Monthly Archives: January 2024

The hiker’s come to the scenic desert around Joshua Tree to photograph a solar eclipse. But on his way back to his car, he spies a boy cowering in the shade. “I lost my parents,” the kid says. And Mr. … Continue reading →

Sometimes the all-star credentials of a vintage film draw you to it more than subject matter or a “classic” reputation. And occasionally, it’s the legend attached to it, the Hollywood lore surrounding it that piques your curiosity. Any film by … Continue reading →

There’s no sex or romance in “A Place of Our Own,” no hormone therapy, surgical consulations or discussion of “transitioning.” This simple slice-of-life/fly on the wall drama is about two transgender friends’ struggle to find a house or apartment they … Continue reading →

“Good Grief” is Dan Levy’s delicate and arms-length drift through the psychology of mourning, with that grief complicated by post mortem secrets that emerge about the deceased. It’s a featherweight attempt at the gutting, deflated feeling of loss, with clever … Continue reading →

“The Book of Clarence” is no mere lampoon of the belief system based on a persecution, blood sacrifice and murder by the state origin story. It’s a retelling, resetting and often amusing examination of “knowledge” vs. “faith,” the nobility of … Continue reading →

“Roadkill” is a leaden, lumbering C-movie about serial killings on the backroads of Florida back in the ’80s. For his second feature, writer, director and co-star Warren Fast (“Finding Grace”) reaches back for a “drive in” era motors-and-murders thriller about … Continue reading →

“Semi animated,” this irreverent “interview” show has a whiff of the old “Colbert Report” as well in its ideological dope asking idiotic questions. This time, the animated host (shades of “Space Ghost from Coast to Coast” and “Fetch”) is an … Continue reading →

It stands to reason that a movie about a haunted pool swallowing children and adults would absolutely have to have extraordinary underwater photography, just by design. “Night Swim” manages that, so a tip of the scuba mask to underwater director … Continue reading →

“Stroking an Animal” is a dull, pretentious Catalan “four seasons with a polyamorous threesome” melodama in which not a lot happens. Well, not a lot that involves people with their clothes on. Pointing itself at the “obvious” flaws in such … Continue reading →

A serial killer is on the loose, murdering “foreign workers” in Taiwan. Let’s put our best detective on the case! You know, the one we meet just as she’s attempting to commit suicide in the same car where her partner/lover … Continue reading →