The key to a great slasher film, other than a great antagonist, is a situation where the stakes are high for one or both parties, an arena where both the hunter and the hunted have an equal playing field and… Read More ›
Films To Watch
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Freaky Tales” mythologizes the Oakland Bay area through a punk rock & hip-hop infused anthology.
Anthologies have a long history in storytelling as they gather seemingly disparate narratives into a singular collection. In cinema, the connection between the parts can remain thematic, leaving the stories individual (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)); may be through… Read More ›
GKIDS Films re-releases Mamoru Hosoda’s “Summer Wars” on home video as they kick off their Hosoda Collection coverage.
“This is the nature of war: By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself.” – Seven Samurai (1954) One never knows what their introduction to a filmmaker’s filmography will be. Someone could… Read More ›
“She’s the He” turns the bathroom panic in today’s political landscape into a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age sex comedy. [SXSW]
Coming-of-age tales are fairly commonplace in cinema with explorations of self and sex in semi-recent films like Porky’s (1981), A Goofy Movie (1995), and The People’s Joker (2024). These stories feature young adults getting into a variety of hijinks either… Read More ›
“Bob Trevino Likes It” and audiences will love it.
Tracie Laymon may have arguably the year’s best feature debut. Her adapted from real life story, Bob Trevino Likes It, is masterfully crafted by its entire cast, bringing the film to emotional heights and devastating realizations, resulting in a movie… Read More ›
A24 rewards “Babygirl” with very worthy features on its home release on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
If you’re a fan of physical media (I mean who isn’t, and if you’re not, you’re not reading this) and you care about more than just *owning* a copy of the movie (you like the packaging, you like the extras,… Read More ›
Charlie Chaplin’s progressive romantic drama “A Woman of Paris” is his ninth title to enter The Criterion Collection.
Left to leave her hometown without her partner, a woman moves toward a major city center, finds herself a rich lover who allows her to enjoy the finer things in life, until two things occur requiring her to reconsider her… Read More ›
Ben Leonberg’s “Good Boy” takes the horror tropes you know and revitalizes them via a new context that’s unpredictable and terrifying. [SXSW]
Photosensitivity Warning: Good Boy involves several night time sequences that occur during a storm, resulting in a great deal of lightning flashes. Those with light sensitivities should take precautions before viewing. Every genre has their tropes, but very few play… Read More ›
Kahane Corn Cooperman’s “Creede U.S.A.” is a surprisingly heartfelt and hopeful documentary about the power of empathy. [SXSW]
“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” – Mohsin Hamid In the late 1800s, when silver was found by Nicholas C. Creede in the mountains of Southwest Colorado, the rush of people led to the boomtown known… Read More ›
Narrative hybrid “Brother Verses Brother” is a life-affirming, soul-crushing, musical journey that reminds us how art can save our lives. [SXSW]
“Art can save your life … Entertainment will never be your salvation … .” – Comedian Josh Jackson. In 2020, as COVID-19 resulted in lockdowns around the world, twin siblings Ari and Ethan Gold began corresponding with their father, Herbert,… Read More ›
Co-directors Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s compelling fantasy dramedy “Ghost Cat Anzu” arrives on home video with a barebones edition.
Published from 2006 – 2007, manga creator Imashiro Takashi’s series Bakeneko Anzu-chan followed a ghost cat, a bakeneko type of kaibyō (a cat with supernatural properties), and its relationship with the people who lived in the town surrounding the temple… Read More ›
Intimate documentary “Everybody Dance” beautifully showcases life-changing program for disabled dancers.
People who live with disabilities are often made to feel invisible. In fact, society in general considers people with disabilities to be disposable, many times not wanting to even be reminded of their existence, when all people who live with… Read More ›
Arrow Video delivers a worthy 4K release of the 1980 dark thriller “Cruising.”
Trigger Warning: The narrative centers violence upon the LGBTQIA+ community and this may be distressing for sensitive viewers. If you’re reading this and, like me, you’ve heard of William Friedkin’s Cruising with Al Pacino (Heat), but have never seen it… Read More ›
Invite “Nosferatu” in and plunge into Robert Eggers’s gothic horror any time at home.
Ever since 2015’s The Witch, Director Robert Eggers has proved his genre supremacy. Whether it be the quirky horrors of The Lighthouse (2019) or the violent Viking delights in The Northman (2022), every movie in Egger’s catalog continues to showcase… Read More ›
“Amadeus” still rocks at 40: Warner Bros. debuts exhilarating 4K restoration of the theatrical cut.
The ‘80s were a decade of decadence. Whimsical fashion, music, and media reigned pop culture. This was especially true with the films of the era. The year 1984 saw Warner Bros. release both Purple Rain, a semi-biographical concert film starring… Read More ›
Largely-forgotten low-budget experimental martial arts actioner “Furious” receives a collectible SD edition via Visual Vengeance.
While action has been a staple element of cinema since its creation, not all films which use action are viewed the same. For some reason, the bigger the budget, the larger the presumption that the film is good or “of… Read More ›
“Mermaid Legend” dives into revenge on Blu-ray from Third Window Films.
Content Warning: This film contains sexual violence and semi-explicit sex acts that may be unnerving for sensitive viewers. Mermaid Legend (1984) is the prize film in Third Window Film’s newest wave of their Blu-ray releases of The Directors Company movies…. Read More ›
“Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse” explores the magnitude of significance of Spiegelman and his graphic novel “Maus.”
When I was in university (all those years ago), I took a class that was essentially called “Understanding Comics” which explored comics as a medium — how it told stories, how it evolved, where it is now, and so on,… Read More ›
“The Monkey” is a blood-soaked laugh-riot.
Theo James, even when he’s good, such as in White Lotus season two (2022) or the ill-fated HBO adaption of The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022), has apparently been miscast his entire career until The Monkey (2025). Usually playing a George… Read More ›
You’ve waited 20 years for “Constantine” in 4K UHD. What’s another 20 seconds?
Angela Dodson: Well, this has been real educational, but … I don’t believe in the devil. John Constantine: You should. He believes in you. – Constantine (2005) Unlike now, comic book adaptations used to be far less prevalent and didn’t… Read More ›