DVD Reviews

A psychological thriller in which Boris Karloff does NOT play a creature of the night?  Say it ain’t so?!  But it’s true.  Isle of the Dead, produced by the legendary Val Lewton, concerns itself with that which haunts Greek nightmares: the Vrykolakas and this female vampire is certainly NOT  ...

Madness.  Mayhem.  And, of course, MURDER.  This is what follows the anti-archetype characters of M.  It is a thriller that is meant to unsettle the viewer with its hunt for a serial killer, making it an unforgettable REEL CLASSIC ...

The new comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson called The Hustle is an almost identical remake of the 1988 classic comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin - itself a remake of Marlon Brando’s Bedtime Story. I say “almost” because  ...

Suspicions!  Accusations!  It’s all on the screen in this minor film noir classic.  The Suspect arrives on blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber and I, as a fan of Laughton’s performances, couldn’t be happier ...

One wouldn’t normally equate Cary Grant with a family movie about adoption and the drama which lies therein, but perhaps that’s why Room for One More (also known as The Easy Way) lingers with viewers.  Grant, playing one half of The Roses, never gets time alone as his house is filled  ...

“She’s afraid of the big bad wolf.  Tra la la la laaaaaa.” It Happened One Night remains a phenomenal romantic comedy.  After all these years, this pre-code American film - which was made when being a reporter was idolized and the screwball comedy was only just hitting its stride - still hits all the perfect notes as ...

The Marx Brothers are coming! The Marx Brothers are coming!  Well, after a bit of exposition that is as Casablanca (and others like that film) get a big kiss-off thanks to the parody on display throughout the 86-minutes that make up A Night in Casablanca.  This REEL CLASSIC might not be the ...

It’s hard to conceive in this era of remakes that some redos in the history of cinema go on to become classics in their own right. For genre fans, John Carpenter’s The Thing is often cited as a prime example. For comedy, however, Billy Wilder’s beloved cross-dressing romp, Some Like It  ...

"What a story!  Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, All About Eve continues to shine bright thanks to the dazzling performance of Bette Davis as Margo Channing as she takes Anne Baxter as ...

Los Angeles after dark is always an exciting place.   Whether it be out on the street or gazing out the window of your home, the air of unpredictability is always lurking about in the air.  And it is that unpredictability which opens director Billy Wilder’s film noir classic, Double Indemnity as a ...

“Did you bring me here by force?” And INTRODUCING Audrey Hepburn.  That’s right, the screen legend begins here with Roman Holiday, a quintessential romantic comedy, which was shot on location in Rome . . . even though Paramount wanted it filmed on their studio ...

From identical dresses to the fire which ravishes Manderley, the second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) can never, ever take the place of Rebecca.  Cue the romance, the heartbreak, the haunted tension and wind it all up because this film is all about the snap.  That’s what makes this ...

A minister-turned-serial killer in one of the most beautiful films ever made by Hollywood?  Sure.  Why not?  When the results of exaggerated set designs and a directing style reminiscent of early silent cinema are as good as they are in The Night of the Hunter, no one is going to complain  ...

Was he trying to kiss or kill her on that hilltop?  The verdict is still out as Suspicion makes its debut on blu-ray thanks to the efforts of the Warner Archive Collection. Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Francis Iles's novel Before the Fact - which is as dissimilar as they...

You can’t say that Hitchcock didn’t warn audiences of Hitler.  He made several films with Hitler’s world view overhanging the shadows in each frame.  But, after a decade in Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock took that warning to a new level and gave audiences the ultimate romance between a ...

“I know what happens in those mystery pictures!  A guy walks over to a perfectly ordinary door he opens it up and - ZOWIE! - out falls a body right on its kisser!” And, of course, a body falls to the ground!  When it comes to getting the tone of horror comedies right, you have to sometimes go ...

Sandra!  Junior?  SANDRA! Junior? SAAAANNNNNDRA! Having successfully stolen the show in 1941’s One Night in the Tropics, the comedy duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello - who were big on radio but untested on film - were quickly signed by Universal Pictures ...

THE POST SAVES EARL WILLIAMS!  Hear all about it in His Girl Friday, now available on blu-ray thanks to the Criterion Collection.  Directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell with standout performances from ...

If you ever get a hankering for some solid improvisational comedic skills on display throughout a major motion picture, look no further then director Leo McCarey’s slapstick comedy, The Awful Truth.  It might have been his first film for Columbia Pictures, but that didn’t stop McCarey from  ...

Swamp gators (with their mouths taped shut as evidenced by this crisp 4K handling!), dead lawyers, and mighty sums of money!  Such frightful delights await those that can stay sane in the Norman clan.  ...

It’s the simplest twist of fates as Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard return to do battle with the supernatural in The Ghost Breakers!  Voodoo, ghosts, and island-bound zombies!  Add in a criminally underrated performance from Willie Best and you have the makings of another REEL CLASSIC! ...

Sometimes it takes meeting the wrong person to finally get to the right person.  That’s one of the territories in Holiday, an often overlooked romantic comedy from 1938 which deals with clashing values and what it means to truly live as pie-in-the-sky dreamers mix drinks with the aristocrats  ...

Think of it as Little Shop of Horrors meets Godzilla, only it’s not as bad or as goofy as it sounds.  The kaiju kiddos love this entry in the Godzilla franchise and I don’t blame them.  This one is purposefully outrageous and full of fun.  Complete with piano wires in which to get the monsters to  ...

In which a rather stoned-looking King Kong (put down the sleep inducing berries, man!!) gets to ride a bundle of hot air balloons across the sea and then summon a whole lot of lightning in order to kick Godzilla’s radioactive thunder thighs! King Kong vs Godzilla is exactly what Toho needed after the lukewarm ...

If you think sequels are a side effect of the modern era, you are absolutely incorrect.  For proof of this, let’s take a look at the subject of this article: 1933’s Son of Kong, which gives the audience another take on monsters, making this version of Kong a bit more . . . fun and lovable  ...

“We may be witnessing a Biblical prophecy come true--the beasts will reign over the earth.” Today, on Kaiju Korner, I’m going to flip the script a bit and focus on . . . bugs.  While usually small and parasitic in their general annoyances, bugs are a BIG problem for a lot of people. From flies to beetles,  ...

With the brand-new release of ALL FIVE (so far) of the Monsterverse movies on Ultra 4K, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit 2017’s Kong: Skull Island.  Received well both critically and commercially, this kaiju film is a visual spectacle and the new 4K upgrade - courtesy of Warner Brothers - doesn’t  ...

Let the titans battle!  Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is one hell of a monsterverse slugfest as Kong must recruit a super-charged Godzilla in a battle for more than just Hollow Earth.  If that statement means little to you then, rest assured, this movie  ...

Welcome to Kaiju Korner, where we celebrate all things concerning Japanese fantasy and giant monsters! What do bathtub toy boats and plastic helicopters have in common with a stunt coordinator pioneer in a monster suit?  Hint: the action takes place in Japan.  That’s right.  Godzilla, the mother of  ...

Welcome back to Kaiju Korner, where we celebrate all things concerning Japanese fantasy and giant monsters!  This time on the monster-sized docket for all things mutated and giant-sized is Godzilla Raids Again, the first sequel to the monumental originator which would change the layout of the typical  ...