Tag Archives: movies

Classic Film Review: Jeremy Irons leads a Polish Home Renovation in 1980s London — “Moonlighting” (1982)

A cut-rate Polish work crew slips into wintry 1981 London to do an off-the-books home renovation in “Moonlighting,” Jerzy Skolimowski’s droll and intimate comment on capitalism, the collapse of communism and the horrors of cut-rate home repair. It’s one of … Continue reading

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Movie Review: The terror and heartbreak of life under a dictatorship — the Oscar-contending “I’m Still Here”

A mother and father contemplate sending their oldest daughter to London to study. It’s 1970 and the family lives in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has been under a military dictatorship for years. the daughter is college age, rebellious, and the … Continue reading

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Netflixable? Amy Schumer toys with being “Kinda Pregnant”

It seem unfair that Amy Schumer‘s moment as America’s resident vulgarian and Queen of Crude has passed. We barely remember she was the Oscars hostess the night Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, that “Trainwreck” came out ten years ago and … Continue reading

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Movie Review: V-Day Romance Slathered with Slaughter — “Heart Eyes”

A clever-enough conceit, engaging leads and a masked villain of the Jason/Michael Myers/”Scream” variety might be enough to recommend “Heart Eyes,” a “rom com for Valentine’s Day” for the splatter film crowd. Hey, everybody needs a “date movie,” right? It’s … Continue reading

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Classic Film Review: Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy in a Rodeo Love Triangle by Nicholas Ray — “The Lusty Men” (1952)

Which classic film to watch on a chilly Sunday afternoon often comes down to a coin toss for me. Does the day have a ’40s, ’50s melodrama vibe? That usually means it’s Douglas Sirk or Nicholas Ray time. And if … Continue reading

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Movie Review: It’s a wedding, and Reese, Celia, Meredith, Geraldine and Will say “You’re Cordially Invited,” Y’all

“Commitment” is a cornerstone of the marriage contract. And it’s damned important in a romantic comedy about marriages as well. Say this for the cast of writer-director Nicholas Stoller’s “You’re Cordially Invited.” These kids — and Will Ferrell and Reese … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Combat at Its most Cliched — “Valiant One”

The bar was raised on combat films decades ago. Corny, tactically sloppy flag-wavers no longer cut the mustard. And thanks to the most documentary filmed in history — Iraq and Afghanistan — it’s not just the feature films that made … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Liam and Colm, Ciarán and Kerry “In the Land of Saints and Sinners”

“In the Land of Saints and Sinners” is an embarrassment of riches, a forlorn thriller cast with many of the greatest Irish character actors of their generation and featuring the cream of the next generation of Irish leading ladies. Of … Continue reading

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Classic Film Review: Sam Fuller’s Red Scare Noir, “Pickup on South Street” (1953)

The movies used to sentimentalize mobsters, especially during “the Wars” — WWII and the Cold one that followed. They might be cutthroats, thieves, lowlife grifters and rummies. But when it came to fascists and commies, flesh and blood threats to … Continue reading

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Documentary Review — “Liza: A Truly Terrific, Absolutely True Story” lets a Darling Diva Have Her Say

The public has always cut Liza Minnelli a lot of slack. Her stunning talent, trouper’s work ethic and relentlessly upbeat showwomanship pretty much demanded it. And adorable “openness” about her life, her many loves, trials, failings and burdens can seem … Continue reading

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