The documentary "Marley" opens not in Jamaica, but in Ghana, West Africa. Viewers are confronted with "the door of no return," the infamous portal through which passed generations of slaves, torn from their mother country. For Bob Marley, who sang passionately about slavery, "Africa was always the destination," his wife recalls. In 1980, … [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...]
‘Blue Velvet’ a stunner on Blu-ray
Those lost and deleted scenes from "Blue Velvet" have been found, and for better or worse they're on display as extra features on MGM's Blu-ray debut of this touchstone of American surrealism. While mostly interesting, the 50 minutes of deleted scenes reveal no artistic oversights, no need for the fabled 4-hour director's cut. David Lynch's … [Read more...]
Boooo on Blu: Top 10 horror movies
There's a certain charm to watching scratchy old horror movies on Halloween, but when the going gets weird you gotta go Blu-ray. Ghosts, monsters, zombies and the rest of the gang want to look their best for the big fright night -- that means razor-sharp high definition images accompanied by blood-curdling lossless audio. Here are some of Screen … [Read more...]
