Tag Archives: film

Movie Review: A Twee Parable for the Age of the Oligarch — “The Phoenician Scheme”

When he’s “on,” Wes Anderson’s films are giddy, deadpan delights, sparkling with wit and touching in the vulnerable and comically absurd human foibles they celebrate. But when he’s “off,” brace yourself for 100 minutes of production-designed preciousness, airless laughs that … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Pull your punches, Tiny Dancer — “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina”

Lionsgate has spent a couple of years making damned sure we knew their “Ballerina” Ana de Armas action vehicle was a John Wick spinoff. All those trailers and commercials, hyping this thing — that cumbersome to the point of desperate … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Bring Her Back” — Horror One Suffers Through rather than Relishes

It’s not a blanket condemnation to say I could not wait for “Bring Her Back,” the excruciating new film from the co-directors of “Talk to Me,” to come to an end. One can recognize its unflinching, grisly details and unsparing … Continue reading →

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Movie Review — “Karate Kid: Legends,” down for the Count

Let’s call the standing — or flat on its back — ten count on the “Karate Kid” movies after “Karate Kid: Legends.” Sentimental father figure martial arts revenge dramas frosted with the honor and code of the Asian fighting arts … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Aloha” means “Why Bother?” with this remake of “Lilo & Stitch”

The latest Disney remake of an animated classic makes “Lilo & Stitch” more Hawaiian and less cartoonish. The former might be a big deal, in terms of getting Hawaian culture right and advertising the island paradise-state to tourists. But the … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Brando goes Godfather one last time for “The Freshman” (1990)

Brando skates! Maximillian Schell sings! Brando kisses Broderick! Bert Parks croons Dylan! And most amazingly of all, no wildlife, or actors, were actually harmed in the making of “The Freshman,” an old-fashioned PG-rated romp from 1990. Well, maybe the writer-director … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? A Return to “Fear Street” for a dull and forgettable “Prom Night”

Return we now to “Fear Street,” where R.L. Stine set up shop to appeal to older kid readers and which Netflix dove into for not one or two, but a three film series four years ago. The first three films … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “A Hard Place,” aka “The Evil Dead” by the Humorless and Uninspired

The biggest names in the indie horror flick “A Hard Place” are Bai Ling from “The Crow” and Glenn Plummer, who attained screen immortality with his turn in “Showgirls.” So it’s fitting that they get off easy. They’re the recognizable … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: A Dark Comedy of Class, Gimmicks and Great Critical Repute — “Kind Hearts and Coronets”

It is remembered for the grand stunt of casting the great Alec Guinness as eight members of a largely imperious and callous noble family, and making each so distint as to erase the label “gimmick” from what became a quintessential … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Against the Clock,” aka “Headlock” traps Agron in a Polish Joke

The lengths some guys will go to in order to get Dianna Agron to make out with them. The first-time I paid attention to Mark Polish of the filmmaking Polish Twins (with brother Michael Polish) was when “Twin Falls, Idaho,” … Continue reading →

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