Catching Up On Cinema

It's once again time for our monthly Catching Up On Blu-Ray episode! In this edition, the first of the new year, we take a look at the major physical media releases for the month of January. Some highlights this month: Joker (4k, 2019) The Lighthouse (2019) Holiday (Criterion, 1938) Gemini Man (4k, 2019) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (4k, 2019) The Fugitive Kind (Criterion, 1960) Running with the D...

This week we bring our F*cked Up Sh!t event month to a close with a double-header review of 2 dramatically different and (unfortunately) not-especially-f*cked up movies: Highway to Hell (1991) and Audition (1999)!  Directed by Ate De Jong, Highway to Hell (1991) is a fairly tame screwball adventure comedy that features some charming effects work and sadly very little else.  In stark cont...

Catching Up On Cinema's "F*cked Up Sh!t" month continues, as Kyle and Trevor sit down to review the Emiliano Rocha Minter's challenging and indisputably f*cked up indie film, We Are the Flesh (2016)! A Mexican and French joint production, the film is equal parts horrifying and provocative, featuring themes and images that might be too much for some to bear. In spite of it's raw and brutal nature,...

F*cked Up Sh!t month continues, as Trevor has Kyle sit down view the bizarre, pseudo-experimental indie film, Like Me (2017)! The only feature film credited to writer-director Robert Mockler, the movie is messy (in more ways than one) and confused in it's storytelling, but features some striking imagery and editing in some of it's trippier sequences. Starring Addison Timlin as an emotionally detac...

This January at Catching Up On Cinema is "F*cked Up Sh!t" Month! Being as this is a show about expanding our horizons and pushing boundaries, we felt it would be appropriate to use this month to take a deep dive into the world of twisted and/or brutal cinema, AKA "F*cked Up Sh!t". Our first F*cked Up movie this month is Jeremy Saulnier's punk rock thriller, Green Room (2015)! Starring Anton Yelchi...

It's once again time for our monthly Catching Up On Blu-Ray episode! Some of the physical media releases this month include: Ready or Not (2019) Big Trouble in Little China (Shout Factory, 1986) Game of Thrones, The Complete Series (2011 - 2019) Slaughterhouse-Five (Arrow, 1972) The Story of Temple Drake (Criterion, 1933) Tunes of Glory (Criterion, 1960) The Phantasm Collection (Well Go, 1979 - 20...

Special thanks to Film Combat Syndicate , who were kind enough to grant us access to the film for review! In this very special bonus episode of Catching Up On Cinema, Trevor reviews Kensuke Sonomura's indie martial arts flick, Hydra (2019)! Starring veteran stuntman Masanori Mimoto, the film is a small, but ambitious production that punches far above it's budget's weight in the realm of action and...

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and an even happier New Year from us here at Catching Up On Cinema! In this, the last of our holiday/winter themed episodes for the year, Trevor has Kyle sit down to watch writer/director George Gallo's brilliantly cast, but intensely flawed Christmas comedy, Trapped in Paradise (1994)! Starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey as a trio of bank robber brot...

In this episode of the podcast, John Cusack makes his second consecutive appearance on the show (sans Oliver Platt) as Kyle takes the show into the realm of true crime with a review of the Alaskan serial killer flick, The Frozen Ground (2013)! The only film directed by writer Scott Walker, the film is largely a vehicle for the then up and coming Vanessa Hudgens, despite Nicolas Cage's name getting...

In this episode of the podcast, Kyle has Trevor sit down to watch Harold Ramis' underrated Christmas themed black comedy, The Ice Harvest (2005)! Featuring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Connie Nielsen, the film is a breezy and slick caper that is perfect for a rainy or snowy night in. Bonus: The film features a drunk Oliver Platt at steady intervals, so if ever you're bored while viewing th...

It's the first week of December, which means it's time to review some wintery and vaguely holiday related films! First up this month is the 2nd in Shusuke Kaneko's Heisei era trilogy, Gamera 2: The Advent of Legion (1996)! Briskly paced and cleverly shot and edited, the film is among the very best of the daikaiju subgenre of Japanese sci-fi. Okay, so maybe the first movie this month has essentiall...

In this episode, Kyle has Trevor watch Danny Boyle's beautiful and intense coming-of-age tale, The Beach (2000)!  Featuring an attractive and charismatic cast of internationals, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Carlyle, and Tilda Swinton, the film is a mature take on the familiar tale of a boy discovering paradise... and the complications that result from said discovery. Find...

It's one again time for our monthly Catching Up On Blu-Ray episode! Some of the major blu-ray and 4k releases coming out this November are: Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (4k, 2019) Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) Universal Soldier (4k, 1992) The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) The Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy (4k, Directed by Edgar Wright) Cats (1998) Undercover Brother 2...

In this episode, Kyle has Trevor pay another visit to the literary works of Alexandre Dumas in form of Randall Wallace's take on the 3 Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)! Starring Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Gabriel Byrne as the musketeers, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio in dual roles, the film is a somewhat tepid costume drama that was unfortunately marketed as an ac...

In this episode of the podcast, Trevor and Kyle review another Donnie Yen and Wilson collaboration, the cop drama/martial arts actioner, Flash Point (2007)! A prequel to last week's SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005), the film is briskly paced and largely succeeds in upping the ante in terms of spectacle in it's fight choreography, and ridiculousness in terms of good old fashioned Hong Kong melodrama. Find u...

*WARNING* Kyle drops some minor spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8 in this episode *WARNING* In this episode, Trevor takes the show back into the world of Hong Kong cinema to review Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen's first film collaboration, SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005)! Serving as a massive turning point in the career of director and star alike, the film is a stylish cops and robbers flick that just so h...

In this very special Triple Threat edition of Catching Up On Cinema, Trevor invites his brother Matt to join he and Kyle in celebrating the Halloween season with a discussion regarding the subject of DEATH in cinema. Ranging from the hilarious, the spectacular, and the emotionally devastating, the boys manages to cover no less than 50 different cinematic deaths in this episode, with about a half d...

*WARNING* The film reviewed in this episode contains explicit scenes of real life animal cruelty. Proceed at your own risk. *WARNING* In the final installment of "Kyle's Killer October," Kyle decides to go for broke and have he and Trevor mutually catch up on one of more infamous horror films in the annals of film history, Ruggerio Deodato's massively controversial Cannibal Holocaust (1980)! Banne...

In this weeks installment of "Kyle's Killer October," the Catching Up On Cinema boys venture to the Great White North to check out Steve Kostanki and Jeremy Gillespie's gory cosmic horror experience, The Void (2016)! Featuring lovingly crafted (and gooey) animatronic and makeup effects, the film is a trippy and intense thrill ride that is worth a watch for practical effect enthusiasts. Find us onl...

It's a new month, which means it's time for our monthly "Catching Up On Blu-Ray" episode! Some of the highlights among the physical media releases this October include: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019, 4k) The Shining (1980, 4k) Pan's Labyrinth (2006, 4k) Zombieland (2009, 4k) Chernobyl (2019) Gremlins (1984, 4k) Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989) Driven (2018) Ator, the Fighting Ea...

In this week's episode in "Kyle's Killer October," the Catching Up On Cinema crew take a close look at Scott Derrickson's ghostly thriller, Sinister (2012)! Made on the cheap and featuring a winning performance by star Ethan Hawke, as well as generally exceptional production values, the film was one of the more memorable of the late 2000's resurgence of no frills spectral horror flicks. Fair warni...

"Kyle's Killer October" heads to the land downunder, as he and Trevor sit down to Catch Up On Jennifer Kent's psychological horror masterpiece, The Babadook (2014)! A challenging film with stunning production design and cinematography, the film is deeply layered and bold in subject matter and execution. The feature directorial debut of Jennifer Kent, the film boasts a stellar reputation among horr...

It's October, which means it's time for us to take a deep dive into the world of horror! This month, Kyle is going to be in charge of all of the movie selections for a special Halloween themed event we're calling "Kyle's Killer October". The general theme this year is that of "modern" horror, meaning mostly stuff from the 2000's and onward. First up is James Wan's game changing spectral possession...

Once more, it's time for our monthly Catching Up On Blu-Ray, September 2019 edition! Some highlights of the physical media releases from this month: Rambo (4k, 2008) Booksmart (2019) Men In Black: International (4k, 2019) Ma (2019) Nightmare Cinema (2018) Fists in the Pocket (Criterion, 1965) Darlin' (2019) John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (4k, 2019) Casino (4k, 1995) Aladdin (4k, 1992 and 2019)...

In the 4th installment in The Alien Masterclass, Kyle and Trevor tackle Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 1997 oddity, Alien Resurrection (1997)! Written by Joss Whedon, and starring a menagerie of stellar character actors, the film is a tonal mess that is best described as the black sheep of the franchise. Sporting sumptuous visuals and satisfying action and gore, the film is nevertheless a fun ride that (som...