Author Archives: curtisrunstedler

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Annihilation

Posted on March 12, 2018 by curtisrunstedler

Alex Garland (Ex Machina) makes a fantastic return as director/writer with Annihilation, which is based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel. It’s about five female scientists who enter a seemingly alien, jungle-like quarantine zone searching for the lost expedition. Only one of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Annihilation

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)

Posted on February 1, 2018 by curtisrunstedler

Ma vie de Courgette (a courgette is a zucchini for North American folks) is a delightful and heartwarming little stop motion film, and probably my favourite animated film since Finding Nemo. Courgette is the main character, a sensitive and intelligent little boy … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Week: Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia

Posted on January 13, 2018 by curtisrunstedler

David Munro’s 1979 ITV documentary Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia (written by John Pilger) captures the horrors and atrocities of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79) firsthand from the front line. While it is a hard watch, it is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Week: Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: I, Tonya

Posted on December 27, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

Craig Gillespie’s mockumentary biopic (and first directed film) I, Tonya tells the story of Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), an Olympic figure skater from an abused and unloved background who is the first to successfully complete the triple axel, before being accused … Continue reading →

Posted in Features, Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: I, Tonya

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Mysterious Skin

Posted on September 19, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

Based on Scott Heim’s acclaimed novel of the same name, Greg Arraki’s 2004 film Mysterious Skin is a tough and disturbing watch, but also an incredible cinematic experience. It tells of two boys Neil (a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Brady Corbet) … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Mysterious Skin

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008)

Posted on April 12, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

The enchanting Gemma Arterton stars as Tess in the excellent 2008 BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s masterpiece Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which is near perfect. Arterton is amazing as Tess: immensely talented, resilient, free spirited, ethereal, gorgeous, and the very image … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008)

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Police Story (1985)

Posted on March 5, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

This is arguably Jackie Chan’s best action movie, and certainly one of the best action movies of all time. I think what really propels this one among Chan’s other films is its sheer audacity: consider the opening sequence, where Chan … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Police Story (1985)

Runstedler’s Pick of the Month: T2: Trainspotting

Posted on February 1, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

Not to be confused with the also excellent T2: Judgement Day (one of the best sci-fi films of all time and James Cameron’s finest hour), T2: Trainspotting 2 is well worth the wait and delivers the goods. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to Edinburgh … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s Pick of the Month: T2: Trainspotting

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Bad Boys (1983)

Posted on January 26, 2017 by curtisrunstedler

Not to be confused with the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence buddy cop Bad Boys series (‘Point Break or Bad Boys II?’), Rick Rosenthal’s 1983 Bad Boys tells a much darker tale. Sean Penn stars as Mick O’Brien, a troubled kid who means well, but keeps getting into … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Bad Boys (1983)

Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Hard Boiled

Posted on December 22, 2016 by curtisrunstedler

Yippee ki yay! ‘Tis the season for Die Hard, folks. But what’s ‘better than a dozen Die Hards’? Well, it’s John Woo’s 1992 film Hard Boiled (not a film about eggs), and this is saying a lot because the original Die Hard is one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Reviews, Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month: Hard Boiled