Reel Reviews - Movie Reviews, blu-ray/DVD reviews

Mona Lisa: The Criterion Collection (1986) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 24 September 2021; Written by Emily Strong

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“Didn’t you ever need someone?” “All the time.” As director Neil Jordan would describe it, Mona Lisa revolves around the idea of (and I’m paraphrasing here) a man not understanding women. And while the film does indeed center on this theme, Jordan and co-writer, David ...

Girl Gang/Pin-Down Girl (1951, 1954) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 23 September 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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"I can't help it, Joe! I just gotta have it!" These girls are nothing but trouble! Smokin’ weed, sellin’ stolen cars, and knockin’ men over the head until they are unconscious and, you know, mostly left for dead. And it is all because of the greasy tactics of Joe (Timothy Farell) and his notorious needle ...

Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD (1979 - 1986)

Details: Published: 23 September 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!“ There was a time when those words - no, that entire opening ...

Cry Macho - Movie Review

Details: Published: 24 September 2021; Written by Frank Wilkins

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It’s time for Clint Eastwood to hang up his acting hat for good. There, I said it. And that’s coming from one of the guy’s biggest fans. Sure, the man is inarguably a true Hollywood legend having appeared in more than 50 films, from 1950’s sci-fis, to countless war dramas, to starring roles in a dozen or ...

Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman (1955 - 1957)

Details: Published: 20 September 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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Zombies! Werewolves! Atomic Mutation! Intergalactic Giant Avians! This is how you do it, kids. Get yourself $100,000, come up with an attention-grabbing title for a movie, throw a monster in it, write the script on the quick, give yourself 6-days to shoot the movie (with an editor on the set so ...

State of the Union (1948) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 20 September 2021; Written by Emily Strong

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It’s Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn. Are you sold on it yet? No? Alright, let’s talk: When you think about Tracey-Hepburn films, Frank Capra’s 1948 State of the Union is certainly not as revered or remembered in the way that Woman of the Year, Adam’s Rib, or even Guess Who’s ...

The Card Counter - Movie Review

Details: Published: 17 September 2021; Written by Emily Strong

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Despite the film’s strong foundation and rather rich themes, Paul Schrader’s newest project, The Card Counter, is unsuccessful in attempts to achieve a tense and mysterious tone, and ultimately ends up as a dull, messy drama full of awkward dialogue and performances ...

Prisoners of the Ghostland - Movie Review

Details: Published: 17 September 2021; Written by Loron Hays

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Testicles. Who needs ‘em? While watching Prisoners of the Ghostland, it's best to - like the logic it usually requires to follow a normal film from beginning to its everlovin’ end - throw them both out the window. Got your attention? Good. Love it or leave it, Prisoners of the Ghostland is ...

Small Engine Repair - Movie Review

Details: Published: 17 September 2021; Written by Frank Wilkins

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“What goes on the internet stays there forever, pal!” Never have those words rung as true as they do in the new film from writer/director John Pollono called Small Engine Repair. And never before have we seen the consequences of the internet’s ornery persistence play out in such a fiendishly entertaining ...

Zola - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 02 July 2021; Written by Frank Wilkins

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In case you missed the now (in)famous twitter thread from back in 2015 written by then mostly unknown waitress/stripper A’Ziah-Monae “Zola” King – who now acts as the film’s producer, you can get yourself caught up on one of the most bizarre weekend road trip stories since the Hoover family ...