DVD/Blu-Ray Review
Blu-Ray Review: Wonder
It’s not uncommon for children to feel isolated and alone when they’re starting a new school. It’s a set-up which has been repeatedly plundered by Hollywood as the premise for family and children’s films. There’s the protagonist, awkward and eager to make a good impression. The bully or bullies, always on the lookout for someone …
Blu-Ray Review: Breathless
Richard Gere is probably best known now as a gentile amiable presence, inhabiting films aimed at the ‘grey market’. His resplendent and flowing grey locks and twinkly eyes have graced such autumnal classics as The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, but at one time he was one of the hottest …
DVD Review: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
The Golden Age of superhero comics can largely be attributed to two factors. The 1930s saw the Great Depression take hold of America lives, leading many to yearn for an escape from the drudgery and hardship of everyday life. The Nazis invasion of Poland in 1939 and America’s entrance into World War II in 1941 …
Blu-Ray Review: The Passenger
There is something deep down inside of every one of us which longs to escape our lives and become someone else. To throw off the shackles of our past, leave all our choices and mistakes behind and start afresh. It’s a very human yearning, but it’s more of a pipedream than an obtainable reality. Our …
Blu-Ray Review: Re:Born
Tak Sakaguchi caused a bit of a stir when he burst onto the scene in Ryuhei Kitamura’s absolutely stunning film Versus in 2000. He went on to have successes with Azumi, Azumi 2 and Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, amongst others. The action director on Shinobi was Yûji Shimomura, who had worked as a stuntman/stunt coordinator …
Blu-Ray Review: The Barefoot Contessa
It’s no surprise that in an industry powered by ego, narcissism and self-interest, Hollywood is no stranger to making movies about itself. The recent Oscar successes of Birdman and The Artist demonstrate that they’re also quite happy rewarding themselves for it. This is hardly a recent phenomenon. As Sunset Boulevard and Singing in the Rain …
Blu-Ray Review: Paddington 2
It must have been a strange prospect for Paul King when he was handed the task of bringing Paddington Bear to the big screen. Whilst the furry Peruvian and his marmalade sandwiches have bewitched generations of eager young cubs, he never seemed a subject who would make for a good cinematic experience. King struggled a …
Blu-Ray Review: Quai des Orfèvres
The bright lights of showbusiness has led many astray over the years. As recent events have sadly illustrated all too well, the power almost always rests with men, and it’s a far too regularly abused and misused. As a young actress and singer seeking her big break, the lively music halls of 1940s Paris are …
Blu-ray Review: Le Corbeau
World War II was a difficult period for many European film directors. There was a migration ahead of the Holocaust and Nazi rule, which trundled West from Germany along with the Panzer regiments. If you were Jewish, there was obviously not option, but those who remained in occupied territory faced the choice of complying or …
Blu-Ray Review: Silence and Cry
The period following the turn of the century until the end of the Second World War was tumultuous throughout Europe. The end of World War I left a vacuum in much of Central and Eastern Europe. Into this space stumbled a plethora of competing ideologies and nationalism, widespread violence, poverty, disease and unemployment. Choosing sides …