Tag Archives: Reviews

Movie Review: Don Johnson REALLY wants what’s in storage “Unit 234”

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Roger Moore

It’s got a “name” or used to be “name” cast, a compact setting, a twisty plot and the director of “Sweet Home Alabama” behind the camera. “Unit 234” has the makings of a gritty B-movie that makes the most of … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Kirby Howell-Baptiste is our Tour Guide among “We Strangers”

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Roger Moore

A hint of the inscrutable can do service to any film in any genre, and it pays off some surprising ways in “We Strangers,” an oddball domestic dramedy about a “domestic” and the dizzy white folks who hire her. Veteran … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: “Detour” (1945), still as Noir as Film Noir Gets

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Roger Moore

“That’s life,” the anti-hero of “Detour” growls in voice-over. “Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.” Hardboiled, archetype-upending and gorgeous in its bare-bones minimalism, “Detour” is quintessential film noir. “The Maltese Falcon” preceded it and … Continue reading →

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Rob Reiner: 1947-2025

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Roger Moore

Like most people I’d care to know, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle this past weekend in Los Angeles. It’s the sort of crime that makes one leap to … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Tasty Tangled Web — “Sew Torn”

Posted on December 14, 2025 by Roger Moore

I once covered the first day of the first class of a brand new film school. Directing students were learning how to rehearse a scene with actors, and one of them finished his turn running the set when he asked … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Adrift in the Working Class Underbelly of Oz — “Flathead”

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Flathead” is an Australian docudrama peek into the country’s hidden-in-plain-sight underclass. It takes its title from a popular fish Down Under, one of the foodstuffs we see processed, picked, packed and prepared by the migratory workers of many cultures, a … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Slovenia’s Hope for an Oscar? Catholic Choral “Little Trouble Girls”

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Little Trouble Girls” is a conventional girls’ coming-of-age tale whose clever twist is equating sexual awakening with spiritual awakening, at least in the eyes and ears of an impressionable teen. Slovenia’s bid for a Best International Feature Film Oscar covers … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Beloved Child Inspires a Grand Tragedy — “Hamnet”

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Roger Moore

The greatest play in the English language was born of father and mother’s wrenching loss of their firstborn son. That’s the premise of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel “Hamnet,” now turned into an intimate Chloé Zhao period piece about a child’s … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Taipei’s a Challenge for a young “Left Handed Girl”

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Roger Moore

The team that made the American underclass gems “Take Out,” “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project” turn their eyes to Tapei for their latest, a story of a child growing up in economic hardship and family dysfunction in the anything-for-sale markets … Continue reading →

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Classic Film Review: McDowell, Warner and Steenburgen Travel with H.G. Wells — “Time After Time” (1979)

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Roger Moore

The acid test for any beloved film from the past is “How does it hold up?” In the case of the sentimental crowd-pleasing “Time After Time” from 1979, the answer is “pretty well.” I remember being almost giddy leaving the … Continue reading →

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