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Boots Riley’s I LOVE BOOSTERS is a wild ride. It starts off relatively realistically with a group of women who are “boosters” (shoplifters of high end fashion which they re-sell at lower prices). But it slowly turns into a surreal fantasy with flashy colors and trippy visuals. The closest film to this I can think of is EVERYONE EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. Not for those who like easy to follow plot...

François Ozon’s adaption of Albert Camus’ THE STRANGER is a beautifully shot bore. The novel is probably not going to adapt well to film. It is hard to feel anything when your main character is so completely detached. This can be done in a novel as you can convey the interior thought and emotion but that can be hard to do cinematically. Of course the novel is a classic of existentialism so thi...

TARZAN AND HIS MATE from 1934 is arguably the sexiest of the series. Produced during the pre-code era both Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan wear minimal loin clothes and there is even an extended underwater sequence with a totally nude Jane. The production itself is fairly spectacular with some effective special effects. Weissmuller plays the monosyllabic ape man wonderfully. Direction...

Boris Ingster’s 1940 STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR is often cited as the first film noir. While this can be debated three figures involved in this RKO B movie helped to define the genre over the years: Production designer Van Nest Polglase, composer Roy Webb, and especially cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca. The influence of German Expressionism with canted camera angles and shadowy lighting is ev...

THE VERDICT (1946) was the first full length feature directed by Don Siegel. Frequently paired as supporting players Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are the leads and essentially the good guys here. Set in 1890 London the film has plush production values. The byplay of the two stars is delightful. Newly released on a Warner Archive blu ray which include two Warner Brother cartoons which par...