Baxter (Blu-ray) by Ian Jane The Movie:Baxter is the name of the titular dog at the center of this odd French horror picture from 1989, directed by Jérôme Boivin. It's a quirky and often times darkly comedic film that presents much of what happens from the aforementioned dog's point of view, which gives it a very unique cinematic voice while Boivin's directing style brings a strong arthouse sensibility to much of what we see happen as the film's story plays out.As to what that story is all about, Florence Morel (Catherine Ferran) gives her mother, Madame Deville (Lise Delamare) a white bull-terrier named Baxter as a surprise gift one day. Florence knows that her aging mother is lonely these days and she figures that Baxter would make a great companion for her. And in a way, she's right. Madame Deville is, at first, a little frightened of the dog but Florence's instincts were correct and she...Read the entire review »

The Being (Blu-ray) by Ian Jane The Movie:The Being, directed by Jackie Kong in 1983, takes place in the small town of Pottsville. At first glance, this would seem to be like any other small mid-western American town, bot Pottsville has a unique problem in that it has recently become home to a monster. Yep, there's a creature roaming around within its borders getting slime all over everything and laying waste to any number of local-yokels unlucky enough to cross its path.Could this possibly tie into the toxic waste that a sinister corporation has been dumping in the water nearby? Yeah, that might have something to do with it… but Mayor Gordon Lane (José Ferrer) ensures his constituents that everything is under control and the toxic waste is nothing to be concerned about. Even the town's resident scientist, Garson Jones (Martin Landau), is on board in telling everyone to just keep calm and car...Read the entire review »

Horizons West (Blu-ray) by Stuart Galbraith IV Though it starts out promisingly enough, the Budd Boetticher Western Horizons West (1952) quickly descends into a tired reworking of the Cain and Abel, brother-against-brother story, variations of which often pop up in Western film. The picture is worth watching for its cast, its Technicolor and production values, but they're not enough to save it from its general mediocrity. The promising early scenes have Dan Hammond (Robert Ryan), younger brother Neil (Rock Hudson), and neighbor "Tiny" McGilligan (James Arness) heading back to Austin, Texas after four years of serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Neil and Tiny assume they'll easily resume life as before, working the cattle ranch owned by Dan and Neil's father, Ira (John McIntire), but Dan, cy...Read the entire review »