Tag Archives: movies

Movie Review: Beckinsale’s a CIA agent blackmailed into killing her way to “Canary Black”

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Roger Moore

The main draw of a genre film is the promise of cinematic comfort food. A faintly Byzantine plot, some solid action beats delivered by genre veterans in front of and behind the camera and a few pithy turns of phrase … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: Kinski and Herzog make each other film immortals — “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972)

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Roger Moore

A legend from history was speculated upon and two legends were made when Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski shot their breakout film, “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” in the jungles of South America with a stolen camera. This low-budget 90-minute … 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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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 →

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Movie Review: A “Gump” sized Gimmick in Search of a Movie — “Here”

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Here” is such an empty cinematic experience that it summons up everything you ever hated about a Robert Zemeckis movie and the Zemeckis “style.” An Oscar winner with enduring classics scattered across his resume — “Cast Away,” “Back to the … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Liam in Winter — “Absolution”

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Roger Moore

Any grace notes 70something Liam Neeson brings to his aging and about to become infirm man of action in “Absolution” are pretty much overwhelmed by cliches, loose ends and overreaches in a sloppily pieced-together screenplay. Character motivation and the hasty … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: More Teased than Terrified by What’s Behind that “Cellar Door”

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Cellar Door” is an attempt at the thriller-as-parable, a suspenseful story about a troubled couple tested by temptation and the ugly “answers” they might find by peeking behind that which they’ve been warned to never open, the cellar door of … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Martial artist attacks like a “Bangkok Dog”

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Roger Moore

There’s a charismatic theatricality to the way stuntman, actor and martial artist D.Y. Sao lands a blow and makes sure to give us his best Bruce Lee Face as he does. That skill, and his fists and feet of fury … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Ralph Fiennes tries to Herd Back-Stabbing Archbishops through a Papal “Conclave”

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Roger Moore

A pope dies and over 100 of his archbishops gather to politic, poor-mouth, backbite and backstab their way towards electing another in “Conclave,” a deliciously dark, well-acted and beautifully-filmed inside-Vatican-intrigues thriller. Director Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Actress fights cancer, heartbreak and career setbacks, including “Your Monster”

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Roger Moore

What manner of miscalculated meshuggagh mashup is this? “Your Monster” is a “personal demons” rom-com take on “Beauty and the Beast,” one with the beast willing to offer to “eat” the creep who jilted fair Laura when she was diagnosed … Continue reading →

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