Out on Blu-ray on April 30, 2024, from Radiance Films  Following the death of his wife, a man returns home to Italy where their two sons await their return. There, he decides to inform his oldest, but withholds the information for his youngest for his protection. Soon, things turn sour in the household with big secrets and burdens affecting all that live there.  Written by Leonardo Benvenuti and Piero De Bernardi with collaboration from Lucia Drudi Demby and Giuseppe Mangione, based on the novel by Florence Montgomery, and directed by Luigi Comencini, the film is one that is all abo ..read more

Out on Blu-ray on April 30, 2024, from Radiance Films  When a beautiful young woman falls in love with a Yakuza, she soon finds out that he and his organization expect her to sell herself to bring in money.  Written by Toshidi Gondo, based on the novel by Kyoko Ohta, and directed by Noboru Nakamura, The Shape of Night is a lovely, yet sad look into the actions of despair and necessity, the way some get roped into places they were not meant to be, and how it affects them and those around them. The film is careful to build a universe where nothing is truly black or white, no one is tr ..read more

Out on Blu-ray on April 30, 2024, from Arrow Video  A bounty hunter passing through town assists a newly minted Sherriff in his duty, showing him the ropes as he once was in his shoes.  Written by Dudley Nichols based on a story by Barney Slater and Joel Kane, and directed by Anthony Mann, this Western plays in the old man looking at his end trope, showing themes of legacy, life, what it means to be who you are, and a few other connected items that usually make this type of films what they are. Here, the themes are used and explored judiciously, keeping them on point and giving the ..read more

SYNOPSIS: A small herd of cattle from the West Cooley range has stampeded in to the Bar 20, which is led by Red Connors [Frank McGlynn, Jr.], feisty old Uncle Ben [George Hayes] and punchy, trigger-happy Johnny Nelson [Jimmy Ellison]. Jimmy charges himself with the task of charging the herd back on their own range, while Buck Peters [Charles Middleton] speaks to Jim Meeker [Robert Warwick], owner of the Cooley range. While Johnny stampedes the cattle, Mary Meeker [Paula Stone] catches him and confronts him, this leads ranch foreman Jack Anthony [Kenneth Thomson] to shoot at Nelson’s horse caus ..read more

Out on Blu-ray on April 23, 2024, from Eureka Entertainment  When needed a masked hero comes to the rescue, facing off against his former colleagues from a supersoldier project of the past.  Written by Tsui Hark, Koan Hui, Teddy Chan, and Joe Ma, based on a comic book by Chi-Ming Pang, and directed by Daniel Lee, Black Mask is a very mid-1990s action film with a touch of classic fighting styles, flying stunts, and that specific style that feels more Tsui Hark than Daniel Lee. The influence of the co-writer is palpable throughout the film in its style, its fights, how the story moves ..read more

Out on Blu-ray on April 23, 2024, from Arrow Video  A group of incorruptible men join to help Eliot Ness in his attempts to put Al Capone behind bars.  Written by Paul Monash based on the book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, and directed by Phil Karlson, this Desilu production was originally created as a two-part television pilot and is now available as a film made of those two hours. Here, the story of Eliot Ness and his group of federal lawmen and a few other people come together to catch Al Capone and to, most importantly, put him behind bars for good. The story here is one that ..read more

Rebel Rabbit (1949)Directed by Chuck Jones Written by Michael Maltese Animation by Ben Washam Music by Carl W. Stalling This is probably the most unhinged I’ve ever seen Bugs Bunny and probably the closest that he’s ever come to transforming in to a super villain of a sorts. Like previous exploits Bugs Bunny tends to be a victim of his own ego, which is something that’s often overlooked in future shorts. In “Rebel Rabbit,” he’s not so much battling a predator as he is, well, having a virtual mental breakdown on screen. Sadly none of it is really all that funny. Save for some sharp animation ..read more

In Stores April 23rd from Warner Bros. I do not make it a secret that I don’t like “The Departed.” I never have liked it. I think one of the main reasons why I dislike it so much is that I had seen Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s 2004 original much earlier and was surprised with how cerebral. “Infernal Affairs” was about betrayal, and loss of identity, and completely losing not only who we once were, but our own morality code. It’s shocking to me to know that “The Departed” is not only so infinitely dumbed down from its source material, but that Scorsese is capable of so much better than what he off ..read more

Conann’s life is both dreamlike and nightmarish, followed by Rainer, she is seen through it from childhood to adulthood, from slave to queen.  From writer/director Bertrand Mandico, this film has a darker mood than his previous feature After Blue but feels very much like it’s within the same universe. The story and the style of storytelling are similar, clearly establishing the author’s genre, one that is very much of his own, one where women are everywhere, men are very few is there at all, and beings of all kinds have stories to tell and destinies to achieve. While this film’s style a b ..read more

For many years now I’ve become a fan of A24 and have loved so much of their content. Have their titles all been winners? No, but their output of above level films that managed to mix mainstream sensibility with arthouse appeal as been amazing. For many years they’ve given us absolutely incredible films that have allowed filmmakers that normally wouldn’t be seen to final garner some respectable platforms. They’re not low budget or indie like Troma but they’ve allowed some unique artists to give us gems like “The Zone of Interest,” “The Whale,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” Ti West’s “X” movie series ..read more