Cobra Woman (Blu-ray) by Stuart Galbraith IV Though today regarded as a high-water mark in camp, one doesn't necessarily need enjoy Cobra Woman (1944) in those terms. The picture is really part of a line of movies evolving from several directions at once, all with exotic locales with fairy tale-like yarns bordering (or crossing over into) fantasy. Jon Hall became a star in John Ford's epic South Seas melodrama-disaster film The Hurricane (1937), the actor following that up with movies such as South of Pago Pago (1940), Aloma of the South Seas, and The Tuttles of Tahiti (both 1941), after which Hall moved to Universal. Meantime, the lavish British Technicolor production of The Thief of Bagdad (1940), featuring Indian actor Sabu, was completed in Hollywood due to the wartime bombing of London and that, too, proved a big success. The following year, Universal enjoyed good box-office with the now-forgotten...Read the entire review »

Sliding Doors (Blu-ray) by Oktay Ege Kozak The Movie: When it comes to making sure I evaluate a movie with a high concept premise on its own merits, I ask myself a simple but important question: Would this property work even without the gimmick? Would 1917 be as thrilling without the "one shot" concept? Would Memento's story be as gripping if it was told in linear order? If the answer is yes, then the high concept premise works exactly as it should: A creative support to give the film a pinch of originality, instead of being its raison d'etre. 22 years after its release, Sliding Doors holds up mainly because it's still a charming and fun Brit rom-com with engaging and relatable characters, as well as a nice balance between the genre's lighthearted tropes and the implementation of some genuinely surprising dramatic turns. The high concept itself is so ingrained in our culture, that menti...Read the entire review »