Search for Roman

Note to readers: this review contains spoilers. While I do not believe that the revelation of certain plot points will damage the overall viewing experience, those who wish to see Sweet November without having previous knowledge of key elements wo...

Over the years, war films have come into and gone out of vogue. At one point, they were mostly about heroism and valor on the battlefield but that changed with 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler’s story about how winning the ...

That Awkward Moment exudes an "old school" romantic comedy vibe. (Since it borrows from Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, the "old" really applies here.) The script has an '80s/'90s sensibility wrapped in a layer of lewd, crude, rude packaging. S...

Let me be upfront and admit to admiring the artistry and audacity of Maggie Gyllenhaal's overhaul of James Whale's 1935 classic, The Bride of Frankenstein. This film refuses to be ignored, pulsing with a manic, punk-rock energy. Unfortunately, in t...

The title of this film, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain, is so long that it can function as a plot synopsis in its own right. "The Englishman" in question is British cartographer Reginald Anson, played by Hugh Grant with...

Sometimes it's hard to recognize the importance of seemingly inconsequential element like "tone" when it comes to a romantic comedy. This Means War is a case study in what happens when the filmmakers mess this up. The movie is being marketed as an ...

Ticket to Paradise is a frothy concoction that will appeal to those whose movie-loving sensibilities are anchored to the rom-coms of the 1980s and 1990s. Had this movie been made 25 years ago, it likely would have been hailed for its whimsy, f...

Most romantic comedies make it known early in the proceedings that they intend to follow all the time-honored, tried-and-true conventions of the genre by leading us down a well-trodden path littered with formulaic plots and overused character type...