Hola Frida (Kadi and Vézina, 2024)
Hola Frida is a film so winsome in its conception that it is almost impossible to criticize it for perceived flaws in its execution. The Frida of the title is… Continue reading "Hola Frida (Kadi and Vézina, 2024)"
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The Trouble with Jessica (Winn, 2023)
The Trouble with Jessica presents itself as a dark comedy, even though it is more sour than dark and never particularly funny. Jessica (Indira Varma) is hardly in the movie.… Continue reading "The Trouble with Jessica (Winn, 2023)"
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The Naked Gun (Schaffer, 2025)
The Naked Gun dashes along for its first thirty minutes, eliciting more giggles and groans than guffaws, but doing so at a pace that masks how little hold its frame… Continue reading "The Naked Gun (Schaffer, 2025)"
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Jurassic World: Rebirth (Edwards, 2025)
“Did everyone who got eaten deserve it?” my wife asked as I walked through the door, returning from Jurassic World: Rebirth. After over three decades of marriage, I probably should… Continue reading "Jurassic World: Rebirth (Edwards, 2025)"
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If You Should Leave Before Me (Anderson and Anderson, 2025)
If You Should Leave Before Me has a lot of things going for it, including and especially an understated performance by Shane P. Allen as a grieving man. But like… Continue reading "If You Should Leave Before Me (Anderson and Anderson, 2025)"
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Seasoned — Pilot
Seasoned is a proposed television show based on the popularity of Mandy Patinkin’s and Kathryn Grody’s home videos on social media. The pilot episode, “Hangry,” aired in the Episodic program… Continue reading "Seasoned — Pilot"
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Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Piani, 2025)
As a longtime scholar of Jane Austen’s fiction and a self-professed snob about films derived from it, the biggest compliment I can pay to Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is… Continue reading "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Piani, 2025)"
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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Nearly everything I can think to say about Final Reckoning sounds like (and is) a criticism, so I guess I should be honest that I thought the film superbly executed… Continue reading "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning"
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Another Simple Favor (Feig, 2025)
On paper — at the pitch level — Another Simple Favor sounds like a no-brainer. Seven years out from a film that reportedly grossed 100M on a budget of 20,… Continue reading "Another Simple Favor (Feig, 2025)"
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Doubt (Shanley, 2008)
At the end of a series of interviews on the DVD for Doubt, writer/director John Patrick Shanley explains what he was trying to do in his play and its film… Continue reading "Doubt (Shanley, 2008)"