Monthly Archives: October 2023

Movie Review — The title “Dicks: The Musical” says, does and sings it all

Titillatingly transgressive and deliriously blasphemous, “Dicks: The Musical” barrels through the “Oh no they didn’ts” fast and furiously, a movie so self-conciously gay, outrageous, rude and gay again that one wonders if only George Takei should be allowed to review … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Movie Review — The title “Dicks: The Musical” says, does and sings it all

Movie Review: The Daughter of Immigrants tells her story, “The Persian Version”

We could all use something a little sunny of Middle Eastern origin right about now. This autobiographical (“ish”) dramedy by writer-director Maryam Keshavarz fills that need. “The Persian Version” tells us the story of an LGBTQ Iranian-American daughter trying to … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Movie Review: The Daughter of Immigrants tells her story, “The Persian Version”

Netflixable? A Thai Melodrama about Screening Movies from a Truck — “Once Upon a Star”

Movies that use our remembered love of the cinema experience of our youth can’t help but be sentimental. From “The Last Picture Show” to “Cinema Paradiso,” “Four Hundred Blows” to “The Fabelmans,” filmmakers have found that their nostalgia for the … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Netflixable? A Thai Melodrama about Screening Movies from a Truck — “Once Upon a Star”

Movie Preview: Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie and Shea Whigham — a Prison Shrink thriller about treating “Eileen”

This period piece looks wicked fierce. “Prison is no place for a young lady.”

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Movie Preview: Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie and Shea Whigham — a Prison Shrink thriller about treating “Eileen”

Movie Preview: Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” the new trailer raises the bar

The class conscious over-achiever, the “destined for greatness” ego, the epic scale and Black Sabbath and Ozzy’s “War Pigs” set the tone. This looks more like a sure thing than the Joaquin? As Napoleon? earlier takes did. Thanksgiving.

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | 3 Comments

Classic Film Review: Newton makes “Blackbeard, the Pirate” (1952) the most “Yaarrrr” of Them All

Pirates, so far as we know, rarely said “Yarrrrr.” The fact that we think they do, that it’s been a Law of the Sea since “The Simpsons” Sea Captain character was a squinty wee squirt, that there’s a Talk Like … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Classic Film Review: Newton makes “Blackbeard, the Pirate” (1952) the most “Yaarrrr” of Them All

Documentary Review: Traditional Animation remembered, Digital Animation’s rise documented — “Pencils vs. Pixels”

“Pencils vs. Pixels” is a brisk celebration of the hand-drawn 2D animator’s art and cursory history of its “golden ages,” the last of which ended as computer-generated imagery and digitally assisted 3D animation took over with the rise of Pixar … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Documentary Review: Traditional Animation remembered, Digital Animation’s rise documented — “Pencils vs. Pixels”

Movie Preview: An Auschwitz Story from a Family’s Point of View — that of the Nazi Commandant — “The Zone of Interest”

A chilling take on family, home life and universal family ideals — getting ahead, “providing.” Only a monster presides over this family. Like an even darker version of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?” “The Zone of Interest” opens in … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Movie Preview: An Auschwitz Story from a Family’s Point of View — that of the Nazi Commandant — “The Zone of Interest”

Movie Preview: Jeffrey Wright’s a Black Author facing a sort of reverse racism for writing “American Fiction”

If Jeffrey Wright is typecast in the movies, it’s too often as the smart, patient and effortlessly cool Black man who saves James Bond’s cookies or helps the hero figure it all out. But every now and then, he gives … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Movie Preview: Jeffrey Wright’s a Black Author facing a sort of reverse racism for writing “American Fiction”

Netflixable? Horrified Swedes find more than “Team Building” is in Play at “The Conference”

“Satisfaction” ranks high up on the list of things a good thriller should provide, coming right after “thrills” and in the case of a horror film, hair-raising shocks and jolts. Most horror movies adhere to a formula, so if you’re … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Comments Off on Netflixable? Horrified Swedes find more than “Team Building” is in Play at “The Conference”