DVD/Blu-Ray Review
Blu-Ray Review: Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the most fascinating of modern auteurs. There are few directors working in cinema over the past thirty years who have such a recognisable and distinctive style. The Danish filmmaker first came to prominence with his Pusher trilogy before going on to work in Hollywood. Making some of the most …
Blu-Ray Review: High Crime
Tales of good versus evil are almost as old as mankind itself. The earliest writings often refer to such conflicts and most major religions have this message at their core. In today’s popular culture this normally metamorphosises into superheroes versus villains or cops versus robbers. The latter has fascinated people for decades. The cat and …
Blu-Ray Review: Lux Aeterna
Watching a Gaspar Noé film can sometimes be as much as an endurance event as a pleasurable day at the pictures. Causing nightmares and undoubtedly triggering enough trauma to keep a small army of therapists in business. The likes of Irreversible, Love and Enter the Void were punishing cinematic experiences, for differing reasons. With Lux …
Blu-Ray Review: Double Indemnity
It’s the oldest trick in the book. Beautiful young woman marries a rich older man, persuades him to take out a life insurance policy and soon after he, coincidentally, has a nasty accident. Even better if she can find some patsy to do the deed for her, using her feminine wiles to keep him on …
Blu-Ray Review: Vampyr
Today’s modern horror films, especially those which make it into multiplexes, tend to be full of flashy effects and polished to within an inch of their lives. Often featuring a score that is so obtrusive you’ll possibly want to tear your head off. It hasn’t always been this way and much of the output coming …
Blu-Ray Review: Revolver
Oliver Reed brought his unique and distinctive presence to every film he starred in. Whilst the troubled actor may have been infamous for his off-screen antics, he also had an undeniable screen presence and muscularity which he brought to every role. His performances in the likes of Women in Love, Castaway, The Devils and Oliver! …
Blu-Ray Review: Johnny Mnemonic
The twenty-first century was meant to be an exciting place. A world full of unimaginable possibilities. Of mind-blowing technological and medical advancements. Flying cars and talking animals. An era of limitless opportunities but one where danger lurks around every corner. Where every vice or fetish can be sated. According to science fiction writers, anyway. The …
Blu-Ray Review: The Wrong Arm of the Law
There was a time when Peter Sellers was one of the most famous actors in the world. He’d risen to prominence in the UK for The Goon Show but it was his role as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films which brought him international recognition. Then there’s his performance in Dr. Strangelove, which is …
Blu-Ray Review: Love Jones
The 1990s was a strange decade for filmmaking. There were so many films which were critically well-received at the time, financially unsuccessful, but achieved a cult status in the years and decades which followed. This has led to many works being re-appraised and consequently reaching a whole new generation of movie lovers. Giving them a …
Blu-Ray Review: Make Way for Tomorrow
In the ‘developed world’, at least, we live in an era of increasing life expectancy and aging populations. Most societies aren’t set-up to deal with this, both in terms of care and healthcare provisions. We’re living in an increasingly globalised world which means that families are often scattered far and wide. Parents and children often …