Each story — the ones we tell ourselves that make up our reality and the ones that creatives make for the books, shows, and films we ingest — is a matter of perspective and, frequently, the audience is rarely asked… Read More ›
romance
“Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” strikes all the typical Austen rom-com notes.
Back in 2013, Director Jerusha Hess brought to life the silly world of Shannon Hale’s novel Austenland. In it, Jane Hayes (Keri Russell), a 30-something fangirl for the works of Jane Austen, travels to a British resort themed to the… Read More ›
A dreamlike odyssey of sex, drugs, and self-discovery, Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” is available on home video from A24.
The Beat Movement was a literary alliance started by a group of authors in the 1950s which included William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Allen Ginsberg (Howl), and Jack Kerouac (On the Road). The Beat subculture focused on dismissal of standard… Read More ›
“Wan Pipel” Blu-ray Giveaway
Marking the end of filmmaker Pim de la Parra’s time with Scorpio Films is the 1976 dramatic romance Wan Pipel (One People), which is having its worldwide Blu-ray debut via Cult Epics. Courtesy of Cult Epics and MVD Entertainment Group, EoM… Read More ›
Pavli Serenetsky’s coming of age tale “More Beautiful Perversions” explores the importance of discovery through transient, ephemeral love. [ATLFF]
Content Warning: Adult nudity is present in the film. Nothing explicitly sexual, but not discrete. Not every relationship we have is meant to last. This is a painful realization, whether it occurs as a child, a teen, a young adult,… Read More ›
“The Wedding Banquet” invites you to find your seat at the table.
The Wedding Banquet (2025) is one of those rare films that functions more as another swing at bat than as a remake, and returning screenwriter James Schamus (The Wedding Banquet (1993); Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) scores at least a double… Read More ›
Academy Award-winning tragicomedy, anti-Cinderella story “Anora” comes available on director-approved 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo edition from The Criterion Collection.
In the popular children’s story Cinderella, the protagonist lives a miserable existence, mistreated by her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters, but ultimately ends up living an enchanted life with Prince Charming, with a little help from her fairy godmother. Written… Read More ›
Daniel Minahan’s adaptation of “On Swift Horses” delivers a compelling melodrama.
The beauty of film lies in its ability to evoke a specific era or environment. Whether in a quiet character drama or a large-scale spectacle, film can help transport an audience to a different time. Even if the quality (story,… Read More ›
Criterion’s 4K release of “Some Like It Hot” offers little relative to the Kino Lorber 4K release.
When a boutique label announces that they’re releasing a 4K copy of a movie that has already had a restoration done, the questions are inevitably going to be asked as to which transfer is better between the two disks, what… Read More ›
Drew Hancock’s “Companion” is a rom-com for the modern era.
In the featurette “I Feel, Therefore I Am,” writer/director Drew Hancock (Fred 3: Camp Fred) talks about how sometimes, in relationships, there are those who are more invested than another. Personally, in the right circumstances, imbalance in one area can… Read More ›
Hong Kong cinema homage “Love Hurts” arrives on physical formats, bringing its production secrets with it.
It’s a tale as old as time. Actor gets work with not one, but multiple top-tier directors, and then finds themselves struggling to get work. Most times, those actors fade into obscurity if they can’t pivot. One such actor, Ke… 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 ›
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 ›
Meet cutes in the age of the apps: “Step Back, Doors Closing” adapts the 24-hour romance concept for a Gen Z audience. [OFF]
In the era of dating apps, many singles still fantasize about finding their forever partner in a Hollywood-worthy meet cute that they can recount to their grandchildren someday. While it’s a lot easier to secure a date for the evening… 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 ›
Dark comedy “Timestalker” deconstructs tropes of love and romance.
As a child of the ‘90s, fantasy tales of romance have always felt like the coziest of blankets. Could it be that true love always won in the end? Or, having existed in a world filled with divorce, addiction, and… Read More ›
Bring “Wicked” home in a stunning 4K Blu-ray loaded with special features.
Back in 2003, I had the pleasure (much like the rest of New York) of getting to see a new musical called Wicked. In the mind of this then-13-year-old, seeing a story about a misunderstood witch from the land of… Read More ›
“Love Me,” a metaphysical tale of romance Or: How I Decided to Stop Worrying and Simply Love YouTube.
Trying to make a movie that is as adult while being not-so-on-the-nose as WALL-E (2008) is certainly a daunting task, and writers/directors Sam and Andrew Zuchero (10 Crosby) not only took on this challenge in their new film Love Me,… Read More ›
That’s that: The Criterion Collection re-releases Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” with a 4K UHD edition.
“Tell someone you love them today, because life is short. But shout it at them in German, because life is also terrifying.” – anonymous meme With a career filled with critical highs and lows, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has wowed… Read More ›
Genre-hybrid “Running on Karma” gets a 2K restoration as it’s added to Eureka Entertainment’s “Masters of Cinema” series.
“You can’t take anything with you when you die, except your deeds.” – Lee Fun Yee (Cecilla Cheung) in Running on Karma Established in 1996 by director Johnnie To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, production house Milkyway Image Ltd. would… Read More ›