Face/Off Gets A 4K Ultra HD Upgrade

John Woo’s classic 1997 action thriller, Face/Off, is now available on 4K Ultra HD by way of Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film has been available on 4K UHD since December 12, 2023. What follows is my original review from last summer’s 25th anniversary: Face/Off, the John Woo action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, marks its 25th anniversary since its June 1997 release. I was too young to appreciate Nicolas Cage for his…

"Face/Off Gets A 4K Ultra HD Upgrade"

Face/Off: Action Film Marks 25th Anniversary

Face/Off, the John Woo action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, marks its 25th anniversary since its June 1997 release. I was too young to appreciate Nicolas Cage for his mannerisms when I first saw this film in 1997. In hindsight, I was probably a few years too young to see the movie, what with the R rating and all. But then again, I had already watched dinosaurs tear apart two different islands by…

"Face/Off: Action Film Marks 25th Anniversary"

Volcano: Mount Wilshire Marks 25th Anniversary

Volcano is the second volcano movie this year to mark its 25th anniversary as Dante’s Peak reached the same milestone in February. This is the first screenplay for both of the film’s screenwriters, Jerome Armstrong and future Oscar nominee Billy Ray. They don’t hesitate at all and have us on the edge of our seats from the beginning. An earthquake hits LA and this is just the beginning! The film is non-stop action from there…

"Volcano: Mount Wilshire Marks 25th Anniversary"

Crazy Stupid Love Marks 10th Anniversary

Crazy Stupid Love, featuring an all-star cast led by Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling, marks its tenth anniversary since the 2011 theatrical release. The film is formally titled Crazy, Stupid, Love but for SEO purposes, I’m dropping the commas. Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) has been married to his high school sweetheart, Emily (Julianne Moore), for many years. Life comes crashing down when Emily reveals she cheated on him with David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). Alas, divorce…

"Crazy Stupid Love Marks 10th Anniversary"

The Trial of the Chicago 7 Is A Masterpiece

The Trial of the Chicago 7, the newest film from writer-director Aaron Sorkin, is one of the best pictures to grace the screen in 2020. Paramount knew they had an awards contender on their hands.  With theaters closed and a pandemic also raging, the best decision was to unload the film on Netflix.  Many months from now, this will prove to have been a key decision.  Listen, people are not going back to theaters in…

"The Trial of the Chicago 7 Is A Masterpiece"

The Highwaymen doesn’t rise up

The Highwaymen tells the story of Bonnie and Clyde but from a different point of view as this film follows the detectives that brought them to justice. The Blind Side‘s John Lee Hooker takes us back to a different time when Texas Rangers Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson) are forced out of retirement.  The reason?  Having to chase down a pair of folks named Bonnie (Emily Brobst) and Clyde (Ed Bossert).  Hamer…

"The Highwaymen doesn’t rise up"

Private Life: A Very Personal Film

Netflix brought Private Life to the Sundance Film Festival for its world premiere and while it is a very personal film that gets into what people go through for the IVF process, it isn’t one that will appeal to everyone. Kathryn Hahn has been a versatile comedic performer for years but writer-director Tamara Jenkins has written a role for the actress that gives us an emotional but strong performance as Rachel Biegler. Rachel has been…

"Private Life: A Very Personal Film"

Lucky: A Fitting Tribute to Harry Dean Stanton

The best way to sum up Lucky is that the independent film is a fitting tribute to the life and career of Harry Dean Stanton as the actor passed away in mid-September. When this film was produced, nobody could have possibly predicted that it would be among Stanton’s final roles. Character actor John Carroll Lynch makes his directorial debut with Lucky from a screenplay written by Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja. Stanton leads a cast…

"Lucky: A Fitting Tribute to Harry Dean Stanton"

Anything, starring cis male as trans woman, to debut at LA Film Festival

Anything will make its debut on Saturday during the LA Film Festival this and many of us in the trans community are not pleased about the casting of a cis actor in a transgender role. Written and directed by Timothy McNeil, the film stars John Carroll Lynch, Matt Bomer, Maura Tierney, Margot Bingham, and Micah Hauptman. Here’s where there is a major problem: cisgender actor Matt Bomer is playing a transgender woman post-transition.  There are…

"Anything, starring cis male as trans woman, to debut at LA Film Festival"

CCFF: Lucky is a tribute to Harry Dean Stanton

The best way to sum up Lucky is that it is a tribute to the life and career of Harry Dean Stanton. John Carroll Lynch makes his directorial debut with Lucky from a screenplay written by Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja. Stanton leads a cast that includes David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerritt, Beth Grant, James Darren, Barry Shabaka Henley, and Yvonne Huff Lee. The performance by Stanton is one of the…

"CCFF: Lucky is a tribute to Harry Dean Stanton"