Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: April 2026

Point Blank   — 4K 04/07/26

Is it a classic?  We think so. Organized crimeland is invaded by the New-Wavish visual grammar we associate with Alain Resnais. Thriller fans loved the bizarre stylized performance of Lee Marvin as Walker, a vengeful mob victim out to claim the 93 thousand dollars he’s owed. A crystal clear Los Angeles is the setting. Marvin brandishes his .44 magnum; Angie Dickinson wears herself to a frazzle slapping, hitting and pounding him, with no visible effect. It’s  “Last Year in Marienbad City of the Angels.”  Steve Soderbergh, Jim Jarmusch and Dick Cavett get in on the plentiful extras. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
04/07/26

Runaway Train   — 4K 04/07/26

Kino Lorber has a gem in this dazzling 4K remaster that gives Andrei Konchalovsky’s classic a new lease on life. Accessing prime film elements strips away a veneer of greyness and detail-dulling grain. The live-action no-CGI thrills feel even more like gritty reality. Jon Voight, Eric Roberts and Rebecca De Mornay are sensational. Investing in filmmaker Konchalovsky might be the best move that The Cannon Group ever made — the show seems to come from another dimension of action excitement. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
04/07/26

Tea and Sympathy 04/04/26

Quick, adapt this hit Broadway play for the screen!  But remember the guidelines — you can’t directly say what the play is about or use certain words to describe its subject. In fact, you’ll need to eliminate direct references to the play’s strongest statement. The ‘tamed’ film adaption of Robert Anderson’s play gets the glossy MGM treatment, retaining its stage stars Deborah Kerr, Leif Erickson and John Kerr. We were pleasantly surprised that the story still works, despite dated aspects and the inability to, you know, speak its own name. Edward Andrews is also very good, as is the unheralded young actress Norma Crane. So we’ve decided to ‘Be Kind.’ On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
04/04/26

Dead Kids  Aka Strange Behavior — 4K 04/04/26

A bizarre favorite returns in a crystal-clear 4K encoding. Michael Laughlin’s eccentric ‘Middle America’ horror item was actually filmed in New Zealand, yet eerily correct in every detail. Michael Murphy and Louise Fletcher top the cast list, but Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis and Dey Young all make strong impressions. In 1981 it was odd and audacious, helped mightily by some excellent makeup work and a wholly convincing, very disturbing hypodermic gag. Fiona Lewis will forever be the scary syringe lady! On 4K Ultra HD from Powerhouse Indicator.
04/04/26