Author Archives: Roger Moore

Dev Patel has the title role, and Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw are among the many many Great Brits peopling this Armando Iannucci (“In the Loop,””Death of Stalin”) dance through Dickens. “The Personal History of David … Continue reading →

For a screen romance to work, we have to believe in the couple. Why are they together? Why are they fated to be together? “Operator” is a love story that doesn’t explain that away in a flash. The film makes … Continue reading →

The standard rule of thumb is that film is a director’s medium and TV belongs to producers. The theater? It belongs the writer and the actor. “Camera Store” is a film that feels like a play. It’s littered with showy … Continue reading →

So, it’s about elvish teens in an elvish suburbia who are gifted with a wizard’s staff which might bring their late father back, but only delivers half of him. A “Weekend at Bernie’s” road trip ensues. I dunno about this.

It’s daft, but not nearly daft enough. The guys who made Seth Rogen’s “Sausage Party” directed the new animated “The Addams Family,” but there’s little of that anarchy here and (thankfully) none of the vulgarity. MGM/UA and Vancouver’s Cinesite animation studio … Continue reading →

Never ever should the many ask, “How, if I may ask, did the parents die?” Any more than one asks “What happened to the LAST nanny?” January chills from scary scary kids. Mackenzie Davis is the nanny, Finn Wolfhard and … Continue reading →

Anthony Hopkins as scandal-ignoring Anglicized German Pope Benedict, Jonathan Pryce as a most English take on the Argentine Pope Francis. Fernando Meirelles of “City of God” directed this two-hander, which seems to have the polish and the pedigree to be … Continue reading →

However cartoonist Charles Addams is remembered, it’s the 1960s TV series based on his work that has real cultural currency. That show, starring Sean Astin’s dad, bug-eyed John Astin, Carolyn Jones and Jackie Coogan, inspired the hilarious 1990s Barry Sonenfeld … Continue reading →

The short answer is “No, it’s not ‘Netflixable.’” The novelty of sampling the work of “Nollywood,” Nigeria’s lively film industry, of seeing the rare film (in the West) that looks at the country from an insider’s point of view, wears … Continue reading →

The Colorado cut-ups wade into the whole NBA/Winnie the Pooh censorship controversy in China, and take the hit for it from the One Party “Republic.” Tonight at 10, we’ll see what frightens the Winnie the Pooh overlord so very much. … Continue reading →