Cinema

All my future crimes: Prince and Batman

June 22nd, 2016

Following “Sign o’ the Times,” his third theatrically-released feature as performer and second as director, Prince’s next cinematic surprise was the soundtrack to Tim Burton’s juggernaut “Batman” in 1989. Unfortunately, the prolific artist did not appear in the film, even though I recall discussing with friends the wildly nerdy notion (rumor?) that Prince would kill it in a violet cowboy hat as Shame should he get a later shot as a “guest villain.”

As funky, lush, and…

Consumer Blu-ray technology celebrates a decade

June 15th, 2016

High-definition video options now make it possible for home viewers to experience movies at home with a picture and sound quality comparable to commercial movie theatres, and even to own a theatre-quality copy for the price of one or two movie tickets.

Internet video streaming and intangible cloud-based “digital copies” have become increasingly popular over the past few years among those who love movies, but would rather not build a personal collection of discs (which can take…

Excellent choice: Lanthimos feasts on “The Lobster”

June 15th, 2016

Pitch-black absurdist Yorgos Lanthimos uncorks another of his signature brain-scramblers in “The Lobster,” an allegorical examination and satire of human behavior, framed by the filmmaker’s speculative imagination.

As divisive as any of his previous films, “The Lobster” marks the Greek auteur’s first principally English-language feature, as well as his first to employ several actors well-known to Hollywood, including Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and John C. Reilly.

“The…

Forever in my life

June 8th, 2016

The third theatrically released feature starring Prince, as well as his second directorial effort, “Sign o’ the Times” remains a concert film par excellence.

The movie’s curious production history has been marked by stories that the vast majority of the visual content was captured at Paisley Park, when footage from shows in Rotterdam and Antwerp didn’t pass muster. Message boards on Prince fansites turn up spirited discussions addressing the movie’s questionable status as a…

Fritz Lang silent classics on Blu-ray

June 1st, 2016

Austrian-born director Fritz Lang is best known for his massive silent science-fiction epic “Metropolis” (1927) and his moody, influential crime thriller “M” (1931), both made in Germany.

He started writing films as early as 1916 and directed over 40 features in various genres between 1919 and 1960. Among Lang’s finest work are his last two silent features, which made their U.S. Blu-ray debuts this February from Kino, filling in the gap between his legendary “Metropolis”…

Black merges slapstick and sleuthing in ‘The Nice Guys’

June 1st, 2016

Shane Black’s most satisfying film to date, “The Nice Guys” absolutely pulverizes lurid period milieu, shaggy dog private investigation, “Chinatown” corruption narrative, odd couple buddy bromance, and slapstick noir parody in an industrial blender set to emulsify on maximum torque.

Pairing Ryan Gosling – as the world’s worst shamus – with a teddy bearish and relaxed Russell Crowe as a stone-faced straight man, “The Nice Guys” works, against the odds, as a…

A Very funny, very Maria Bamford look at mental illness.

May 30th, 2016

By Alex Huntsberger

ahuntsberger@gmail.com

Comedian Maria Bamford isn’t shy about her mental illness; she’s talked openly in her act and in interviews about being diagnosed with Bipolar II (hypomanic episodes) and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). In fact, Bamford is quite the opposite of shy. She’s upfront and forthright and working to destigmatize mental illness in society-at-large.

But this doesn’t mean that Bamford’s new show, Lady Dynamite, which dropped on Netflix last…

Visit the islands with classic tropical ‘docufiction’

May 25th, 2016

Now that summery weather has arrived, people are thinking about vacations, but travel remains both expensive and increasingly inconvenient. Movies, however, provide instant low-cost mini-vacations from troubles of the real world. The tropical south-seas island settings of two recent Blu-ray releases from Kino make ideal escapes from the familiar ND-MN environment and provide vivid glimpses of indigenous cultures. Last December new restorations of the film classics “Moana With Sound”…

Life’s a parade in “Under the Cherry Moon”

May 25th, 2016

As an unapologetic admirer of all things Prince, I for one was pretty grateful that “Under the Cherry Moon” was a radical departure from “Purple Rain.” Several years before “Graffiti Bridge” offered a sorta/kinda sequel to the 1984 smash, Prince – with enough earned clout and power to essentially do whatever he wanted to do – sent Mary Lambert packing (a shame) and busted out a black and white quasi-period fantasy that chilled the blood in most critics’ veins and…

Intriguing crime classics new to Blu

May 20th, 2016

Two often-overlooked classic noir thrillers featuring stars in atypical roles are available on Blu-ray this month from Kino, one coming next week (May 24) and the other released May 3.

An out-of-work vet with some psychological problems accepts a job as chauffeur for a wealthy gangster, and soon becomes dangerously involved with the gangster’s beautiful wife. The basic premise of “The Chase”(1946) adapted by Philip Yordan from a novel by Cornell Woolrich, is a standard outline for…

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