Michael Barrett

2 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

The Bermuda Triangle Kino Lorber Does anyone still follow the hocus pocus about the Bermuda Triangle? Maybe you do, or maybe it’s all Greek (or Atlantean) to you, but you’ll gain a little insight and a lot of nonsense on this far-reaching phenomenon in Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray of a 1979 “documentary”. As a concept, the alleged triangular stretch of ocean between Bermuda, Florida, and Puerto Rico is a vortex that, like a black hole, pulls a vast array of paranormal tropes into its maw.

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX Kino Lorber All the films in Kino Lorber’s three-disc box Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX are highly visual and suspenseful treats. We’re going to focus on the often overlooked gem, Mitchell Leisen’s fascinating and fabulous No Man of Her Own (1950), inspired by Cornell Woolrich’s noir premise that happiness is always just beyond reach.

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

Behind the Door / Below the Surface Fllicker Alley Seafaring tales of gruesome revenge and underwater redemption mark a double feature of silent melodramas on Blu-ray from Flicker Alley. Behind the Door / Below the Surface combines two silent films directed by the forgotten Irvin V. Willat and starring Hobart Bosworth, an actor-producer of tremendous importance in the development of the Hollywood industry.

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

Performance Criterion “I am a bit old-fashioned,” says Chas (James Fox). He’s a vicious enforcer for a London gangster who, after killing a man, pretends to be a juggler named Johnny Dean and inveigles his way into the huge bohemian Notting Hill mansion of Turner (Mick Jagger), a retired rock star. Chas describes the milieu to a friend over the phone: “What a freak show. On the left, you know. I tell you it’s terrible. It’s a right piss-hole.

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

New Directors/New Films is one of the most venerable events in America’s film scene. Founded in 1972, the annual showcase at New York’s Museum of Modern Art is a one-stop shop for fresh voices that have been making the rounds of the world’s film festivals. The 54th incarnation runs from 2 to 13 April 2025 and presents 24 features plus two programs of short films. Made within the last couple of years, the features are usually the first or second films by young filmmakers.