Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2, a limited edition set, brings six films home for the first time on 4K Ultra HD. This limited edition set features Anatomy of a Murder, Oliver!, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense and Sensibility, and The Social Network. The set comes with an 80-page hardbound book in the history and impact of the films. In addition, there are over 30 new hours of new and archival special features. A…
"Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2"Month: October 2021
It gives me great pain to write this open letter to Netflix but not even stand-up comedy is an excuse to defend transphobia on the platform. I should be writing my review of Dune following this afternoon’s press screening. Instead, I turned on my phone and have been incensed with Netflix since shortly after the screening. Upon checking one friend’s Twitter, I learned from The Verge that a transgender employee was suspended for tweeting. If…
"Netflix: An Open Letter From A Transgender Critic"
High Sierra, which made Humphrey Bogart a leading man and enabled John Huston to transition to directing, joins The Criterion Collection. This film was pivotal for helping both Humphrey Bogart and John Huston to advance in their careers. The two were friends and drinking partners. Prior to High Sierra, Bogart was a mere supporting player. Because of this, Bogart had to fight Raoul Walsh for the role. Walsh wanted someone like George Raft or Paul…
"High Sierra: Film Noir Joins The Criterion Collection"
Bernard F. Dick’s book, Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood, now available in paperback. Factoring in a new preface for the paperback, the author writes as definitive story of Paramount Pictures that there can be. Well, it doesn’t take into account the recent studio moves with naming Brian Robbins as the new CEO. What makes the Paramount story so interesting is that they almost didn’t even get acquired by Gulf…
"Engulfed Tells The Paramount Pictures Story"
Starstruck, the long-awaited memoir from film critic/historian Leonard Maltin, is going to be the must-read book of the year for film buffs. If you’re like me, you could listen to Leonard Maltin talk all day. I certainly know that I can. He’s the type of person who not only knows what he’s doing but he puts in the research as well. It’s one of the reasons why I admire Leonard Maltin. Getting the opportunity to…
"Starstruck by Leonard Maltin: A Must-Read Memoir"
The French Connection, which won five Oscars including Best Picture, marks its 50th anniversary since its 1971 theatrical release. In addition to Best Picture, the film won for Director, Actor (Gene Hackman), Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay. What set this film apart from others is that Friedkin shot it in a style known more because of documentaries at the time. The film’s grittiness wasn’t something typically scene in narrative features heading into 1971. You can…
"The French Connection Marks 50th Anniversary"
Netflix keeps supporting not-funny transphobic comedy by way of releasing a new Dave Chappelle special every so often and it’s exhausting. Enough is enough. I’m so tired of having the same conversation every fricking time that a new special gets released. Netflix can say they are an LGBTQ ally–it’s great that they acquired Disclosure–the allyship feels performative when they keep releasing Chappelle specials KNOWING he’s a transphobic bigot. In the newest special, which I did…
"Dave Chappelle And His Transphobic And Antisemitic Comedy"
The Ides of March, the political thriller starring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney, marks its tenth anniversary since its 2011 release. This film, based on Farrugut North by Beau Willimon, takes a behind-the-scenes look at political campaign drama. However, in as much as it is inside baseball, the film also focuses on Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris’s sexual affair and how it nearly ends his presidential campaign. Politics can be an ugly event and this film…
"The Ides of March: Political Thriller Marks 10 Years"
Real Steel, the Shawn Levy robot boxing film starring Hugh Jackman, holds up beautifully as the film celebrates ten years since its release. Real Steel is a very different film than Warrior, which came out in August 2011. And yet, both films deal with families and fighting. In this instance, this film is about an estranged father and son coming together over robot boxing. They don’t always see eye to eye but boxing has a…
"Real Steel Holds Up On Tenth Anniversary"
Jason Biggs spoke with Solzy at the Movies about his role in a new film, The Subject, and where things stand on the future of American Pie. The Subject is a very unsettling film but it offers one of the best performances in Jason Biggs’s acting career. Seven different film festivals honored Biggs with awards for his performance. Screenwriter Chisa Hutchinson penned the screenplay in 2010 and over ten years later, Lanie Zipoy directs a…
"Jason Biggs talks The Subject, American Pie"