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 ›
romance
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 ›
The Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of 1973’s “The Mother and the Whore” exceeds the 4K release in quality and value.
Last week I got an admittedly excessive 4K UHD Blu-ray in the mail. Normally $75.99, I caught it at 48% off at $39.20. It was the 40th Anniversary Edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and it came… Read More ›
Crime drama “Eat the Night” seeks to explore real versus digital existance.
The real world is a mess. Just about everywhere you look there’s something to be despondent about, whether it’s the state of the global climate, the power grab by nationalist parties within global governments, or the general vibe of “get… Read More ›
“The Beast” appears … on shelves thanks to Janus Contemporaries.
Janus Contemporaries’s newest unnumbered entry into the Criterion Collection is priced just right at $20.99. The Beast, the latest film from Bertrand Bonello (House of Tolerance; Saint Laurent), is a surreal tale starring two of the best actors working today,… Read More ›
As fun as rom-com “Last Christmas” is, its 4K UHD release is the same gift as before.
As we approach the holidays of giving (Christmas and Hanukkah overlap this year), it’s also a time when studios try to remind audiences of films they might’ve enjoyed once by re-releasing them in a new edition or format. Nearly five… Read More ›
“Funny Girl” arrives in her best look yet in 4K thanks to The Criterion Collection.
Near the tail end of his illustrious career, William Wyler (Roman Holiday) directed the debut of a true force of nature in a young and brilliant Barbra Streisand (What’s Up, Doc?) which launched her into the stratosphere and made her… Read More ›
“It Ends with Us” Digital Code Giveaway
Last week, the Justin Baldoni-directed adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel, It Ends with Us, released on physical formats. If you’re curious to check out the film, EoM is giving away the digital code that accompanied the review copy provided by… Read More ›
Book adaptation “It Ends with Us” disappoints as much as a home release as it does as both a drama and rom-com.
Trigger Warning: It Ends with Us explores domestic abuse and includes an instance of attempted sexual assault. In 2024, a film released in theaters in which a woman has a meet-cute with a man, finds herself falling love, struggles to… Read More ›
The digital release of the 4K UHD version of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” leaves audiences asking why.
Here is a very weird take for someone who loves physical media: not everything needs an upgrade. And, certainly, some things are more deserving (or better served) than others. I love everything I’ve seen of Alexander Payne (there are some… Read More ›
Twisted rom-com “Your Monster” delights with familiar nostalgic aesthetics.
As a New Yorker born and raised, there’s one specific sub-genre that has always been a comforting media blanket for me: fantasies that take place in the Big Apple. From the time-traveling hijinks of Kate and Leopold to the animated… Read More ›
“Cheeky!” 4K UHD Giveaway
After releasing several other Tinto Brass restorations, Cult Epics sets their sights on a third, the 2000 sex rom-com Cheeky!. Accompanied by the usual Cult Epics refinements, Cheeky! is coming available with a standard HD edition and a limited edition two-disc 4K… Read More ›
Garfield and Pugh elevate “We Live in Time” to romantic drama classic status. [TIFF]
Romantic films are easy to find. There are entire network television channels dedicated to them, but finding one rom-com that is so brilliant yet mediocre is a magical feat. And that isn’t necessarily a back-handed compliment but more commentary on… Read More ›
Angie Dickinson shines on Blu-ray with Imprint Films’s “Jessica.”
Angie Dickinson (Rio Bravo; Dressed to Kill) was famously beautiful, and a defining example of the “sexpot” archetype of Hollywood movie star in mid-century cinema. She was beautiful, and men loved looking at her butt and bust. That’s basically what… Read More ›