Monthly Archives: January 2024

The Best Musical Joke in “Night Swim?”

Every now and then, some piece of music turns up in a (horror movie, usually) that makes me do a double take, or if I’m imbibing, a spit take. How did (whoever the music supervisor/the star/the director) they pull that … Continue reading

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Back in the Cinematic saddle, 2024? Whatcha got?

One’s first new film of the new year, even when it’s previewing in the “Pre stained for your comfort” local AMC, gives one a warm feeling. Or perhaps that’s the AMC nachos talking. “Night Swim” opens Thursday, it’s previewing on … Continue reading

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Movie Preview: “The First Omen” looks creepy as all get out

Chilling. Very clever manipulation of action — so many people walking backwards, out of scenes and into further peril. Bill Nighy, Sonia Braga, Nell Tiger Free and Ralph Ineson headline the cast of this debut feature by Arkasha Stevenson, a … Continue reading

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Movie Review: A cook and her chef immerse us in “The Taste of Things”

France’s hope for a Best International Feature Oscar this year reside in “The Taste of Things,” a savory, exquisitely-acted immersion in The Pride of France — her cuisine — and a couple who make beautiful dishes together near the end … Continue reading

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Movie Preview: “The foulest young women I’ve ever encountered” make a ski movie despite the “Weak Layers”

“Nobody” or its acting equivalents star in this gonzo “48 Hour Film Project” version of a making-a-ski-movie comedy, “Weak Layers” opens Friday.

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Movie Review: WWII commando action on a tight TIGHT budget — “War Blade”

“War Blade” is a rather dull, half-speed WWII commando picture about two Brits and some French resisters trying to storm a Nazi bunker where strange and nefarious things are going on, and not just to the prisoners they’re torturing there. … Continue reading

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Classic Film Review: Kipling and Huston, Caine and Connery, “The Man Who Would be King” (1975)

John Huston’s adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s story “The Man Who Would be King” would have been a vastly different enterprise had he made it when he first had the idea — in his post “African Queen” 1950s. Huston wanted his … Continue reading

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Movie Preview: Well, it’s got a Chevy Nova in it. I guess “Roadkill” it is

Think I’ll review this? Given my obsession with movies featuring a vintage (butt ugly) Chevy Nova as a “car with character?” You bet your life. Other vintage cars feature in this “road” picture. “Roadkill,” a straight-up thrill-kill B-movie thriller, opens … Continue reading

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Movie Preview: Mickey Mouse’s copyright expires, “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” of horror is coming

Here’s the trailer to the first film to make use of Disney’s insanely-overextended copyright of the character the company founder created nearly a century ago. As horror movies set in amusement parks go, “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” doesn’t seem to offer … Continue reading

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Netflixable? Sniper Chad, Haysbert and a B-C movie crew try to make “Sniper: G.R.I.T.” cool

You hate to start the year reviewing a bad C-movie aiming for B-status, but that’s the state of the cinema between Christmas and that first weekend after New Year’s. “Sniper: G.R.I,T.” is the latest in a series of glib, violent … Continue reading

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