"Killer: A Journal of Murder" (1995) Drama Running Time: 90 minutes Written & directed by: Tim Metcalfe Featuring: James Woods, Robert Sean Leonard, Cara Buono, Ellen Greene, Robert John Burke and Steve Forrest Carl Panzram: "I don't want to be alive. I want out of these clothes. I want out of this body. I want out …
Continue reading Blu-ray review: “Killer: A Journal of Murder” (1995)
"Flame of the Islands" (1956) Film Noir Running Time: 90 minutes Written by: Bruce Manning Directed by: Edward Ludwig Featuring: Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff and Zachary Scott Evelyn Hammond: "Had I died, he would've married you I'm sure. But I didn't die. Please, take this." Rosalind Dee: "There is no need for that." Evelyn Hammond: …
Continue reading Blu-ray review: “Flame of the Islands” (1956)
"Hell's Island" (1955) Film Noir Running Time: 84 minutes Written by: Maxwell Shane Directed by: Phil Karlson Featuring: John Payne and Mary Murphy Mike Cormack: "I've been beaten, badgered, hit over the head, and mixed up in three killings, and believe me, I'm going to find out why." There is something wonderfully peculiar about Hell's Island. On …
"Ring of Fear" (1954) Film Noir Running Time: 86 minutes Written by: Paul Fix and Philip MacDonald Directed by: James Edward Grant and William A. Wellman Featuring: Clyde Beatty, Mickey Spillane and Pat O'Brien There is something wonderfully strange about Ring of Fear. Released in 1964, this little-seen American thriller occupies an unusual place somewhere between a …
"Naked Alibi" (1954) Film Noir Running Time: 86 minutes Written by: Lawrence Roman Directed by: Jerry Hopper Featuring: Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Gene Barry Marianna: [to Joe] Funny... "I don't understand you and you don't understand me. You know, we got a lot in common." There is something wonderfully disreputable about Naked Alibi. Released in 1954, …
"The Sword of Ali Baba" (1965) Fantasy Running Time: 81 minutes Written by: Edmund Hartmann and Oscar Brodney Directed by: Virgil W. Vogel Featuring: Peter Mann, Jocelyn Lane, Frank McGrath and Peter Whitney There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about sitting down to watch a 1960s Universal adventure film. Even when the film itself is relatively modest, …
Continue reading Blu-ray review: “The Sword of Ali Baba” (1965)
"Salome" (1953) Fantasy Running Time: 76 minutes Written by: Harry Kleiner Directed by: William Dieterle Featuring: Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Basil Sydney, Maurice Schwartz, Arnold Moss and Alan Badel Queen Herodias: "The desperate can only survive by taking desperate measures." There is something wonderfully excessive about Salome. Almost everything …
"Sudan" (1945) Fantasy Running Time: 76 minutes Written by: Edmund L. Hartmann Directed by: John Rawlins Featuring: Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Turhan Bey Nebka: "An unruly horse and a dangerous woman - only evil can come of this!" There are some films that seem to have been made primarily to tell a story, some that were …
"The Magic Carpet" (1951) Fantasy Running Time: 84 minutes Written by: David Mathews Directed by: Lew Landers Featuring: Lucille Ball, John Agar, Patricia Medina, George Tobias, Raymond Burr, Gregory Gaye, Rick Vallin and Gary Klein Grand Vizier Boreg al Buzzar: [waving his scimitar] "This time. Doctor, you must tend to a man and not on the ladies …
"Cabin Fever" (2016) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 99 minutes Written by: Eli Roth and Randy Pearlstein Directed by: Travis Z Featuring: Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Nadine Crocke and Dustin Ingram Karen: "When you've known someone a long time, you just want to kiss them just to see if they're a good kisser. There's nothing …
"Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever" (2009) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 97 minutes Written by: Joshua Malkin Directed by: Ti West Featuring: Noah Segan, Alexi Wasser, Rusty Kelley, Marc Senter and Giuseppe Andrews Toby: "Water here is bullshit!" There are horror sequels that attempt to recapture the atmosphere and formula of their predecessors, and then there are …
Continue reading Blu-ray review: “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever” (2009)
“Cabin Fever” (2002) Horror Running Time: 133 minutes Written by: Eli Roth and Randy Pearlstein Directed by: Eli Roth Featuring: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen and Giuseppe Andrews Justin: "Yeah, he's a professor... OF BEING A DOG! OOOH, FACED!... Scratch moded!" .There is something particularly effective about horror films that …
“The Ninth Gate” (1999) Horror Running Time: 133 minutes Written by: John Brownjohn, Roman Polanski and Enrique Urbizu Directed by: Roman Polanski Featuring: Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Frank Langella, James Russo, Jack Taylor and Emmanuelle Seigner Boris Balkan: “There's nothing more reliable than a man whose loyalty can be bought for hard cash.” Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate stands as a dark, atmospheric blend of mystery and …
"City of Industry" (1997) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 97 minutes Written by: Ken Solarz Directed by: John Irvin Featuring: Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Timothy Hutton, Famke Janssen and Wade Dominguez Lee Egan: "We'll give him a little crash course in free enterprise. Besides, it's the black market. What's he gonna do? Go to the consulate?" City …
"Freeway" (1996) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 104 minutes Written and directed by: Matthew Bright Featuring: Kiefer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan Hedaya, Amanda Plummer, Brooke Shields, Michael T. Weiss, Bokeem Woodbine and Brittany Murphy Vanessa Lutz: "Holy shit! Look who got beaten with the ugly stick! Is that you, Bob? I can't believe such a …
"Mulholland Falls" (1996) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 107 minutes Written by: Pete Dexter Directed by: Lee Tamahori Featuring: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Andrew McCarthy and John Malkovich Lieutenant Max Hoover: "See, that's federal property. This isn't. This is L.A. This is my town. Out here you're …
"The Getaway" (1994) Drama / Action Running Time: 116 minutes Written by: Walter Hill and Amy Holden Jones Directed by: Roger Donaldson Featuring: Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, Richard Farnsworth and James Woods Carol: "I'm not spending the next twenty years without you." There are some films that exist almost entirely in the shadow …
"Unlawful Entry" (1992) Drama Running Time: 112 minutes Written by: Lewis Colick Directed by: Jonathan Kaplan Featuring: Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe Officer Pete Davis: "Arrest you? I could kill you." There is something particularly effective about a thriller that takes an ordinary source of security and turns it into a source of fear. In Unlawful …
"Wild at Heart" (1990) Drama Running Time: 124 minutes Written & Directed by: David Lynch Featuring: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini and Harry Dean Stanton Lula: "This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top." David Lynch’s Wild at Heart is one of those films that seems to become more fascinating …
"1408" (2007) Horror Running Time: 104 minutes Written by: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Directed by: Mikael Håfström Featuring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack and Tony Shalhoub Room 1408: "Even if you leave this room, you can never leave this room!" Few Stephen King adaptations have surprised audiences quite like 1408. Released in 2007 …
