Monthly Archives: December 2014

Movie Review: “A Most Violent Year”

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Roger Moore

Abel Morales is an honorable man. He wants to run his heating oil delivery business above board. But his company, which he bought out from his father-in-law, has mobsters, underhanded competitors and the Teamsters Union to contend with. The local … Continue reading →

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Ethan Hawke still lights up, but is he worried about kid imitators?

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Roger Moore

I was finishing up a chat with Ethan Hawke, star of the Oscar contending “Boyhood,” and of the January sci-fi time-travel thriller “Predestination.” We’d talked about “people finally GETTING (“Boyhood” writer-director) Richard Linklater,” about the notion of lives that seem … Continue reading →

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Holiday Box Office: “Hobbit” holds, “Unbroken” breaks out — “Interview” $2.7 million

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Roger Moore

“The Battle of Five Armies” is sending “The Hobbit” franchise off with a bang, winning another weekend, cleaning up all over Christmas week. “Unbroken” is the biggest of the new releases to come out Christmas Day. Not a great film, … Continue reading →

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Christoph Waltz on villainy, art, music and Bond

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Roger Moore

“The most cruel dictators are usually, in private, quite charming people,” purrs Christoph Waltz in that gloriously precise, Oscar-winning Austrian accent. Not that he’d know. He’s not met any, or played a dictator in a movie — yet. But give … Continue reading →

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The winners and heroes in “The Interview” saga? Independent theaters

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Roger Moore

I have been following, with a mixture of interest and annoyance, the whole “Interview” release/threats kill the release/released in spite of the threats saga, much of it on vacation in the remote wilds of rural Va. The “interest” part was … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “The Interview”

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Roger Moore

Christmas Day, thousands of Americans filled theaters to see a Japanese corporation’s movie by a Canadian director mocking the dictator of North Korea. All in the name of freedom — and rude, raw laughs. And if we’ve learned nothing from … Continue reading →

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Marc Eliot’s new John Wayne biography sucks

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Roger Moore

There’s a lot about John Wayne that I didn’t know before picking up Marc Eliot’s “American Titan,” the latest Wayne bio. From his Oscar night kick down of the door to Taylor and Burton’s bungalow (cool), to more rational explanations … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Poker Night”

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Roger Moore

Round up a handful of top drawer character actors, cast them as veteran cops who gather to pass on the wisdom of their years to a single new recruit during weekly poker games, and have then new detective draw on … Continue reading →

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Where to see “The Interview” on Christmas Day

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Roger Moore

It started with tweets from The Alamo Drafthouse and the Plaza in Atlanta. Theaters, high and low, north and south, east and west, will be showing “The Interview” now that Sony has un-surrendered to North Korea. Here’s The Verge’s list … Continue reading →

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Holiday movies: “Sniper,” “Woods,””Gambler,” “Big Eyes” —tip-ins, no slam dunks. “Unbroken” busted

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Roger Moore

Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes both suggest that this year’s crop of holiday movies are worth checking out, but there’s no serious “must see” in the mix. “American Sniper” and “Big Eyes” have the best reviews, a return to form for … Continue reading →

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