Author Archive: admin
The Song of Bernadette, and some mild ranting
In addition to a lengthy Editor’s Blog [rant] on classic films on video, I’ve uploaded a review of Twilight Time’s new Blu-ray edition of Fox’ The Song of Bernadette, which features a clean transfer of the film that ostensibly launched Jennifer Jones’ career as a leading lady, and marked a high-point in Alfred Newman’s compositional career.
Hot Docs 2013: Two by Rachel Boynton
Uploaded is the next-to-last review from Hot Docs 2013 – Rachel Boynton’s Big Men, about a small U.S. company’s efforts to maintain their interest in Ghana’s Jubilee Fields offshore oil reserve, plus a full review of the director’s first film, Our Brand is Crisis (KOCH / EOne), about American spin doctors managing a political candidate in Bolivia’s 2002 presidential elections.
CanCon 101: Sexcula – “She’ll suck more than your blood!”
Yes, it’s true: the first and perhaps only hardcore film to enjoy the benefits of Canada’s tax shelter system during the heady seventies not only exists, but is available on DVD from Impulse Picttures / Synapse Films. I guess this means as taxpayers, we took part in Sexcula’s making, and I’m okay with that. Are you?
Soundtrack Reviews: Video Game Scores
Just uploaded are reviews of four video game soundtracks from 2013 and 2012: Bear McCreary’s Defiance (released on the composer’s new label, Sparks and Shadows), and from La-La Records we have Tyler Bates’ God of War: Ascension, Mark Mancina’s Sorcery, and Christopher Lennertz’ Starhawk.
Soundtrack Reviews – Reissues & Premieres
Reviews of John Barry’s previously unreleased First Love, an expanded release of James Newton’s Howard’s Grand Canyon, a remastered reissue of John Williams’ Jane Eyre (all from La-La Land Records), and the premiere release of Howard Blake’s S.O.S. Titanic (Silva Screen), plus my latest reviews in Rue Morgue magazine, and Peter Bogdanovich’s At Long Last Love appears as a pre-order on Amazon.com.
Kirk Douglas’ Horror Triptych
Tough guy Kirk Douglas made horror films? Why yes, he did! Uploaded are the following as proof: Brian De Palma’s body-exploding silliness The Fury (Twilight Time) on Blu, Alberto De Martino’s Omen rip-off Holocaust 2000 (aka Rain of Fire, aka The Chosen), and Kirk Douglas as an all-singing / cycling / transformative hero / villain in the TV musical version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, circa 1973.
Hot Docs 2013, Days Two to Five: Fascist Regimes, Hellish Conditions, and Shanghai Jazz + Saul Bass at 93
Uploaded are a quartet of documentary film reviews from Hot Docs, including the world’s oldest jazz band in As Time Goes By in Shanghai, the hellish world of asbestos mining in remote China in Cloudy Mountains, film school students in The Great North Korean Picture Show, and Russia’s tsarist President in the feature doc Winter, Go Away! shot during the 2012 elections + the short film Vladimir Putin in Deep Concentration. Also embedded within the Editor’s Blog: extyra blather on Saul Bass’ 93rd birthday, Kubrick at the Bloor, and upcoming goodies at KQEK.com and Big Head Amusements.
Documenting George Romero’s Dead Cycle
Uploaded is a review of Synapse’s new DVD release of Document of the Dead, Mark Frumkes’ finale and ‘definitive’ edition of his important documentary on the making of an independent film production – George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Also up is an expanded review of Twilight Time’s limited Blu-ray edition of Night of the Living Dead, the underrated Tom Savini remake from 1990, plus mobile reviews of several Romero-related docs, films, and soundtrack releases you may not know exist. Also: an illustration of what “frozen shoulder” looks like when pen hits paper and imagination does *not* run wild.
Soundtrack Reviews: Renewed Franchises
Franchises are both a boon for the studios wanting to expand the lifespan of an existing franchises, as well as composers who get a crack at tackling an iconic series, remake, or re-imagining. Just uploaded is a review of Bear McCreary’s Battlestar Galactia: Blood & Chrome, and Roque Banos’ superb Evil Dead (both from La-La Land Records).
Hot Docs 2013, Day One: Terms and Conditions May Apply
The 20th Hot Docs Film Festival is underway, and uploaded is a capsule review of Cullen Hoback’s Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013), a chronology of how we’ve pretty much lost any sense of privacy by clicking on that “Accept” button found on every software, purchase and user aggreement to use free online services like Facebook and Google.
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