DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)

Even if I were the world’s greatest clairvoyant and had envisioned the coming of Blu-ray only a few years back, I still would not have believed this could have happened: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition.” The mere title sends shivers down my spine — not...

August 18th, 2009 | Read More

Long Way Down TV Series (2007) DVD Review

With so much reality television favoring conflict and situations that seem to bring out the worst in people it’s refreshing to discover a documentary about a “couple of mates” who find their friendship strengthened in the face of adversity. In Long Way Down, the sequel to the popular...

November 26th, 2008 | Read More

Paranoid Park (2007) Movie Review (Tartan Blu-Ray Edition)

Gus Van Sant is one of the few directors who have successfully managed to keep one foot in the mainstream and the other in the art house, balancing the likes of “Good Will Hunting” and his bizarre “Psycho” remake with smaller scale and more personal projects. His last few films,...

May 7th, 2008 | Read More

The 4th Dimension (2006) Movie/DVD Review

I can’t really decide what I think about The 4th Dimension…maybe I was too tired when I loaded the disc into my DVD player…or perhaps my mind wasn’t in the right place when I watched it…which would be kind of ironic considering the main character of The 4th Dimension may not actually be in...

April 6th, 2008 | Read More

Black Emanuelle’s Box, Vol. 2 (1976-1978) DVD Review

In 1974, the controversial film adaptation of the equally-controversial novel “Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman” found its way to the big screen and was garnished with praise and scrutiny alike. Being good businesspeople, the Italians were quick to cash in on the international success the film had...

March 15th, 2008 | Read More

The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen 1921) DVD Review

“The Phantom Carriage” from Swedish director Victor Sjostrom was originally released way back in 1920 and has long been revered as a classic example of early supernatural cinema. Said to have been an early inspiration for Ingmar Bergman, the film is a haunting tale based around a legend that...

December 22nd, 2007 | Read More

The Seventh Seal (1957) Blu-Ray DVD Review

Tartan’s 50th digitally re-mastered Anniversary release of Ingmar Bergman’s immortal classic “The Seventh Seal” on Blu-ray format is an interesting proposition, offering a chance to see how an older black and white film holds up on high definition. As well as presenting the film...

November 23rd, 2007 | Read More

Bride of Re-Animator (1990) DVD Review

Although the much touted Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double bill “Grindhouse” unfortunately turned out to be a bit of a box office dud, it did have the knock-on effect of inspiring a flood of re-releases of good old fashioned exploitation fare. One company making the most of the...

November 15th, 2007 | Read More

Bright Future (2003) DVD Review

“Bright Future” is a recent effort from acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, finally released on region 2 DVD via Tartan. Although Kurosawa is best known for horror films such as “Kairo”, “Séance” and “Cure”, his works have always had an appeal...

November 10th, 2007 | Read More

Invisible Waves (2006) DVD Review

“Invisible Waves” is a recent offering from acclaimed Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, who scored a cult hit in 2003 with the excellent “Last Life in the Universe”. The two films actually have a lot in common, both being surreal mood pieces, beautifully lensed by master cinematographer...

November 10th, 2007 | Read More

Oldboy (2003) Blu-Ray DVD Review

For their second Blu-ray release Tartan have chosen Korean director Park Chan-wook’s worldwide cult hit and award winner “Oldboy”. Whilst on one hand selecting such a popular title for a flagship release on the new format certainly makes sense, on the other since most of the intended...

October 27th, 2007 | Read More

Breaking News (2004) DVD Review

With “Exiled” and the “Election” films winning Johnnie To a level of international popularity and respect rarely enjoyed by Hong Kong directors, it’s good to see another of his recent efforts finally being released on region 2 DVD through Tartan, namely the critically acclaimed...

October 6th, 2007 | Read More

One Last Dance (2005) DVD Review

For the benefit of those likely to stop reading at the news that what we have here is yet another tale of that most beloved and enduring of cinematic stereotypes, namely the eccentric / melancholy / honourable / love-struck / well-dressed hitman (is there any other kind?), the bottom line is that “One...

September 29th, 2007 | Read More

The Duel Project: Aragami and 2LDK (2003, 2005) DVD Review

“The Duel Project” is kind of like a less pretentious Japanese version of Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg’s ‘Dogme 95′ so-called vow of chastity in that it enforces a number of rules in an attempt to strip down the film making process to its essentials....

September 22nd, 2007 | Read More

Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) DVD Review

How many films remain famous or indeed infamous nearly ninety years after their original release? Perhaps even more importantly it might be asked how many such films remain accessible or of interest to the average viewer than existing merely as curio pieces for cineastes and academics? The answer to...

September 22nd, 2007 | Read More

The Jodorowsky Collection DVD Review

Tartan have given cult film fans a reason to celebrate with the long awaited, long sought after release of the Alejandro Jodorowsky box set, a mighty six disc collection containing three of the acclaimed underground director’s works along with a whole host of extras. Crucially, this includes his...

September 16th, 2007 | Read More

Black Book (2006) Blu-Ray DVD Review

With the new high definition DVD war in full swing, a number of companies are choosing to take sides. Currently Blu-ray appears to have the edge in terms of industry support, and Tartan have decided to throw their weight behind the format by exclusively releasing several of their most popular titles,...

September 8th, 2007 | Read More

The Bow (2005) DVD Review

With “The Bow”, now released on UK DVD by Tartan, acclaimed South Korean director Kim Ki-duk continues to explore human nature and transcendence, moving further away from the bitterness and sadism which characterised his earlier work. Although at first the film appears to have much in common...

August 5th, 2007 | Read More

Perth (2004) Movie/DVD Review

“Perth”, the latest release from Tartan’s Asia Extreme label (Region 2), comes from a rather unlikely place, namely Singapore, a country not exactly known for violent or controversial cinema. The film was written and directed in 2004 by the oddly named Djinn, who had previously been...

May 31st, 2007 | Read More