked the Da Vinci code
If at first you don't succeed. . . Responding to consumer concerns that their previous Blu-ray edition of "Gladiator" used too much edge enhancement and noise reduction in the high-def transfer, Drea
Like so many others, I get "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige" confused. Both films were released in 2006, and both are set during the turn of the century--one in London featuring two rival magicians
"Yeah, man, this is the room where I keep hearing all these spooky sounds. Like stuff being knocked over. Pans clattering on the floor. I'm really freaked out. " "That's OK, sir, that's why you calle
The opening credits of "Everlasting Moments" (2008) are comprised of close-ups of various parts of a vintage Contessa photo camera: the shutter, the lens, and the focusing mechanism. The tight framing
It's rare to find an animated series that appeals to both kids and adults. "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is one such show. It never talks down to its audience and doesn't feel like an extended commerci
Sergio Leone didn't invent the so-called "Spaghetti Western," but it's this trilogy and Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) that people think of when they hear the term. Fair enough. Leone t
"Vengeance taken will often tear the heart and torment the conscience. " - Arthur Schopenhauer The past decade has seen the welcome emergence of exciting new filmmakers from across the globe. South
Sometimes Life Throws You Curves. That's the tagline for "Drop Dead Diva," a Sony Pictures-produced TV series that began airing on Lifetime in July 2009. They could have added a second tagline--"S
On February 15, 2010, I published a review of the Sony Pictures Classics film "The Damned United" and wrote "‘The Damned United' might be the best Blu-ray release in 2010 thus far. " I'm happy to repo
After spending 12 years as a camera operator for TV shows and films, Geoffrey Haley wrote and directed this quirky romantic comedy about a poet who makes a living writing suicide notes. As you might e
I do not, and never will, consider myself an expert on vampires, which makes me even less qualified to review "True Blood: The Complete Second Season" on Blu-ray from HBO Home Entertainment. Some guys
I am no fan of Director Oliver Hirschbiegel's plodding, by-the-numbers "Downfall" (2004) but at least it spawned one of the great You Tube memes of all-time. "Five Minutes of Heaven" (2009) spawns not
It has been a couple years since I watched "Traffic. " There have been a few times I've wanted to throw the disc in and sit back and kill nearly three hours. Usually I am wondering whatever happened t
Over the years, the direct-to-video model has usually been used for lousy, B-movie flicks that studios deem not good enough for theaters. However, once in a while there comes a superior movie that rai
There are moments of genius in the relatively non-descript "The Fugitive Kind" (1960), namely the genius of Marlon Brando in his prime. Brando's glove-play with Eva Marie Saint in "On the Waterfront"
Among the opportunities film on DVD has afforded me personally has been the chance to revisit some of the favorite sci-fi fantasy films of my youth, many of which I have already reviewed for this site
In anticipation of the upcoming release of the Michael Bay-Jerry Bruckheimer production of "Pearl Harbor," Twentieth Century Fox is re-releasing "Tora! Tora! Tora!," its own Pearl Harbor film, on DVD
Peter, Peter, where hast thou gone? Writer-director Peter Jackson began his filmmaking career with strange, outrageous, mostly bloody little films like "Bad Taste," "Meet the Feebles," and "Braindead
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, John, Justin, and Tim all comment on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. The Film According to John:
[This dual review of "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro" references the 2010 Blu-Ray release of both films, and has been cross-posted for each title. The main body of the review is identical for both, but the Vid
A Viking warrior rode his horse through the forest and over the rocky hills. As the sun set, he pulled up and shouted to the heavens "I Am Thor! " His horse turned around and said "That'th because yo
Director Pedro Almodovar's work emphasizes many different themes, and for a man among the most prolific Spanish directors in the past half-century, Almodovar has an extensive filmography that hits on
As a Sean Connery fan, I thought I knew every movie he's made. I mean, I'm aware that he debuted as a singing actor in the Walt Disney production of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," and that he p
"Let loose the Kraken! " You might wonder why Warners released this 1981 MGM fantasy to Blu-ray disc, considering it is not the greatest movie in the world and doesn't have the best audiovisual quali
You probably know that India and the United States produce the most feature movies per year of any national film industry, but do you know what country sits in third place? China? They've got a few pe
There is no honor among thieves. These crooks would as soon rat out or whack their best friends as not. The 1930s were the Golden Age of gangster films. Following the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, a
"Uh. Words. Uh. Words. Uh huh huh huh. " -Butthead, from Beavis and Butthead in "Beard Boys" I'm all but certain that "Pontypool" is the only zombie movie that references both Norman Mailer and Rolan
Is there another filmmaker working today who has risen to such heights of critical acclaim on the basis of so few films as Paul Thomas Anderson? His four most-important films to date are "Magnolia" (1
In the spirit of Wittgenstein, it's important to note that the category of "neo-realism" has no single defining quality but rather a series of shared family resemblances which are present in varying c
30 minutes after exposure. I'm sitting there watching "District 9" thinking that the initial "documentary" part of the movie feels even more amateurish and disjointed the second time around--especi
Three legendary guitarists: Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs). It Might Get Loud. But it doesn't, really. Sure, when the th
In trying to figure out what I like so much about "Pawn Stars," I realized that the pawn business has a lot in common with film reviewing. One of the pleasures of writing about film is encountering n
There's probably someone in Hollywood whose only job is to determine whether a film can say it's "based" on a book, "loosely based," or "inspired by" it. And I wonder what this person was thinking whe
So I wondered, how good could a film be that was written, directed, and produced by a woman whose only previous experience was turning out a couple of five-minute animated shorts--especially when this
"Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie" drew 13.6 million viewers for its premiere, making it the second most watched Disney Original Movie to "High School Musical 2. " Fans will want to know one thing,
Talking animals and I don't get along, usually. That's because, other than the occasional winner like "Babe," they tend to disappoint in so many predictable ways. Often it's the annoying way that thei
Is there any filmmaker who's made more money and built a bigger reputation on fewer films than Frank Darabont? Quick, name any two films he made. OK, you forgot "The Majestic" and "The Mist," right?
Turkish. Franky Four Fingers. One Punch Mickey. Brick Top. Bullet Tooth Tony. Put any one of these characters into a caper film, and you've got color. Toss all of them in (and more), and you've got
Disney's Zorro (Guy Williams) is still the best--even my eight-year-old daughter thinks so--but Antonio Banderas does a fine job of capturing the tongue-in-cheek aspects of the Spanish swashbuckler. A
Like Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan, some films just keep growing until they acquire legendary status. "Body Heat" is one such film. So is "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," an indie that launched Steven Soderber
I vividly remember the day I first received a DVD copy of the "Frailty. " I think I may have won a contest on a DVD Web site. I am glad I watched the movie and happy to have it now on Blu-ray disc. "F
Meryl Streep already leads her peers in the number of Oscar nominations received, and it's a safe bet that the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand her Number 16 after watchi
How many Academy Award winners can a studio put in one cast and still turn out a bad movie? In the case of 2008's "Four Christmases," the answer is five: Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek
Released in France as "Leon" and in the U.S. as "The Professional," Luc Besson's stylish film about a hit man and the young girl he trains is now available in a Blu-ray which includes the bonus featur
I was one of the few reviewers who gave "The Da Vinci Code" the equivalent of a 7 out of 10 (or 3 stars), and I stand by that assessment. That 2006 film featured Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) as a profes
Visually stunning, superbly acted and brilliantly packaged, HBO's "Rome: The Complete Series" is without question a winner. The short lived but extremely popular and well-received television show is n
As I was watching what I thought would be a chick flick, something funny happened: it turned into a dick flick--which is to say, more male fantasy than female romance. In romantic comedies, opposite
This is the third screen adaptation of John Godey's novel, "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," and in director Tony Scott's hands it's a "Speed" style film about four men who hijack a New York City
Sometimes a movie's reputation precedes it. Even my son had heard that the 1998 version of "Godzilla" wasn't very good . . . which is probably why he remarked halfway through, "It's not as bad as I th
Despite Warner Bros. having restored and restored this MGM classic just a few years earlier, for the 70th Anniversary Edition the studio went back and rescanned the entire movie at an even higher reso
Thanks for the adventure. Now go have yourself a new one. So a dying Ellie has written in her adventure scrapbook, one she had previously left blank in order to fill with pictures when she finally go
One of the best cops-and-robbers crime dramas ever made gets even better in this excellent Blu-ray high-definition transfer. Thank heaven (and Warner Bros.) for small favors. The centerpiece of "Heat
"I have a cunning plan, m'lord. " As I've mentioned time and again, comedy is a funny thing. What appeals to one person, what knocks him out with laughter, may leave another person cold. I have frien
Note: In the following joint review, both John and Will comment on the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Shots. The Film According to John: After the first t
If you would have told me that someone could remake/update the 1941 "Wolf Man" movie and not take a comedic or satiric turn, I would have told you that audiences are too sophisticated these days for t
Once every thousand years a true seeker is born who's whole purpose is to slay the embodiment of evil that lives the Prince John life of a pretender in a castle somewhere in a fantasy land. And appare
As much as I admire Tim Burton's remake of the story, I prefer this original 1971 production, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with Gene Wilder, for its sweeter nature and more amiable songs. S
Seeing publicity shots of Robert De Niro as the monster looking like a stitched-up version of an ugly rag doll was enough to make me suspect that this version of "Frankenstein" would be no match for t
Like most law enforcement television shows these days, "The Beast: The Complete First Season" is super slick. Everyone has a shiny cell phone, loaded weapon, fancy car, trendy laptop computer and the
SEX. Good, I have your attention. Now, let's talk about "Orgies and the Meaning of Life," a new release from Cinema Epoch. I won't waste your time as mine was wasted during this 89-minute indepen
Franchises in the horror genre live and die by the strengths of their villains. They are built around and survive by the primary baddie. Uncommon is it that a great horror franchise is remembered beca
Again, let me remind you that Warner Bros. own what is probably the most extensive back catalogue of great older films in the world, and they never tire of devising new ways to repackage them. In 2009
"We all end up dead. It's just a question of how and why. " The first thing we see in "Braveheart" is the Scottish landscape, and along with the battle scenes it is probably what one remembers most a
I can't help but wonder what the reception might have been for "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" if it were made seven years after the end of WWII rather than seven years after "Mary Poppins," another Disney
Emilie de Ravin does a little "moonlighting" with Cybill Shepherd in this 2009 made-for-TV movie. The Lifetime production of Nora Roberts' High Noon was shot while the actress was also playing Clair
One of the great mysteries of life for me growing up in the Fifties was trying to figure out the difference between "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals. " It was almost as big an enigma as trying to de
*"In each of us, two natures are at war—the good and the evil. All our lives the fight goes on between them, and one of them must conquer. But in our own hands lies the power to choose---what we want
St. Elmo's is the name of a bar that seven recent college grads use as their new "I don't want to grow up yet" hangout. It's also a bright blue or violet "fire" that appears to emanate from masts at s
I don't know how much you'll enjoy "Chasing the Green" unless you enjoy sports metaphors. Seriously. This independent, small market film relies on a good sports metaphor to work, and it does…sort of.
Fans of romantic comedies may find 2003's "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" romantic enough and funny enough to qualify as a success. Non fans will find it far-fetched and tedious. Which leaves most of t
Have you ever woken up from a dream in the middle of the night and thought it was the most amazing idea for a story that you've ever had? You scribble it down as fast as you can while the details are
I don't know where they're headquartered, but there's an I Hate Adam Sandler Club, and a fair number of critics belong to it. Maybe the membership roster wouldn't be so large if Sandler and co-writer
"Spartans! Prepare for glory! " And the rest of you, get in line for the newest edition of "300. " Since Warner Bros. had already released "300" in widescreen and full-screen single-disc DVD edition
Criterion has used the month of June to release three of the most iconic art-house films of all-time. "The Seventh Seal" is one of the films that launched the art-house movement in America and its ima
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Eddie provide their very different views on the movie, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film
How many big-name Hollywood filmmakers does it take to create a humdrum romantic comedy? In the case of 2009's "He's Just Not That Into You," it took a slew, including director Ken Kwapis ("The Sister
1999 was a virtual reality kind of year, at least in Hollywood. "The Matrix" was released the end of March, "eXistenZ" followed in April, and "The Thirteenth Floor" came out the end of May. And as far
At about the same time, two different studios released films on Blu-ray about urban angst, 2002's "Changing Lanes" and 1993's "Falling Down. " Of the two, "Falling Down" has the better, more plausible
The toughest movies for me to review are the ones I know I'm supposed to like, but which somehow leave me feeling just a little flat. "Enchanted April" is one of those movies. It features intelligent
"Taking Lives" is not a bad crime thriller; it's just a tired one. Angelina Jolie stars as a beautiful FBI agent helping to track down a serial killer. Remind you of anything? I mean, haven't Jodie F
Note: In the following joint DVD review, both John and Eddie provide their opinions of the films, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Shots. Whadaya mean, Who's Nicholas
You know how you sometimes watch a really good film that leaves a lasting positive impression, but you don't necessarily ever want to watch it again? That's the way I felt about "American History X" w
I was thinking recently of all the billions of things in the world I don't know about: all the people, all the animals, all the science, all the historical events, all the little, detail events of dai
Based on the Tony Award-winning off-Broadway play "Doubt: A Parable," John Patrick Shanley's film adaptation of his stage version is really enhanced by Blu-ray's clarity and 1080p High Resolution. It'
Having the dubious distinction of being the most elaborate and expensive porn film ever made, "Caligula" has come down to us as something of a hoot. Penthouse Productions put up the money, some $15,00
In recent memory, I can't think of any film to receive such high critical praise more than Sweden's "Låt Den Rätte Komma In" ("Let the Right One In"). So far the foreign production has topped a multit
Generation X'ers may recall the "Schoolhouse Rock" segments that aired on ABC during their Saturday morning programming from 1972-86. These catchy little animated songs taught a generation of children
By the end of the 1940s, the newfangled invention of television was just catching on. By the early 1950s, it had become such a threat to Hollywood that movie studios tried almost anything to lure audi
"You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? " --Jack Nicholson, "Batman" *Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, John and Josh comment on the four films in the set, with John also wri
"Who watches the watchmen? " --Juvenal, "Satires," VI, 347 Although I confess to knowing next to nothing about comic books, comic-book heroes, or graphic novels, even I have heard of the "Watchmen. "
We should have expected it, I suppose. If a movie is popular enough, especially a comedy, a studio is bound to follow it up with a sequel or two. Warner Bros. followed up 1994's "Ace Ventura: Pet Dete
Some films just don't feel like Best Pictures. I always thought that "Apocalypse Now" should have won the 1980 Academy Award rather than "Kramer vs. Kramer," but the screen adaptation of Avery Corman'
The first Laserdisc movie I ever saw was at a friend's house; it was Milos Forman's 1984 adaptation of "Amadeus," and it was spectacular, even on a relatively small, standard-def television. When Warn
Sony just released this title in a second wave of films they're calling "Martini Movies. " And yes, there's at least one scene where the characters sip martinis. The disc design of "Our Man in Havana"
"Schoolboy Crush" aspires to tell a complete story about a teacher caught in the scandalous web of a former trick when that student transfers to a boarding school. The teacher, Mr. Aoi (Yoshikazu Kota
"King Kong" was one of the early blockbuster titles for the dearly departed HD-DVD format. The disc shipped with each Microsoft Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on and did solid business at retail for those that h
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have an extremely limited tolerance for anything labeled as a sex comedy in large because I find them to be missing the comedy part of the eq
If you ask me to pick my favorite under-50 director today, with only a slight hesitation, I would choose Jia Zhang-ke. Not yet 40, Jia is perhaps the most prominent member of the Sixth Generation of C
The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, make comedies. Some of them, like "Dumb & Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary," are funny. Some of them, like "Kingpin" and "Fever Pitch," are only so-so;
"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. " --Marianne Willi
Here's the thing: I was sitting in my living room staring up at the ceiling when the FedEx guy delivered this new video from Warner Bros. That forced a decision: Should I watch the movie or continue t
Sean Connery does for "Highlander" what he did for "The Avengers": He makes a few minutes of an otherwise monumentally mediocre movie sparkle. Without him "Highlander" has to be one of the most witles
"Put your trust in the Lord. Your ass belongs to me. " --Warden Norton At the time of this writing, November 2008, "[The Shawshank Redemption](http://moviemet.com/review/shawshank-redemption-dvd-revi
By the early 1960s, the spy movie had begun to supplant the Western as America's genre of choice a transformation prompted largely by the staggeringly successful screen debut of James Bond in "Dr. No"
Note: In the following joint review, Henning and Eddie provide their opinions on the film, with Jason writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. Henning Molbaek´s Thoughts: Firs
Before "Halloween" there was "Black Christmas," an early slasher entry that features all the conventions you've come to know and love (or hate): the isolated setting, the group of college-aged student
This is one of those legendary films where, if you haven't seen it, you watch expecting something epic, just because of all the people you've heard talking about it. That's because "Kiss of the Spider
I had so much anticipation for Ang Lee's big screen adaptation of Marvel's "Hulk. " The film starred Eric Bana, an actor I had been telling my friends would be one of the next great ones. I had watche
Note: In the following joint review, John and Jason provide their opinions of the movie, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. The Film According to John: Pe
Watching MGM's 1951 Biblical epic "Quo Vadis" is not so much like watching a motion picture with a plot and characters as it is looking at a series of elaborate tableaus, each depicting some massive s
The folks at Warner Bros. have been experimenting lately, offering all sorts of added incentives to tempt buyers into purchasing their products, things like digital copies and digital downloads, speci
He's back. And I don't just mean in "Quantum of Solace," a title that sounds more like an Umberto Eco film adaptation than the next James Bond movie. Daniel Craig is back in a two-disc Collector's Edi
By the 1930s and 40s most moviegoers came to know certain major studios for the kinds of movies in which they specialized. MGM had their musicals and costume dramas, Republic had their Westerns and se
Sean Connery is Bond, James Bond. Many fans of Ian Fleming's long running super spy franchise consider Connery to be the only true Bond and look less favorable at others who portrayed Bond which inclu
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review both John and Tim wrote up their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Film According to
You want drama? You've got drama. You want action? You've got action. You want glamour? You've got glamour. You want mystery? You've got mystery. You want film noir? You've got film noir. You want sle
When "Speed Racer" first appeared on the scene in the mid 1960s as a Japanese anime-inspired television cartoon series, I had already graduated from college and felt I was beyond such childish things.
This DVD is preceded by a disclaimer that tells us "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" was only telecast once, on October 29, 1976, and that it was presumed lost. We're also told the quality is below w
What more can anyone say? We've got at least two of the best films ever made here, and we have them restored and/or remastered in high-definition Blu-ray picture and TrueHD 5.1 sound. It's about as pe
Paramount's "Star Trek" franchise has spawned 10 feature films (including the upcoming "Nemesis"), 5 television shows, and a pop sub-culture with world-wide penetration. No other tele-film series has
In spite of its origin, "The Secret" manages to craft a compelling, thought-provoking and heart breaking narrative of love and loss thanks to an outstanding performance from Olivia Thirlby and solid t
In the post-war film industry controlled in large part (though not totally) by the demands of American distributors and propagandists, Japanese audiences were peppered with a series of films that eith
Note: Non technical portions of this review share text with the review of the Blu-ray release of this film. The "Stargate" feature film starring Kurt Russell and James Spader is not new to me. I ha
Beneath the sex and titillation, "The Houseboy" is about one thing: a young man trying to find one person to treat him as an equal. Ricky (Nick May) is the third leg of Simon and DJ's (Tom Merlino, Br
Director Martin Scorsese might better have titled his 2008 concert documentary of The Rolling Stones "The Band That Wouldn't Go Away. " Not that anybody would want them to go away, but the Stones have
For all the real world misery and inhumanity the Holocaust has caused, films (and the novels which inspire them) are in love with the material. Not so much because any particular story knows how to mi
"You never grow old. You never die. But you must feed. " Some things just get better with age. Take yours truly, for instance. OK, bad example. Take "The Lost Boys" from 1987, for instance. The first
NBC's "Saturday Night Live" has been hitting airwaves for over three decades. The Lorne Michaels creation has been criticized for losing its humor and edge over the past thirty-three years and while m
We all know about TV spin-offs and even the occasional movie spin-off, where supporting players get a show of their own. In the case of "Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control," however, the film
"Patton" earned 10 Academy Award nominations, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Art/Set Decoration, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. There was no nomination for
That's so not Raven. "Nice" siblings everywhere, take heart. When the Dolittle franchise went for a third installment without the doctor, it wasn't the rebellious daughter who got the call to star
When I reviewed "Broken Trail" on DVD I said the scenery was drop-dead gorgeous and that it was a curious combination of realism and romantic idealism--but that somehow it worked. The Emmy voters like
Tom Selleck's first role was playing a walk-on "Cowboy in Bar" in a 1969 TV episode of "Lancer," which starred James Stacy. Ten years later it occurred to somebody that he looked dad-gummed good in a
"You call this archeology?! " --Sean Connery, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" In the American Film Institute's 2003 poll of top movie heroes, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) placed second behind A
Simply put, "Lawrence of Arabia" is the best epic the screen has ever seen. In terms of sheer sweep, intelligence, and star power, nothing much comes close. It made both T.E. Lawrence and actor Peter
William Golding's symbolic novel, "Lord of the Flies", written in 1954 has been twice been made into films, in 1963 and again in 1991. The less said about the newer version, the better, but director P
"Do not forsake me, oh, my darlin', on this our weddin' day-ee; do not forsake me, oh, my.... " Sorry. Wrong classic Western. Let me try again. "Shane. Shane, come back. " There. That's better. Can I
The last time we met Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan, he was teamed up with Chris Tucker in "Rush Hour" (1998) and kung-fuing his way through modern L.A. It was a moderately successful comedy. This ti
You'd have to go back to 1976 and "All the President's Men" to find a more gripping cinematic presentation of real-life events than 1999's "The Insider. " Of course, I realize the dangers of such a co
There aren't many authors whose names are big enough to go before the title of a film. John Grisham, Tom Clancey, and Stephen King are among the few. So is Dean Koontz, whose horror books sell in the
There was never any doubt that Will Smith would be funny; I mean, he's a very funny guy. What comes as a pleasant surprise is how funny Tommy Lee Jones is. The teaming of Smith and Jones for comedy sc
Note: In the following joint Blu-ray review, both John and Jason provide their reactions to the movie, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Thoughts. **The Movie Accordin
Director John Frankenheimer is no stranger to movies about espionage and conspiracies. He had just finished the successful "Manchurian Candidate" when in 1964 he decided to film Fletcher Knebel and Ch
It's rare that a History (the History Channel is now known simply as History) documentary creates a popular buzz, but for a while last month I couldn't get through a day without someone mentioning "th
Along with "Knute Rockne: All American" (1940), this 1942 film about baseball legend Lou Gehrig was one of the first sports biopics. Curiously, though, there's not nearly as much baseball in the film
By the 1930s most moviegoers came to know certain of the major studios for the kinds of movies they specialized in. Disney made cartoons, Universal had their monster flicks, MGM had the musicals, and
For over a year, now, fans have been waiting for the previously announced and then shelved Blu-ray release of "Gattaca. " Well, it's finally here . . . and with new cover art that shows a double helix
The Coen brothers are batting .500--not for their career, certainly, but for this year's Academy Awards. "No Country for Old Men" won four Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, B
The first teaming of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as the "Men In Black" was a joyous experience that sent me to the theaters three times. It
"My Lovely Sam-Soon" is a hilarious, yet touching romantic comedy about a woman who is tough and opinionated on the outside, yet soft and craving love on the inside. It follows her as she takes contro
When you see the words "A Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer production," you know the film is going to have gigantic explosions that give rise to huge fireballs--in slow motion, of course. There's als
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman wrote the first "Dragonlance" novel in 1984. As the first novel of the Dragonlance Chronicles, "Dragons of the Autumn Twilight" was reluctantly supported by then-parent
"The Pianist" is Roman Polanski's best film since the 1974 classic "Chinatown. " The fugitive director earned an Academy Award for Best Director and Adrien Brody earned a Best Actor Oscar. The film al
Charles Burnett's "Killer of Sheep" (1977) has been a legendary film almost from the moment it was released. It is, of course, a great film, but its legend owes even more to the fact that the film has
![GET SMART [TV SHOW] THE COMPLETE SERIES - DVD review](/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/get-smart.png)
Box sets are in demand for holiday giving, but they often dip way below the consumer radar other times of the year--especially those sets "not available in stores. " Perhaps that's why Time Life is on
I reviewed "Edvard Munch" when it was released on DVD by New Yorker and Project X in early 2006. I felt I had discovered a lost masterpiece, though in truth Peter Watkins' magnum opus was hardly unkno
Sometimes, the first of anything turns out to be the best. Now, I'm not suggesting that "Dr. No," the initial entry in the Bond series, is the best of all--in fact, I believe the next two installments
After his success in "Old School" the year before, Will Ferrell continued his series of goofy characters in 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," which he not only starred in but co-wrote. T
Without a doubt, Johnny Depp is one of the most talented, interesting, and daring actors of his generation. Maybe that's why, when he agreed to a rare televised interview on James Lipton's "Inside t
Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves--others, their livers. In "Bad Santa," Billy Bob Thornton plays an alcoholic Santa who can't go three minutes without opening that pint of booze he carr
What do you do after you spend five years filming a nature documentary that wins a pair of Oscars for cinematography and music? If you're Alastair Fothergill and you're working for BBC and the Discov
If you've read the interview we just published with "Ratatouille" director Brad Bird, you know how high he is on Blu-ray. So high, in fact, that when I asked him to sign the slipcover of mine at the S
George Bailey and Bedford Falls never looked so good! This two-disc collector's set features a brand-new colorized version of one of the most beloved holiday films, "It's a Wonderful Life," while the
One hundred Scholastic storybook classics, for $99.95? The math is so simple that even your little ones might be able to do it. To add this incredible set to your home video collection, it'll only cos
When "Scary Movie" was first released on DVD, John J. Puccio wrote in his review that "most of its gags are outrageously stupid, vulgar, and unfunny. " I laughed a lot more than John apparently did.
There is no greater argument to Science Fiction aficionados than that of whether or not James T. Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard. I've always been a Kirk man, myself. His interstellar gunslinging and blue ali
Studios usually know what they're doing, and even when they make mistakes, they're usually quick to catch on to them. Certainly, that's the case with Warner Bros. Take, for instance, "The Reaping. " T
![MARRIED . . . WITH CHILDREN [TV SERIES] - DVD review](/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Married-With-Children-.jpg)
Season Seven started with Seven--a five-year-old son of Peg's Georgia trailer-park relations who's abandoned at the Bundy's. But then there were four. As quickly as Seven (Shane Sweet) came, he went,
What do you get if you combine "Night of the Living Dead" with "Snakes on a Plane"? OK, too easy, I know. George Romero's 1968, super-low-budget "Night of the Living Dead" was a landmark motion pictu
Karma is a funny thing--especially when a trailer-park philosopher gets a hold of it. In Season One, loser Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) was hit by a car after he won $100,000 in the lottery, his ticket and
This may sound odd, but it's refreshing to see a sex farce without sex. In this film, written and directed by Francis Veber, there's little in the way of leering and lechery, no gratuitous nudity, no
R.L. Stine is often called the Stephen King of children's literature. His Goosebumps series of novels were a phenomenal success and inspired a television series that aired on Fox in the mid 90's. Hi
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. " Any film version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" has formidable competition from Laurence Olivier's acclaimed 1
To recycle a famous line from Mark Twain, reports on the death of the sitcom have been greatly exaggerated. Recent hits like "My Name is Earl," "Everybody Hates Chris," and "Ugly Betty" are living pro
From 1956 to 1969, in the second phase of his phenomenal career, Elvis Presley made a whopping thirty-one films! I had no idea until I looked it up. It's probably because he made so many films in so s
First off, you have to understand that Prince is a much better singer than he is an actor. Second, it helps to remember that "Purple Rain," in which Prince made his screen debut in 1984, is a much be
In the DVD's accompanying featurette, the filmmakers explain that they were trying to create the noir feel of "Blade Runner" and James Ellroy crime novels in their 2006, black-and-white, animated sci-
Note: In the following HD DVD joint review, John and Dean wrote up their comments about the film, and John wrote up the rest of the disc details. The Movie According to Dean: Walter Hill's 1979
The knock on "Camelot" when it first came out in 1967 was that it was overblown. It was too long, too busy, too opulent, too fussy, too gaudy, too sprawling, too unfocused, and too slow. Well, it is t
What can one say about Dino Stamatopoulos' "Moral Orel"? As a claymation kid, he's a mixed up, confused, little do-gooder trying his best to please God. As a TV show "Moral Orel" is a twisted, sometim
"Do not forsake me, Oh my darlin', On this our weddin' day-ee, .... " Tex Ritter, 1952. The song became as popular as the movie. "High Noon" is one of those landmark films that stand out in memory fo
There is a generous portion of films that never needed to be made and a huge percentage of those are the dreaded biopics of entertainers. Let's not kid ourselves about these films: The majority of the
Even in the scenes where he screams and shouts as he transforms from the human stunt biker Johnny Blaze into a creature with a flaming skull known as Ghost Rider, Nicolas Cage looks like he's having o
The first thing you're probably going to ask is, Didn't Disney just release this movie on DVD? Yes, there was a 25th Anniversary Edition just a few years back. But a whole new generation of kids has s
I must bow in admiration for Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio. He could have sold out and used his good looks and early success to become a huge box office star. Instead, DiCaprio has chosen the righteous path a
I'd guess that when most people think of the movie "Fail-Safe," they think of the 1964 Sidney Lumet film starring Henry Fonda; you know, the one with the hyphen in the middle, and the one that became
Big John made over 170 films in his career, many of them in the late 1920s and 1930s featuring the actor in bit parts or starring in low-budget B-movie Westerns until his breakthrough in John Ford's "
Regardless of what has happened over the past two years with Tom Cruise and his TomKat behavior and involvement with the cult religion of Scientology, he is still a big star. He is a very talented act
The absolutely most horrific moment of the Neil Marshall directed "The Descent" happens quite early in the film. In fact, it occurs before the monsters crawl from the darkness of the caves. The moment
I don't know about you, but I'm no great fan of making decisions--especially coin-toss ones. But I've certainly wrestled with what I'll buy and add to my DVD collection, and what I won't. If it's a si
Given the law of diminishing returns, I wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing "Rocky VI" . . . I mean, "Rocky Balboa. " Since the first "Rocky" (1976)--which was a solid 8 out of 10 movie--each se
Maybe I shouldn't admit to this, but one of the very first DVDs I purchased was Steven Seagal's "The Glimmer Man. " Back in 1997, Seagal still had a semblance of a movie career and was still considere
"Mr. Cool. " "The King of Cool. " "The Coolest Man in Hollywood. " It surprised me a little that Warner Bros. issued "Bullitt" on a high definition HD-DVD. I kept thinking back to the studio's first
One of the best films of 2006 is "Lucky Number Slevin. " I feel as if I could end my review of this wonderful little film and know the world would take my word for it. I'd be wrong and I'm sure most p
As the DVD cover suggests, "Paniponi Dash" is not a serious show. In fact, it's rather insane. The best way I can describe it is like a cross between two other releases from ADV: the school days comed
Warren Beatty is an Academy Award winning director. I'm certain the majority of people are not aware of this fact. Of course, considering his 1981 film "Reds" that earned him his golden statue has jus
It's hard to imagine becoming so known for a lifestyle that centuries later your name would become synonymous with a type of behavior. But that's exactly what happened with Giacomo Casanova, an Italia
Edward Stratemeyer and Walt Disney had a lot in common. Stratemeyer tapped into the juvenile market by starting a syndicate of children's book series, including The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and
Oliver Stone is a director that is known for stirring up a little controversy. He has a knack for covering historical topics that have a bit of controversy surrounding them and bringing his theories t
I hear Peter Jackson is remaking "The Lord of the Rings," casting Keith Richards as Gandalf, Johnny Depp as Aragorn, and Tom Cruise as Frodo. He's thinking about going back to the actual locations in
When the title says "Being John Malkovich," it doesn't mean being LIKE John Malkovich or even learning to understand him better. It means really BEING the actor. The film takes the old saying about "g
"Superman: The Movie" opens with a history of the super guy's lineage, but everybody knows his real story. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joel Schuster, he first appeared in "Action Comics"
It seems like only yesterday when Jet Li picked up where martial arts star Bruce Lee left off. But since his "Shaolin Temple" debut (1982), he's appeared in more than 30 films, most of them Hong Kong
ote: John and Erik did the film review portions of the article, and Erik did the Audio, Video, with John providing commentary on the Extras, and Closing Remarks. The Movie According to John: Fi
The reader may recall that the Disney animation department experienced some down time between their Golden Age in the late 1930s, 40s, and 50s and their Renaissance in the late 1980s and beyond. In ot
Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" franchise is making a huge splash onto Blu-Ray with the simultaneous release of the third film on all three current formats and the simultaneous release of the "Ulti
This may be the only film biography in which the fledgling lead, Barbra Streisand, eclipses the star she's portraying. Based on the life of singer and comedienne Fanny Brice, "Funny Girl" is the quint
Critics over the years have called Lawrence Kasdan's sexy, 1981 crime flick "Body Heat" a "sultry noir. " Fair enough. Certainly, the setting is humid and the love story is torrid enough; more importa
These are historic times. I can't remember another president or administration that has spawned so many books and movies protesting U.S. policies, either subtly or overtly. During Vietnam, college cam
Franchises in the horror genre live and die by the strengths of their villains. They are built around and survive by the primary baddie. Uncommon is it that a great horror franchise is remembered beca
"Luck ain't nothin' but karma in work clothes," says an ex-con and small-time hood known to everyone as Lucky. That sounds like another karma-conscious bottom-feeder named Earl, but with flashier clot
Afficienados of old 1930s' horror movies and fans of famous old stars and filmmakers may enjoy this collection of minor horror-movie classics starring major horror-movie actors. The six films offered
Over the past ten years or so Edward Norton has become one of my favorite actors. Even in films I haven't particularly cared for, like "Fight Club" and "The Score," he's been the best part of the show
There's always a sense of trepidation when a remake is announced. Why tread on hallowed ground? Fans had every right to worry when NBC decided to do their own version of the British hit series, "The O
The "Ace Ventura" pictures have always struck me as the kinds of things that seem screamingly funny to you when you first see them, especially if you're young, and then years later when you look back
If you recall, Disney's original "Brother Bear" from 2003 was one of the studio's last traditionally animated, big-screen theatrical releases, and it acquitted itself pretty well. Naturally, that crie
As you might expect, the History Channel's "Secrets of the Koran" is completely cartoon-free. In fact, these two episodes (45 min. each) from the network's "Decoding the Past" series avoid even the fa
Years ago, you never heard much about the evacuation of children to the countryside when London was under attack during World War II. Lately, though, film versions of fictional accounts are shedding l
Travel books were extremely popular in the mid-1800s, especially those that described adventures in exotic places. Westerners absolutely loved reading Herman Melville's accounts in Typee and Omoo
Like Oliver Stone, who offers a commentary on the film and a dozen deleted scenes, I hadn't seen "Platoon" for a good many years. Watching it again, 20 years after it won an Oscar for Best Picture, I
It is redundant to describe a Luis Bunuel film as strange or eccentric – that's what the term "a Luis Bunuel film" means. In fifty years of filmmaking, Bunuel produced a body of images and ideas that
Although the film is more than three decades old, "Blazing Saddles" still looks great, more so now in its new high-definition transfer. With video quality that is better than ever, sound that is bette
How can you beat a title as good as 1995's "Crimson Tide"? The words of the title are short, concise, catchy, and, more important, provocative. Well, one way to outdo the title is to have Denzel Washi
Some TV series are likable in spite of themselves. Take "Here Come the Brides," a western adventure-comedy that ran just two seasons from 1968-70. The characters are as stock as can be, the situations
If you're like me, you think of Jerry Bruckheimer as the quintessential producer of dumb-action popcorn flicks, and if you like this kind of thing, "Con Air" is one of the quintessential dumb-action p
"The Lucy & Desi Collection" comprises a trio of big-screen movies that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made as a team. Two of the films capitalize on the couple's hit TV show, "I Love Lucy," while the ea
I have to admit that of all of America's great playwrights, I've always found Tennessee Williams the most distant from my own way of life. I mean, compared to, say, Arthur Miller or Eugene O'Neill, Wi
"You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star! " Hollywood has made scores of backstage musicals over the years, some of them like "Cabaret" and "Chorus Line" more meaningful and
Afficionados of the genre often point to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" as the best mystery novel ever written. Is it any wonder, then, that there have been so many screen versions of it
*Note: John wrote the primary review as well as the Film Value paragraph. Eddie wrote the Video, Audio, and Extras sections. The number ratings at the bottom of the page match what was written about e
"Proof," the 2005 movie adaptation of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play, is a useful example of why plays don't always make the best movies. Film, motion pictures, is primarily a visual
The first time Buena Vista issued this movie on DVD, it was a bare-bones affair, with little more than an opening menu and some chapter selections. This time out, the studio has gone the extra mile an
Michael Winterbottom hit it big with "24 Hour Party People", a frenetic look at the Manchester music scene. Sex, drugs, and rock & roll were at its heart, though not necessarily in that order. "9 Song
It may not be a great movie, but you can't say there isn't some variety in it. With "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" you get a light, tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy, an exaggerated, heavy-handed screwball comedy,
First, a word of explanation. "The Polar Express" is one of those computer animations that try to look as photorealistic as possible in their representations of the actual world. As a result, the huma
Surely, you joust. Knights rocking out? You have to admire artists who take risks. In just his second directorial outing, Brian Helgeland took one whale of a chance by opting to infuse a period piece
For years after I first saw Disney's "Cinderella" (1950) and "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) back in my childhood, I kept getting them mixed up. They were both about beautiful princesses and handsome princes
Everybody starts somewhere. "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" marked the big-screen debut in 1996 of the Wayans brothers, along with their sisters, cousins, ni
Just as "MAS*H" survived quite nicely following the exodus of Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, and Larry Linville, "Cheers" did just fine after Shelley Long left the popular sitcom. In fact, it was p
"The Outsiders," book and movie, is one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of literature. In 1965 Susan Hinton, a high school student in Tulsa, Oklahoma, wrote a short story that s
"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour--his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear...is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-
This is a good example of a filmmaker having his heart set so firmly in the right place, he couldn't see beyond it. One cannot dispute that writer and director Charles Burnett's 1994 movie "The Glass
Art imitates art imitates art. How can you not like a film that begins and ends with a roaring gunfight, particularly when the film owes its allegiance to Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" and afterwar
Spencer Tracy was a tremendous actor, but he was as badly miscast as Hemingway's Cuban fisherman in the 1958 version of "The Old Man and the Sea" as John Wayne was as Genghis Khan ("The Conquerer," 19
No, "Ice Princess" is not about that girl you dated in high school. It's a lightweight Disney teen drama. The "Ice" part comes in because the main character in the story is a teenage girl who goes fr
The first time I saw the 1991 remake of "Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin, I had my doubts going in. Memories of the original, 1950, Vincente Minnelli movie with Spencer Tracy as the flustered p
One of the few times I've known a Director's Cut to turn a bad film into a good one was "Daredevil. " That hasn't changed. The new, unrated Director's Cut of "Gone in Sixty Seconds" contains nine more
It's hard to believe that screen icon James Dean, whose name is known to probably every filmgoer in the world, starred in only three films before his tragic death in a car accident. When Warner Bros.
There was a time when Steven Seagal was B-A-A-D in a campy sort of way. Now he's just bad, and whoever convinced him to make "Submerged" should be severely chastised and held up to public ridicule.
When you've got a good thing, go with it. Which is exactly what Fox studios are doing with some of their more popular recent hit movies by reissuing them in two-disc Collector's Editions. Basically, t
Nowadays, it's hard to think of a mystery or suspense thriller that doesn't include people chasing each other as a lot of stuff around them blows up. But occasionally we've gotten a rarity from Hollyw
Disney's "Pocahontas" came out the same year, 1995, as Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story," and I wonder if the coincidence didn't signal the beginning of the end for traditional full-length animated features.
Maybe it's just harder than ever anymore to come up with anything scary. People have seen so much horror in the movies and so much worse in real life that thinking up something new must be a chore. At
In the years immediately following the end of World War 2, the world stood in shock as it learned of the enormity of the Holocaust. The horror of this genocide, along with the spectacle of the Nurembe
I love a good, scary ghost story. Unfortunately, "Darkness" is nothing like a good, scary ghost story. A good ghost story or haunted house story would be something like "The Uninvited" (1944), "The H
I had never heard of this movie, but it turns out that "Electra Glide in Blue" is the flip-side of "Easy Rider. " Instead of hippies on hogs searching for the real America, it's biker cops patrolling
This 1938 film release is the epitome of the Warner Bros. gangster-movie style. The story is hackneyed and the characters are stereotyped, but under the sure hand of Michael Curtiz ("Captain Blood," "
Mild-mannered and thoughtful, Kevin Vigilante is an idealist who believes that actions speak louder than words. He doesn't believe that everyone who disagrees with him or his party is a traitor who ha
"When I get in a tight spot, I shoot my way out of it, why sure. Shoot first and argue afterwards. You know, this game ain't for guys that's soft. " --Edward G. Robinson, "Little Caesar" By the 1930s
After the enormous success of Disney's animated "Aladdin" in 1992, I suppose it was inevitable that the studio would follow it up with sequels. I mean, almost every other studio did sequels. Why not D
Released in France as "Leon" and in the U.S. as "The Professional," Luc Besson's stylish film about a hit man and the young girl he trains is now available in a two-disc "deluxe edition" which combine
Thoughts from John: The best way to describe the 2002 crime thriller "Infernal Affairs" ("Wu Jian Dao") might be to suggest that it's Hong Kong's answer to Hollywood's "Heat. " Both films are psyc
"Well, Peter, this is what comes of empire building. " -Harry "Breaker" Morant "Breaker Morant" (1980), based on a true story, is a courtroom drama set during the Boer War, one of the many charming a
Director George Stevens' big, sentimental rendering of John Van Druten's stage hit is a classic nostalgia piece. Of course, as Yogi Berra might have said (but probably didn't), "Nostalgia ain't what i
I'd wager that anyone who was asked to name the most-popular silent-screen comic of all time would answer "Chaplin. " But I'd also bet that a second answer would be "Buster Keaton. " The fact is, Keat
Given that "The Shawshank Redemption" was, as of this writing, the second most-highly regarded film among the voting public at the Internet Movie Database (second only to "The Godfather" and tied with
Music and comedy led the way to recovery after World War II. First came "South Pacific," based on a collection of James Michener stories and turned into a popular Broadway musical by Joshua Logan in 1
Imagine one of every teenage boy's secret desires: To have a porn queen move in next door. Not only next door, but in the bedroom whose window is directly across from his. Not only to see her but to f
Note: Puccio wrote the primary review and the Parting Thoughts paragraph. Feng wrote about the Video and Audio quality of the DVDs. Both Puccio and Feng wrote about the Extras. For a lot of people
"The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride" is the 1998, direct-to-video sequel to Disney's enormously successful "Lion King" of 1994. It was followed more recently by the stage musical of "The Lion King" and ye
There are two major problems that plague Disney's 1979 release, "The Black Hole. " The first is that it's a Disney film, meaning it's primarily aimed at kids and features some pretty juvenile material
Here's a film only a dedicated splatter fan could like. It's really awful, but in fairness "The Driller Killer" from 1979 has a couple of things going for it. It was the first major theatrical releas
When "Showgirls" premiered in theaters in 1995, it was supposed to be a straightforward drama, the struggles of a young woman clawing her way to the top of the chorus line, but as word got around that
How old were you when you first realized or first discovered that there was no Santa Claus? Six? Eight? How old were you when you realized or discovered that not every Santa on every street corner and
"The hotel business is about strangers. And strangers will always surprise you. They come to hotels in the night to do dirty things, and in the morning it's our job to make things look pretty again. "
A rapid rise to stardom, replete with wealth, fame, fans, and groupies clamoring for a piece of the newly formed celebrity can be hard to take for the best-rounded individual. When it happens to a chi
ou know the phrase "Pretty as a picture"? Well, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is just that, the very quintessence of a pretty picture. The movie is frothy and light and hasn't a brain in its head, but it's
Some films are so legendary that you have to wonder how it is that you missed seeing them. Italian director Federico Fellini is such an iconic name that I've often alluded to him when joking about peo
Since their inception the Disney folks have been shrewd enough to know how to maximize their profits. In the beginning they started the practice of re-releasing their major animated features to theate
Warner Bros. studios continue their extraordinary series of two-disc special edition classics with this re-release of "My Fair Lady" on DVD. It's appropriate that the film celebrate its fortieth anniv
Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There" (1871) have been brought to the screen many times, but, oddly enough, none of the m
When Quentin Tarantino made "Kill Bill," it was said he based his story on every old Hong Kong martial-arts movie he could lay his eyes on. If so, then 1982's "Duel to the Death" must have been one of
"Ninety per cent of cops go through their entire career without ever firing their gun. " --Michael Madsen, "44 Minutes" And then there are those few times when they do draw their weapons, and it's fr
The knocks against this offbeat dramatic romance are easy to see. Some people will find it overly sentimental, melodramatic, and pretentious. Its situations will seem exaggerated, its dialogue insipid
Despite the fact that you are going to hear a good deal of negative criticism from me about this film in the next few minutes, and despite my lack of any serious regard for its credibility, let me beg
It's safe to say that "Alien Quadrilogy" at a whopping nine discs is one of the biggest sets of DVDs ever devoted to a specific series of theatrical releases. The package includes regular and special
Pixar Studios, using 3-D computer graphics, have had an amazing succession of animated hits in the last few years with "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monster's Inc.," and 2003's "Finding
"City of Ghosts," the 2003 dramatic thriller from star, cowriter, and first-time director Matt Dillon was a huge, huge box-office bomb. It looks to have been seen by more film critics than regular mov
Movies about rape are almost always losing propositions. If you depict a rape onscreen, then you run the risk of sensationalizing the act and titillating the audience. However, if the rape occurs offs
One of the best-known literary pieces of American horror is the Washington Irving tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Everybody knows the story of Ichabod Crane and his fateful encounter with the legend
Charlie Chaplin paved the way. Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford made a successful transition. So did Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and most recently, George Clooney and Ethan Hawke. Successful actors are
It's good to see the Hollywood musical finally rising from the dead, where the genre lay moribund for close to thirty years until the advent of "Moulin Rouge" in 2001. It's ironic, though, that one of
This is a mood movie. Not the movie's mood. Your mood while you're watching it. If you've got the itch for a syrupy, sentimental, blatantly manipulative film experience, then "Curly Sue" is just your
In Italian writer Carlo Collodi's 1882 fairy tale, Pinocchio is a puppet, a wooden marionette in the form of a child. In Roberto Benigni's 2002 remake of the tale in which Benigni stars as the puppet,
In the documentary film "A Decade Under the Influence," Robert Altman remarks, "I'm not interested in stories. " Presumably, he meant he is more interested in characters and their relationships than i
"West Side Story" won everything in sight when it was released in 1961, including Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins), Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiri
Physically, the West Wing is an office building located within the White House compound that holds the President's Oval Office and the offices of the President's support staff. Historically, it was bu
There are probably better things a person could do with his time than spend it watching the boorish comedy, "Sordid Lives. " You could, for instance, sit cross-legged in the middle of your living room
During the season of autumn, every Saturday afternoon finds millions of Americans watching a game of College Football. Stadiums are built to hold over a hundred thousand people, and the heritage and p
Orson Welles is said to have remarked that no great film was ever made in color. Hyperbole or no, "To Kill a Mockingbird" surely makes Welles's case. Although the movie does not quite measure up to t
For the better part of 2002, I have been reviewing Paramount's massive output of "Star Trek" DVDs. With 6 seasons of "The Next Generation" and 2-disc special editions of "The Wrath of Khan" and "The S
"My Fair Lady" is one of the best and most popular stage musicals of all time. It has what so many more-recent musicals do not have--an intelligent script, great acting, clever dialogue, and an endles
Every fall brings a slew of new television shows. Most don't last beyond a few episodes, and even fewer get to finish their first years. Despite the fact that science-fiction as a genre (in any media)
Paramount's "Star Trek" franchise has spawned 10 feature films (including the upcoming "Nemesis"), 5 television shows, and a pop sub-culture with world-wide penetration. No other tele-film series has
Corporate siblings Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema dominated the box office during late-2001 with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". "HP
For the second year in a row, The Criterion Collection and the Sundance Channel are partnering to present a selection of cinematic works from around the world in the "The Sundance Channel Presents Cla
According to the biography at his Web site (www.philipkdick.com), between 1952 and 1982 when he died, science-fiction author Philip K. Dick wrote thirty-six novels and five collections of short storie
Paramount's "Star Trek" franchise has spawned 9 feature films (and counting), 5 television shows (and counting), and a pop sub-culture with world-wide penetration. No other telefilm series has such a
It's remarkable how much Jackie Chan's movies have improved since his 1985 American starring debut in "The Protector. " Maybe Chan should have not have placed so much trust back then in writer-directo
"Kate & Leopold" comes this close (image of two fingers being held as closely together as possible without actually touching), this close, to getting an unqualified recommendation. It's quite good, bu
When "The Parent Trap" came out in 1961, I was in high school. It starred Haley Mills and was distinctly a "girl's movie. " I avoided it like a pubescent plague. Indeed, I continued avoiding it for ov
Warner Bros. has Batman and Superman. MGM has James Bond. Fox has "Star Wars" and "Alien. " So what? Paramount has "Star Trek," a franchise that has spawned 9 feature films (and counting), 5 televisio
What were Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie thinking of when they made this picture? There seems to be no other purpose for 2001's "Original Sin" than to show as much of the two stars' flesh as poss
Warner Bros. has Batman and Superman. MGM has James Bond. Fox has "Star Wars. " So what? Paramount has "Star Trek," a franchise that has spawned 9 feature films (and counting), 5 television shows (and
"Instead of asking us to identify with this couple, as an American film would, [director] Wong [Kar-Wai] asks us to empathize with them; that is a higher and more complex assignment, with greater rewa
Fans of the original "Star Trek" TV series will be happy eventually to own any or all of their favorite shows on DVD. Paramount is issuing two episodes per volume, forty or more volumes in all, over t
I have very fond memories associated with watching the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer. " Since its Spring 1997 debut, "Buffy" has been good to me. I remember watching an episode of the show the n
The television mini-series used to constitute a major event. At one time, they captured large audiences and during the early Eighties, the mini-series format enjoyed quite a boon in popularity. One be
If you enjoyed Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning "Cinema Paradiso," that fond remembrance of childhood and the movies, then you may also like his 2000 entry in approximately the same
"Nosferatu" has the distinction of being the original theatrical telling of Bram Stoker's "Dracula. " The film is widely regarded as one of the great films of the silent era and true cinematic classic
Not every fruit falls from the tree fully ripened. Not every artist creates a masterpiece the first time out. It took Woody Allen the better part of a decade to hone his style well enough to produce a