Music
Sara Custer
Issei Aoyama’s original jazz pieces will be performed at Sunday’s free concert.

Bite Size
Carol Smaglinski

Thriller
Rod Lott
A guy walks into a police station to report a murder: himself! With that setup, one could make a tight, terrific crime film — and D.O.A. is that movie ... in 1950. The 1988 remake doesn't fare as well, but at least it's been preserved on Blu-ray by Mill Creek Entertainment.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
"Let's do it," says Arnold in the opening minutes of Total Recall. "Let's go to Mars."

Horror
Rod Lott
Until now, I had never seen the 1980 horror film Mother's Day, but its poster art has stayed top-of-mind when I first stumbled upon the VHS box in the early '80s, when the Sound Warehouse at Northwest Expressway and Rockwell Avenue — may it rest in peace — started renting movies in addition to keepin' the metro rockin' with a wide selection of LPs and cassettes.

Comedy
Rod Lott
One of this summer's biggest bombs, Dark Shadows is only a disappointment if you expect a straight take on the 1960s Gothic soap opera. Then again, the TV series is such the definition of niche-cult that most moviegoers didn't know what to make of it. While I would have preferred to see Tim Burton go horror with the material — more Sleepy Hollow, less Beetlejuice — I still found the quasi-spoof comedy to be a mild delight.

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
I should have listened to Ron Backer. In his new book, Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood, he more or less warns would-be audiences away from trying any of the early 1930s’ half-dozen movies based on Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason character.

Horror
Rod Lott
Lake Placid: The Final Chapter has swam to video shores, losing the numeral “4” somewhere along the way. Haven't seen Lake Placid 2 or 3? Didn't know they existed? Ooh, you are going to be so lost!