DVD and VOD

Now and Then: In Harmony, 'Life of Pi' and 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Are the Best Films of the Year

One is a grand, sea-borne spectacle, a master's first glorious foray into 3-D. The other, like its breakout star, is a furious miniature whose impact far outweighs its size. But both "Life of Pi" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" are fervently alive to the world of nature, of spirit — two halves of ...

DVD Review: 'Dark Crimes' from Chandler, Hammett & Woolrich in Tantalizing TCM Noir Box Set

On December 3, the TCM Vault Collection released a tantalizing box set of three film noirs, “The Glass Key,” “Phantom Lady” and “The Blue Dahlia,” all previously unavailable on Region 1 DVD. The connecting thread is crime fiction -- the first two films are based on novels by Dashiell Hammett and Cor...

Now and Then: 'Heaven's Gate,' Catastrophe or Classic?

Once reviled, Michael Cimino's controversial "Heaven's Gate" (1980) may remain — despite the Criterion Collection's effort to resuscitate it — a cautionary tale of directorial hubris, Hollywood excess, and wayward ambition. The real moral of the film, however, is far simpler: "Heaven's Gate" is an o...

Kubrick's Early Odyssey: 'Fear and Desire' and 'Killer's Kiss'

As the much-anticipated Stanley Kubrick exhibition opened at LACMA on November 1, the museum hosts a parallel film retrospective of the director's 13 feature films, screening in chronological order. This puts Kubrick's two least-seen yet remarkable works, "Fear and Desire" and "Killer's Kiss," as th...

Now and Then: 'Your Sister's Sister,' Lost in the Oscar Shuffle

As much as I enjoy awards chatter, this time of year can be frustrating. Spring, summer, even early fall releases that merit attention melt away before the campaigns of the heavy hitters. Lynn Shelton's lovely character study "Your Sister's Sister" won't factor in the Oscar race, and maybe it doesn'...

The Two Faces Of Wallander

Guest column by Alice Maltin: I’ve been lost in the world of Henning Mankell’s 'Wallander' because I’m viewing the British adaptation on TV while simultaneously following the Swedish series on DVD. This is causing some confusion for me. Is that woman the killer or is it the handyman?

VOD Review - '1/2 Revolution' (A Gripping Documentation Of The Egyptian Revolution)

It's not been released on DVD or Blu-ray yet; but it's available on VOD platforms like iTunes, where I learned interested viewers can now both rent it ($4.99 in HD) or buy it ($19.99 also in HD).

5 Netflix Streaming Discoveries This Week For You To Watch This Weekend (11/2)

Rating 'Psycho,' Behind-the-Scenes 'Hitchcock' and the Universal Hitchcock Fifteen

I got over the awful HBO "The Girl," starring Toby Jones as Alfred Hitchcock and Sienna Miller as Tippi Hedren, by watching the entire Dick Cavett Hitchcock interview. I had more fun with Thursday night's AFI FEST world premiere of Sacha Gervasi's light-hearted "Hitchcock," starring a superb ensembl...