DVD Reviews »
DVD Review: “Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy”
Roberto Rossellini’s status as a father of neorealism is eclipsed by his notoriety as the father of Isabella Rossellini. His adulterous affair with Ingrid Bergman in the 50s touched off a Brangelina-sized scandal that
Read More »DVD Review: “A Serious Man”
“Everything I thought was one way turns out to be another.” I don’t proclaim myself to be a huge fan of the work of Joel and Ethan Coen, the writer/director/producer brothers who’ve made some
Read More »DVD Review: “Adam”
In the film, Adam¸ we first meet Adam as he watches his father’s casket get buried. For the first time in his life, he is alone. He returns home and we begin to realize
Read More »DVD Review: Revisiting “Paris, Texas”
1984 was a great year for foreign-language and independent cinema in the U.S. Off the top of my head I can recall seeing the following at Chicago’s Fine Arts Theater, sadly defunct by the
Read More »DVD Review: Clive Owen in “The Boys Are Back”
Within the first fifteen minutes of the film The Boys Are Back, sports journalist Joe Warr (Clive Owen) watches his wife, Mia, succumb to cancer in a series of heartbreaking scenes. Joe, a man
Read More »DVD Review: William Shatner in “Kingdom of the Spiders”
Giant insects were all the rage in the nuclear-obsessed 50s—the king-sized ants of Them! (1954) led to an all-out assault of creepy-crawlies, with Tarantula (1955), The Black Scorpion (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), and
Read More »DVD Review: “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (available today on DVD) should have been Ferris Bueller, the corrupt college years. Based on the exploits of successful blogger/author/self proclaimed asshole, Tucker Max, this film had
Read More »DVD Review: Bruce Willis and the “Surrogates”
You’d think that with all the miracles that CGI is capable of someone in Hollywood would figure out what to do with Bruce Willis’ hair. In Surrogates, out today on DVD and Blu-ray, an
Read More »DVD Review: Nirvana, “Live At Reading”
Can you remember 1992? I certainly can, and what I remember is that trash TV — and to some extent, even the mainstream media — was filled with stories about Kurt Cobain and his
Read More »DVD Review: “An Audience of One”
An Audience of One (2009, Indiepix) Purchase this DVD from Amazon or from Indiepix At age 40, Richard Gozawsky, a San Francisco Pentecostal pastor at one of those houses of worship where the members
Read More »