The 1980s and its teen sex comedies had huge box office returns, yet they also had a sense of uniformity with the same highs and lows across the board. You could rinse and repeat our review of the Last American Virgin, only changing slight details and actors. Over the years, […]
Reviews
Omar (2014) Love & Crusade in Superlative Palestinian Drama (Review)
Politics affect everything in present-day civilisation whether you want to engage with them or not, but for some, it isn’t a matter of choice. There are a few places that are politically infamous on name alone; Korea’s DMZ is one such area, as is the West Bank of Palestine. The […]
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) The heady days of Corman, Price & Poe (Review)
With the Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre of Blood, Dr Phibes and the Pit and the Pendulum, it would be fair to say that Arrow Video is on a Vincent Price kick. Theatre of Blood, their previous release, saw the great man given a level of freedom that […]
Sullivan’s Travels (1941) One of the Greatest Comedies of all time (Review)
During Hollywood’s golden era, the industry was anchored by studios and producers, compared to now the director has become the lead creative talent on any given movie, and whenever a production goes awry an overeager producer is usually to blame. All the same, a few directors carved out names for […]
Theatre of Blood (1973) Vincent Price’s at his wildest and most liberatingly irreverent (Review)
Vincent Price had a very successful career in the wilderness of genre. As such the most variety he had was as a young man, long before he became the icon he was in later life and long before he collaborated with Roger Corman. It can be of no surprise that […]
The Delta Force (1986) Dumb Chuck Norris action with glimmers of more (Review)
Despite a reputation comparable to the top-tier of American action stars, Chuck Norris doesn’t have the catalogue of roles you’d expect for such a lofty status. The “best” of a bad bunch is Texas Walker Ranger, getting beat up by Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon and Menahem Golan’s […]
Like Father Like Son (2013): All hail the King of the Family Drama (Review)
At the end of any given year, many people compile and best films of the year list – whether personal or press – and, for me, Hirokazu Koreeda snatched a combined number one spot with his 2013 films I Wish and Like Father like Son. So reviewing the latest of […]
Sisters (1972) Early Brian De Palma Thriller is more than its influences (Review)
Arrow video are continuing their exploration of Brian de Palma’s back catalogue with their release of his 1973 film – Sisters. This follows Obsession, Blow Out, The Fury, Phantom of the Paradise and Dressed to kill in their unparalleled treatment of the controversial director’s work. In Sisters (aka Bloody Sisters), […]
Ace in the Hole (1951): Billy Wilder’s Timeless Journalism Satire (Review)
Films come and go regardless of their quality; the rare exceptions to this are those that capture the mood of the time without getting bogged down in pop culture or fashion. Failing this, perfectly satirising an easily corruptible medium also works. For no greater example, we have Ace in the […]
Violent Saturday (1955): Technicolour noir in picture-perfect small-town America (Review)
After a quiet spell, Eureka has returned to their Eureka Classics label with the release of The War Lord, following close behind that is Richard Fleischer’s Violent Saturday, a spiritual companion to the recent release of Don Siegel’s The Killers and Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye. This 1955 film is an […]