Sign O' the Times was the second film Prince directed after the cult oddity Under the Cherry Moon, which was a disastrous flop. The soundtrack album, Parade, was a massive hit no doubt due to the single “Kiss.” Instead of making another narrative film, Prince decided it was about time to make a concert film. Originally Purple Rain director Albert Magnoli … Continue reading Blu-Ray Review – Sign o’ the Times
Holiday is a screwball comedy from 1938—and its actually a remake of a 1930 film, which in turn was based on a Broadway play. That was a common trajectory at the time, with The Maltese Falcon being one of the most famous examples. It was one of first in the genre to star Cary Gran … Continue reading Blu-Ray Review – Holiday (1938)
Being There functions prematurely as a final film for both its director, Hal Ashby, and its star, Peter Sellers. Both were near the end of their careers, and it delivers a sense of closure—especially as regards Sellers' career, at his turn here kind of sums up everything you like about Sellers as a performer. Ashby would … Continue reading Blu-Ray Review – Being There
QT8: The First Eight is a feature-length documentary on the ex-video clerk who made good, which made all less-successful video clerks resentful... Quentin Tarantino. The documentary has been in legal limbo for a while due to the whole Harvey Weinstein scandal, since the Weinstein Company bought the film sight unseen. Tarantino himself had to break … Continue reading Blu-Ray Review – QT8: The First Eight
The Limits of Control is a Jim Jarmusch film, one of his lesser efforts surely but also one of his most boldly ambitious films in certain ways. He’s not a director who’s known for being particularly ambitious, so that’s interesting. It’s kind of a reverse Ghost Dog, and it also has a hitman as the … Continue reading Blu-Ray Review – The Limits of Control
