The TV and Film Guy's Reviews

Recent Posts - page 2

• Timelessness and “West Side Story”

  By Josh Lasser on April 26, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  You can’t necessarily control your initial reaction to something — there’s a level of programming/instinct in there you can’t always instantaneously short circuit.  What you can do, however, is reassess after that knee-jerk response. On this week’s podcast, we talk… Read More ›

• “Marry Me” may not be Deep, but it Succeeds

  By Josh Lasser on April 12, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  There is a certain inescapable affability to the Jennifer Lopez-Owen Wilson film, “Marry Me.”  The whole thing is a tale of two people who lead very different lives falling in love, and though love is undeniably important, the stakes in… Read More ›

• The Beauty of Branagh’s High Gloss Hercule Poirot

  By Josh Lasser on April 5, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  It may have been delayed by Covid, but Kenneth Branagh’s second Hercule Poirot film, “Death on the Nile,” was in theaters earlier this year and is out today on Blu-ray and streaming.  That makes this this the perfect moment to… Read More ›

• “Ordinary People” and Three-Dimensional Characters

  By Josh Lasser on March 29, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  I read or heard or was told a while back something that struck me. Essentially it’s that we see ourselves in shades of gray that we fail to recognize in others. We understand better than anyone else (even if not… Read More ›

• The Beautiful Dream that is “Nightmare Alley”

  By Josh Lasser on March 22, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  I do not love everything that Guillermo del Toro touches.  I’ll admit that.  There is something in the way so many of his tales unfold that does not work for me.  What I will tell though is this, he is… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “The Outfit” (2022)

  By Josh Lasser on March 17, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  “You had me at hello.” Renée Zellwegger’s line from “Jerry Maguire” has become something of a punchline (maybe it was a punchline from the moment the film came out), but there is still truth in there. Sometimes, from the moment… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “John and the Hole”

  By Josh Lasser on March 15, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Is there a reason for it? Even if we don’t know why someone in a movie acts in a specific manner, or takes a specific action, does the character have a reason for taking the action? If the answer is… Read More ›

• “The King’s Man” and How I’m the Problem

  By Josh Lasser on March 8, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  The third entry in the “Kingsman” franchise, “The King’s Man,” is now out on Blu-ray and digital.  To say that I’m disappointed by it is both true and yet somehow misses the mark.  Yes, what we have here is another example… Read More ›

• “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” and Never Just Being Happy

  By Josh Lasser on March 1, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Gone is the Paul W.S. Anderson version of “Resident Evil,” or at the very least, it’s been relegated to the shadows as the Johannes Roberts directed “Resident Evil:  Welcome to Raccoon City” has now reinvigorated the franchise. Out now on… Read More ›

• “Summer of Soul” and Winters of Discomfort

  By Josh Lasser on February 22, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  The Oscar nominated documentary from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, “Summer of Soul,” is currently available on digital and DVD.  It is a film which looks at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and the world in which the concert series took place…. Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Dog” (2022)

  By Josh Lasser on February 18, 2022 • ( 6 )

  

  You have almost undoubtedly heard the saying, “Chocolate and peanut butter — two great tastes that go great together.” Reese’s wasn’t wrong, the peanut butter cup is delicious, but there’s something important there in that idea at the saying’s core… Read More ›

• “Wayne’s Word” Parties on 30 Years Later

  By Josh Lasser on February 15, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  “Wayne’s World,” that “Saturday Night Live” sketch turned feature film series is celebrating an anniversary this year.  Yes, the first of the two movies featuring Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar is now 30 years old.  Naturally, there’s a new Blu-ray… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Blacklight” (2022)

  By Josh Lasser on February 10, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Liam Neeson, as we always note, has a very particular set of skills. It isn’t just Neeson’s on screen characters that do, it’s the man himself. The actor has the ability to portray aging killers with a heart of gold… Read More ›

• The Indie Family Drama that is Marvel’s “Eternals”

  By Josh Lasser on February 8, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  It is all too easy to sit there and get angry at the superhero genre for taking over the box office.  It is all too easy to shake your fist at what the MCU has done to the world.  But,… Read More ›

• Singing the Praises of “Encanto”

  By Josh Lasser on February 1, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  There is so much to love about “Encanto.” This is a film filled with great performances and tremendous songs. It is fun and funny. But, at its core, this is a movie that explores what it means to truly reveal… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Sundown” (2022)

  By Josh Lasser on January 27, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Some movies are stuffed to the gills, packed with quick cuts and a constantly shifting camera, overloaded with dialogue and characters and plot twist after plot twist. There is often a sense with such a film that they are trying… Read More ›

• Loving “Juice” but Struggling for Podcast Ideas

  By Josh Lasser on January 25, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Normally when I sit down to watch a movie for a podcast, the idea of what that episode is going to be about strikes me as I watch. It hits like a bolt of lightning. However, that doesn’t always occur… Read More ›

• “The Last Duel” and the (Continued) Rise of Streaming

  By Josh Lasser on January 18, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  While it was always true that great movies didn’t necessarily find the appropriate reception at the box office, now, with the rise of streaming and a seemingly unending pandemic, we believe that we’re seeing a growing shift in how movies… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania”

  By Josh Lasser on January 13, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  Although some of the advertising promises for “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” to be the final “Hotel Transylvania” film, such an inducement did not, apparently, convince Adam Sandler to return as the voice of Dracula. Yes, after three entries in the series,… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Italian Studies”

  By Josh Lasser on January 11, 2022 • ( 0 )

  

  As the end credits roll in writer-director Adam Leon’s new film, “Italian Studies,” the character played by Vanessa Kirby is given the name “Alina Reynolds.” She does go by this name for a little while in the movie, but until… Read More ›

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