Posts Tagged ‘Thriller’

Blu-ray Review: Panic in the Streets – “Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ”

Posted: 10 May, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: Panic in the Streets – “Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ”

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Panic in the Streets – “Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ” on Blogcritics.

Every actor needs to start somewhere. In the case of the late great Jack Palance, he started out doing what he will always be remembered for: playing the part of a very bad man. When offered the part of the heavy in the 1950 film noir, Panic in the Streets, stage actor Walter Jack Palance (as he was known by then) flew to New Orleans for his very first film role. And while the rest of his career may be simply summed up with the ever-annoying line “And the rest is history,” Elia Kazan’s memorable Panic in the Streets is certainly worth noting for due to much more than introducing the filmgoing world to the man who would both frighten and entice grown-up and adults alike for generations to come. (more…)

Berlin Correspondent DVD Review: A Nifty L’il WWII Espionage B-Flick

Posted: 7 May, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Berlin Correspondent DVD Review: A Nifty L’il WWII Espionage B-Flick

For many B-movie lovers like myself, the late great German-born Martin Kosleck will perhaps be best remembered as the mad scientist who helped create the titular creations in one of the earliest gore flicks, The Flesh Eaters in 1964 – and as a baddie in the ultra-campy no-budget American James Bond rip-off Agent for H.A.R.M. in ’66. Decades prior, however, Kosleck made a career playing villainous Nazis (including Herr Goebbels himself – four different times!) in World War II-themed motion pictures boasting both large and small budgets alike. His frequency inhabiting such roles was not just another case of prime Hollywood typecasting at its finest, though: Kosleck detested Hitler and the Nazi Party – and he put as much evil as he could into each part in order to help the war effort by portraying the Nazis as the immoral bastards they really were. Read the rest of this entry »

Ripper Street [Series One] Blu-ray Review: As My Teachers Always Said: “Needs Improvement”

Posted: 2 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Ripper Street [Series One] Blu-ray Review: As My Teachers Always Said: “Needs Improvement”

Some will tell you that life imitates art. Others will insist that the opposite is true. Personally, from what I’ve seen in the fields of film and television, I would venture to say that art imitates art. Well, sometimes it’s art that’s being imitated. Other times, you have people emulating the likenesses of other endeavors from the film and television genres that simply weren’t too terribly outstanding to start with – and which were really only popular with the masses. It’s almost like popcorn imitating popcorn: a tasty treat when you dive into it, but it’s oh-so-fleeting in the long run. And yes, I know how truly awful that analogy was, so please accept my apologies here and now for that. Read the rest of this entry »

She Played with Fire (Fortune Is a Woman) DVD Review: Jack Hawkins, Ladies Man?

Posted: 21 March, 2013 in Movies/TV
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She Played with Fire (Fortune Is a Woman) DVD Review: Jack Hawkins, Ladies Man?

Some people you simply don’t associate with certain types of roles. Like Rosie O’Donnell as Betty Rubble. Or John Wayne as Genghis Khan. And then there’s the case of English actor Jack Hawkins (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben-Hur) – a highly respected though-rather-bulldog-faced actor – inhabiting the role of a chick magnet, as he did in the superb-yet-sadly-underrated 1957 British film noir flick Fortune Is a Woman. Released in the United States the following year under the less-imaginative title She Played with Fire, the tale stars Hawkins as Oliver Branwell (not Oliver Cromwell): an insurance investigator for Lloyds of London who winds up getting himself tangled up in a decidedly sordid mess. Read the rest of this entry »

DVD Review: Purple Noon – The Criterion Collection

Posted: 19 March, 2013 in Movies/TV
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DVD Review: Purple Noon – The Criterion Collection

Article first published as DVD Review: Purple Noon – The Criterion Collection on Blogcritics.

Those of you who have only ever seen Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley may not be entirely aware of this, but Patricia Highsmith’s titular character, Tom Ripley, has been portrayed on several other occasions throughout the years by completely different (not to mention different looking) actors. Well, some of them have been actors. Apart from Damon, there were three other contestants in this unofficial race — including Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, and, uh, Barry Pepper. Now, while each performer possessed his own unique grasp of the fictional fellow (well, two of ‘em, perhaps), the possibility of an intense argument has the potential to exist between several really drunk and heavy non-science fiction/fantasy/horror movie geeks as to which one of the aforementioned four were the least talented Mr. Ripley. (more…)

DVD Review: Ministry of Fear – The Criterion Collection

Posted: 18 March, 2013 in Movies/TV
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DVD Review: Ministry of Fear – The Criterion Collection

Article first published as DVD Review: Ministry of Fear – The Criterion Collection on Blogcritics.

When the decade most cultures refer to as the 1940s came around on good ol’ Planet Earth, the entire world had been affected by World War II. Trust wasn’t as easily granted unto others as it might have been only a few years before — especially to those with peculiar accents or whose methods seemed somewhat shifty in nature. It was during this dark period in history that filmmakers in Hollywood began to experiment with what would become a classic, much-revered genre in cinema: the film noir. Interestingly enough, most of the elements instilled into these shadowy thrillers were borrowed from the German Expressionist Cinema movement from several decades prior; specifically, the work of Austrian-born German filmmaker, Fritz Lang. (more…)

Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Holiday 2012 Gift Guide

Posted: 30 November, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Holiday 2012 Gift Guide

Article first published as Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Holiday 2012 Gift Guide on Blogcritics.

It’s that time of year once again, kids: that instance wherein we shuffle throughout crowded store aisles like maniacs and send cheesy messages of holiday cheer to family members and old acquaintances whom we would normally give absolutely no inkling of thought to. Yes, it’s the holiday season, and — as always — the notion of “What the Hell do I buy for that movie/TV-obsessed loser in my life this year?” emerges. Thankfully, the folks at Universal Studios Home Entertainment have made shopping for even the pickiest person in your group a cinch — by giving us several truly kick-ass collections to covet like, well, maniacs in crowded store aisles. (more…)

DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3

Posted: 26 November, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3

Article first published as DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3 on Blogcritics.

A few years back, I checked out the first series of Kenneth Branagh’s take on the popular Swedish character, Wallander on DVD. In a nutshell, I was smitten by it — which is quite a feat indeed, considering I wasn’t a big Branagh fan to begin with. The introductory BBC adaptation lured me in like a hungry fish in a cold dark sea, and the promise of more feature-length episodes along the same caliber had me praying the subsequent contributions wouldn’t do that which so many American shows tend to do so early on in their often-limited lifespan and jump the shark real quick like. (more…)

DVD Review: Criminal Minds – The Seventh Season

Posted: 29 October, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Criminal Minds – The Seventh Season

Article first published as DVD Review: Criminal Minds – The Seventh Season on Blogcritics.

Those of you who regularly read my ranting and raving against what seems like an endless sea of diarrheic television programming might be interested to know that I actually do tend to enjoy a series every once in a while. Optimism: check. The problem with that, of course, is that it really doesn’t take much for a network or a producer to act just the teensiest bit negligent in order to let even a fairly (enjoyably) mediocre television show jump the shark. Foreshadowing: check. Sometimes the bound into the salty sea air over a hungry man-eater might take the form of a complete change of casting. In others, the return of an old cast-member might be satisfactory to warrant one’s inattention. (more…)

The Game (1997): Criterion Collection DVD Review: Edgy and Uneven, But it Grows on You

Posted: 27 October, 2012 in Movies/TV
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The Game (1997): Criterion Collection DVD Review: Edgy and Uneven, But it Grows on You

There’s nothing taking time out of your everyday boring routine to play a fun game with your friends. In the case of completely unlikable investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), his venture into The Game is not one he is too terribly willing to participate in — and his playmates are anything but friendly. When he was a young boy, Nick’s secretly unhappy father committed suicide on his 48th birthday. Now, having just turned 48 himself, Van Orton is just as miserable as his deceased father to anyone with half an eye. So, his young, reckless brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gives him a gift: a certificate for a game that is guaranteed to change his life. [Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

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