Author Archives: Roger Moore

“The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity” is an effects-and-exposition-stuffed character-cluttered Chinese martial arts fantasy — heavy on the fantasy, light on the martial arts. Dammit. But rather than let the collage of images above suffice, I suppose I should give … Continue reading →

The personal essay documentary is kind of old-hat now. Everyone who powers up a camera is at least tempted to pull a Michael Moore and make their movie largely about themselves and some sort of personal investigation or journey. Mark … Continue reading →

Robin Wright’s directing debut has a quiet, Earthy elegance about it that mirrors our image of the her as an actress and a public figure. “Land” takes the director and leading lady out of her natural milieu and puts her … Continue reading →

Dystopian enough for you? Iain Glenn is the one face and voice I recognize in this Berlin FF premiere. Striking to look at. https://youtu.be/hw0m4B6UkHA

Back in a simpler or — let’s face it — more “simplistic” time, we didn’t seem to have this “bullying” problem that has taken hold of the national consciousness this past decade. We thought we understood “Bullying is bad” as … Continue reading →

A lot of thrillers begin with or feature a prison-bus break-out as a signature scene — “48 Hrs.” and “The Fugitive,” for instance. But here’s one that’s all about the break-out, or break-in depending on your point of view. “Below … Continue reading →

Writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford’s debut feature is as sober a treatment of the “date rape” drug experience as the cinema has ever shown us. “Test Pattern” captures the “how,” immerses us in the “now” and shows us the lives brought … Continue reading →

They don’t hand out Oscars to every casting director, the person who puts pictures and names in front of filmmakers to give them ideas of how to turn their scripted characters into flesh and blood actors. Lynn Stalmaster, “The Master … Continue reading →

Here’s a good measure by how original a film is. How hard is it to come up with analogues, other titles this picture reminds you of? The deftly paranoid indie “Lapsis” had me flashing back to “Brazil” and “Safety Not … Continue reading →