Author Archives
Josh Lasser is a freelance entertainment reporter/critic. His work has appeared in print, online, and perhaps one day in book form.
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Movie Review: “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
I would be lying if I say to you that I have fully worked out what is truly taking place in Charlie Kaufman’s new film, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” I have ideas and suspicions and am on my way… Read More ›
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Russell Crowe and the GOP: “Unhinged”
The idea of a movie, just any old movie, opening up in theaters shouldn’t be novel. There was a time when we got new movies in theaters every single week. Then, we allowed a megalomaniacal individual to run amok in… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Bill & Ted Face the Music”
About 30 minutes after watching “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” I sat down to watch it again. After my first go through, I was unsure how I felt about the movie. Usually when this happens, I start writing my… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
My favorite filmic version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is the one with The Muppets. Fabulously presented, the whole thing unfolds so as to not only offer up the story and insights into the nature of humanity, but contains… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “You Cannot Kill David Arquette”
Not every documentary can necessarily be believed. By their very nature, a documentary claims a certain amount of nonfiction status, but claiming that status and actually being nonfiction are two wholly different things. It would not surprise me in any… Read More ›
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A Streaming Pickle
Are there some movies which exist as streaming originals that one can’t imagine ever having hit a movie theater? Undoubtedly. But, are some of them utterly fantastic? Unequivocally. This week we examine just what that means as we discuss HBOMax’s… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Stage Mother” (2020)
The new film “Stage Mother,” directed by Thom Fitzgerald with a script from Brad Joseph Hennig is one of those movies which may be obvious and stilted and all too easy, but which still manages some level of success. The… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Endless” (2020)
Every once in a while—happily only a once in a great while—I come across a movie which is, for lack of a more descriptive term (we’ll get to that exploration later), bad, but, which also fails to engender anger. Perhaps… Read More ›
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“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” vs. Season Two
I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” the Amazon streaming show based on the literary character. I also quite enjoyed the second season, which is now out on Blu-ray, but it wasn’t perfect. This week’s podcast… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Secret Garden” (2020)
There are many films which leave themselves open to interpretation. Depending on the interpretation one takes, a film can either be enjoyable or disappointing. Watching the new adaptation of “The Secret Garden,” my viewpoint on the movie made it an… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Out Stealing Horses”
Earlier this summer, I wrote about a movie where Stellan Skarsgård puts in a brief appearance. I noted that the movie was gorgeous and well-considered. I also talked about how it was desperately bleak and how I had no desire… Read More ›
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Will Addison of “Easy Does It” on the American Dream
On today’s podcast we have director Will Addison. He’s got a new film on demand called “Easy Does It,” which looks at a couple of (bad) robbers as they pursue their version of the American Dream. Over the course of… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Summerland”
There is an interesting question posed by “Summerland” at the outset of writer/director Jessica Swale’s film. We initially meet Alice (played by Penelope Wilton) in 1975. Disturbed from her writing by some kids raising money, she yells at them and… Read More ›
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Stop. Assess. Correct.
Out this week on Blu-ray is HBO’s “The Outsider.” Out last week is the classic comedy, “Airplane!” Both of these offer up perfect examples of what we do too irregularly in this world — stop, assess, and correct. You may… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Rental”
For whatever reason, we have to suffer through horrible fiction tropes across multiple types of media, things that make no sense and yet keep popping up over and over again. One trope that I find particularly heinous is, “no, we… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Most Wanted” (2020)
Some films, even if one knows nothing else about them, are quite clearly based on a true story. Every element of story structure screams it. This does not, in and of itself, make a work good or bad, it is… Read More ›
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“Clueless” and “Trolls: World Tour” – Movies Turned to 11
Turning 25 years old this summer is “Clueless,” Amy Heckerling’s wonderful update to “Emma,” with Alicia Silverstone knocking it out of the park as the lead. It is a movie which may be loud and boisterous, but which uses that… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Radioactive”
Regularly when one watches a biopic, there is a written postscript which talks about what happens to the character(s) and/or their work (good or bad). “Radioactive,” a movie about Marie Curie, doesn’t eschew a few closing notes, but, wonderfully, incorporates… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Painted Bird”
There are times when I watch movies that I would consider good, or even great, but which I well and truly do not enjoy. These are movies where I recognize the prowess and artistry of those who made it, but… Read More ›
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A “Ghost” of a Podcast
Next week, Paramount is releasing a new Blu-ray of “Ghost,” the 1990 film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. That provides us the perfect opportunity to take another look at the movie. I will admit to enjoying the… Read More ›
