The TV and Film Guy's Reviews

Recent Posts - page 21

• Movie Review: “47 Meters Down: Uncaged”

  By Josh Lasser on August 14, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Much like “Jaws” before it, the shark-based horror film “47 Meters Down” may seem like an unlikely candidate for a sequel and yet, just like “Jaws,” it continues past the first film.  We now have a second entry in the… Read More ›

• On the Audacity of “Avengers: Endgame”

  By Josh Lasser on August 13, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  There is just something about “Avengers:  Endgame,” this movie which closes a saga that has played out across nearly two dozen films.  It is an astounding film for its audacity, for the way it tells its story as well as… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Cold Case Hammarskjöld”

  By Josh Lasser on August 12, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Appearing front and center in the documentary “Cold Case Hammarskjöld” is the film’s writer-director, Mads Brügger.  He tells the story via voiceover, he tells the story directly to those he’s working with, he—quite theatrically—injects himself into everything going on.  He… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Dora and the Lost City of Gold”

  By Josh Lasser on August 9, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  The animated “Dora the Explorer” television series began after I was too old to be watching such a show.  That said, as a good consumer of media, I am well aware of the show and the general structure of an… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “The Art of Racing in the Rain”

  By Josh Lasser on August 8, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  To say that a movie is “calculating” implies some sort of malevolence but of course, all movies attempt to elicit a response be it an emotional one, an intellectual one, or both.  All movies are calculating. Words are often imperfect… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “After the Wedding” (2019)

  By Josh Lasser on August 7, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  There is something magical about the start of “After the Wedding,” the new movie from writer-director Bart Freundlich (and based on the movie “Efter Bryllupet”).  This is a movie with adults who happen to find themselves in a difficult situation,… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Corporate Animals”

  By Josh Lasser on August 6, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  More than anything else, the new film “Corporate Animals” resembles a particularly off-kilter episode of “The Office.”  Directed by Patrick Brice with a script from Sam Bain the movie sees a dysfunctional CEO, Lucy (Demi Moore), bringing her peculiar group… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”

  By Josh Lasser on August 1, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  People will tell you that a preponderance of summer movies are big, loud, and stupid.  Whether or not that’s the case, blockbusters don’t come much bigger, louder, or more stupid than this week’s “Fast & Furious Presents:  Hobbs & Shaw.” … Read More ›

• Movie Review: “The Operative” (2019)

  By Josh Lasser on July 31, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Stories of undercover agents not following their handler’s orders are rather de rigueur.  Stories of undercover agents following in love with someone they shouldn’t are none too fresh.  Seeing the two types of issues crop up for an agent in… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Teacher” (2019)

  By Josh Lasser on July 30, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Not all movies deal in subtlety.  Some instead choose to beat the audience over the head with any message they have to offer. That is a decision that filmmakers can make, but it needs to fit in with the rest of… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Mike Wallace is Here”

  By Josh Lasser on July 24, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  There is no doubt that director Avi Belkin’s new documentary, “Mike Wallace is Here,” wishes to squarely place itself within the present day journalistic conversation, the conversation which includes the President of the United States and his White House abusing… Read More ›

• On Binge-Watching (“Saw”) Movies

  By Josh Lasser on July 23, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Last week, the podcast featured a discussion in which I mentioned having seen one “Saw” film and the inevitability that I would see the rest (or would keep watching until they got bad).  Well, here we are a week later… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “The art of Self-Defense”

  By Josh Lasser on July 18, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Taking a look at our world today, there can be no doubt that “toxic masculinity” is a problem. This idea of clinging to bygone notions of what it means to “be a man” and defining oneself around those things causes problems. … Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Be Natural:  The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”

  By Josh Lasser on July 17, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Documentaries prompt questions, it is simply in their nature. For instance, there is often the easy and obvious question:  why is the filmmaker telling me this; what is their goal? But, the questions don’t stop there at the easy and the… Read More ›

• The Process Podcast

  By Josh Lasser on July 16, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  This week’s podcast is slightly different than what we usually do.  This week, we’re talking about process, about how things happen.  Or, at the very least, we’re talking about things like Josh’s process for coming up with a podcast or… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Stuber”

  By Josh Lasser on July 10, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  The buddy comedy is a tried-and-true genre, one which offers up ample opportunity to not just deliver big laughs but explore differences between personalities as well.  Some of the greatest films ever made fall into the category—especially when you expand… Read More ›

• “Dumbo,” “Pet Sematary,” and Emotional Responses

  By Josh Lasser on July 9, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  The year 2019 has brought us so many things, including new versions of “Dumbo” and “Pet Sematary.”  While at first glance these two films may not have much in common, that’s actually not the case.  Both of these films hurt… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Cold Blood”

  By Josh Lasser on July 3, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  It can be dangerous for a movie to refuse to explain itself, for the movie to allow the viewer the time and latitude to work it all out for themselves.  First and foremost, that which is shown immediately has to… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Spider-Man: Far From Home”

  By Josh Lasser on July 1, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  While “Avengers: Endgame” may have ended a storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is still a whole lot of fallout to be dealt with from just how that close came about.  Tales of what happens due to the events of… Read More ›

• Movie Review: “Yesterday” (2019)

  By Josh Lasser on June 27, 2019 • ( 0 )

  

  Some movies never get much beyond the great idea that spawns them.  These sorts of films are often more disappointing than mediocre films which began without a great idea at their core.  Something that is merely passable throughout somehow feels… Read More ›

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