Here are our latest reviews of films on DVD from 2011 and earlier.
Les Anges Exterminateurs
Paulo Peralta @ CinEuphoria [Portuguese]
Attenberg
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Boris Karloff Triple Feature
Bob Cashill @ Cineaste
- Excerpt: Review of Warner Archive DVD-R set with West of Shanghai, The Invisible Menace, and Devil’s Island
The Boys From Fengkuei
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Fados
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Fairy in a Cage
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: What makes Fairy in a Cage notable is that it is simultaneously an exploitation movie centered on sadomasochism and bondage, while also functioning as a harsh critic of the excesses Japanese government and the military during World War II.
The Girl by the Lake
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Jerry Roberts @ Armchair Cinema
- Excerpt: The worst film ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. I’ve had dry heaves that gave me more pleasure.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame & The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
- Excerpt: In the grand scheme of things, Hunchback’s shortcomings are minor, but enough to earn the film “good, not great” classification.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 Movie Collection
James Plath @ Movie Metropolis
- Excerpt: Unlike its lighter, child-friendly direct-to-video sequel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is a mostly adult movie with plenty of dark and somber moments.
In Search of Memory
David Bax @ Battleship Pretension
- Excerpt: In his lauded work, Eric Kandel has displayed the power of the human brain. In his life, he displays that of the human spirit.
Jack Smith and The Destruction of Atlantis
Dennis Schwartz @ Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Jerry Roberts @ Armchair Cinema
- Excerpt: It’s compelling, but it’s not exactly about Emile Zola.
The Lost Weekend
Rick Aragon @ Rick’s Cafe Texan
Love in the Time of Cholera
Paulo Peralta @ CinEuphoria [Portuguese]
Muay Thai Warrior
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: Hopefully the generic English language title given to this film won’t be too big an obstacle.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Jerry Roberts @ Armchair Cinema
- Excerpt: Proof that one great performance can elevate mediocre material.
Operation Eichmann
Bob Cashill @ Cineaste
- Excerpt: Review of Warner Archive DVD-R.
The Passion of the Christ
- Excerpt: Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” is both more and less than a movie. In one sense, it is less a movie than the heartfelt prayer of a gifted film-maker and devout Catholic who has had some very public struggles with sin. In another it is a narrow and harrowing perspective on a story that, no matter what your faith, is bigger than any attempt to portray on film.
Polytechnique
Samson and Delilah
- Excerpt: Arriving ten years after Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz took bold strides, though, this film doesn’t do all that much to advance the medium. Much of Samson relies on static conversations conducted on small, artificial sets.
The Sting
Tim Brayton @ Antagony & Ecstasy
- Excerpt: A perfectly calibrated machine designed to be as entertaining as possible in as many ways as possible.
Stoker
- Excerpt: Park Chan Wook finally gets 2013 going with a twisted tale of American Gothic.
Tess
- Excerpt: Tess offers some beautiful filmmaking and a restrained, yet emotionally powerful, performance from Nastassja Kinski.
The Vanishing (US)
Sarah D Bunting @ Tomato Nation
The Wedding Planner
Paulo Peralta @ CinEuphoria [Portuguese]
Westworld
James Plath @ Family Home Theater
A Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Excerpt: I often wonder how well our pop culture touchstones stand the test of time. There’s no better barometer than getting someone who has never seen it to finally give it a watch.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
James Plath @ Family Home Theater
- Excerpt: Watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit is like spending a weekend locked in a room with the looniest Looney Tunes characters.
