Act of Violence (1948)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

Here’s an excellent film noir about a WWII vet seeking revenge against his double dealing commanding officer. It was rare for a movie so close to the end of the war to deal with the topic of combat damaged soldiers. This was directed by Fred Zinnemann who had a truly epic career (just look at his amazing credits). You also get to see the always impressive Robert Ryan in action, as well as a young Janet Leigh. If you like ‘40s crime thrillers and haven’t seen Act of Violence, get on it. It is one of my personal favorite noirs.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Cul-de-sac (1966)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

I avoid posting Criterion Collection films, but I rarely see this Polanski film get mentioned in the closet (or anywhere else). Two criminals decide to hide out in a castle owned by a very eccentric couple, and much like the later film Performance, things get way weird. This is a pretty surreal movie and manages to be legitimately funny as well. The stand out performance is by Donald Pleasance. I am die hard fan of his work, and here he really gets to go nuts, much to my delight. Give Cul-de-sac a try. You just might enjoy this Anomalous little gem as much as I did.

Available on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

Detroit singer songwriter Rodriguez put out two albums in the early ‘70s and then disappeared. His music never found an audience in the USA, but it turns out he was very popular in South Africa. Two die hard fans from there get together to track down this mysterious musician. Did he really kill himself on stage? If not, what made him stop performing? They find out, and it’s a fascinating journey. I was unfamiliar with Rodriquez until just recently, and I was pleasantly surprised at how truly good his music is. In spite of that, I don’t think you need to be a fan of edgy folk music to appreciate this documentary.

Available on Blu-ray from Sony.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

This one was new to me up until just recently, and I was very pleasantly surprised. If you think the title says it all you are dead wrong. This is a complex plot for a ‘30s movie and, amazingly enough, it’s based on a true story. I just suggest you just check it out if you don’t mind watching an old black and white film. I gave I Am a Fugitive… a 9 out of 10.

Not available on Blu-ray.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Birds of Passage (2018)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

From the same director duo as the previously recommended Embrace of the Serpent comes another top notch and innovative film. An indigenous Wayuu family in remote Columbia deals with the clash of their traditional life and the high profit drug market. This movie pretty much blew my mind right out of the gate. I found it to be a very satisfying mix of crime drama and art film. It does have a few minor flaws, and is on the long side, but if you give this a pass for those reasons I believe you’ll be missing something special. The world needs more films like Birds of Passage.

Not available on domestic Blu-ray.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

The Whistleblower (2010)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Hulu, Kanopy, and Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

I had forgotten about this movie until just now, but it’s nice to dust off unusual films when I can. The Whistleblower fits perfectly in that category as it is a pretty nasty movie, but also deals with a serious subject, and pulls it off effectively. This is based on the real life Kathryn Bolkovac, who uncovered a sex trafficking scandal in post-war Bosnia. Critics didn’t like it very much because of the handling of the heavy subject matter, but I give it a thumbs up. Rachel Weisz is great as per usual, and if you haven’t seen her mini-series version of Dead Ringers I also highly recommend that as well (just make sure you see the OG first).

Available on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Saturn 3 (1980)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime and YouTube (free) | imdb | trailer

This movie is arguably terrible. It has one of the lowest meta scores I’ve ever seen. I’m going to tell you about it anyway, but please proceed with caution. Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett are a couple on a spaceship trying to help keep the overcrowded Earth fed. They’re having a pretty lovely time until Harvey Keitel and a very intimidating robot show up. I liked this movie as a kid, and found it surprisingly entertaining as an adult in spite of it’s massive flaws. The most glaring problems are the fact that Keitel’s voice was dubbed because of his accent, and the general cheesiness of the whole movie. If you can look past those issues, you may just enjoy this sci-fi horror thriller. 

PS – There’s a lot of amusing trivia about Saturn 3. My favorite is that Kirk Douglas insisted on showing off as much skin as possible so the world knew he was still in shape. This was parodied in Martin Amis’s book “Money” which I coincidentally read recently.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

The Rock (1996)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

Some of you are wondering why the hell I am recommending this mega-budget action film. Well, I’ve got a soft spot for this one because the first time I saw it I was on acid. I remember renting the VHS tape on a whim for the occasion. I figured it would be a dumb movie to make fun of. It turns out I was correct AND it is also highly entertaining. Some of the witty dialog and purposefully ridiculous violence had me howling with laughter. The Rock even held up when re-watching it with a few beers. It’s still dumb. You will make fun of it. However you may just be entertained like I was. Oh yeah and Roger Ebert liked it too.

Not available on domestic Blu-ray.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Genocide (1982)

vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

As you know, I avoid recommending Oscar winners, but this one was not on my radar at all, so I bet you missed it too. This is a very well made documentary on The Holocaust narrated by Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor. The art direction and use of animation is flat out excellent. I also learned some things I did not know, in spite of being relatively well educated on the subject. Genocide is rated PG, but does feature a lot of extremely graphic images. I suggest you don’t look away. This is a part of history that every person should know about, and learn from.

Not available on Blu-ray.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.