Monthly Archives: December 2025

Movie Review: Adrift in the Working Class Underbelly of Oz — “Flathead”

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Flathead” is an Australian docudrama peek into the country’s hidden-in-plain-sight underclass. It takes its title from a popular fish Down Under, one of the foodstuffs we see processed, picked, packed and prepared by the migratory workers of many cultures, a … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? Clooney’s a Movie Star who Takes Stock of his Career’s Cost — “Jay Kelly”

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Roger Moore

An aging matinee idol has his long, dark “tribute reel” of the soul in “Jay Kelly,” a George Clooney star vehicle that one-ups “first world problems” and “rich white people problems” with “movie star problems.” It’s a wealthy, famous star’s … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: A Theatrical Cold War Anecdote turned TV Bon Bon — “An Englishman Abroad”

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Roger Moore

An actress on tour with “Hamlet” is “recruited” by Britain’s most notorious spy in 1950s Moscow in “An Englishman Abroad,” a delightfully droll tragi-comedy from the writer who gave us “The Madness of King George,” “The Lady in the Van” … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Who’s creepier, Foster Parents or “The Fostered?”

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Roger Moore

It’s a lucky thing that the thriller “The Fostered” is so risibly bad almost no one will see it and fewer will take it seriously. If this abomination had been a hit, with competent writing and direction and compelling acting, … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Slovenia’s Hope for an Oscar? Catholic Choral “Little Trouble Girls”

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Little Trouble Girls” is a conventional girls’ coming-of-age tale whose clever twist is equating sexual awakening with spiritual awakening, at least in the eyes and ears of an impressionable teen. Slovenia’s bid for a Best International Feature Film Oscar covers … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: An Animated Musical “David” for the Faithful

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Roger Moore

The early life of the lad who tended sheep, slew Goliath and became king of ancient Judah and all of the Israel according to the Hebrew Bible comes to the screen in the robust, pious and playful “David.” The debut … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Beloved Child Inspires a Grand Tragedy — “Hamnet”

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

The greatest play in the English language was born of father and mother’s wrenching loss of their firstborn son. That’s the premise of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel “Hamnet,” now turned into an intimate Chloé Zhao period piece about a child’s … Continue reading →

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Snow day? Cinema day!

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

Too snowy and muddy to cut down a Christmas tree from the farm. Might as well head to Durham to see “Hamnet,” “Sentimental Value” isn’t getting enough showings to make it convenient. Maybe something else. “Fackham Hall?”

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Movie Review: Injured on a Hike, Pondering what it means “To Die Alone”

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

Say this for the indie thriller “To Die Alone.” It certainly punches above its weight in setting, scenery and the way cinematographer Shelby Lee Parks filmed it. Drone shots that traverse a sea of fir trees far into the horizon, … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Taipei’s a Challenge for a young “Left Handed Girl”

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Roger Moore

The team that made the American underclass gems “Take Out,” “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project” turn their eyes to Tapei for their latest, a story of a child growing up in economic hardship and family dysfunction in the anything-for-sale markets … Continue reading →

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