1982 by Oktay Ege Kozak Some of the best war films depict how the lives of those who are not directly engaged in an armed conflict and the politics surrounding it, the innocents who just want to live their day-to-day lives, are shattered as they are forced to harden faster than any semblance of hope can reach them. Children are some of the most resilient amongst us to pain and suffering brought on by war, as witnessed by the joy in Ukrainian refugee children's eyes upon being given something as simple as a cheap toy.Louis Malle's masterpiece Au Revoir Les Enfants is still one of the most heartbreaking and devastating films about the holocaust, even though it doesn't show a single frame of the concentration camps or World War II for that matter. The film takes place entirely in a boarding school and depicts the friendship between a Christian kid and a Jewish student who's hiding his identity. As the te...Read the entire review »

The Resonator: Miskatonic U (Blu-ray) by Jesse Skeen 1986's From Beyond, sort of a sister film to Re-Animator in that it had most of the same cast and crew taking on another HP Lovecraft story, has been little-known but loved by most who have seen it. "The Resonator: Miskatonic U" hopes to attract those fans; I recognized the name of the fictional Massachusetts university right away but hadn't heard much else about it. The back cover of this Blu-Ray calls it "a companion of sorts" to From Beyond- you can sort of call it a sequel, but it pales a bit in comparison due to being shot on hi-def video at a noticeably lower budget than a feature film, and running just a little over an hour. Crawford Ti...Read the entire review »

Mississippi Masala (The Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray) by Oktay Ege Kozak The Movie:Mira Nair's awkwardly structured by charming interracial romance Mississippi Masala once again emphasizes a fact that's blatantly obvious about America more than any other country: It's a melting pot full of various cultures, races, and faiths blending together, trying, and sometimes struggling, to find common ground when it comes to peace, understanding, and especially love.Through the impeccable Chemistry between stars Sarita Choudry and Denzel Washington, it tells the romance between an Indian immigrant from Uganda named Mina and an African-American carpet cleaner named Demetrius. The two share a delightful meet-cute when Mina crashes into Demetrius' truck and a simple but passionate romance ensues. The most captivating moments in Nair's film come during moments that have nothing to do with the plot or narrative conflict. It's the quiet moments between t...Read the entire review »