Author Archives: Roger Moore

What do the limp holiday romance “Last Christmas” and the potentially romantic thriller “The Good Liar” have in common? Both films are built on revelations that aren’t the “BIG REVEALS” the filmmakers were hoping for. And both hinge on relationships … Continue reading →

Every August, the world’s greatest pickers, strummers and fiddlers of “Old Time” and bluegrass music gather in Galax, Virginia, to compete, perform, jam through the night and drink corn liquor out of Mason jars. It’s called the Old Fiddler’s Convention, … Continue reading →

As weighty as a snowflake, and just as prone to turn to mush at room temperature, “Let It Snow” is a holiday comedy that sits right in Netflix’s wheelhouse. It’s a teen-rom comedy, cast with winning smiles like Odeya Rush, … Continue reading →

“Hate the disease, not the diseased.” That’s a hard message to massage when you’re making a movie about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Movies about “psycho vets” oversimplify the illness and amplify its most dangerous and anti-social symptoms. It’s hard not … Continue reading →

“Those of you who like this sort of thing might find this the sort of thing they like.” Abraham Lincoln

Michael Peña in the Ricardo Montalban role? No more Hollywood has-beens realizing their PG TV “fantasies.” Nubile starlets and hunks get tested and occasionally tortured in the best Blumhouse tradition. Releasing Valentine’s Day? That’s just sick.  

May of next year. Can hardly wait. Yay.  

Sometimes, a performance doesn’t give the slightest hint of looking like acting. That’s what we see when veteran character actor Wendell Pierce, of “Treme” and “Chicago P.D.” and “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” steps into the spotlight and behind the pulpit … Continue reading →

Sound design is an often under-appreciated characteristic of a film, in any genre. But good sound can make or break a horror film. So let’s begin our appreciation of “Little Joe,” a “horticultural horror” tale from the UK, with a … Continue reading →

It has a brand name author and is a sequel to a cult classic. So “Doctor Sleep” should have been the latest Stephen King adaptation to blow up the box office — tracking data suggested. Audiences were aware and interested, … Continue reading →