Blog

Short Cuts

Success in the '90s gave Robert Altman the opportunity to experiment once again. Several short stories by Raymond Carver interlock in a…

The Exterminating Angel

Will somebody explain the sheep and the bear? Luis Buñuel really knows how to disturb people. This, his most characteristic surreal drama…

Bad Girl

All sing the praises of Frank Borzage, a gentle director fully committed to the idea of romance in an imperfect world. Sally…

Pretty Poison

Psycho launched a thousand twisted sickos and pathological relationships in films, but none can best Noel Black's fascinating, funny romance between a…

JACO (2015)

Much has been said and written about the receiving and processing of music as a spiritual experience, either in the religious sense,…

Sudden Fear

Joan Crawford controls every aspect of this glamorous, Oscar nominated noir about a murderous marriage double-cross. Good acting enlivens a by-the-book, gimmick-laden…

Cry of the City

Robert Siodmak's superb noir classic pits two graduates of Little Italy against one other: a crook who can deceive relatives and seduce…

Pete’s Dragon (2016)

Does anybody still care about great movies for small children? If so, here's a good one. A big, furry green dragon named…

The Asphalt Jungle

John Huston's primal heist film is an almost perfect movie, with a score of unforgettable characterizations. A solid crime noir, it concerns…

The Undying Monster

Fox's first official monster movie is a terrific-looking but mostly flat mystery that tries its utmost not to be a horror film…

The Quiet Earth

Remember the warning to avoid 'crossing the streams' in Ghostbusters?  Director Geoff Murphy enjoyed a world-wide release for this eerie sci-fi fantasy…

Moby Dick

I have a back file of reader notes asking for a Blu-ray for John Huston's Moby Dick, and more pointedly, wondering what…

C.H.U.D.

Can an old-fashioned monster movie still work in the 1980s? The dedicated cast for this overachieving chiller takes its story of 'Cannibalistic…

The Boston Strangler

True-Crime Terror! Richard Fleischer and Edward Anhalt's riveting serial killer makes extensive use of split- and multi-screen imagery. One of the most…

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger officially become 'The Archers' for this sterling morale-propaganda picture lauding the help of the valiant Dutch resistance.…

Cinerama’s Russian Adventure

The USSR's Cinerama knockoff proved a 'good business' between the rival superpowers, when some producers imported and re-edited six Soviet Kinopanorama travelogues…

Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams

If anybody's dreams are interesting, Akira Kurosawa's should be, and this late career fantasy is a consistently rewarding string of morality tales…

A SEASON FOR THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving. After the past year of tumult, anger and divisiveness we’ve experienced in this country and around the world, to say nothing…

J’accuse (1938)

A World War, a solemn vow, and a promise betrayed lead to a 'night of the living war dead' — all cooked…

The Magic Box: The Films of Shirley Clarke V. 4

Milestone wraps up its 'Project Shirley,' an in-depth study of the independent director of The Connection and Portrait of Jason. Practically all…

Rabid

David Cronenberg puts Canada on the horror map with yet another early career ick-fest, about a vampiric woman armed with a new…

Hell or High Water

Sheltered in my Los Angeles bubble, I can't believe that this crime movie had an accurate measure of the true pulse of…

Runaway Train

Cannon Films knocks one out of the park: Jon Voight and Eric Roberts escape from prison only to end up on a…

Boomerang!

Elia Kazan's third picture is a hard-hitting noir, a true story that honors the efforts of a noble States' Attorney when confronted with a murder…

One-Eyed Jacks

Marlon Brando put his all into this impassioned, expertly acted and crafted VistaVision western spectacle. Has it been overlooked because of the…

Time After Time