The gothic ghost story subgenre explores new avenues in Went Up the Hill, a meditative and moody drama from director Samuel Van Grinsven. Set in New Zealand’s South Island, Went Up the Hill takes after its gothic predecessors by setting… Read More ›
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“Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires (Batman Azteca: Choque de imperios)” clings so tightly to its DC roots that it stifles the flair when it embraces its Mexican influence.
In 1991, DC Comics published Batman: Holy Terror, a tale featuring an alternate history for the United States in which it remained a Commonwealth of the United Kingdom. It shifts the origin story we know of Bruce Wayne into Batman… Read More ›
Straddling two worlds, “Tin Soldier” is unable to be more than a prop for an as-expected action thriller.
Trigger Warning: Tin Soldier deals with a number of issues related to trauma-induced by war and the film incorporates several visual and sound elements intended to convey such psychological trauma that may trigger sensitive viewers. In the United States, members… Read More ›
Disney & Pixar’s “Elio,” a standard but fun, visually dazzling cosmos adventure of self-esteem, comes home in digital HD.
From 2008’s WALL-E to 2022’s Lightyear (and 2020’s Soul, if you count The Great Beyond as a qualifier), Pixar started a tradition of traveling into the beautiful outer space cosmos. In 2025, they continued this tradition with Elio. The film… Read More ›
Confidence crime thriller “Yadang: The Snitch” comes to home video, inspiring you to question who you trust the whole way.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are several party sequences and instances involving the press wherein lights either flash or strobe. Be advised. Everyone has a favorite type of story. For some, it’s romances; others, comedies; and, others still, horror. In my top… Read More ›
Western “The Unholy Trinity” arrives on home video devoid of bonus features.
The Unholy Trinity (2024) is a film that, at first glance, seems tailor-made for fans longing for a return to the gritty, dust-caked charm of old-school westerns. With its barren landscapes, tense shootouts, and a score that leans into the… Read More ›
The robust performances within escape room horror thriller “Locked” can’t enhance its shallow philosophy.
What would you do to right a wrong? What wrong would you do to make something right? Where is the line by which a good person becomes bad and what rationale do they provide to defend themselves? In truth, from… Read More ›
Catch a strong tail wind and grab the new 4K UHD edition of Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.”
November 2003 saw the release of director/co-writer Peter Weir’s (The Truman Show; Dead Poets Society) nautical wartime tale Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, an indirect adaptation of the stories from the Patrick O’Brian Master and Commander… Read More ›
Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” negotiated a home release but with meager offerings in bonus features.
Storyteller Wes Anderson broke onto the scene with 1994’s Bottle Rocket and hasn’t really looked back. He’s developed a signature style while assembling what’s best described as a theatrical troupe, a set of actors who relish the chance to return… Read More ›
“Lilo & Stitch” come home digitally with a talented cast delivering great family entertainment in live-action.
Live-action remakes of coveted animated films can be a pain point of mine. Most of the time (well, all of the time), it’s an opportunity to juice more money out of an existing IP and less an opportunity to tell… Read More ›
Micro-feature “Good to See You” rides French New Wave like the 7 Line.
There are few places more wonderful in the world than Central Park in New York City, and Good to See You (2025), the newest independent micro-feature from writer/director Jonah Feingold (At Midnight; EXmas) is on a mission to make sure… Read More ›
The She-Devil with a Sword returns to cinema with MJ Bassett’s ambitious “Red Sonja.”
Author Robert E. Howard is responsible for the stories of the fictional Hyborian Age, a period of time in which anything modern was stripped away due to a geological event, leaving the world rife with opportunity for fantastical adventure. A… Read More ›
The physical release of the sometimes-musical dramedy “The Ballad of Wallis Island” charms you despite arriving empty-handed.
In 2007, director James Griffiths (Cuban Fury) and co-writers/co-stars Tom Basden (Plebs: Soldiers of Rome) and Tim Key (Wonderdate) released their short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. The trio has been working since to adapting it… Read More ›
Horror comedy “Hell of a Summer” receives a decent home release edition for a subpar cinematic experience.
If there’s anything that cinema has taught us, don’t be a camp counselor. Either they have to build morale for a rag-tag group of kids coming from disparate backgrounds in order to help defeat an opposing camp, have to play… Read More ›
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” breathes new Death into the franchise in a 4K Blu-ray home release.
I could spend hours ruminating on all of the ways the Final Destination franchise shaped me as a lover of film from childhood, but eventually I would bore you with my stories of being afraid of the Final Destination 3… Read More ›
“Eephus” hits a homer on Blu-ray.
Eephus (2024), now out on Blu-ray, is a great American movie because, like America’s Favorite Pastime, it captures the ways we can be and have forgotten how to be — communal, patient, and honorable, surprisingly loud, and sometimes surprisingly quiet… Read More ›
Crime drama thriller “Sovereign” will haunt you.
Have you seen Justin Kurzel’s highly under the radar crime thriller, The Order (2024)? Did you see it and immediately think to yourself that you wanted to see more of this? If you haven’t, have you seen some of Dick… Read More ›
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” brings further enlightenment with glorious bonus features on its home release. Invite it in.
“See, white folks, they like the blues just fine. They just don’t like the people who make it.” – Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) Xenophobes exhibit a strange cognitive dissonance. They own iPhones, but hate the people who make them. They… Read More ›
“Absolute Dominion” washes out.
Absolute Dominion (2025), when pitched, sounds like the left-wing equivalent of an evangelical Lionsgate film that’s obviously a money-laundering scheme, but its impressive direction, a great concept, and a more cohesive politic leave you knowing that it could have been… Read More ›
“Wick Is Pain” brings forward the true heart of what makes the “John Wick” films great.
With few exceptions, American-based action stars primarily relied on either physical strength (Arnold Schwarzenegger) or firearms (Bruce Willis; Eddie Murphy) as the means for righting perceived wrongs. Slowly, however, thanks to actors like Chuck Norris (Enter the Dragon; Missing in… Read More ›