Wanda: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) <small>by Justin Remer</small><hr /> The Movie: By a random fluke, I happened to watch Wanda -- the only independent feature from director, writer, and star Barbara Loden, which premiered in 1970 -- right after watching Paul Schrader's directing debut, Blue Collar. Both films have a lot in common, and not just that they have both spent years bubbling under the greater filmgoing consciousness, beloved by fervent cults and unknown by Joe and Jane Moviegoer. Both films present off-kilter character studies of lower class characters, and then throw in some crime movie elements, only to subvert these same elements in ways that critique social imbalances. For Blue Collar, Schrader has his th...Read the entire review »

Lost Highway (Blu-ray) <small>by Ian Jane</small><hr /> The Movie: A decidedly bizarre mix of horror, noir and surrealism, David Lynch's 1997 picture Lost Highway begins with the story of a man named Fred (Bill Pullman) and his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). He's a saxophone player in an avant-garde jazz band. They share a nice house together in Hollywood. Things seem okay on the surface but Fred has strange nightmares and doesn't seem to quite trust Renee, even when he's having sex with her. Their life gets rocked a bit when, one morning, she finds an envelope outside containing a video tape. They put it into their VCR and realize that it's footage someone shot of the exterior of their home. They're weirded out, but don't panic. When a second tape is delivered and shows not just the exterior but the interior too, as well as footage of them sleeping, they call the cops who can find no evidence of anyone trying to break in. The ...Read the entire review »