7 Women and a Murder (2021)
Filmmaker(s): Alessandro Genovesi
When the family patriarch is murdered, seven women find themselves trapped together in his mansion to solve the mystery.
29 Sep Wolfs (2024)
Sundance Sundown One of the advantages of age is that I’ve seen older films when they were new. If you consider film viewing as at least a craft — as I do — then it matters that you are able to bring the personal anchoring...
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
The King vs. The King of the Dead.
Filmmaker(s): Don Coscarelli
Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death," then missed his chance to switch back. He must team up with JFK and fight an ancient Egyptian mummy for the souls of their fellow residents.
28 Sep Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
The Singing Detective For those who don’t know it, ‘The Singing Detective’ was the only decent thing I know that TeeVee has produced. It was one of those longish movies they call a miniseries. It featured a man in a hospital who imagined himself to...
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (2011- )
Up to their new tricks.
Illusionists Penn & Teller throw down the gauntlet to aspiring magicians to perform their most mystifying trick - and fool Penn and Teller. Penn & Teller have no prior knowledge of either the performers or the planned trick. They sit in the audience just like everyone else, watching every move the guest magicians make. If any illusionist fools the professionals, they win a five star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's world famous show at the Rio Hotel & Casino.
21 Aug Penn & Teller: Fool Us (2011- )
Game Changing I think I have seen most of the episodes of this, all out of order. There really is nothing like it in my experience. It is reality TV, while being stage performances. It has several different personalities as focus, but shifts to our...
The Instigators (2024)
Worst. Heist. Ever.
Filmmaker(s): Doug Liman
Rory and Cobby are unlikely partners thrown together for a heist. But when it goes awry, they team up to outrun police, backward bureaucrats, and a vengeful crime boss.
15 Aug The Instigators (2024)
Boston Underachievers Here’s what I think happened. These sorts of films are all about the characters, and some substantial part of that is either the skill of the actor, or whether the actor is more or less like the character. Willis, McQueen, Newman, Bogart, Wayne...
The Love Witch (2016)
She loved men... to death
Filmmaker(s): Anna Biller
A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, with deadly consequences.
09 Aug The Love Witch (2016)
Faces, Drapes This is much celebrated by the critics, most of whom I am sure never saw the referenced films when they were new. It rides a wave, I suppose of feminist films that can use ‘the gaze’ to their advantage. If you have not...
Despicable Me (2010)
Some call him bad. They call him dad.
Filmmaker(s): Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Villainous Gru lives up to his reputation as a despicable, deplorable and downright unlikable guy when he hatches a plan to steal the moon from the sky. But he has a tough time staying on task after three orphans land in his care.
07 Jul Despicable Me (2010)
Foreground/Background I see that I did not write a comment on this when it came out. I have since had kids and rewatched it recently, and am impressed by a couple key decisions. The first is the quality of the animation and choices made in...
Pitch Perfect (2012)
Get pitch slapped.
Filmmaker(s): Jason Moore
College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.
06 Jul Pitch Perfect (2012)
Packaged Energy I recall watching ‘Fame’ when it came out. It surely was not the first film that was a performance about a performance with a personal quest overlain. But it was the first in my film life. There have since been hundreds of these...
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)
Filmmaker(s): Mike Mitchell
Po is gearing up to become the spiritual leader of his Valley of Peace, but also needs someone to take his place as Dragon Warrior. As such, he will train a new kung fu practitioner for the spot and will encounter a villain called the Chameleon who conjures villains from the past.
01 Jul Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)
Green Noodle of Wisdom There are three interwoven stories in this edition, which for apparent cost savings does not have the furious five. So this is a one-hero show. The dominant thread is the father-son story. I guess I can understand why this so deeply...
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Make room for new emotions.
Filmmaker(s): Kelsey Mann
Teenager Riley's mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
