Every Day
March 11, 2011
The 1980’s were quite possibly the last decade that Hollywood produced decent character-driven dramas for adults. In the 1990’s, visual spectacles based on comic books, television shows, and so on that were enhanced by special effects became the norm....
Broadcast News: Criterion Collection
January 21, 2011
After the success of the Academy Award-winning Terms of Endearment (1983), James L. Brooks spent a few years to research and write what could possibly be his most personal film to date: Broadcast News (1987). Drawing from his years in television, including...
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
December 20, 2010
To say Head (1968) is a cinematic oddity is an understatement. Intent at topping The Beatles at their own game, The Monkees appeared in a film that Bob Rafelson directed and co-wrote with none other than Jack Nicholson and that was even more experimental...
Cher: The Film Collection
November 22, 2010
Here’s a film that I bet William Friedkin would like to forget. At a time when popular musical acts like The Beatles and The Monkees were starring in movie musicals, Sonny and Cher decided to cash in on the trend too with Good Times (1967). Bored between...
House: Criterion Collection
November 5, 2010
Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House was originally released in 1977 on the bottom half of a double bill with the tantalizing tagline, “How Seven Beauties Were Eaten!” Inspired by several story ideas from his eleven-year-old daughter, Obayashi directed a gonzo...
Zombies of Mass Destruction
October 21, 2010
What’s the deal with zombie movies and social commentary? A lot of the better known walking dead flicks seem to have something to say that runs a bit deeper than the carnage and cannibalism that they celebrate. Night of the Living Dead, George A....
The Brothers Bloom
October 21, 2010
It was with high expectations that I slipped Bloom into my DVD player. After all, Rian Johnson had made the excellent Dashiell-Hammet-in-high-school Brick, one of the coolest indie films of the past few years. Would Bloom have the sharp dialogue, excellent...
MGM ’80s Movie Collection
October 12, 2010
Valley Girl (1983) is a milestone 1980s comedy for several reasons. It was a smart, sexy and funny alternative to the countless teen comedies that came out during the decade. It helped popularize Valley Girl-speak that originated among teenage girls from...
The Darjeeling Limited: Criterion Collection
October 11, 2010
Coming off the ambitiously mounted and complicated production that was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Wes Anderson wanted his next film to be much smaller in size and more intimate in scope. Initially inspired by living in Paris with actor...
Janeane Garofalo: If You Will – Live in Seattle
September 20, 2010
For a good part of the 1990s, Janeane Garofalo was the alt. “it” girl – the cynical, sarcastic variation on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She first appeared on the popular culture radar with a regular stint on short-lived television comedy skit program...
