Author Archives: Roger Moore

“Sleight” is a prestidigitation thriller that lives up to its title only if you misspell it. It’s a smart kid drug-dealer trying to “get out” tale, slight in its ambitions, blessed by a charming cast but sorely lacking the magic … Continue reading →

The surprise success of the middling but good-hearted and “immigrant” topical parenting comedy “Instructions Not Included” was enough to convince Hollywood that it should be in the Eugenio Derbez business, and quickly, before the 50something Mexican funnyman aged out of … Continue reading →

It takes a village to raise Baby Groot. There are worse things that you could call a trigger-happy/tech savvy ill-tempered talking raccoon than “raccoon.” “Trash panda,” for instance. “Triangle-headed dog.” Sly Stallone doesn’t do alien makeup, because he’s Sly Stallone. … Continue reading →

Yeah, I’m getting around to the movie with the cursing raccoon tonight. But this AM, a combat film presents itself, an intimate portrait of an isolated, man-to-man, sharp-shooter to sniper fight to the death. Aaron Taylor Johnson and John Cena … Continue reading →

“Write what you know,” aspiring novelists and screenwriters are told. And Alexi Pappas knows long distance running, training for long distance running, and the mono-maniacal focus it requires to make it to the Olympic Games. So that’s what her film … Continue reading →

Yes, we have one more weekend of “The Fate of the Furious” owning the box office. Another $18 million or so, based on Friday night’s numbers. A big take for this one, especially overseas. Not as big as the last … Continue reading →

“The Dinner” is anything but ordinary. Four wait staff deliver each course to the table. The maitre d describes each item in minute detail — “olive oil from the Peloponnese…” And the conversation? Also out of the ordinary — cutting, … Continue reading →

Alexander Nevsky was a great hero of medieval Russia. The 13th century Grand Prince of Kiev and fought the Germans and Swedes, paid off the Mongols and was made a Russian Orthodox saint and the focus of a famous Sergei … Continue reading →

“The Blair Witch Project” wasn’t the first “found footage” horror picture, though it has proven to be the most imitated. The latest is “Phoenix Forgotten,” a thriller about — now get this, three young people who set out, with a … Continue reading →

The audience rejection of “Free Fire,” the gonzo guns-and gunplay action comedy from the director of “High Rise,” may represent some tipping point moment for Americans’ attitudes about gun violence and its cavalier treatment on the big screen. Probably not. … Continue reading →