Monthly Archives: February 2025

Documentary Review: “Bonnie Blue: James Cotton’s Life in the Blues”

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Roger Moore

The bluesman James Cotton was the son of a sharecropping Mississippi Baptist preacher and a mother who played the harmonica. And when they died when he was quite young, he picked up his mother’s harmonica and used it to play … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: The Sexual Sensory Overload of “Black Narcissus” (1947)

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Roger Moore

Long regarded as “the most beautiful film ever shot in color,” Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus” remains a feast for the eyes, one unspoiled by the knowlege that most every dazzling image put on the screen was manipulated, … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? Korean expats figure out “Bogota” is the “City of the Lost”

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Bogota: City of the Lost” is an underworld “how criminals crime” procedural with an exotic setting and fish-out-of-water characters but no pace or narrative drive worthy of its novelty. A tale that is voice-over-narrated to death by our smuggler-on-the-rise, it’s … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: “Jurassic World Rebirth,” a waste of Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali?

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

Rupert Friend and Ed Skrein are the other big names in this reboot of the venerable franchise. But ScarJo and Oscar winner Ali stand out. He could use a big pagday, I dare say. Johannson? If this is the way … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: Public Domain “Popeye?” “Shiver Me Timbers,” the Red Band Trailer

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

So this is a hard-R rated trailer for the kiddie cartoon hero Popeye the Sailor Man, a character that moved into the public domain — like Winnie the Pooh, et al — and is now up for grabs for a … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: Waitress by day, Lady Wrassler by night at a time when being “Queen of the Ring” was Illegal

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

Emily Bett Rickards (“Arrow”) stars as real-life wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke in this 1930s period piece, with Josh Lucas as the manager who believes in her and Francesca Eastwood, Walton Goggins and Tyler Posey in support. This opens March 7. … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: Skarsgard and Hopkins star in the remake of “4×4” — “Locked”

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

I was wondering my review of this taut, sinister Argentine thriller “4×4” was trending, four years after I wrote it. And when the film came out, I wondered how long it would take for Hollywood to cast and remake this … Continue reading →

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Movie Preview: “Final Destination: Bloodlines”

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

I always liked the “Final Destination” movies, with their obsession with coincidence and “death’s grand design” that seals your fate, especially if you’re young and you’ve somehow dodged a bullet. Or fatal plane crash or lumber truck accident.  “Bloodlines” will … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Whatever you do, Don’t Give “Jade” a Blade

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Cool” is the lifeblood of an indie thriller. Park your tale in a novel “cool” setting. Serve up a “cool” heist/scheme/plot, preferably with epic brawls, chases or shootouts. Cast a cool heavy. But even if you ignore or narrowly miss … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Dairy Farm Fails during a Magical Packers Playoff Run — “Green and Gold”

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Green and Gold” is an homage to the “trouble on the farm” movies — “The River,” “Country,” “Places in the Heart” — that were a both a staple of the Reagan/Bush years, and largely a product of Reagan/Bush policies. This … Continue reading →

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