Tag Archives: movie-reviews

Movie Review: “Moana 2” is nobody’s idea of “an instant classic”

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Roger Moore

Here’s how I described Disney’s 2016 blockbuster “Moana” when it came out. “It is an instant classic, a near masterpiece and the best Disney animated film since its last Golden Age, which produced “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King.” … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Boxer readies Body and Soul for the “Day of the Fight”

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Day of the Fight” is a sentimental and soulful “fight picture,” a movie that follows a former champ through every bit of personal business he feels he has to take care of before his “comeback” that night. The actor-turned-director Jack … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Bronson Brawls and an action auteur is born — Walter Hill’s “Hard Times” (1975)

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Roger Moore

There’s a gentility about “Hard Times,” a bare-knuckle brawling drama set during the Great Depression. It’s a genre piece populated with veteran character actors playing archetypes bound by their own code, playing their parts in a story so pre-ordained that … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Struggling Siblings reconnect, or try to — “Scrap”

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Roger Moore

Thirtyish Beth smiles and gives her five-year-old daughter a squeeze. “Gremlin, you know I will always take care of you.” As we’ve heard Beth lie like she breathes, we doubt that, even if the little girl she named Barbara but … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Movie Review: Pakistan’s animated Best International Feature submission, “The Glassworker”

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Roger Moore

“The Glassworker” is a steampunk fantasy romance in the anime style. Its novelty is that it’s the first Pakistani animated film of this type, and is Pakistan’s submission to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as a contender … Continue reading →

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BOX OFFICE: “Venom” loses HALF of its fangs, “Here” is barely There, “Absolution” can’t pay for its sins

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Roger Moore

A steep drop-off for the final film of Tom Hardy’s “Venom” trilogy was always in order. These movies have sucked, and by the second weekend, the supply of filmgoers who might go plunges and “repeat business,” even for comic book … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Found Footage” gives us a glimpse of the witch they call “Beezel”

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Roger Moore

The 60 year witch-haunts-a-house story “Beezel” seems to have been kicked around a bit before Epic got hold of it and gave it a streaming release. That’s a shame, because this creepy, low-budget horror tale certainly passes the “Well, I’ve … 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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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 →

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