Author Archives: rogerinorlando

The extras sit at a table in the shadowy foreground of Rick’s Cafe Americain. She sees him doodle in a sketchbook, an image of a man in a strange uniform with distinctly pointy ears. What’s his connection to the movie? … Continue reading →

I hadn’t seen the absurdly entertaining British WWII film “The 49th Parallel” in ages, probably not since AMC was “American Movie Classics” and showed, you know, movies. And the first thing that strikes you watching this self-described “propaganda film” today … Continue reading →

Variety_Film (@Variety_Film) Tweeted: Film New Roundup: Animated Movie ‘The Queen’s Corgi’ Fetches North American Distribution https://t.co/f0nCkUKi6e https://t.co/2nYT9Bl0FB https://twitter.com/Variety_Film/status/1243706128694784000?s=20

“Uncorked” pops, straight out of the bottle. A culture-clash comedy that throws African American Memphis BBQ culture into the snooty world of fine wines and the ordained high priests of that world — sommeliers — it has laughs and just … Continue reading →

While most film buffs have seen the post-war comedy classic “Whisky Galore!”, a later comedy by Ealing Studios’ acknowledged Master of Twee and Laird of Laughter, Alexander Mackendrick, might have slipped by you. “The Maggie,” cleverly re-titled “High and Dry” … Continue reading →

If the production design of the modest-budget space thriller “3022” is particularly impressive — an underlit space station of worn gear, lived-in living spaces and a touch of grime — that’s no accident. David Dean Ebert, art director on TV’s … Continue reading →

May 1… “Mom’s…weird.” “Mom’s always been weird.”

    It’s easy to see why “Celebration,” an intimate working portrait of fashion designer Yves St. Laurent filmed over the last years of his life, was suppressed upon its completion in 2007. It jumps out from the behind-the-scenes sketching, … Continue reading →

Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg play a young couple trapped in a rabbit maze housing development, forced to raise a child dropped on their cookie-cutter house’s doorstep, in “Vivarium,” a quirky science experiment in drama form. Like many a genre … Continue reading →

“Ultras” is a bloody-minded Italian melodrama that asks the eternal question, “Can this soccer hooligan be saved?” For North American viewers, it answers a more important outsider-looking-in query. “What’s all this got to do with futbol (calcio, in Italian), anyway?” … Continue reading →