Feb 25, 2014 DVDs Web Exclusive

In what will likely go down as one of the most assured cinematic debuts, Michael Mann's Thief (from 1981) is a neon-drenched neo-noir heist flick, magnificently restored to its initial luster by the Criterion Collection. More

Dec 30, 2013 DVDs Web Exclusive

Criterion's recently released Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project is the box set of the year, showcasing digitally preserved restorations of six films on blu-ray for the first time: Touki Bouki (Senegal); Redes (Mexico); A River Called Titas (India and Bangladesh; Dry Summer (Turkey); Trances (Morocco); The Housemaid (South Korea). More

Dec 23, 2013 DVDs Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM

John Cassavetes is as essential to independent film as The Velvet Underground are to independent music. The myriad roads he paved are echoed in canonized filmmakers as disparate as Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, and Mike Leigh. More

Dec 20, 2013 DVDs Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM

Critics often dismiss Much Ado About Nothing as one of Shakespeare's most lightweight works. Joss Whedon's (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) adaptation will do nothing to dissuade this opinion.  More

Dec 19, 2013 DVDs Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM

Forget about that other big-budget extravaganza covering the same territory: Tobias Lindholm's A Hijacking is a tenser, more credibly harrowing account of a Somali pirate takeover, and one that packs a bigger emotional punch to boot. More

Dec 16, 2013 DVDs Web Exclusive

Big Star was a life-changing band. The truth is, it still is. The recent documentary on the band, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, is an essential document of the what, how, and ultimate why of this fact. More

Dec 16, 2013 DVDs Web Exclusive

Imagine Dexter, only recombined as a gloriously stylized feature length Italian film from the early '70s, and that still doesn't scrape the surface of the awesome Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion by Elio Petri. More

Dec 13, 2013 DVDs Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM

Simon Killer, directed by Antonio Campos (Afterschool), is a stark glimpse at the metamorphosis of a borderline misogynist into a full-blown sociopath. Brady Corbet dazzles as the titular Simon, an American studying abroad and seeking to forget his ex-girlfriend via a sordid journey into increasingly violent and dangerous sexual encounters.

Nov 07, 2013 DVDs Web Exclusive

Arthur Hamilton consults a secret organization which promises him a new life and identity. He signs their contract; his death is staged and he’s wheeled into plastic surgery. He wakes up as Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson), a mildly successful painter with a trendy social circle.  More