Kris Deering

Movie: 3.5
Picture/Sound: 5/4.5
Extras:3.5

Video: 2/5
Audio: 4.25/5
Extras: 3/5
I was pretty surprised when Scorsese didn't walk away with the Best Picture statue for this one. Gangs of New York is one of those amazing productions that just gets so much right. The outstanding photography, set design and attention to detail make this a modern day classic. This is also one of my favorite performances from Daniel Day-Lewis (who should have got the Oscar for this one too). The film looks at early New York and the turmoil the gangs caused as immigrants were coming in to the country in droves and the infamous 5-points area.

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2.5/5
For years, townsfolk have been terrified of the backwoods recluse known as Felix Bush. People say he's done all manner of unspeakable things - that he's killed in cold blood, that he's in league with the Devil; that he has strange powers - and they avoid him like the plague. Then, one day, Felix rides to town with a shotgun and a wad of cash, saying he wants to buy a funeral. It's not your usual funeral for the dead that Felix wants. On the contrary, he wants a living funeral, in which anyone who ever heard a story about him will come to tell it, while he takes it all in. Sensing a big payday in the offing, fast-talking funeral home owner Frank Quinn enlists his gentlemanly young apprentice, Buddy Robinson, to win over Felix's business.

Movie: 4
Picture/Sound: 4/5
Extras: 3.5