Tag Archives: comedy

Classic Film Review: Chaplin’s ode to a Dying Corner of Comedy — “Limelight”

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Roger Moore

Memory is a merciful thing when it comes movies. We remember the grand moments in films, the signature bits, and much of what’s less moving, entertaining or important just drifts away. Charlie Chaplin had become Charles Chaplin long before “Limelight,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Classic Film Review: Chaplin’s ode to a Dying Corner of Comedy — “Limelight”

Movie Review: An Old West Sheriff sees Dead People — “Ghosts of Red Ridge”

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Ghosts of Red Ridge” is a low-budget Western that tries to be a ghost story. It’s not anything to write home about in either genre. There’s some nice lived-in detail in the locations, the dusty, dirty costumes and almost-colorful characters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: An Old West Sheriff sees Dead People — “Ghosts of Red Ridge”

Classic Film Review: Looking for Lean Laughs from “Blithe Spirit” (1945)

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Roger Moore

The shifting sands of editor-turned-director David Lean‘s career took him through early adaptations of Noël Coward scripts, included some definitive adaptations of Charles Dickens and eventually settled on the sweeping epics which is he best known for today — “Bridge … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Classic Film Review: Looking for Lean Laughs from “Blithe Spirit” (1945)

Classic Film Review: Lemmon and Allyson remake “It Happened One Night” — as a musical — “You Can’t Run Away from It” (1956)

Posted on November 19, 2024 by Roger Moore

“You Can’t Run Away from It” is a comic curiosity from the early career of Jack Lemmon, a musical filmed when studios were scrambling to lure filmgoers away from TV and when musicals were so overexposed — “The King and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Classic Film Review: Lemmon and Allyson remake “It Happened One Night” — as a musical — “You Can’t Run Away from It” (1956)

Classic Film Review: A Little Romance, a Touch of Class, and Class Warfare — “The Philadelphia Story” (1940)

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Roger Moore

It begins with a screwball tease — a couple, wordlessly breaking up, climaxing with the husband maniacally grabbing the wife by the forehead and shoving her back through the door and onto the floor. But even though the wife is … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Classic Film Review: A Little Romance, a Touch of Class, and Class Warfare — “The Philadelphia Story” (1940)

Movie Review: Buster Keaton in a “Minions” comedy by Terry Gilliam? “Hundreds of Beavers”

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Roger Moore

We tend to think of slapstick comedy gag writing as a lost art. It didn’t die along with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but its most acclaimed practioners these days are in animation, heirs to the Chuck Jones/Looney Tunes tradition. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: Buster Keaton in a “Minions” comedy by Terry Gilliam? “Hundreds of Beavers”

Movie Review: A mourning comedy becomes Thai travelogue? There’s a “Cautionary Tale

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Roger Moore

In the cinema, there are dramedies and tragi-comedies, and whatever the heck the indie “Cautionary Tale” turns out to be. It begins as a funny dark comedy about two men bickering over the ashes of their loved ones. Neil (Ted … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: A mourning comedy becomes Thai travelogue? There’s a “Cautionary Tale

Movie Review: Elijah Wood, trapped in the New Zealand wilderness with a “Bookworm”

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Bookworm” is a quirky Kiwi comedy that pairs-up The Once and Future Hobbit Elijah Wood with an eleven year-old girl in the wilds of his old stomping grounds, New Zealand. It’s a generally warm, kid-friendly adventure with tiny bits of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: Elijah Wood, trapped in the New Zealand wilderness with a “Bookworm”

Movie Review: How did we Ever get through a Weekend without “Saturday Night” Live?

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Roger Moore

As history, “Saturday Night” is the ultimate exercise in “OK, Boomer” nostalgia for “the first generation to grow up on TV.” As entertainment, Jason Reitman’s putting-on-a-show comedy about the chaotic 1975 opening night of “Saturday Night Live” is a breathless … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: How did we Ever get through a Weekend without “Saturday Night” Live?

Documentary Review: “Will & Harper” take a Road Trip to test America’s Transgender Tolerance

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Roger Moore

What was “the pitch” for “Will & Harper” like? This road trip documentary about two longtime friends and colleagues getting together after one has transitioned is sweet as can be, but it’s “showbiz” all the way. Will Ferrell met Andrew … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Documentary Review: “Will & Harper” take a Road Trip to test America’s Transgender Tolerance