by Peter Martin

70s Rewind: MR. MAJESTYK, Melons, Migrants and Murder

Based on an original script by Elmore Leonard, Richard Fleischer's Mr. Majestyk is the best melon-picking movie I've ever seen. Charles Bronson stars as the titular character, a taciturn yet friendly man who is entirely focused on getting the watermelon...
by Peter Martin

Criterion in October 2018: SISTERS, SHAMPOO, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, Fassbinder and More

The Criterion Collection certainly walks its own path in making films available on Blu-ray. In October 2018, for example, traditionally a month when distributors focus on horror titles, Criterion will be issuing only one thriller that might fall into that...
by Peter Martin

Exclusive 1/1 Clip: A Disturbing Bath

Something has gone very, very wrong in the life of Lissa, played by Lindsey Shaw in 1/1. And that's very apparent in our exclusive clip. According to the official synopsis, Lissa is "a 20-year-old girl in rural Pennsylvania who grapples...
by Peter Martin

Review: SKYSCRAPER, You're Not Going to Believe This

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" Oh, if only Skyscraper displayed 1/10 of the furious intensity that consumed James Cagney in White Heat! But that's a ridiculous thought, almost as ridiculous as Skyscraper itself, which director Rawson Marshall Thurber...
by Peter Martin

Notes on Streaming: A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL Simmers, G.L.O.W. Burns Bright

The most frequent complaint about Netflix is that their flood of new series all have too many episodes that are all too long. Here is my two-pronged solution: (1) try another streaming service; (2) watch shorter shows with fewer episodes....
by Peter Martin

Exclusive ACCESS ALL AREAS Clip: I Wanna Dip Him in Yogurt

Now available to watch via various Video On Demand and digital platforms, Access All Areas looks to be a bright entry in the music-themed movie department. I say that based on the plot and an exclusive clip that can be...
by Peter Martin

Exclusive BIG LEGEND Clip: Car Trouble

Falling asleep in the woods? Just don't do it, especially if there is ... potentially ... a giant, mythical, and/or dangerous creature wandering around, waiting to devour you! This is my personal take-away from Big Legend, now available to enjoy...
by Peter Martin

70s Rewind: THE MECHANIC, Terse Buddy Assassins

I pity anyone who saw Jason Statham's The Mechanic without having first seen Charles Bronson's The Mechanic. Because you didn't even get half the story. And the story's not even the point! In my review of the 2011 version, I...
by Ard Vijn

ScreenAnarchy's Top Movies Of The First Half Of 2018

Time flies like a sonofabitch, and this year it seems to do so faster than usual. We are at 2018's mid-point already. Whoa! That does beg the question though: what films have managed to impress and touch us most, so...
by Peter Martin

Review: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, Fun With Sizes in a Superhero Sequel

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas star in a cookie-cutter Marvel adventure.
by Peter Martin

Criterion in September 2018: ANDREI RUBLEV, COLD WATER and More

It's never too late to receive good news, is it? I hope not, because I am terribly late in sharing information on the Criterion Collection's upcoming releases in September 2018. And it's a very good lineup, indeed. My eye was...
by Peter Martin

Popcorn Frights 2018: First Wave Promises New Frights for South Florida

Hey South Florida! Get ready for some genre goodness from the Popcorn Frights Film Festival. Set to unfold from August 10 to 16 -- as residents surely know, a perfect time of the year to spend all day in cool...
by Peter Martin

70s Rewind: GREASER'S PALACE, Jesus Christ in the Old West

Watching Greaser's Palace (1972) for the first time without having any idea that it was a Christ parable, I was completely bewildered. It's newly available on Blu-ray from Doppelganger Releasing and Scorpion Releasing and looks absolutely lovely. The disc is...
by Peter Martin

Review: CHINA SALESMAN Rings Up No Sales For Action Fans

Sometimes my learned optimism gets the better of me. By which I mean that China Salesman is a complete disaster. Early peeks at trailers and clips gave me the mistaken idea that the film might be able to pull off...
by Peter Martin

Watch Exclusive ZEN DOG Clip: Thrifting

Would you like to experience complete freedom? Start by watching our exclusive clip from Zen Dog. The film follows a young man who feels "trapped by daily routine," according to the official synopsis. But, he "experiences complete freedom by dreaming...
by Peter Martin

Notes on Streaming: THE HOLLOW, Unraveling an Animated Mystery

The opening scenes of The Hollow reminded me of the opening of Zork, one of the first text-based computer games. Back in the early 1980s, I remember eagerly buying the game and staring at the opening line, white text on...
by Peter Martin

Sam Pollard's Documentary MAYNARD Heads to Digital Platforms Soon

Back in October 2017, we premiered the first trailer for Sam Pollard's documentary Maynard, which enjoyed its world premiere at DOC NYC the following month. Aside from a theatrical run in Atlanta, Maynard will be released by Virgil Films on...
by Peter Martin

Exclusive CHINA SALESMAN CLIP: Mike Tyson and Steven Seagal Face Off

Our own Todd Brown alerted us to the first trailer for China Salesman last year, and, to be honest, I'm still surprised this movie exists. And delighted as well. Ahead of its arrival in select U.S. theaters on Friday, June...
by Peter Martin

70s Rewind: JUGGERNAUT, British Time Bombs Tick, Tick, Tick Away at Sea

An old-fashioned, ticking time-bomb suspense thriller, Richard Lester's Juggernaut (aka Terror on the Britannic) (1974) satisfies on the most elemental level: it made me increasingly tense and nervous as I watched. Lester made his directorial debut with the very charming...
by Peter Martin

Review: OCEAN'S 8, Thieves Like Us, Sorta

Upon its release in December 2001, Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven felt like a salve upon a troubled nation's open wounds. Coming on the heels of Soderbergh's dazzling dramatic duo of the previous year (Erin Brockovich and Traffic), his caper flick...