The long-awaited Blu-ray of "A Hard Day's Night" comes with the prominent subtitle: Directed by Richard Lester. Truth in packaging, as the Criterion Collection's smashing release of the Beatles' film puts the focus squarely on the iconoclastic director, whose vision and bravery under fire made what could have been a forgettable "jukebox musical" … [Read more...]
‘Gold Rush’ hits motherlode on Blu-ray
"The Gold Rush" has been delighting audiences for almost 90 years -- it's one of the flat-out funniest films made in the silent era or any other. This is the movie Chaplin wanted to be remembered for. Probably the grandest silent-movie entertainment of them all. Close your eyes and let some of its classic scenes flicker across your mind -- … [Read more...]
‘Clueless’ looks sharp on Blu-ray
"Clueless" looks smarter and smarter as the decades go by. Amy Heckerling's delightfully cynical tale of worldly teens obsessed with designer clothes, sports utility vehicles and cell phones still rings true, down to the last fashionista. The slanguage Heckerling invented for her Beverly Hills High kids survived into the next century, proving … [Read more...]
‘Lilyhammer’: Northern exposure for a hood in hiding
"Lilyhammer" snuck onto the Netflix streaming video service like a crook in the night. No rah-rah, no in-your-face promos, not even a listing as "new on TV." Subscribers who haven't read about the Steven Van Zandt fish-out-of-water series probably still don't know it's there. Those who sought out the show often did so by doing an onscreen text … [Read more...]
‘Something Wild’ crashes into Blu-ray
Time hasn't tamed "Something Wild." Jonathan Demme's red-hot-mama road movie returns on Blu-ray and DVD, all dolled up by the Criterion Collection. Unlike most hipster movies of the 1980s, "Something Wild" still hits on all of its cylinders: sex, violence and screwball madness. Very little feels dated, really: Credit Demme's … [Read more...]
