Ring of Bright Water (Blu-ray) <small>by Stuart Galbraith IV</small><hr /> Unexpectedly mesmerizing, Ring of Bright Water (1969), about a man and his pet otter (of all things), is not at all the film one might reasonably expect it to be. Though directed by "True Life Adventure" veteran Jack Couffer, it resembles those Disney nature films not at all, nor is it much like Born Free, the hit but shmaltzy 1966 film featuring Elsa the Lioness and her cubs, despite the presence of that film's stars, actors-turned-animal activists Bill Travers and his wife, Virginia McKenna. Rather, it's a much subtler, lower-key film of the type no one would dare make anymore, and that's our loss. It's intelligent and at times quite moving, but not sentimental and cloying, and its animal star never behaves other than what it is, a somewhat domesticated otter. The filmmakers wisely don't give it human qualities. It's among the very best films of its type. Read the entire review »

Lords of Chaos (Blu-ray) <small>by Ian Jane</small><hr /> The Movie: Jonas Akerlund 2019 film Lords Of Chaos, inspired by the book of the same name written by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind, takes a look at the birth of the Norwegian black metal movement that began in the mid-eighties. Tired of his life in conservative Norway, a teenager named Oystein Aarseth (Rory Culkin) decides to start the most extreme metal band on the planet. Now calling himself Euronymous, he teams up with Jan Axel Blomberg, who dubs himself Hellhammer (Anthony De La Torre) and Jorn Stubberud, who takes on the name of Necrobutcher (Jonathan Barnwell) and starts the band Mayhem. It takes them a little while but soon they find the perfect lead singer in the form of a Swedish import named Pelle 'Dead' Ohlin (Jack Kilmer). The band quickly makes a name for themselves thanks to their dramatic stage presence and their extreme behavior. Euronymous begins to...Read the entire review »