Author Archives: Roger Moore

About six minutes into “Funny Pain,” a stand-ups-talk-about-stand-up documentary focused on Wendi Starling, I thought — “Wait, did she die? Is that what this is, a tribute?” The Jorgy Cruz film is slap-dash, and seems locked in on Wendi’s life … Continue reading →

“American Trial: The Eric Garner Story” is a righteous cause supported by a very bad idea, but a bad idea (a docu-drama) executed about as well as could be expected. The “cause” is getting us to take another look at … Continue reading →

We got a glimpse of the stage dancer’s hard, short professional life in “A Chorus Line.” But for a taste of the serious wear and tear, the brute strength, debilitating injuries and career-crushing ageism facing the women and men in … Continue reading →

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reunite for one more comic travelogue in “The Trip to Greece,” retracing the steps of the mythical Odysseus in a land steeped in history. As indeed are our co-stars — retracing ancient steps and an … Continue reading →

Sometimes, I swear, it’s like the creators of these limited-run series are paid per minute of screen time that they convince the streamer to give them to tell their story. A woman learns that her beloved brother — missing for … Continue reading →

  The unalloyed delight in dropping into “Tommy” 45 years after it cinemas is hearing and seeing Jack Nicholson sing (respectably on key) and vamp his way through “Go to the Mirror!” Only Ken Russell (“The Music Lovers,” “Altered States,” … Continue reading →

Writer-director Karen Maine’s first gained notice with the short film that became the feature “Obvious Child,” a comedy about an abortion. So a movie about a Catholic schoolgirl’s intellectual and sexual awakening during the AOL era is pretty tame stuff, … Continue reading →

Actress/actor turned director Lynn Shelton, whose “Humpday,” “Your Sister’s Sister” and “Laggies” helped define to chatty/semi-improvised subgenre called “mumblecore” by some, has died. A blood illness, undisclosed, took her at a far-too-young 54. That’s her with “Mumblecore” Godfather Mark Duplass, … Continue reading →

We’ve probably lost our ability to be shocked by allegations of sexual abuse that turn out to be true. The American statistics are staggering — one our of four girls are molested before they turn 18, one out of six … Continue reading →

“The Vast of Night” is a mystery wrapped in an enigma and boxed up in an homage to “The Twilight Zone.” It’s a beautiful, gloomy and nostalgic film whose “The truth is OUT there” answers may be obvious, and whose … Continue reading →