Roland Emmerich’s last film was a sequel to Independence Day, but Midway was allegedly a passion project for the director. In the documentary on the making of Tideland, Terry Gilliam uses Emmerich to explain the meaning of “derivative” to the young actress who plays the lead, accusing him of copying all of Steven Spielberg’s shots—and … Continue reading Midway – Blu-Ray Review →

Sequels and remakes have existed ever since the silent film era, but occasionally some films really don't need a sequel: The Shining is undeniably one of those. Stephen King, who was long frustrated with Stanley Kubrick's vision for his interpretation of King's deeply personal book about the effects of alcoholism (King was a alcoholic at the time), … Continue reading Doctor Sleep – Blu-Ray Review →

Manon is a little-seen gem from the master director Henri-Georges Clouzot. It is an extremely loose adaptation of the 1731 novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévos,, which transports the story to WW2 France. It was Clouzot’s second film after he was unfairly tarnished with accusations of being a Nazi collaborator over his film Le Corbeau and banned from making films for … Continue reading Manon – Blu-Ray Review →

First Love is the latest Takashi Miike film, and he has done well: over 100 productions around film, direct to video and TV since 1991, which is insanely prolific. Western audiences tend to get every third film of his or so, but this is indeed his most recent film. The ones that come out in the US/UK tend to be the more overt genre … Continue reading First Love – Blu-Ray Review →

Robert Altman’s film Kansas City came near the end of his ‘90s comeback. Of course, Altman was best known for his extraordinary run of films in the 1970s starting with M*A*S*H*. The ‘80s were not the kindest period for him, but the birth of what is now called ‘the independent film movement’ had an impact … Continue reading Kansas City – Blu-Ray Review →