Tag: drama

All of Us Strangers (2023)

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If someone would have told me that this was just as good as the critics say, AND has touches of Jacob’s Ladder I would have watched it much sooner. Lucky for you, I just told you that. Get ready to be sad, but yes, this movie is excellent.

Not available on Blu-ray (release date TBA).

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Gaslight (1944)

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You have heard the expression a lot in recent years, but if you haven’t seen the film from which the term originates you have been missing out. Well, the term comes from the original 1938 play, however this is the most well known film adaptation. Bottom line, it is an excellent mystery film with perfect performances by its lead cast. I would watch Joseph Cotten read from the phone book. Also keep an eye out for a young, arguably hot, Angela Lansbury of Murder She Wrote fame. Gaslight runs on the long side, but it’s really a minor flaw. I only saw this for the first time recently and loved it.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection.

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Morvern Callar (2002)

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A young woman’s boyfriend commits suicide so she sells his unpublished novel under her own name. Morvern then uses the money to do whatever the fuck she wants. Watching this back when it came out was my first time seeing Samantha Morton and I have been a big fan of her work ever since. Also the all-needle-drop soundtrack is damn near flawless (it even turned me onto the band Broadcast). This was my first time realizing how important a good music supervisor is, and how rare they are. Just watch this movie. I love it. Maybe you will too?

Available on Blu-ray from Fun City Editions.

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The Novice (2021)

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I am not a sports person, so I do not like movies that revolve around the subject. You could say The Novice is about rowing. However this is a very intense experience way beyond what most athletic films have to offer. The tension reminded me of a horror movie at times. Lead actress Isabelle Fuhrman is fantastic in this. You probably won’t like her character much, but it all clicks together in the end. This is a challenging watch, sometimes infuriating. When the credits roll though, I hope you will see it is also a work of seriously thought provoking and original filmmaking. 

Not available on Blu-ray.

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For a Few Dollars More (1965)

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This is the second of Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking westerns, which often gets overshadowed by The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I understand why, but I just rewatched For a Few Dollars More recently and was blown away. What I love about this movie is that it does not drag at all. As much as I enjoy The Good…, this feels a lot more relentless in its pace. There’s still plenty of artful shots, beautiful cinematography, and emotional scenes, but my interest and attention never wavered. Fantastic acting, music, and intense action sequences make this a thoroughly entertaining experience. It’s a standalone film, not a sequel to A Fistful of Dollars, so give it a watch, or rewatch if you’re like me and had never seen it in its original cinemascope format. This is top-tier sweaty, dark, and violent Anomalous Cinema.

Available on 4K UHD from KL Studio Classics.

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The Woodsman (2004)

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Kevin Bacon is not a child molester, but he plays one in this movie. It might just be his finest performance too. Bacon is Walter, who is trying to make a life for himself after 12 years in prison, and that guy from Footloose makes you feel just about every emotion in the process. Yes, it’s an uncomfortable ride, but the difficult subject matter is expertly handled by first-time director Nicole Kassell (who went on to work on several excellent TV series). Discomfort can be good, sometimes even great. I rate The Woodsman a 10/10 work of Anomalous Cinema.

Available on Blu-ray from Adler & Associates.

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Bronson (2008)

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This film is based on the real life criminal Michael Peterson, who became his alter ego Charles Bronson in prison. Nicolas Winding Refn is very hit or miss for me, but this one was a pleasant surprise. The film is weird, dark, violent, and thankfully not as deliberately paced as much of Refn’s other work. I also didn’t really notice Tom Hardy until I saw Bronson. He’d been in several movies before, but he absolutely blew me away in this role. This is 100% pure uncut Anomalous Cinema.

Available on Blu-ray from Magnolia.

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The Outpost (2019)

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This is a very good military action film based on true events from the US occupation of Afghanistan. I actually rewatched the full movie before writing this and it remained an intense experience. The first half is mostly plot and character setup, but thankfully none of it drags. The action gets very heavy around the one-hour mark. After watching The Outpost it’s a wonder anyone survived. On a lighter note, Clint Eastwood’s son Scott and Caleb Landry Jones (from Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral) are both excellent in this.

Available on 4K UHD / Blu-ray from Screen Media.

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Reality (2023)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

I had zero interest in this at first. Then a friend, with admirably bizarre taste, recommended it. Listen to your weirdo friends people! Reality is a dramatization of the questioning and arrest of whistleblower Reality Winner in 2017. The interesting part is that the movie uses the actual FBI audio (and audio transcripts) as source material, in real time. That might sound dull, but it gets into some borderline David Lynch levels of bizarreness. Also the way the filmmakers handled the redacted parts of the transcript was genius. I went in knowing very little about the actual case, which may be the best way to experience this movie. Either way, check out this seriously original work of cinema.

Not available on Blu-ray (Release Date TBD).

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Thoroughbreds (2017)

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JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

This is a very good, unpredictable, dark comedy thriller of sorts. Two former friends are awkwardly put back together and, since at least one of them is mentally ill, bad things happen. Thoroughbreds will not be for all tastes, as it revolves around two privileged white girls who are arguably insufferable. Thankfully Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are excellent and made it all work for me. This is also one of the final appearances of actor Anton Yelchin (1989-2016) to whom the film is dedicated – RIP.

Available on Blu-ray from Universal.

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 / Cash App $vergeoflight / or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.