Back in April, at the beginning of a particularly sleepy 12-hour shift manning the box office of the downtown Durham theatre in which I work, I opened A.M. Shine’s The Watchers on my Kindle, having impulsively downloaded it via the… Read More ›
home video
“Watchmen: Chapter 1” offers a fresh adaptation that’s as close to the source graphic novel as it can be.
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” – Roman poet Juvenal in Satires. So often, the general public takes it for granted that someone will protect them. With stories featuring The Phantom and The Shadow as preludes to the birth of Superman and… Read More ›
Is “The Garfield Movie” the Nermal of “Garfield” films? Only one way to find out and that’s on home video.
“I hate Mondays.” As a child of the 1980s, I felt this phrase deep in my bones, which is likely why I owned several of the Jim Davis-created Garfield book collections so that I could revisit the three-to-four panel adventures… Read More ›
“Ride” Blu-ray Giveaway
June 2024. Well Go USA released actor/writer Jake Allyn’s directorial debut, Ride, into theaters. Now, the family drama is set to release on shelves for audiences to pick up, explore, and enjoy in the comfort of their homes. Thanks to Well… Read More ›
Explore the “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” via the minimal but rich bonus features included on select home editions.
1968: director Franklin J. Schaffner releases his feature-length cinematic adaptation of author Pierre Boulle’s short story, Planet of the Apes. Since then, it’s spawned five canonical films, a television show, and a Tim Burton-directed remake — not to mention countless… Read More ›
The new 4K UHD release of the comedic thriller “Game Night” is worth adding to your tabletop game collection.
Before co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein had us roll for initiative (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), they showed us that there’s another way to interpret the call for somewhat structured social play in the comedic thriller Game… Read More ›
“Sting” Blu-ray Giveaway
Wyrmwood series director Kiah Roache-Turner brought a different kind of horror show to theaters in April 2024 with the creature feature Sting, an arachnophobic’s absolute nightmare. At the end of July, Well Go USA released Roache-Turner’s mystery thriller on physical formats… Read More ›
When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain, the 4K UHD remaster of “The Last Unicorn” from Shout! Studios will have you believing.
Originally published in 1968, author Peter S. Beagle’s adventure fantasy The Last Unicorn would be tapped by The Hobbit (1977) co-directors Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. for adaptation. Their theatrical release of the same name, The Last Unicorn (1982),… Read More ›
“The United States of Leland” will waste your time and money.
Sometimes a film ends up at a boutique Blu-ray distributor because the conditions of its theatrical run rendered it forgotten and misunderstood. Other times, it’s because the film is an odious facsimile of a good film, and it tricks a… Read More ›
Join the tornado wranglers from the safety of your own space with the “Twisters” digital release.
The world of Twisters swept up cineplexes barely one month ago. The latest disaster epic tells the story of Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), now working as a meteorologist, when a friend from her storm-chasing past named Javi (Anthony Ramos) comes… Read More ›
Eureka Entertainment brings home the messy but entertaining “The Miracle Fighters,” an ‘80s mashup of kung fu, fantasy, and comedy.
Those not used to extreme tonal shifts, a mixture of martial arts, comedy, and fantasy in one may be in for a shock watching Yuen Woo-ping’s cult hit The Miracle Fighters (1982). Within the first 10 minutes, we witness a… Read More ›
“A Quiet Place: Day One” Digital Code Giveaway
In 2018, actor/writer/director John Krasinski introduced audiences to a world gone quiet as it continues to try to survive against alien invaders who hunt by sound in A Quiet Place. This year, writer/director Michael Sarnoski (Pig) took audiences to when… Read More ›
Crime drama “The Bikeriders” pulls up with a worthy home release.
The phrase “style over substance” is a common complaint regarding certain films. In these instances, some films can be so aesthetically pleasing that they lose sight of the story. Such films can craft well-drawn characters and a richly detailed sense… Read More ›
“IF” delights friends both real and imaginary with a home release packed with bonus features.
No one really knows when from where inspiration will strike. An innocuous action, a stray thought, a random observation — anything is ripe for seeding a new concept or approach. For writer/director/actor John Krasinski (A Quiet Place), inspiration for his… Read More ›
Beyond Thunderdome, beyond vengeance, lies “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” on home video.
Filmmaker Dr. George Miller’s been entertaining audiences for nearly 40 years, either with tales of desperation (Mad Max (1979)), tales of greed (The Witches of Eastwick (1987)), or tales of hope (Happy Feet Two (2011)), to name a few. In… Read More ›
“IF” 4K UHD Blu-ray Giveaway
At some point in our lives, we lose the magic of our youth. The wide-eyed optimism is shuttered by age, experience, and, possibly, being told “no” by life too many times. Perhaps to help battle this, writer/director John Krasinski developed… Read More ›
Witness the end of the Tomorrowverse as Warner Bros. Animation’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” concludes with “Part Three.”
Within the home release of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One, the featurette “Crisis Prime(r)” lays out how just how long the plan for Crisis on Infinite Earths had been in the works, detailing that each film… Read More ›
GKIDS Films’s “The Boy and the Heron” reveals itself on home video in 4K.
In the months since the winter release of The Boy and the Heron (2023), the following events have clarified the meaning and depth of this inscrutable film in my mind: The Megalopolis (2024) trailer, the Supreme Court’s sweeping theft of… Read More ›
Sony Pictures Classics gives Tom Tykwer’s romantic thriller “Run Lola Run” its own 4K UHD release.
Before American audiences met Franka Potente as Marie, the accidental ally to amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in 2002, she portrayed a different type of “on-the-run” character: Lola. Absent intrigue of the spy sort, Potente’s Lola is a strong… Read More ›
Tai Katō’s intense prison drama “Eighteen Years in Prison” get a homecoming with a HD transfer by Radiance Films.
When it comes to prison break films or life in prison films, there’s a certain level of escapism to be expected. Whether it’s Frank Darabont’s poignant 1994 hit The Shawshank Redemption or Don Michael Paul’s silly but fun-as-hell 2002 flick… Read More ›