Monthly Archives: August 2020

Movie Preview: John Leguizamo coaches inner city chess stars in “Critical Thinking”

Johnny Leggs also directed this feel good story about one Miami teacher changing lives, one castling at a time — opens in September.

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Classic Film Review: Renoir’s “The Southerner (1945)”

Years after his time in Hollywood, where the great French director Jean Renoir (“The Rules of the Game,” “The Grand Illusion”) spent World War II, he related how cultural stress and strife is the crucible for great art. All Hollywood … Continue reading

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Netflixable? “The Worthy” try to survive the Apocalpyse in the Arab World

An Arabic post-apocalyptic thriller about survivors fighting over the little water that’s left? The pitch alone is enough for “The Worthy” to make one intrigued. Filmed in Bucharest, financed in the United Arab Emirates and directed by a UAE native/London … Continue reading

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Movie Preview: “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Feed Hampton, the charismatic Illinois Black Panther, and his betrayal by an FBI informant. The Revolution will not be televised. It will if theaters don’t open soon.

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Movie Review: Love, pasta and rustic villas, all “Made in Italy”

“Made in Italy” goes down easily, like an unassuming Chianti that doesn’t drown the taste of the pasta. It stumbles out the door, and staggers a bit at the end of the evening, a wino back off the wagon. But … Continue reading

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Classic Film Review: Richard Harris, and his makeup, are “Cromwell” (1970)

“Cromwell” came out in 1970, a late entry in a formidable run of stately British period pieces. It’s inferior to “Anne of a Thousand Days,” “Becket,” “A Man for All Seasons” and even the somewhat stagebound “The Lion in Winter.” … Continue reading

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Netflixable? “Work It” gives you the dance romance warm fuzzies

Some days, you need a movie that’ll make you smile, maybe feel a little better about the world. It can be a teen dance comedy, built on a formula that was old when Channing Tatum was young. Give us another … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Horror whimsy on the cheap, “Lake Michigan Monster”

We’ve got a captain’s hat, a camera, my dad’s old pontoon boat, and there’s that old light house down on North Point. Let’s make a MOVIE! The delightfully daft and DIY “Lake Michigan Monster” seems to give up its origin … Continue reading

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Movie preview: “i’m thinking of ending things,” a Charlie Kaufman film for Netflix

Toni Collette and David Thewlis play the parents of Jesse Plemons, with Jessie Buckley as the girlfriend who has to witness this little family strife. Sept. 4 on Netflix

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Movie Review: Finally, a “La Llorona” with something to cry about

Damn, I’d like to have seen this one with an audience, in a re-opened cinema. Yes, the only reason to interview filmmaker Jayro Bustamente would be to ask “Why on Earth did you give your movie the exact same title … Continue reading

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