Author Archives
I’m a cinephile/tv junkie/podcaster who loves to watch films, write them and write ABOUT them. My film and TV reviews are posted on 8bitwaffles.com and blakcinpehilewrites.wordpress.com. I also write film musings and rants on Instagram and Twitter (@blakcinephile). I am also the co-creator/co-host of “Double Feature: Versus” (https://doublefeaturevs.com), a podcast where my co-host Brad and I clash heads on two competing films with a single connection or theme.
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Questlove’s “Earth, Wind & Fire” doc is an engaging, enlightening tribute to one of the greatest musical groups of all time [Tribeca]
It’s fitting that a documentary about one of the greatest bands of all time comes from The Roots drummer and all-around music geek Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. It’s even more fitting that the man who holds the most memorable afro this… Read More ›
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From the subversive to the shocking to the steamy, Imprint Films’s “After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema — Collection Four (1990 – 1997)” arrives with gorgeous updated restorations and is jam-packed with supplemental features.
“There’s a beguiling and magnetic mood. There’s so much darkness, and there’s so much room to dream. They’re mysteries”, and there are people in trouble, and uneasiness”. This fitting quote from David Lynch is printed in bold green lettering on… Read More ›
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Polarizing, maddening and surreal, Toshiaki Toyoda’s “Transcending Dimensions” comes home, courtesy of Third Window Films.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are three instances of powerful strobing/flashing lights that may trigger a painful response in audiences: two shortly after the title card appears and one in the climatic sequence of the film. A sadistic sorcerer. An existential hitman…. Read More ›
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Slow-paced thriller “Dreams” crawls onto home video through Kino Lorber.
When word came down that Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak) was making an erotic thriller, it was an announcement that felt both intriguing and out of left field. An acclaimed character actress taking on a risky role that requires both physical… Read More ›
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Erotic noir “Body Heat” comes home in a gorgeous restoration, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Lawrence Kasdan. A name attached to memorable, entertaining cinema such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and The Big Chill (1983). Kasdan is a man who is known to update classic Hollywood genres —… Read More ›
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“Innerspace”, a fun, zany adventure gem from the dream team of Steven Spielberg and Joe Dante, comes home in a visually stunning limited edition restoration courtesy of Arrow Video.
“Steven Spielberg presents a Joe Dante film.” Six words of guaranteed Blockbuster magic if one has ever heard them. From the classic, influential 1984 Gremlins to the wacky, satirical 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, all the way to… Read More ›
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“Primate,” an infectiously entertaining gory B-movie, arrives on home video courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
There ain’t never been anything wrong with wanting a lean, mean, gory B-movie — as long as it’s good or, at the very least, enjoyable. Johannes Roberts, director of the successful 47 Meters Down franchise and The Strangers: Prey at… Read More ›
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Robert Aramayo delivers a fantastic lead performance in director Kirk Jones inspirational, humorous biopic “I Swear.”
On February 22nd, 2026, while presenting an award for Best Special Visual Effects at the 79th BAFTAs, actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo’s presentation was quickly interrupted by the slur “n****r,” spoken by Scottish Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson…. Read More ›
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Transgressive master Takashi Miike’s violent, mean-spirited “Agitator” gets a solo-edition home release with updated resolution by Radiance Films.
Trigger Warning: Agitator contains sequences of graphic violence and sexual assault that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. It’s a rather tall order to not expect a yakuza film with title Agitator to not … well, agitate you. But such… Read More ›
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A classic sprawling epic of power and politics within a powerful crime syndicate, Sadao Nakajima’s “The Japanese Godfather Trilogy” finally arrives on Blu-ray, courtesy of Radiance Films.
Sadao Nakajima’s Japanese Godfather Trilogy is a collection of three yakuza films made between 1977 and 1978 based on the true story of Japan’s largest crime syndicate. Taking some inspiration (both thematically and visually) from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 gangster… Read More ›
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The Criterion Collections brings the nuclear fallout of “Testament” back to life in a stunning restoration.
Originally made for television, Lynne Littman’s 1983 film Testament takes a human, grounded approach to the sensationalized topic of nuclear devastation. Based on the short story “The Last Testament” by Carol Amen, Testament is as prevalent today (given recent world… Read More ›
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“Blue Moon” boasts a career-best performance from Ethan Hawke as Richard Linklater lovingly brings the 1940s to life.
Director Richard Linklater (Nouvelle Vague) has been actively communicating with the past, meaning he has released two films within the past year that pay homage to the figures behind classic films and musicals. Alongside Nouvelle Vague, a film about the… Read More ›
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A complex love story brilliantly masked in a survival story and political thriller, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” receives a beautiful digital restoration, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Two prisoners. Two different pasts. One love story that keeps them going. Set within the Brazilian military dictatorship, Héctor Babenco’s 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman (adapted by Leonard Schrader, based on Manuel Pieg’s 1976 novel) is about two… Read More ›
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Fun ‘90s action flick “Under Siege” gets an overdue updated restoration thanks to Arrow Video.
When the name “Steven Seagal” is spoken in Tinseltown nowadays, it’s probably met with a few grunts and eyerolls. When the name is said among B-movie action fans, it’s probably met with a few chuckles and recanting of obscure lines… Read More ›
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“Thank You Very Much”, an inclusive, insightful documentary about the comedy enigma Andy Kaufman arrives on home video via Drafthouse Films.
In the beginning of Alex Braverman’s documentary Thank You Very Much, there is a clip of performance artist/comedian Andy Kaufman stating how we would make a film: he would start with the climax, show the title “The End,” show a… Read More ›
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“Salaam Bombay!”, Mira Nair’s acclaimed gem about love, friendship, and tragedy on the streets of Mumbai receives a digital restoration release courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Mira Nair’s first narrative feature, the Indian Hindi-language drama Salaam Bombay!, is as much a documentary as it is a narrative of Bombay’s (now Mumbai’s) loud and chaotic street life. Even though its story and characters are crafted by Nair… Read More ›
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A great documentary of one great filmmaker watching another, Les Blank’s “Burden of Dreams” gets a 4K re-release courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In the rare event where game recognizes game or a filmmaker puts his camera on another filmmaker, there’s no telling what moments of unflinching honesty and remarkable ambition you will find. In his 1982 film Burden of Dreams, documentarian Les… Read More ›
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Ari Aster’s incendiary, messy, modern western “Eddington” comes home courtesy of A24.
When it was announced that contemporary cinema’s most interesting enfant, Ari Aster, was developing a COVID-19 western, it did more than turn a few heads. Tackling one of the most uncertain and anxious times in recent memory seemed like an… Read More ›
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Alex Winter’s misunderstood zany black comedy “Freaked” gets a 4K upgrade, courtesy of Drafthouse Films.
It’s good to be in the age of once-reviled films getting their just due of 4K restoration. Once a film with little to no release, Alex Winter and Tom Stern’s 1993 over-the-top shock comedy Freaked is being re-released thanks to… Read More ›
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One of Jacques Audiard’s early hits, the unique romantic thriller “Read My Lips”, comes home to Blu-Ray, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Before he brought us the polarizing 2024 crime musical Emilia Pérez, the Palme d’Or winning 2015 Dheepan, and the 2009 critically acclaimed gangster film A Prophet, director Jacques Audiard brought us the complex romance thriller Read My Lips in 2001…. Read More ›