If you love great cinema, you really should subscribe to the Criterion Channel. Here you can get your fill of Akira Kurosawa, Fritz Lang, Mike Leigh, Atom Egoyan, Yasujiro Ozu, Asghar Farhadi, and so much more. And it's not all serious. Search for comedy, and (as I write this), you'll get 378 results. Throughout August, … Continue reading More good than bad in August at the Criterion Channel
Category: Home Theater
Jewish Horror: The Golem on Blu-ray
To understand this hundred-year-old German/Jewish horror movie, you need to know a bit about the German Expressionist movement. The Golem: How He Came into the World was never intended to look realistic. Neither the acting, the makeup, nor the costumes were intended to recreate the medieval period of the setting. This expressionism allowed set designer Hans … Continue reading Jewish Horror: The Golem on Blu-ray
Weird movies streaming from the New Mission
Like a lot of closed Bay Area movie theaters, the New Mission offers virtual cinema: You buy an e-ticket at the theater's website, you stream the film at home, and the theater gets a little money. Most of the available movies are new pictures that would be properly screening at local theaters if these were … Continue reading Weird movies streaming from the New Mission
Alternative streaming services – if you can get them to your TV
With everyone stuck at home, distributors are creating their own streaming services. But they're not making it easy for their customers to watch what they pay for on the big home screen. Yes, I know that people watch movies on their computers, their tablets, and worst of all, their phones. Yes, I watch videos on … Continue reading Alternative streaming services – if you can get them to your TV
Films that increase empathy
Roger Ebert once called movies "a machine that generates empathy." I'm not sure that's always true. Triumph of the Will generated a lot of emotions, but empathy wasn't one of them. And yet, the best films can help you understand those trapped in poverty, loneliness, and sickness. Ever since the invention of the close-up, motion … Continue reading Films that increase empathy
Comedy bargains at VUDU
You need to laugh in times like these. Vudu, one of the major pay-per-view streaming services, is offering 43 comedies at low prices. For April, you can rent one of these movies for $2. If you like one of them enough, you can own the streamer for $7. But for the most part, these aren't … Continue reading Comedy bargains at VUDU
Columbia Noir at the Criterion Channel
It's a dirty, corrupt, and evil world, filled with lust for money, lust for power, and just plain old lust. And it just got dirtier on Wednesday, when the Criterion Channel opened up a collection of Columbia Noir. Yes, the lady with the torch is looking over the crime-filled streets. The collection contains 26 movies … Continue reading Columbia Noir at the Criterion Channel
When this is over, we’ll still want movie theaters
While we watch movies on our TVs, the good people who run the theaters we love worry about paying their bills. They don't know how long this situation will last, and for the time being, they're not getting any money. "On paper, they've only shut their doors temporarily—but faced with the prospect of being shuttered … Continue reading When this is over, we’ll still want movie theaters
The Fantastic Journeys of Karel Zeman
While Ray Harryhausen was making effects-laden fantasies in the mid-20th century, the Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman was doing much the same thing behind the Iron Curtain…but with a better sense of humor. Using stop-motion animation, puppets, live action, beautiful illustrations, and a sense of comedy, he made visually striking, entertaining films that have been forgotten … Continue reading The Fantastic Journeys of Karel Zeman
The alleged Mick Travis trilogy…but mostly about O Lucky Man
When is a trilogy a trilogy, and when is it just three different movies? The Lord of the Rings is clearly a trilogy. John Ford's cavalry is just three westerns set amongst horse soldiers. The Criterion Channel is currently offering what they're calling Lindsay Anderson's Mick Travis Trilogy. The films: If…. (1968) O Lucky Man! … Continue reading The alleged Mick Travis trilogy…but mostly about O Lucky Man
