Yearly Archives: 2023

A single mom nags her teen son into getting up and out the door to school. As an Aussie, she’s got one ultimatum that works every time. “No school, no ‘footie.’” They arrive, and she stays on campus with him. … Continue reading →

Aussie actress Krew Boylan turns out to be a better Dolly Parton impersonator than screenwriter in “Seriously Red,” her self-scripted star vehicle. It’s a self-serious and seriously-confusing identity crisis comedy tucked into what might have been a gender role romp … Continue reading →

This Aussie indie film is about a teen with Down Syndrome who doesn’t let social expectations or her brother’s concerns keep her from meeting her ambitions. Hope the patrons of the Willie Jones Public Library appreciate “Poppy.” Movie Nation, spreading … Continue reading →

“Race” never figured in the comedies, thrillers and dramas of the great Austrian-American filmmaker Billy Wilder. You can wade through his entire 50 year career and wonder why you never see a Black face. The rest of his industry in … Continue reading →

“True Spirit” is a plucky feel-good tale of a teen girl’s quest to be the youngest to ever sail “Around Alone.” Directed and acted with a light touch, packed with bubbly pop music montages and finished off with a dollop … Continue reading →

Stumbling across this lightly-amusing comedy on Roku, there are certain “truths” that are, as Mr. Jefferson would have noted, “self-evident.” “We Are Not Alone” plays like a sitcom pilot, which it almost certainly is, a 90 minute set up for … Continue reading →

Now THIS is how you cut a feel-good movie trailer with a kid, a cause and wildlife. Radha Mitchell plays the mum, Ilsa Fogg young Abby, Mia Wasikowska as our crusading girl as an adult, and Eric Bana as a … Continue reading →

It’s funny to think about how late Hollywood was in figuring out Walter Matthau was a natural comic actor. For the first couple of decades of his film and TV career, nobody thought to let him go for a laugh. … Continue reading →

Miranda Otto also stars in this “Time Bandits” meets “The Adjustment Bureau” fantasy about a corporation that fiddles with fate via a sort of “Jumpers” gimmick of a door that parks you hither and yon on demand. This Sky TV … Continue reading →

“Millennium Bugs” is a murky look back at Y2K Eve, a comedy that struggles to find laughs in end-of-the-90s fashions, slang and panic over what the world might look like when computers glitch as the year 2000 begins. It’s a … Continue reading →