I have a new Blu-ray review up at Classic Movie Hub!In this month's Western RoundUp column I've reviewed THE MAVERICK QUEEN (1956), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, and Scott Brady.THE MAVERICK QUEEN has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics. This is particularly exciting given that, to my knowledge, the movie never came out on DVD in the United States, and prints I've come across in the past have been rather poor. Kino Lorber's new disc looks terrific.I found…

Still out of town, but nobody's messing with The Odyssey. Fantasia opening night film Her Private Hell opens at Kendall Square. Nicolas Winding Refn's first film in years, it stars Sophie Thatcher as an actress expected to reconcile with her best-friend-turned-stepmom while making a movie, after she and another costar witness a murder, in a heightened future. Looks amazing, script's a mess.

In my latest Film Data Scientist video, I’m sciening the shit out of Matt Damon to see how we like these apples. Put another way, I looked at over a million frames of Matt Damon’s on-screen performances to understand the power of his acting and his enduring charm. Along the way, I assessed how much it’s cost for humanity to keep trusting Matt Damon (Hint: it's quadrillions of dollars). I’ll be uploading new video essays every couple of weeks, so make sure you’re subscribed on YouTube to get…

A few months ago, we wrapped on season four of Silo, which will be the last season. Even though most of the work was done filming the show, and season three was ready to air, there’s still a lot of post-production to do on season four. But it felt like the journey was over for most of the people working on the show. I have to keep reminding myself that the journey is only halfway over for those of you watching Silo. Spoiler alerts before you read on! Season three is now four episodes in, and…

When you’re late to open the Commonwealth Games, King Charles and Queen Camilla had only one option – to requisition the Tardis to ensure that they arrived on time. That’s the amusing premise of this intro to the opening of the games. Echoing his mother’s (the late Queen Elizabeth II) James Bond escapade for the opening of the London Olympics in 2012, another Great British Institution (that’s GBI for short) has been used to create a playful and unforgettable entrance to the Commonwealth Games…

The Furious (2025) • View trailerFour stars* (out of five); rated R, for strong, bloody violence, gore and profanityAvailable via: Amazon Prime and other VOD optionsBy Derrick BangThe dramatic paradigm shifts in martial arts movies can be traced to specific actors and directors. Bruce Lee kick-started the franchise (pun intended) with 1973’s Enter the Dragon, and Jackie Chan moved the needle a decade later, with his signature blend of death-defying stunt work and comedic touches. Having tracked…

Dante's Peak (1997)

The pre-Code Warner Bros. film THE KEYHOLE (1933), a melodrama with comedic overtones, will be released on Blu-ray next week by the Warner Archive Collection.I don't believe I'd seen this film since my first viewing in 2008, during a time period when I was recording and watching as many Kay Francis films as I could! At the time of my first viewing I classed THE KEYHOLE as "somewhat odd but watchable." It was great fun to return to it, having seen many more pre-Codes in the interim, with a…

We have been posting some tricky screenshots the past few months, so here is an easy one for summer... a happy singing gypsy! As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here.

The loss of a child is serious business, but director Hirokazu Kore-eda treats the subject gently in Sheep in the Box, a fable bolstered by a touch of sci-fi. Kore-eda's screenplay involves a humanoid, a robot child that enters the movie to ease the pain of two grieving parents (Daigo Yamamoto and Haruka Ayase). A company called Rebirth contacts the grieving couple. The company creates an exact replica of their late son Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki), a humanoid that's been programmed to look, sound, and…

TCM Summer Under the Stars returns to Turner Classic Movies next month. Like many TCM fans, I always look forward to it, my only caveat being that Noir Alley is off for a whole month. Regardles, this year has some of my favourite stars and there are also several days devoted to stars who are entirely new to Summer Under the Stars. These include Diane Keaton, George Hamilton, Marie Windsor, Bonita Granville, and Brock Peters. TCM's hosts also got to pick stars to whom days would be devoted to.…

Without spoilers, which should I watch, and which should I skip? Archive Colossal The Space Between Us Rim of the World Kin Spaceman (with Adam Sandler) Paradise Anon Extinction The Great Flood Office Invasion

I've been gradually working my way through unseen John Wayne films, with the latest being REUNION IN FRANCE (1942). It's an interesting and somewhat unusual film from Wayne's early '40s career years.He had broken through to stardom with STAGECOACH (1939) but was still working his way up the career ladder in the early '40s. REUNION IN FRANCE, produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz at MGM, was one of seven films Wayne starred in released in 1942.I use the word "starred" advisedly, as while Wayne plays…

Shakespeare at the Pub is back! This is the 5th year of The Gray Mallard Theater's summer Shakespeare productions outside Sociable Cider Werks, their only show of the year. For the 3rd year in a row, I sat on a folding chair in a parking lot enjoying a locally made cider and an intimate, accessible, and engaging production of one of the Bard's best works. And this is perhaps the best weather I've had for this outdoor production, with a lovely cool summer day in the '70s, a welcome break from…

AuthorMatt DinnimanOverviewIt’s off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It…

CBS and NBC tried their best with new and returning offerings, but neither had a chance against the juggernaut that was ABC’s Tuesday night hit factory. Four of the season’s top ten shows aired back-to-back this evening, and while one must applaud the network for tapping into what America liked to watch, it’s also unfortunate that their dominance claimed one series on a rival network that deserved a better fate. CBSThe Paper ChaseCBS Tuesday Night Movie“You teach yourselves the law, but I train…

Motivations are suspect and expectations are turned to chaos as a con artist takes on Manhattan billionaires. Although I swore I’m not gonna look at A24 shit, I gave this movie a chance, because of its great cast, including Sebastian Stan, Julianne Moore, John Litgow, Justice Smith and Briana Middleton. While it’s not slowly burning, it sure takes its time to develop its stories. The cinematography is nice, the story is interesting, but pretty predictable. Still an interesting watch, although…

No matter what, you're going to have a great time watching this movie. It is funny and audacious and handcrafted, which is a quality that feels increasingly absent from the modern cinematic landscape. It is hard to get an honest-to-God comedy released these days. It is even harder to get one of this kind that is as bizarre and metatextual and devoid of any real box office draw, except its own aggregate goodwill and perhaps the increasing cachet of Matt Johnson. I really enjoyed watching this…

tag(s): #random-thoughts #yell-at-cloud #español Soy de esos puristas que siempre quiere ver las cosas exclusivamente en idioma original y con subtítulos. Porque la voz original es parte de lo que pone el actor en el personaje, y blah blah blah. Ayer llegué a la casa de mis viejos y estaban mirando con Juan la serie de Chernobyl de HBO. Con doblaje en español. Obviamente mi primera reacción fue de HORROR!!! "Mis viejos solían ver películas subtituladas, qué paso aquí?" me pregunté. Y les…

Sony Pictures Entertainment / YouTube: From the mind of visionary filmmaker Zach Cregger (Weapons, Barbarian) comes a thrilling — and terrifying — reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise. In an all-new story, Resident Evil follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed, non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos. I really love how this is designed to live alongside the Resident Evil games,…

Coyote vs. Acme / YouTube: Not all underdogs are dogs. Coyote vs. ACME only in theaters August 28. With every new piece of footage, I remain baffled that this movie was supposed to be tossed away and lost for the purposes of a tax rebate. David Zaslav is a moron. I will be there, day one, when… Coyote vs. ACME hits theaters on August 28, 2026.

Strategic red string appears on a war map in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (dir. Susanna White, 2010). ▲ Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (dir. Susanna White, 2010) ▲ Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (dir. Susanna White, 2010)

And what a handsome statuette it is, too. For those needing a refresher, the Astra is an award given out by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, which mostly has given out award related to film and television, but this last year decided to branch out into books as well, a decision which I applaud as books are indeed an important creative endeavor as well. When the Moon Hits Your Eye was fortunate enough to win the inaugural award for the Science Fiction Book category when the awards were given out…

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) is essentially a two-and-a-half-hour parliamentary procedure drama about the passing of

I saw the new Clayface movie trailer this morning and it looks interesting. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch it as body horror really messes with me and it looks like they’re going all in judging by the trailer. That’s a me thing and I think it’s an obvious direction to go in given the material. I’m sure people are going to draw parallels with The Substance and make it a gender thing but I think that would do both films a disservice. For those who don’t know Clayface’s story, Matt…

Sam Elliott in Lifeguard (1976) Vitals Sam Elliott as Rick Carlson, charismatic 32-year-old beach lifeguard Southern California, Summer 1975 Film: Lifeguard Release Date: July 23, 1976 Director: Daniel Petrie Wardrobe Credit: Margo Baxley WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Background Before his magnificent mustache and gravely voice made him a mainstay of Westerns, Sam Elliott’s breakthrough performance was in the romantic drama Lifeguard, released fifty years ago today on July 23, 1976. In the…

Arthur's written a play. And it's being performed. And it's quite short. You should come!

Constantine (2005)

“Sure, there were a couple of non-summertime things that slipped in, but looking back, I can honestly say we had the time of our lives.” –Kyon on Endless Eight The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya‘s first season was released to widespread acclaim, universally praised for superior artwork and animation, top-tier voice acting and an intriguing story […]

I've watched quite a number of crime and suspense films recently, so it seemed like perfect timing to finally catch up with a more recent film from my watch list, BLACK BAG (2025).I'd heard good things about this film about married spies, and it proved to be quite an entertaining, well-done movie.George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) are married British spies. They are very much in love, which makes things complicated when George's superior Philip (Gustaf…