Blu-Ray
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1920-40, directed by Oscar Micheaux Collection Rating: 10/10 Average Film Rating: 7/10 It’s been a long time since I posted, so I’m here with a 14-film pack instead of a single movie. When I first realized this Complete Oscar Micheaux pack was released by Kino Lorber in February, I immediately bought it as I had
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Richard Jewell 2019, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 9/10 Richard Jewell is definitely one of the Clint Eastwood films that I liked a lot better than many critics seem to (see also Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Changeling). The directing is solid as always, the acting is top notch, and overall it just really works
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Spencer 2021, directed by Pablo Larraín Rating: 8/10 Like The Lion in Winter, Spencer shows the special kind of torture that comes with spending your Christmas with the British Royal Family as Princess Diana tries to survive the formalities and traditions while keeping her sense of self intact. This movie is far from perfect, but it still has
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The Lion in Winter 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey Rating: 10/10 I didn’t have super high hopes when I first saw this movie—it comes from an era of royal historical films that I find very stately and well-made but also very boring and way too long. But even at 134 minutes, this movie went by
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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 1983, directed by Nags Oshima Rating: 9/10 In a Japanese-run Prisoner of War camp in Java during WWII, the prisoners prepare for Christmas while Capt. Yanoi (played by Ryuichi Sakamoto) finds himself conflicted about his feelings for his prisoner Maj. Jack Celliers (played by David Bowie). This wartime Christmas story is
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The Hateful Eight 2015, directed by Quentin Tarantino Rating: 8/10 I love Quentin Tarantino, and the ads when this came out made it seem to me like a snowbound Western version of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which is one of my favorite novels, so I expected this to become my new favorite Tarantino
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Joker 2019, directed by Todd Phillips Rating: 5/10 This movie is one that I thought I would love, as I am usually very into comic book movies, and especially into ones that try something new, and if that something new is “gritty 1970s New York” aesthetic, then that’s even more up my alley (see Smithereens). And
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975, directed by Jim Sharman Rating: 9/10 This movie is 100% worth seeing live with a very involved audience and when seen as such it is a truly great American cinematic experience perfect for spooky season. But even without the audience participation, when I watch this at home, it is
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Halloween 1978, directed by John Carpenter Rating: 10/10 The question of where slashers started is up for debate, whether it was Black Christmas in 1974, Peeping Tom in 1960, or earlier (I feel like Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel And Then There Were None qualifies as a slasher…), but Halloweenremains as the peak of the format and what really drove the craze, and
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Loving 2016, directed by Jeff Nichols Rating: 10/10 Jeff Nichols’s directorial style is definitely on the slow side, and so I can see why a lot of people don’t love his movies, but I really do. He is one of my favorite directors, and Loving, his movie about Richard and Mildred Loving and the 1967 Supreme
The Movie Room 