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Scorsese trades sentimentality for poignancy in rich, rewarding “The Irishman”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Robert De Niro plays Frank Sheeran, the mob hit man and Teamsters leader whose memoir, “I Heard You Paint...
Craig Shapiro
Nov 27, 20208 min read
The rise of Nazi Germany infuses the little-known “The Mortal Storm”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Martin Breitner (James Stewart) and Freya Roth (Margaret Sullavan) are shocked at how quickly Nazism has...
Peggy Earle
Nov 17, 20204 min read
Cue up “Two Mules for Sister Sara” and watch the stars come out
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Shirley MacLaine is Sister Sara, a nun – maybe – who is helping the Mexicans in their fight against the...
Craig Shapiro
Nov 15, 20204 min read
Celebrating a hero: “Sergeant York” – Warner Archive Collection
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Gary Cooper won an Academy Award as Sergeant Alvin York, the most decorated United States Army hero of World...
Kay Reynolds
Nov 11, 20206 min read
NYC lives and breathes in Criterion’s 4K remastering of “The Naked City”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Homicide Detective Jimmy Halloran (Don Taylor, left) and Lt. Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald, center) pursue a...
Craig Shapiro
Nov 6, 20205 min read
Tragic love story still touches the heart in “Waterloo Bridge”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS After the success of “Gone with the Wind” (1939), British actress Vivien Leigh was given top billing as...
Peggy Earle
Nov 5, 20204 min read
Michael Caine’s “The Ipcress File” is overdue for a 4K do-over, but don’t let 2K stop you
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Michael Caine is the unconventional spy Harry Palmer, one of the defining roles in his long and...
Craig Shapiro
Oct 28, 20206 min read
“El Camino” polishes “Breaking Bad” finale
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Aaron Paul returns as Jesse Pinkman and offers $125,000 to the Disappearer, Ed Galbraith for a new life....
Peggy Earle
Oct 25, 20204 min read
A true warrior queen arrives in “The Legend of Tomiris”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Almira Tursyn, 26, of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, plays warrior queen Tomiris. (Click an image to scroll the...
Kay Reynolds
Oct 20, 20204 min read
Tremble, viewers, with the “Stephen King 5 Movie Collection”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS (1) In Stephen King’s adaptation of the apocalyptic “The Stand,” Stu Redman (Gary Sinise) and a pregnant...
Kay Reynolds
Oct 15, 202012 min read
Billy Wilder’s early, unconventional WWII drama shows the master at the top of his game
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS British Cpl. J.J. Bramble (Franchot Tone), the sole survivor of his tank crew, hides behind the front desk...
Craig Shapiro
Oct 12, 20204 min read
Soaring high with John Wayne and remastered “Flying Leathernecks”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS John Wayne stars as Major Dan Kirby, a commander of a U.S. Marine Corps squadron in the South Pacific. Wayne...
Kay Reynolds
Oct 11, 20204 min read
“First Cow” – a kinder, gentler, frontier tale
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS (1) Skilled cook “Cookie” (John Magaro) and his fried biscuit partner “King-Lu” (Orion Lee) a Chinese...
Peggy Earle
Sep 17, 20204 min read
Sports and comedy mix it up in “Pat and Mike”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS (1) Spencer Tracy plays sports manager Mike Conovan and Katharine Hepburn plays college coach Pat Pemberton,...
Kay Reynolds
Sep 8, 20205 min read
The twists and turns of “The Burnt Orange Heresy”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Danish actor Claes Bang plays the mysterious art critic James Figueras and Australian actress Elizabeth...
Peggy Earle
Sep 7, 20204 min read
UPDATED: Warner Archive gives Sam Peckinpah’s “Ride the High Country” its due
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Joel McCrea (right) plays Steve Judd, an aging lawman who hires his former cohort, Gil Westrum, played by...
Craig Shapiro
Aug 24, 20203 min read
Gripping and involving, “Shanghai Triad” is set in the 1930s, but still speaks to today
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS The great Gong Li plays Jinbao, a nightclub star in 1930s Shanghai and the mistress of a mob boss. “Shanghai...
Craig Shapiro
Aug 24, 20204 min read
Sexy, smart and comic, “The Lady Eve” arrives on Criterion
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Barbara Stanwyck plays the seductive Jean Harrington and Henry Fonda as the wealthy snake enthusiast Charles...
Peggy Earle
Aug 18, 20204 min read
Get in the swim with restored “Million Dollar Mermaid”
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS With the biggest smile in Hollywood, Esther Williams plays champion Australian swimmer, vaudeville, and film...
Kay Reynolds
Aug 14, 20204 min read
Classic 1940 romance “Pride and Prejudice” remastered
BLU-RAY REVIEW / FRAME SHOTS Elizabeth Bennet (Greer Garson) is taken back by Fitzwilliam Darcy's (Laurence Olivier) proposal. (Click an...
Peggy Earle
Aug 12, 20203 min read
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