The Warrior is an Indonesian fantasy/action film about a noble warrior (Jaka Sembung) fighting for all of the right reasons against the oppressive Dutch Colonial Government. Not only is he a super-human fighter, he is also a symbol to the people struggling against colonial rule. Unable to capture the resistance leader, the Dutch representative hires…
The Searchers UHD review
Legendary director John Ford’s The Searchers is the story about an American Civil War veteran who goes on a long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother’s family is attacked and murdered during a raid on their farm in Texas. The journey takes several years and has many…
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story Part 1 and 2 [Vinegar Syndrome] Blu-ray Review
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story Part 1 and 2 (ACTCS1 and ACTCS2) are a pair of movies that use torture as the centerpiece of the film, as implied by the titles. They were Category 3 films made by the Hong Kong film industry, which was a severe rating indicating graphic sex, violence, or triad rituals….
Slap the Monster on Page One [Radiance Films] Blu-Ray Review
Giancarlo Bizanti (Gian Maria Volontè) is the editor-in-chief of the fiery Italian newspaper “Il Giornale”. When a teenage girl is found murdered, the far right-leaning owner of the paper works with Bizanti to undermine the police investigation by casting doubt on the main suspect, influencing a key witness and leading a conflicting campaign against a…
Mr. Lucky Blu-ray review
Directed by H.C. Potter, Mr. Lucky is a 1943 romantic comedy drama starring screen icon Cary Grant as Joe Adams, a swindler and smooth-talking gambler out to launch a casino after taking money from a charitable organization. Not the most noble role for Grant, at least at first! Told in flashback, the story is about…
Super Soul Brother and the Films of Rene Martinez, Jr. [AGFA] Blu-ray Review
There are many categories of movies. I like to think of it as a four-square matrix. One axis is good/bad in terms of technical execution. The other axis is good/bad in terms of enjoyment. So, there are movies that are well executed and entertaining (good/good) and movies that are poorly made and boring (bad/bad). Occasionally,…
Nora Prentiss Blu-ray review
Nora Prentiss is a film Noir about a man who has become weary with his all too routine married life. The boredom of staleness of his lifestyle leads him to falling in love with another woman, the title character, and it proves to be the costliest thing he has ever done. Directed by Vincent Sherman…
The Tall Target Blu-ray review
If it wasn’t for the Warner Archive Collection, I wouldn’t have ever seen or even heard of The Tall Target. After watching it on DVD years ago, I have always felt that Anthony Mann’s The Tall Target is an overlooked classic. It is basically a political crime thriller that mainly takes place on a train….
Japan Organized Crime Boss [Radiance Films] Blu-Ray Review
At a macro level, Japan Organized Crime Boss follows a yakuza proxy war waged by the Tokyo Alliance who uses the Sakurada family of Yokohama to attack the Hamanaka Family, also of Yokohama, who have aligned themselves with the Danno Organization out of the Kansai region. We follow Tsukamoto (played by the legendary Tsuruta Kôji…
I am a Nymphomaniac/I am Frigid…Why? [Blu-ray] Mondo Macabro Review
I am a Nymphomaniac is a 1970 French erotica film that is very light on eroticism. Sandra Julien plays the main character (Carole) who suffers a head injury and suddenly starts craving sex. While she is a beautiful woman, the movie keeps sabotaging itself and destroying any sensuality by having the main character feel shame…