Released 45 years ago this week, Lewis Teague’s witty and well-crafted animal-attack thriller “Alligator” is far more than a “Jaws” rip-off.

Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” boasts wonderful performances from an all-star cast, but can’t quite decide what it wants to be. Our review: crookedmarquee.com/review-jay-k...

Zhang Yimou’s début “Red Sorghum” kicked off a legendary partnership with actress Gong Li, and signaled the beginning of a new era of Chinese cinema.

The cult favorite “Night of the Comet” was released on this day in 1984: crookedmarquee.com/crooked-marq...

“Heavenly Creatures” was released on this day in 1994 — a small but ambitious film from New Zealand that catapulted a horror filmmaker to A-list-director status and launched the acclaimed careers of its two young stars. crookedmarquee.com/harveys-hell...

Our bi-weekly look at the best new titles on Blu-ray, 4K, and your subscription streaming services includes “Frankenstein,” “Hard Boiled,” “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,” “Spinal Tap II,” “Materialists,” “Men from the Gutter,” “Outland,” and more:

Luis Buñuel’s directing career got a shot in the arm when he tackled a ripped-from-the-headlines portrait of juvenile delinquency in Mexico City. A look back at “Los Olvidados,” released 75 years ago: crookedmarquee.com/life-is-hard...

In honor of the Richard Burton's 100th birthday this week, we look back at “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold,” a role that offered him the rare chance to underplay his brash persona.

Quintessential character actor Yaphet Kotto was born on this day in 1939. On the occasion of his death in 2021, @zvasquez.bsky.social looked back at two of his onscreen deaths, and what they tell us about his considerable gifts as an actor: crookedmarquee.com/yaphet-kotto...

In “Smooth Talk” (released on this day in 1985), growing up is hard to do — especially when there's a predator knocking on your door. crookedmarquee.com/smooth-talk-...

J.G. Ballard was born 95 years ago today. @zvasquez.bsky.social looks back at the various attempts to translate his work to the screen: crookedmarquee.com/jg-ballard-a...

M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Sixth Sense’ follow-up – released 25 years ago today – wasn’t based on a comic book. But it captured the spirit of comic books and super heroes as few other films have: crookedmarquee.com/the-fragilit...

In 1982, synthesizer innovator Wendy Carlos (born on this day in 1939) got the opportunity to play in a giant sandbox, creating a combination orchestral/synth score for Disney’s big-budget adventure ‘Tron.’ Complications ensued. crookedmarquee.com/pixel-perfec...

“Alligator” was intended to be a cheapo “Jaws” riff, but director Lewis Teague and writer John Sayles instead "deliver an exciting, witty, and well-acted thriller with judicious use of special effects that hold up remarkably well,” @signalbleed.bsky.social writes:

Sally Potter’s follow-up to “Orlando,” released on this day in 1997, was a self-aware meta-romance, with much to say about art, life, love and dance: crookedmarquee.com/sally-potter...

Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” boasts wonderful performances from an all-star cast, but can’t quite decide what it wants to be. Our review:

Joseph Losey’s drama “The Servant” (released in the UK on this day in 1963) is a good old-fashioned "F*** the Rich" tale. crookedmarquee.com/in-the-serva...

Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales,” an infamous flop that’s only proven to be more prescient with time, made its long-awaited theatrical debut on this day in 2007: crookedmarquee.com/southland-ta...

The best theatrical Looney Tunes project is also the one its own studio appeared to have the most contempt for. A valentine to “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” released on this day in 2003: crookedmarquee.com/looney-tunes...

'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' was released on this day in 2001. A look back at the considerable impact of this and another giant movie franchise that began that year - for good and ill (mostly ill): crookedmarquee.com/harry-potter...

Truffaut's flawed but fascinating adaptation of Bradbury's censorship classic was released on this day in 1966: crookedmarquee.com/world-on-fir...

L.Q. Jones’s cult adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s Nebula-winning story “A Boy and His Dog” (released on this day in 1975) remains prescient in ways no one could have anticipated half a century ago. crookedmarquee.com/the-year-is-...

Released 45 years ago today, Lewis Teague’s witty and well-crafted animal-attack thriller “Alligator” is far more than a “Jaws” rip-off. crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...

“‘Red Sorghum’ may feel somewhat old-fashioned compared to the thematic force of ‘Ju Dou’ or the sheer opulence of ‘House of Flying Daggers,’” @ceilidhann.bsky.social writes, "yet it has lost none of its potency almost four decades since its release.”

“Jay Kelly” feels, @jasondashbailey.com writes, like co-writer/director Noah Baumbach “had to offset the show-biz material with more general tear-jerker bad-dad stuff, pitching it like a middlebrow crowd-pleaser to avoid alienating the Netflix scroller.” crookedmarquee.com/review-jay-k...

James Whale’s thriller – released on this day in 1933 – remains one of the most chillingly effective of all classic horror movies. crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...

Zhang Yimou’s début “Red Sorghum” kicked off a legendary partnership with actress Gong Li, and signaled the beginning of a new era of Chinese cinema.

Happy birthday to Gerald Butler, king of modern-day B-movie shlock. A celebration of his unique presence: crookedmarquee.com/the-chaotic-...

Martin Scorsese's 'Cape Fear' was released on this day in 1991. "Sorry that this man is so prolific!" writes @roxana-hadadi.bsky.social. "Sorry that his career is so varied!" crookedmarquee.com/going-throug...

David Lean's melodrama “Brief Encounter” is modest but mighty, and its influence on cinematic romances is still keenly felt. It premiered in London on this day in 1945: crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...

Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” boasts wonderful performances from an all-star cast, but can’t quite decide what it wants to be. Our review:

“Relay,” “The Naked Gun,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Burden of Dreams,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Freaked,” “The Mask,” and more of this week’s best movies to buy, rent, or stream:

“‘Red Sorghum’ may feel somewhat old-fashioned compared to the thematic force of ‘Ju Dou’ or the sheer opulence of ‘House of Flying Daggers,’” @ceilidhann.bsky.social writes, "yet it has lost none of its potency almost four decades since its release.”

“The quality of Richard Burton’s performances could vary along with the material,” Sara Batkie writes, “but it’s his turn in 1965’s ‘The Spy Who Came In From the Cold’ that provides his most subtly stinging commentary on his own image.”

Our bi-weekly look at the best new titles on Blu-ray, 4K, and your subscription streaming services includes “Frankenstein,” “Hard Boiled,” “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,” “Spinal Tap II,” “Materialists,” “Men from the Gutter,” “Outland,” and more:

Atom Egoyan's 'Felicia's Journey' hit theaters on this day in 1999. @zvasquez.bsky.social looks back: crookedmarquee.com/overlooked-9...

A look back at the hubbub around “Dogma,” released on this day in 1999. crookedmarquee.com/harveys-hell...

Zhang Yimou’s début “Red Sorghum” kicked off a legendary partnership with actress Gong Li, and signaled the beginning of a new era of Chinese cinema.

“There are images and moments in Luis Buñuel’s ‘Los Olvidados’ that stick in the memory long after the final fadeout,” @hoodedjustice.bsky.social writes, “and they’re not necessarily the most overtly surreal ones.”

“Relay,” “The Naked Gun,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Burden of Dreams,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Freaked,” “The Mask,” and more of this week’s best movies to buy, rent, or stream: crookedmarquee.com/the-best-mov...

Luis Buñuel’s directing career got a shot in the arm when he tackled a ripped-from-the-headlines portrait of juvenile delinquency in Mexico City. A look back at “Los Olvidados,” released 75 years ago: crookedmarquee.com/life-is-hard...

In honor of the Richard Burton's 100th birthday this week, we look back at “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold,” a role that offered him the rare chance to underplay his brash persona.

When Joe Wright made his take on Austen’s classic (released on this day in 2005), he had to find a way to make this oft-told tale fresh. @carriesnotscary.bsky.social on how he did it: crookedmarquee.com/the-subtle-c...

With ‘Wuthering Heights’ (released in the U.K. on this day in 2011), Andrea Arnold brought a literary classic into the realm of grim realism and earthy sensuality. crookedmarquee.com/andrea-arnol...

Leonardo DiCaprio was born on this day in 1974. Here's @audreyfox.bsky.social on the two films that cemented him as a hyper-specific, of-his-moment young male star: crookedmarquee.com/a-celebratio...

Elia Kazan’s Oscar-winning drama (released on this day in 1947 ) is sometimes dismissed as dated and preachy – which is part of why it’s so valuable: crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...

Our bi-weekly look at the best new titles on Blu-ray, 4K, and your subscription streaming services includes “Frankenstein,” “Hard Boiled,” “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,” “Spinal Tap II,” “Materialists,” “Men from the Gutter,” “Outland,” and more: crookedmarquee.com/the-best-mov...

LOS OLVIDADOS, which premiered in Mexico City on November 9, 1950, and was pulled from theaters after just three days, marked a turning point in Luis Buñuel’s career. I wrote about how it came to be for @crooked-marquee.bsky.social:

“While her willingness to try different media has played a role in her career-long ubiquity, she hasn’t gotten as much attention for her forays into acting in feature films,” @travelswithbrindle.bsky.social writes of Cyndi Lauper:

“What makes this one unique is the breezy insouciance with which Robert Mitchum faces his fate, the unflappable hepcat coolness of a movie icon being born,” @splicedpersonality.bsky.social writes of “Out of the Past.” crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...