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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“The Catcher was a Spy” and Pretty Good
People lament the lack of movies that aren’t reboots or sequels or new films in a larger franchise, but here’s the thing — original stuff still exists, you might just actually have to look for it. Out this week on… Read More ›
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New York Film Festival Review: “Ash is Purest White”
Following the New York Film Festival screening of Jia Zhang-Ke’s “Ash is Purest White,” I have spent a lot of time contemplating exactly what the title means. There is a discussion in the movie between Qiao (Zhao Tao) and her… Read More ›
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New York Film Festival Review: “Long Day’s Journey into Night”
About halfway through the New York Film Festival screening of “A Long Day’s Journey into Night,” I put on my 3D glasses. No, I hadn’t arrived late for the show, the glasses hadn’t fallen off my head, nor did I… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Night School” (2018)
The new Kevin Hart-Tiffany Haddish comedy, “Night School,” is carefully calculated to create laughs, and it succeeds. Laughs are plentiful in the film. But, they are also cheap and unmemorable. More than anything else, “Night School” feels like an amusing,… Read More ›
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New York Film Festival Review: “Non-Fiction”
Written and directed by Oliver Assayas and showing at this year’s New York Film Festival, “Non-Fiction” is a wonderfully funny, smart, bit of filmmaking. It is a movie able to offer snippets of life and some wonderful thoughts on the… Read More ›
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“Solo: A Star Wars Story” Isn’t so Solo After All
A love “Star Wars” movies, but I find them hard to talk about. As I say in this podcast, that isn’t about the fanbase, but rather my own complicated feelings about the franchise. I want as many good movies as… Read More ›
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New York Film Festival 2018 Review: “Wildlife”
There is a certain level of craftsmanship to “Wildlife,” which is showing at this year’s New York Film Festival. The movie takes place in 1960 Montana and focuses on the Brinson family. Father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal); Mother, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan);… Read More ›
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New York Film Festival 2018 Review: “Her Smell”
The story of the rock star who, due to drugs and alcohol, falls from grace is certainly nothing new. The fact that it has been done before, however, doesn’t stop the incredible impact of writer-director Alex Ross Perry’s “Her Smell,”… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Tea with the Dames”
Roger Ebert said (or, perhaps, wrote), “No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.” Knowing that, please also know that I lament the fact that “Tea with the Dames” barely cracks 80 minutes. Directed by Roger… Read More ›
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All the Jack Ryans Under the Sun
Last year at New York Comic Con, I covered the panel on the then upcoming Jack Ryan Amazon Prime series featuring John Krasinski. This past August, nearly a year later, the series has hit whatever the equivalent of the airwaves… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Final Score”
Movies featuring terrorist plots, necessarily, require a place for said plot to unfold. As in real life, the bigger and more scary the potential disaster, the more panic that can be created amongst the crowds within the film, the higher… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Predator”
What does a “Predator” movie look like when the Predator is all too often irrelevant to the proceedings? Well, you can see for yourself on Friday with the release of the Shane Black directed “The Predator.” To be sure, that… Read More ›
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“Tucker: The Man and his Dream” vs Reality
Being a dreamer is a good thing. Wait, no, check that. Being a dreamer can be a good thing, it isn’t automatically one. There is a point at which the rubber must meet the road, and in the Francis Ford… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Peppermint” (2018)
Jennifer Garner’s abilities as an action hero have been known to the public since she first starred on “Alias” more than 15 years ago. Watching her return to a role that requires that sort of physicality is unquestionably the best… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Let the Corpses Tan”
It is easy to understand the basic story outline for “Let the Corpses Tan,” a French language film opening in select cities this week. It is an armored car heist gone bad sort of affair. Or, more accurately, the heist… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “The Happytime Murders”
In “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” Kermit the Frog gets amnesia. Not remembering who he is, Kermit creates a new identity, Phillip Phil, and he enters the world of advertising where he comes up with the unique idea to simply tell… Read More ›
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A Modern Take on Horror
Writer/director Owen Egerton stops by the Lass is More podcast this week to talk about his newest movie, “Blood Fest.” A meta take on horror, the movie takes place at a horror movie festival gone totally wrong and comes out… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Support the Girls”
Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, “Support the Girls” largely takes place in a Hooters-esque establishment. That is, the waitresses are scantily clad and the majority of people who dine there, the supposition goes, are there to ogle the women,… Read More ›
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Movie Review: “Mile 22”
Director Peter Berg is an absolute wonder with his filming of action sequences. They become almost living things, causing the viewer’s heart to race and adrenaline to surge. They are bloody and brutal and even when something over the top… Read More ›
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“Book Club” Goes Gimmicky with “50 Shades” Bit
There is nothing necessarily wrong with “50 Shades of Grey.” That is, I don’t have a problem with the subject material even if I’m not enthused by the way it’s handled. There is also nothing wrong with women of a… Read More ›
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