Comedy
Rod Lott
When I think of Dean Martin, I think of cocktails, not cowboys. Making a long-overdue DVD bow, 1971's Something Big outfits the Rat Pack veep in Western wear for a comedic go-round as one Joe Baker.

Comedy
Rod Lott
In the opening scene of Rock of Ages, the lead character of Sherrie (Julianna Hough, Footloose) leaves Oklahoma for California, and quite frankly, we're better off without her. Good riddance, girl.

Children's
Rod Lott
One imagines Frankenweenie is the movie director Tim Burton has been waiting to make his entire life.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott

 

Horror
Rod Lott
Although horror movies rarely scare me, I love them. The most I can hope for is to be creeped out sufficiently, and Sinister satisfies that bill.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
Prepare to have your mind violated. Beyond the Black Rainbow hardly represents conventional storytelling, but the film is an absolute visual feast. Expect sensuous rather than sense, and open-minded movie lovers will be well-rewarded.

Thriller
Phil Bacharach
Generating suspense from a story that is a matter of historical record is no easy thing. That was the primary challenge facing Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio, the director-star and writer, respectively, of Argo, a thriller inspired by a real-life covert operation that helped rescue six U.S. embassy workers out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis. It's a testament to the skills of the filmmakers that Argo delivers a deluge of suspense even when its ending is never in doubt.

Horror
Rod Lott
Despite being unleashed from Twisted Pictures, those people who brought us all those Saws, The Tortured has sat in the shelf now for about two years, skipping a wide release on its way to DVD. It's easy to see why: It's strong, sick stuff that delights in punching and kicking its audience as its vengeful characters do their prey.

Drama
Rod Lott
Sienna Miller looks every bit the Hitchcock blonde she plays in The Girl, an HBO original film about the relationship between actress Tippi Hedren and the director who gave her not only her big break, but big trouble.

Thriller
Rod Lott
247˚F is as compelling as you'd think about a movie set almost entirely in a sauna would be: not at all, once you think about it. I'm all for films set in single and/or small spaces, but this one has nowhere to go.