Tag Archives: film

Movie Review: Jackie Chan finds fun in his “Panda Plan”

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Roger Moore

In “Panda Plan,” Jackie Chan finally remembers that there’s nothing sadder and more boring than an aged action star who turns to endless gunplay in his fragile, creaky-joints dotage. It’s a rough and tumble martial arts comedy of the sort … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Classic Film Review: Damon, Norton, Famke, Turturro and Landau deal the cards — “Rounders” (1998)

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Roger Moore

The knock on “Rounders” (1998) was always that it was, to quote a review or two at the time of its release, “lazy.” It’s a genre pic, gamblers’ ups and downs as one (Matt Damon) tries to focus on law … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? Laura and Liam visit Travel Guide Morocco — “Lonely Planet”

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Roger Moore

With Diane and Bruce as my witnesses, I swear I never thought I’d see Oscar winner Laura Dern in a movie as empty and pointless as “Lonely Planet.” But Susannah Grant, the screenwriter of “Erin Brockovich” and “The Soloist,” took … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Movie Review: “Rumours” of a G-7…zombie assault?

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Roger Moore

When the zombie apocalypse comes, the political animals leading the Western democracies will be powerless to stop it. That’s the big message of “Rumours,” a dry, fitfully amusing horror satire of the ineffectual, word-parsing diplomat-speech of G-7 leadership in the … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Kinnaman’s a cop who goes Deaf and Faces his most Perilous Case — “The Silent Hour”

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Roger Moore

I swear, there must be an “example” screenplay in every film school’s Screenwriting 201 textbook, one with “dirty cops” who must be overcome, outsmarted and above all else SUSPECTED in a thriller that hopes to deliver a second or third … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Gable, Gardner and Grace switch partners on Safari — “Mogambo” (1953)

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Roger Moore

Every classic film fan has her or his go-to stars, just as film fans did back when the movies were young, or stepping into middle age. I’ll watch most anything with Bogart and/or Bacall, William Powell, Gary Cooper, Joel McRea, … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Ronan makes an Oscar “Outrun” to the Orkney Islands for Immersion in Addiction and Recovery

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Roger Moore

Few movies about getting sober are as brilliant at conveying the allure of drowning, wallowing in alcohol, the emotional and physical liberation it seems to offer, as “The Outrun.” And rare is the story told within this most personal of … Continue reading →

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Netflixable? Hapless Swede gets in “Trouble” with Criminals, Convicts and Cops in this Comic Thriller

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Roger Moore

A good comic thriller knows how to frustrate the viewer in all the best ways — creating suspense through a collection of close shaves, near misses and moments when the heroine or hero “almost” gets away. A bad comic thriller … Continue reading →

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