Heaven’s Gate: Criterion Collection
December 19, 2012
With Heaven’s Gate (1980), Michael Cimino made the classic risky gamble that many ambitious filmmakers make. Still flush from the commercial and critical success of The Deer Hunter (1978), he used all of his newfound clout to make an epic tale depicting...
Outlander
September 8, 2009
It’s somehow hard to pin down exactly what Outlander was supposed to be, or what it eventually turned out as. The film has whiffs of McTiernan’s Predator, Disney’s Dragon Slayer (don’t get confused by the Disney thing, not a typical Disney movie)...
The Hit: Criterion Collection
May 8, 2009
The Hit (1984) is a significant film for several reasons: it served as a comeback, of sorts, for actor Terence Stamp, it provided a young, up-and-coming Tim Roth with his first major film role, and it was the beginning of a great run of films for director...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 2-Disc Special Edition
October 17, 2008
It was with equal parts anticipation and trepidation that fans of the Indiana Jones films greeted news that a new installment entitled, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) was in the works. Would Harrison Ford be too old and look...
V for Vendetta: Two-Disc Special Edition
August 1, 2006
Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s graphic novel V for Vendetta was a product of its time. Moore was disgusted with Margaret Thatcher’s ultra-conservative regime and scared at how close the world was coming to nuclear war. His book was a reaction to what...
The Skeleton Key
February 13, 2006
Those residents of New Orleans are really having a tough time. As if the recent hurricane disaster wasn’t bad enough, Hollywood has always dismissed the American south as a breeding ground for racism or fanatical voodoo witch-doctors. The Skeleton...
Hellboy
March 27, 2004
The success of X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002) has opened the door for a new wave a comic book adaptations. In the past, studios have played it safe and only green-lighted adaptations of mainstream comic books with large followings. However, this has...