Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 27, 2018

Season of the Witch (1972) George Romero’s little-known low-budget drama examines the real-life horrors of domestic malaise (I suspect it took more than a few fans of Night of the Living Dead by surprise). Jan White plays Joan Mitchell, a housewife approaching middle age and trapped in a lovel   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 20, 2018

A few days ago, my co-host Gill Jacob from Realweegiemidget Reviews and I announced The Great Hammer-Amicus Blogathon, which will take place June 1st-3rd. You can find all the details here. Response has been great so far, but there’s always room for more bloggers. Here are some quick   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 17, 2018

They said it couldn’t be done (and by “they,” I mean me). First there was the Golblumathon in 2014, followed by the Nature’s Fury Blogathon in 2016. Although my second blogathon was a big success, at least by my middling standards, I was reluctant to do a follow-up, and lapse   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 13, 2018

(1981) Written and directed by Oliver Stone; Based on the novel The Lizard’s Tail by Marc Brandel; Starring: Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci, Annie McEnroe, Bruce McGill; Available on DVD Rating: **½ “The film has a weird schizophrenia to it because… part of i   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 10, 2018

(1955) Directed by Karel Zeman; Written by: J.A. Novotný and Karel Zeman; Starring: Vladimír Bejval, Petr Herrman, Zdenek Hustak and Josef Lukás; Available on DVD (PAL, Region 0) Rating: **** “I made Journey to the Beginning of Time because I wanted to show the scale of nature, b   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on March 3, 2018

It’s not easy discussing my emotions publicly. I tend to keep things bottled up, instead of expressing myself. I try to quell the nagging voice in my skull that proclaims a movie blog isn’t a place for non-movie things, but life sometimes gets in the way. This week felt like...   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on February 28, 2018

Bad Ronald (1974) I don’t usually cover TV movies, but this one deserves its own category. Whether you use 70s or today’s TV as a yardstick, it’s one twisted and bizarre ride. Scott Jacoby stars as Ronald Wilby, a socially awkward high school senior with an overbearing mother (Kim   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on February 10, 2018

(1977) Directed by Eddy Matalon; Written by Myra Clément, Eddy Matalon and Alain Sens-Cazenave; Starring: Alan Scarfe, Beverly Murray, Randi Allen, Dorothy Davis, Mary Morter and Roy Witham; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “How can a film be a successful film if you   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on January 31, 2018

(2014) Directed by Kentarô Ohtani and Kei'ichi Sato; Written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa; Based on the manga by Yana Toboso; Starring: Hiro Mizushima, Ayame Gôriki, Yûka, Mizuki Yamamoto and Masatô Ibu; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “Humans are incapable of sharing sorrow as a   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on January 24, 2018

Creepy (2016) Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s thriller is a film that lives up to its title. Hidetoshi Nishijima stars as Takakura, a former police profiler now working as a professor at a university, where he teaches criminal psychology. He finds himself drawn back into his old profession when a detective   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on January 12, 2018

(1991) Written and directed by Isao Takahata; Based on the manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuuko Tone; Starring: Miki Imai, Toshirô Yanagiba, Yoko Honna and Mayumi Izuka; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “To be a butterfly, a caterpillar has to become a chrysalis first,   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on January 7, 2018

(1957) Directed by Ishirô Honda; Written by Takeshi Kimura and Shigeru Kayama; Story by Jôjirô Okami; Starring: Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata and Takashi Shimura; Available on DVD (Region 2) Rating *** “The space station is flying 42,000 kilometers ab   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on January 1, 2018

Burt’s Buzz (2013) Director Jody Shapiro shines the spotlight on reclusive inventor of various honey-infused products and reluctant corporate spokesperson, Burt Shavitz. The cameras follow him around as he visits Taiwan on a promotional tour, and we witness his unease at his status as an accid   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on December 28, 2017

(2008) Written and directed by Samir Mallal and Ben Addelman; Starring: Osita Iheme, Chinedu Ikedieze, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen and Odia Ofeimun; Available on DVD Rating: *** ½ “Nollywood is a child of circumstance, because Nigeria at this stage is cut across a bridge with weste   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on December 18, 2017

(2007) Directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens; Written by Dan Klores; Starring: Burt Pugach, Linda Pugach, Bob Janoff, Sylvia Hoffman, Rita Kessler and Joyce Guerriero; Available on DVD Rating: **** “It’s a story that interested me…on a number of levels, because I   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on December 10, 2017

(1999) Written and directed by Werner Herzog; Starring: Klaus Kinski, Werner Herzog, Claudia Cardinale and Eva Mattes; Available on DVD Rating: **** “Towards the end of shooting, the Indians offered to kill Kinski for me. They said: ‘Shall we kill him for you?’ And I   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on November 30, 2017

The Stranger (1946) Director Orson Welles’ tense examination of the evil that lies under our noses resonates long after the final scene. Welles stars as Charles Rankin, aka: Franz Kindler, escaped Nazi war criminal and one of the masterminds behind the concentration camps. He’s settled a   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on November 14, 2017

(2011) Directed by Antti Jokinen; Written by Antti Jokinen and Robert Orr; Starring: Hillary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, Aunjanue Ellis and Christopher Lee; Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Hulu Rating: **½ “I know everything that goes on in this building. I know ev   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on November 10, 2017

(1947) Directed by Edmund Goulding; Written by Jules Furthman; Based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham; Starring: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes, and Mike Mazurki; Available on DVD Rating ****½ “Listen to me, I'm no good. I neve   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 30, 2017

Anguish (1987) This unique movie within a movie from writer/director Bigas Luna stars Michael Lerner as John, a middle-aged man stuck in a stage of arrested development. He works as an orderly in a hospital clinic that specializes in eye disorders, and lives with his domineering mother (Zelda Rubens   read more