Asian · DVD & Blu-ray · Reviews
DVD of the Week: Come Drink With Me (1966)
It’s not the typical kung fu movie in that the action is not very well choreographed. I don’t think actress Cheng Pei-pei could do too many stunts. But director King[…]
Category: Reviews
Summer is a time for Aldrich, but keep Sister George away…
It’s been a few weeks since I laid eyes on it, but there’s something still making me a bit sick whenever I think of THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE. So[…]
Crime · Reviews · Writers & Critics
Critics Cornered: On Reviewers’ Reactions to David Ayres’ Street Kings
“Anyone who speaks unsanitized thought is going to lose.”
The Human Monster: On Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood
“There are no good and bad men; there are only damaged men … “
Bright Sights: Recent DVDs: Berlin Alexanderplatz, Harry Langdon, Early Kurosawa, I Am Cuba, The Dragon Painter, Wrath of the Gods, Méliès
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Phil Jutzi, 1931) Franz Biberkopf must be one of the most porous characters in all literature. In Alfred Döblin’s 1929 novel, Berlin Alexanderplatz, a modernist torrent — dialogue,[…]
Dream Documents of Civil War: Three Films by Miklós Jancsó
“Jancsó’s controlled aesthetic acts as a dissonance that vibrates expressively with scenes of violence, torture, and shame.”
One Culture, Two Systems: The Rules of Spanglish and Twice Upon a Time
“When talking to others, what needs to be articulated?”
Take this unborn child and shove it!
Is it just me or is there a distinctly pro-life vibe seeping into our once so “liberal” cinema? This JUNO business has all us population control enthusiasts worried sick, and[…]
BLUE CRUSH is my Oyster Cult.
Spring is here, so I took the time recently to reappraise BLUE CRUSH, the 2002 girl power surfing flick starring Kate Bosworth. Man, now more than ever, we need girl[…]
Why Can’t We all just Morally Compromise?
I had to watch this odd romantic-ish comedy last night called SEX AND DEATH 101. Many other critics have been bashing it, calling it uneven and it can’t decide[…]
The Termites of Plainview
Hey gang, Erich here. Sorry I haven’t written any entries of late, but things have been rough, what with our new baby recently brought home from the hospital (which means[…]
If you don’t like MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, I’ll get you… in your sleep!
Finally got around to seeing MARGOT AT THE WEDDING last night. FOUR STARS! Sorry, but if you’re a critic who badmouthed this movie, you need to find a new line[…]
There Will Be Blood and Queen Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Thrilling and underrated is how I find ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE. I’ve read some of the reviews and probably waited this long because of them, but now I’d like to[…]
Favorite Screenwriting Device No. 42 – The Sympathetic Listener
Much has been written about the scene in There Will Be Blood in which Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) confesses his innermost feelings to his purported half-brother, Henry Brands (Kevin J.[…]
Downward Mobility: On Roger Corman’s Bloody Mama
“You never could make a decent living … you never did mount me proper.”
Bright Sights: Recent DVDs: Our Hitler, Sawdust and Tinsel, Black Sun, Marketa Lazarova, Battleship Potemkin, Nosferatu, Automatons
An ongoing column that looks at some of the most intriguing of recent, under-the-radar releases
Exploitation & Erotica · Reviews
The Foxy, the Dead, and the Foxier: Re-Visiting Death Proof
“He’s old enough to be my dad!”
When Virtue Sleeps: The Moral World of Denys Arcand’s L’Âge des Ténèbres
“We are asked to think morally: is the happiness these characters seek possible or desirable?”
Communication Breakdown: Reboarding Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train
“You only need one leg to get around. Sure helps to have two.”
Quickies: Random Short Reviews from CineKink to Zizek!
“Don’t know, don’t care. Beads for boobs!”
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