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…
Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore & the Films of Sarah Jacobson [AGFA] Blu-ray Review
Sarah Jacobson was a director that explored a lot of feminist themes in a less narrative driven style. Think of Richard Linklater’s less story focused work. While making a splash and generating interest in the 1990s, she died young due to cancer. Her body of work only includes one feature length film and a handful…
Silent Bite [Cleopatra Entertainment] Blu-ray Review
A group of five festively adorned bank robbers, in the wake of an intense bank heist, are looking for a place to lay low until the heat dies down. They crash at the Jolly Roger Hotel while one of their members, dressed as Santa, acts as a decoy and lures the authorities away from their…
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians & Other Holiday Hallucinations! [AGFA and Something Weird release] Blu-ray review
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (SCCTM) is a notoriously bad movie. The first time I watched it was a Rifftrax Live event where a trio of comedians mocked the film in front of an audience. The event was hilarious. In the recent joint release between AGFA and Something Weird, the movie stands alone, and it…
Sex Apocalypse [Mondo Macabro] Blu-ray release
The year is 1982. The country is Spain. Carlos Aured is shifting from the horror genre to a new genre exploding in popularity, the rated “S” sex film. Under General Franco, Spain had strict obscenity laws and once he passed away, the law became much less censorious. Aured put together a film provocatively titled “Sex…