Monday, January 18 2010
The Hangover
In 2009, with the wars and economy tanking, The Hangover, for better or worse, was the movie we went to when we needed a laugh.
Friday, January 15 2010
The Steve Coogan Collection
Steve Coogan’s soft pasty features, with an upper lip that easily rises to a sneer, give him the look of an arrogant low-level aristocrat in need of a good beating.
Jennifer’s Body
As horror, it's not particularly scary, at least not in a jumpy way -- instead, it has an unnerving sense of discomfort in depicting the moment where childhood friends break off from one another.
Thursday, January 14 2010
Gimme Shelter
An immaculate transfer for a forceful film, Gimme Shelter proves itself just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago.
Film Noir Classics: Volume One
Perversely, to get the maximum possible enjoyment out of this collection, you have to first temper your expectations so that you’re not expecting an entire volume of inarguable masterpieces.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
To plaster over the lack of funny ideas, gags, or dialogue, the characters just resort to using profanity over and over.
Wednesday, January 13 2010
That Was the GDR
For many, the communist ideal was a real and vibrant thing;for others, I imagine the rather sudden dissolution of a binary, black and white world was still rather shocking.
Rembetiko—Special Edition
Rembetiko is ostensibly a fictionalised biopic of standout Rembetiko singer Marika Ninou, but it's actually a biopic of Rembetiko music and the entire Greek nation.
Tuesday, January 12 2010
Jethro Tull: Live At Madison Square Garden 1978
Out of time and possibly out of touch, Jethro Tull was a band for people who craved intelligent and occasionally challenging music, played convincingly by exceptional musicians. How quaint.
Crime Wave: 18 Months Of Mayhem
The tragic-romantic bubble of the Barrow gang and their fellow hoodlums imploded, leaving pools of blood in its wake.
Monday, January 11 2010
Sita Sings the Blues
This is a beautiful and vibrant film that should be seen as much for its own merits as for what it represents in ongoing struggles over the copyright system.
A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
A middle-class man living with a terminal illness decides to quit his job and travel across the country, to say farewell to friends and family before taking his own life.
Herb and Dorothy
Herb and Dorothy Vogel managed to amass one of the great collections of Minimalist and Conceptual art of the 20th century, all while keeping it real.
Friday, January 8 2010
The Mel Brooks Collection
The comic legend makes his way to Blu-ray in style, with a collection of nine films that will have you respecting the power of the Schwartz.
Paper Heart
Granted, this is a bit of a mess, and it is damn precious, but compared to All About Steve, Paper Heart might as well be The 400 Blows.
Runaway
From a purely technical standpoint, Runaway is flawless -- well acted, appropriately paced and shot beautifully. The film’s narrative leaves much to be desired, however.
Thursday, January 7 2010
It Might Get Loud
Guggenheim’s portraits of the three guitarists are meant to emphasize and reemphasize the guitar’s limitless possibilities.
Staten Island
Like its characters, Staten Island seems to be striving to reach something greater, but never quite reaches it.
