Blu-ray review: “Dogtooth” (2009)

"3:10 to Yuma" (2007) Drama Running Time: 97 minutes Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos Starring: Christos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Passalis, Mary Tsoni and Anna Kalaitzidou Father: [subtitled version] "Soon your mother will give birth to two children and a dog." Yorgos Lanthimos’s Dogtooth remains one of the most unsettling, darkly …

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Blu-ray review: “3:10 to Yuma” (2007)

"3:10 to Yuma" (2007) Western Running Time: 122 minutes Written by: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas Directed by: James Mangold Starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw and Logan Lerman Dan Evans: [while being choked] "I ain't never been no hero, Wade. The only battle …

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Blu-ray review: “Afterglow” (2018)

"Afterglow" (2018) Drama Running Time: 113 minutes Written & Directed by: Alan Rudolph Starring: Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle and Jonny Lee Miller Lucky Mann: "I don't know what I like, but I know what art is." Afterglow is a quiet, bruised, deeply adult drama that arrived in the late 1990s almost unnoticed, yet has steadily …

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Blu-ray review: “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger ” (1977)

"Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger " (1977) Fantasy Running Time: 113 minutes Written by: Beverley Cross Directed by: Sam Wanamaker Starring: Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Margaret Whiting, Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton Melanthius: "Extraordinary, a normal babboon wouldn't have reconised its reflection and attacked it thinking it was another babboon." Ray Harryhausen’s final Sinbad adventure, Sinbad and …

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Blu-ray review: “In Which We Serve” (1942)

"In Which We Serve" (1942) Drama Running Time: 115 minutes Written by: Noël Coward Directed by: David Lean Starring: Noël Coward, John Mills, Bernard Miles and Celia Johnson Mrs. Alix Kinross: [Christmas dinner toast] "Ladies and gentlemen. I'll begin by taking my husband's advice and wishing you all a very happy Christmas. I'm sure Elizabeth and June …

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Blu-ray review: “This Happy Breed” (1944)

"This Happy Breed" (1944) Drama Running Time: 115 minutes Written by: David Lean, Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan Directed by: David Lean Starring: Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, Stanley Holloway and John Mills Frank Gibbons: "She didn't pass on, pass over, or pass out! She died!" David Lean’s This Happy Breed may not have the sweeping romantic grandeur of Brief Encounter or …

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Blu-ray review: “Blithe Spirit” (1945)

"Blithe Spirit" (1945) Drama Running Time: 96 minutes Written by: David Lean and Ronald Neame Directed by: David Lean Starring: Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford Charles Condomine: "It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit." David Lean’s Blithe Spirit remains one of the most curious entries in …

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Blu-ray review: “Oh, Canada” (2024)

"Oh, Canada" (2024) Drama Running Time: 95 minutes Written & Directed by: Paul Schrader Starring: Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Victoria Hill, Michael Imperioli, Penelope Mitchell and Kristine Froseth Cornel: "All creation starts with a single cell of energy that explodes with a bang and becomes the universe. Cancer starts the same way. A single rogue …

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Blu-ray review: “Brief Encounter” (1945)

"Brief Encounter" (1945) Drama Running Time: 87 minutes Written by: Noël Coward, Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean and Ronald Neame Directed by: David Lean Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey and Cyril Raymond Laura Jesson: "It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading." Few …

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Blu-ray review: “Great Expectations” (1946)

"Great Expectations" (1946) Drama Running Time: 118 minutes Written by: David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan and Ronald Neame Directed by: David Lean Starring: John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Wager and Jean Simmons Mr. Jaggers: "Now, Pip: put the case that this legal advisor has often seen children tried at the criminal bar. Put …

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Blu-ray review: “Oliver Twist” (1948)

"Oliver Twist" (1948) Drama Running Time: 116 minutes Written by: David Lean and Stanley Haynes Directed by: Stanley Haynes Starring: Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Kay Walsh, John Howard Davies, Anthony Newley and Diana Dors Mr. Bumble: "Cry your hardest now, it opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes and softens down the temper. So cry away." …

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Blu-ray review: “Doctor Who: The Collection Season 7 (Limited Edition)” (1970)

“Doctor Who: The Collection Season 7 (Limited Edition)” (1970) Science Fiction Twenty Five Episodes Produced by: Barry Letts Starring: Jon Pertwee, Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene Lethbridge-Stewart: "In the last decade, we've been sending probes deeper and deeper into space. We've drawn attention to ourselves, Miss Shaw." The Blu-ray release of Doctor Who: The Collection …

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Blu-ray review: “The Gamma People” (1956)

"The Gamma People" (1956) Science Fiction Running Time: 76 minutes Written by: John Gilling and John Gossage Directed by: John Gilling Starring: Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok, Leslie Phillips, Walter Rilla, Martin Miller and Philip Leaver Mike Wilson: "Sinister looking dump isn't it." A relic of the mid-20th century, "The Gamma People" (1956) is a curious little B-movie that …

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Blu-ray review: “Devil Girl from Mars” (1954)

"Devil Girl from Mars" (1954) Science Fiction Running Time: 77 minutes Written by: James Eastwood and John C. Mather Directed by: David MacDonald Starring: Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds and Adrienne Corri Michael Carter: "Mrs. Jamieson, may I introduce your latest guest. Miss Nyah. She comes from Mars." Mrs. Jamieson: "Oh, well, that'll mean another …

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Blu-ray review: “This Island Earth” (1955)

“This Island Earth” (1955) Science Fiction Running Time: 86 minutes Written by: Franklin Coen and Edward G. O'Callaghan Directed by: Joseph Newman Starring: Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue and Rex Reason Dr. Ruth Adams: [the cat appears] "It's only Neutron. We call him that because he's so positive." "This Island Earth," released in 1955 by Universal-International, stands as a …

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Blu-ray review: “The Night the World Exploded” (1957)

“The Night the World Exploded” (1957) Science Fiction Running Time: 64 minutes Written by: Jack Natteford and Luci Ward Directed by: Fred F. Sears Starring: Kathryn Grant and William Leslie Dr. David Conway: "We better do more than hope, gentlemen. We better pray!" In the annals of 1950s B-movie sci-fi, The Night the World Exploded often finds itself overshadowed by …

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Blu-ray review: “The 27th Day” (1957)

“The 27th Day” (1957) Science Fiction Running Time: 75 minutes Written by: Robert M. Fresco Directed by: William Asher Starring: Gene Barry, Valerie French, George Voskovec and Arnold Moss Jonathan Clark: “People hate because they fear, and they fear anything they don't understand, which is almost everything.” "The 27th Day" (1957), directed by William Asher and based on John Mantley's novel, is a …

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4K Blu-ray review: “It Came from Outer Space” (1953)

“It Came from Outer Space” (1953) Science Fiction  Running Time: 80 minutes Written by: Harry Essex Directed by: Jack Arnold Featuring: Richard Carlson and Barbara Rush Sheriff Matt Warren: “Did you know, Putnam, more murders are committed at ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once - lower temperatures, people are easy-going. Over ninety two, it's too …

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Blu-ray review: “Anora” (2024)

“Anora” (2024) Drama Running Time: 139 minutes Written and directed by: Sean Baker Featuring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan and Aleksei Serebryakov Ani: “When you give me health insurance, workers' comp and a 401K, then you can tell me when I work.” "Anora," directed by Sean Baker, is a 2024 American comedy-drama that delves into the whirlwind life …

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4K Blu-ray review: “The First Slam Dunk” (2022)

“The First Slam Dunk” (2022) Anime Running Time: 124 minutes Written and directed by: Takehiko Inoue Featuring: Shugo Nakamura, Jun Kasama, Shinichiro Kamio, Subaru Kimura and Kenta Miyake Sakuragi Hanamichi: “Once you give up, the game is truly over.” "The First Slam Dunk" arrived with a weight of expectation that few anime films could hope to bear. For decades, Takehiko Inoue's Slam …

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