The Lone Ranger

Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski’s first collaboration was on the surprise box office success that was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). They worked together on two subsequent sequels, Dead Men’s Chest (2006) and... 

Howards End: Criterion Collection

Sandwiched between Merchant Ivory hits, A Room with a View (1985) and The Remains of the Day (1993), Howards End (1992) epitomizes the filmmaking duo of Ismail Merchant (producer) and James Ivory (director) at the height of their powers, second to none... 

Terminator Salvation (Blu-Ray)

This review refers to the Blu-Ray version of Terminator Salvation. When the idea of a fourth Terminator movie was first floated around, it met with much scepticism. The third Terminator, Rise of the Machines, was so bad that any thought of another movie... 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Special Edition

An R rated musical about a vengeful barber who kills his victims only to serve them up as meat pies must’ve made the studio a little nervous to bankroll a big budget adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of... 

Corpse Bride

Tim Burton returns to the kind of darkly comical gothic material that helped establish his career and reputation with Corpse Bride (2005). He’s also gone back to the same kind of stop motion animation that he utilized so memorably in The Nightmare Before... 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Deluxe Edition

When Johnny Depp and Tim Burton team up to do a movie the results are usually fantastic: Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994) and to a lesser degree Sleepy Hollow (1999). However, since Planet of the Apes (2001), Burton’s films have been missing... 

Big Fish

Tim Burton’s adaptation of Daniel Wallace’s book about a big man, a big story and a big fish. You would be forgiven for worrying that Tim Burton was losing his mojo, what with the less than exceptional remake of Planet of the Apes and an entire... 

A Room with a View

In the 1980s, Merchant Ivory were the undisputed kings of the period film. A Room with a View (1985) cemented their reputation. Their productions were independently financed and featured lavish settings on a budget, exquisite cinematography, impeccably...