Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is a film built on dichotomy. The lead character, Izumi (Hiroko Yakushimaru), is a high school teen, suggesting innocence or, at the least, a touch of naiveté. She’s not old enough to have been touched… Read More ›
Recommendation
Bring the Ten Rings home as “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is available now.
While there’s a vocal contingent online citing MCU fatigue, I’m getting excited after the last two films — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals — as things feel like they’re starting anew. We don’t know if… Read More ›
Celebrate director Barry Sonnenfeld’s “The Addams Family” 30th anniversary with a brand-new 4K UHD edition.
Artist Charles Addams is most widely known for his cartoon series “The Addams Family” which ran in The New Yorker, which then became the even more popular ABC television program which ran for two seasons between 1964 and 1966. While… Read More ›
“The Emperor’s Sword” seeks to immortalize the legends of Chinese lore, but fails on just about every level in its attempts to do so.
Ideas are often one thing, whereas execution is entirely another. There are plenty of films which sound incredible, but the finished product seems entirely devoid of the potential. This is the best way to describe the frustration that comes from… Read More ›
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “tick, tick…BOOM!” adaptation is a love-letter to both a lost artist and the medium he so loved.
Your musical theater tastes are all but defined by when you were first introduced. It doesn’t mean that you can’t shift or grow in tastes, but there certainly comes a heavy influence or leaning based upon your start. While I,… Read More ›
You don’t need to say his name to bring him home. Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” is available on home video now.
In horror, there are far more stories of unrelenting evil than there are tales of vengeance. Look at the pantheon of horror elite and you’ve got Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Pennywise. There are plenty more, for sure, but… Read More ›
Don’t blink. Don’t move. Writer/director Jane Campion’s western thriller “The Power of the Dog” compels you to heel.
Director Jane Campion’s (The Piano) latest project is an adaptation of author Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel The Power of the Dog. Her film, a taunt western-drama, chronicles the intersecting lives of two families across several months in Montana 1925. Each… Read More ›
Enjoy a little “Respect” when you get home — the anticipated Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson is now available.
Great performers like Aretha Franklin are remembered for much more than their God-given talents. They’re also remembered for their ability to connect with their audience. A good performer will practice and train for years to master their craft, but a… Read More ›
Sion Sono’s odd and beautiful “Prisoners of the Ghostland” arrives in four flavors: 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it countless times: revisiting a film is always bound to reveal something new. We have to be willing — correction — open to that newness because, whether a film is a longtime favorite… Read More ›
If puns, cursed conquistadors, and a ride down the Amazon River sound like a good time, then book a ticket on the home release of “Jungle Cruise.”
When Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955, the premier ride, the main attraction of the entire park, was a water tour ride called “Jungle Cruise.” The ride enabled park attendees to pretend to visit exotic regions around the globe from… Read More ›
“Don’t Breathe 2” is a horrible follow-up to an outstanding horror film, but a surprisingly great home release.
One of the most underrated horror/thrillers of the past decade was easily Fede Álvarez’s Don’t Breathe. The tense, heart-pounding suspense and brutal, but surprisingly pared back (at least compared to the absolute bloodbath that was Álvarez’s first feature 2013’s Evil… Read More ›
Writer/director Lisa Joy’s neo-noir feature debut “Reminiscence” offers a new perspective on a time-tested genre.
There’s an interesting line in writer/director Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence, which suggests that our past doesn’t haunt us. It’s gone. We, however, through our memories, haunt it by revisiting moments in our mind over and over. There’s psychological proof of this… Read More ›
25 years later, Wes Craven’s “Scream” continues its reign as one of the greatest horror films of all time in a new 4K UHD release.
Wes Craven’s Scream premiered in December 1996, one day after I turned 16. For those who know me, horror is not my primary genre. Before I knew it had a name (hypnagogia), I would see things in the dark —… Read More ›
GKIDS’s complete series Blu-ray release for “Neon Genesis Evangelion” is a strong way to kickstart a new fandom obsession.
Somehow, in one way or another, stories transcend times and locations, growing to become global phenomena. We’ve seen it with the characters of DC Comics and Marvel Comics, the Transformers series (based on the run of Hasbro toys), and, of… Read More ›
Sadly, when betting on this particular G.I. Joe adaptation, “Snake Eyes” is an appropriate title.
It’s been a long road to go from the first iteration of “America’s Moveable Fighting Man” G.I. Joe to the latest live-action cinematic rendition of the characters from that universe. In that time, the Hasbro toyline has gone from a… Read More ›
Maggie Q shines in action thriller “The Protégé,” on home video now.
Maggie Q, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Robert Patrick sign up to be in a movie together. This isn’t the start of a joke, but four compelling reasons why you should check out The Protégé, directed by Martin Campbell… Read More ›
“Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” offers popcorn entertainment right at home.
Escape Room was a cute little Saw-esque surprise of January of 2019, and while there were certainly some struggles with the screenplay, as well as its PG-13 rating feeling as if it was holding itself back from its pure potential,… Read More ›
Compelling performances amid a surprising dramatic thriller don’t make up for the shortcomings in “Stillwater.”
Truth and fiction can be a matter of perspective. Because of this, one’s guilt or innocence can shift more to one side than another based on who’s doing the judging. In family squabbles, it’s often harder to identify the guilty… Read More ›
“The Suicide Squad” lands on home video so it’s time for a deep dive into discomfort.
Like all things given time, the way we look at movies shifts. After my first viewing of writer/director James Gunn’s (Slither) The Suicide Squad, I found myself entertained, but not quite sold. Choices felt odd in their presentation, violence seemed… Read More ›
Writer/director’s Kaneto Shindo’s “Onibaba” joins the Criterion Collection in two different editions.
There are many proverbs or common phrases that have worked their way into the moral fabric of society. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Treat others the way you’d like to be… Read More ›