Monthly Archives: May 2022

Netflixable? Summer Beachside Wish Fulfillment Romance by Formula — “Along for the Ride”

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Roger Moore

One self-evident truth of teen summer romance movies is that they’re all wish fulfillment fantasies. Party-packed, carefree, candy-colored money-is-no-obstacle to anything we want to do because everybody is Cover Girl thin and gorgeous — even the girls — they’re like … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Late Lang shimmers in “The Blue Gardenia” (1953)

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Roger Moore

One of the greatest and unlikeliest stories of a European expat finding Hollywood glory had to be the American career of the great Viennese auteur and innovator Fritz Lang, who fled the Nazis and left masterpieces such as “M” and … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: “Frank and Penelope” face the future with fierceness — because they have to

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Roger Moore

A thriller about an aimless, dangerous drifter and the stripper who might be his savior? Actor turned writer-director Sean Patrick Flanery wrote and directed this tale that turns towards horror, and which stars Billy Budinich and Caylee Cowan in the … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Cruz, Banderas et al send up the pretention of Cannes and Cannes films in “Official Competition”

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Roger Moore

“Official Competition” is an arid farce about movies as “cinema,” the pretension of festivals and festival-honored films made by “critics’ darlings.” It’s built on scenes that either hit the bullseye, or miss the mark because of slow pacing and a … Continue reading →

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Today’s DVD donation? Ang Lee’s breakout film, “Pushing Hands,” comes to the South Boston, Va. Public library

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Roger Moore

Ang Lee would go on to Oscar winning glory, helming “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Broke back Mountain.” But his debut feature was a touching and sometimes amusing fish-out-of-water story about an old widower trying to fit in with his … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? In “The Takedown,” the French can’t pull off the cop/buddy picture

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Roger Moore

Bad news/good news time. Bad news, Justin Lin finally decided the high price of (Vin) Diesel was reason enough to bail out of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. He quit “Fast X.” Good news, Louis Leterrier, director of the tighter, … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: “Cordelia” wonders if he’s a suitor or a menace in this Brit thriller

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Roger Moore

Antonia Campbell-Hughes has the title role, with Joel Fry, Aline Armstrong and Johnny Flynn, who might be the threat, in this paranoid thriller. “Cordelia” comes our way May 20, via Screen Media.

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Today’s DVD donation? Halifax, Va. discovers the traumas of a Belgian school’s Playground”

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Roger Moore

This engrossing drama about bullying and its impact not just on the boy directly subject to it, but to his sister, stay at home dad, family and a school bureaucracy helpless to handle it has a lot to offer…and subtitles. … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Indie drama gives us a “Glimpse” of the Surveillance state’s private sector excesses

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Roger Moore

If there’s one thing the pandemic lockdown taught us, it’s that some filmmakers had ideas that turn the restrictions and limitations of that time into dramatic scenarios. “Glimpse” combines disparate, isolated characters, hidden camera CCTV footage and rising paranoia about … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Bogart’s glib, mean and scary in Nicholas Ray’s “In a Lonely Place” (1950)

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Roger Moore

The great thing about Bogart was that he never lost that nasty edge that gave him a career, even as he transitioned from heavies to leading men. There’s a hint of Fred C. Dobbs, Duke Mantee and Roy Earle in … Continue reading →

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