Put on your bravest face for ‘Smile’

“Smile” (2022) – Director/writer Parker Finn’s debut horror film offers nifty and crafty camerawork, effective scares, an intriguing premise, and creepy vibes that prowl in plain sight.  All four concepts reveal themselves within the first 10 minutes, and if you buy into the movie’s sicko foundation, “Smile” will hook you on a 115-minute journey.  Put on your bravest face.  “Smile” begins in a psychiatric hospital, and Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) – in her late-20s/early-30s, but she’s worked here for quite a while – makes her rounds.  We meet a…

Raise a can and toast ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’

“The Greatest Beer Run Ever” (2022) – On a personal note, my greatest beer run occurred during my senior year of college.  It entailed a trip to a nearby Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY, and yours truly secured enough cheap American beer to overindulge a small army. The aforementioned trek only ran a few miles, so John “Chickie” Donohue has me flat-out beat. It’s not even close.  The year was 1967, and Chickie said, “I’m going to Vietnam, and I’m bringing them beer.” “Them” are his buddies from Inwood, a…

Movie of the Week: ‘The Impossible’

“The Impossible” (2012)– A family living abroad in Japan decides to vacation on a gorgeous piece of real estate, The Orchid Beach Resort, on the coast of Thailand for the 2004 Christmas holiday. With powdery sand, lanky palm trees, blue ocean, warm sunshine, and luxurious creature comforts, this particular spot might be heaven drawn up on Earth.  For Henry (Ewan McGregor) and Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts), the pressure of raising their three young boys and climbing social and financial ladders simply melts away during lazy afternoons and comfortable evenings in…