Amelia (2009)
Swank does a pretty good Amelia, and the accents sound pretty authentic all around, but I would have liked to see them get more creative with the ending. That’s what Amelia’s mystique is all about. Why not run with some of the latest theories about her disappearance?
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Roxanne (1987)
Roxanne? The story’s about her? What about the guy with the nose? It’s all a bit sloppy. And the nose… It’s never a real plot device, there’s not much backstory to it, there’s not a whole lot of comedy to it. It’s just there, pointing into every scene. Why? Martin…
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Ponyo (2008)
Not a wonderful story, almost silly. Less emotional than Princess Mononoke but features the same “selfish humanity versus righteous and magical nature” theme and a familiar Hisaishi score. Miyazaki’s films all feature simplistic humans with theatrical facial expressions and more complex supernatural characters, including tiny, cute ones and large majestic…
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Toy Story 3 (2010)
Not that great of a story. Not enough adult humor. Too much dialogue, or maybe it’s all just spoken too quickly. Every scene seems rushed. Maybe the whole concept is just getting a bit tired. Touching ending, though, even if it is a bit weird seeing a college-aged boy playing…
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Sunshine (2007)
Some good, moody outer space sci-fi, like Solaris. Interesting overall, with lots of cool visuals, but some of the editing choices threw me a bit. By the end, things got too psychedelic. A more personal and touching ending would have been more fitting. Great cast. Everyone is believable and interesting.…
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Kull the Conqueror (1997)
So horrible. Crap story, acting, dialogue, and action, but the electric guitar sends it over the edge. How did Sorbo ever get so big? Famous, I mean. Carrere is hot, as usual.
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The Expendables (2010)
Like Stallone’s recent Rambo, it’s a bloodfest with little story and crap special effects. Why does Stallone’s CGI blood look so shiny? It’s a shame that a movie with such stars has so little character and such poorly shot action.Statham’s the best of the lot. Stallone and Schwarzenegger look like…
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Mannequin (1987)
Extremely stupid. McCarthy’s got charisma, but there’s something about Cattrall I don’t like.
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Inception (2010)
Certainly got me thinking. Theories about dreaming are neatly woven into the plot. Must have been a bitch of a script to write (research says it took eight years), and even more of a bitch to get approved. Warner Brothers put a lot of faith into Nolan for this one.…
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Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Lots of funny people, but there’s no comedy. Paul Rudd is horribly miscast as the straight man. How did this happen? Szostak’s a cutie.
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Moon (2009)
Interesting idea, but way too slow. Definitely inspired by 2010: A Space Odyssey and Solaris. Rockwell does a pretty good job playing two different characters. GERTY has to be the dumbest robot ever. Big budget idea, but low budget execution. Effects are sloppy and filled with misspellings. The most cliche…
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Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Some good comedy, driven by good actors who have great chemistry with each other. Corddry is a really funny guy. Acceptable story for a goofball comedy. The 80’s stuff seemed really authentic. Brushing off all the usual time travel paradoxes, the only thing that really bugged me was that Nick’s…
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New Moon (2009)
There are two stories in this one, and it seems like a bit much to tackle in one movie. Perhaps an awkward consequence of adapting from the books. The unhealthy relationship between Bella and Edward continues, but a third element is added to make things even more chaotic. In Edward’s…
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Twilight (2008)
If any guy was as creepy as Edward, any healthy girl would run the other way. But Bella is not healthy, and this is a movie. So just like that, we have romance. Stewart is not a good actress. She’s a cute girl, but her reluctance to sustain eye contact…
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Pumping Iron (1977)
An interesting peek at early Arnold. And it’s amazing how all of the bodybuilders seem completely unaffected by the cameras. They are natural and care-free, not self-conscious or paranoid like they certainly would be today. But then, in the “Making Of” special, I discovered that Arnold played it up for…
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Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Some cute animation, but not as witty or touching as most of Pixar’s other work.
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Broadcast News (1987)
Not bad. But to base the climactic character judgment on whether or not he staged a cry in a news broadcast? Seems a little silly. Hunter’s good, although her character is a little annoying. Hurt’s a little awkward, isn’t he? Perhaps in part his character is confusingly developed in the…
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The Fly II (1989)
Lacks the originality of the first. An easy knock-off. With that pre-pubescent voice, it’s always hard to take Stoltz seriously.
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Swordfish (2001)
Fabulous cast, especially in retrospect. Featuring a relatively skinny but still charismatic Hugh Jackman, though I doubt there’s a hacker in the world who looks like he does. Berry is looking nice. I’ve never liked Travolta in any role he takes himself seriously in. In something like Pulp Fiction, it…
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The Invention of Lying (2009)
Really silly concept, but Gervais’ dialog and expressions make it bearable. Some fantastic cameos. Gervais has a lot of friends. Gervais shows us some real emotion. A pretty poignant comment on religion. Is he an atheist?
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Shorts (2009)
Bad story, bad effects. Not smart, not funny. Lots of really good actors are totally wasted. I think Robert Rodriguez is one of the worst consistently working directors out there.
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Letters to Juliet (2010)
Miserable acting, with a surprisingly horrible performance by Vanessa Redgrave. Seyfried is cute, for an alien.
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Babies (2010)
An interesting look at different cultures with lots of cute, touching footage. A bit too much umbilical cord and scrotum for my taste, but the rest is fun to watch. Should be required viewing for all parents-to-be. While it’s interesting for me to see all of this stuff, I wonder…
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Iron Man 2 (2010)
Better than the original. The story is a lot more complex and involving than the first. Action is pretty good, and effects are great. Favreau has learned a thing or two about making an action movie since making the first one. Nice cast all around. Rourke is impressive.
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(500) Days of Summer (2009)
All the cliches you’d expect in a movie about disgruntled love. Awful dialogue. Gordon-Levitt gives me hives.
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Bold, but not overdone. Touching. Rogen is funny, Banks is definite hottie. A couple of porn stars round out a perfect cast. Kevin Smith’s best movie by far. He even had the courtesy not to give us naked cameo.
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World’s Greatest Dad (2009)
A dark, disturbing movie. Goldthwait should have focused on telling a cleaner story rather than creating awkward situations and playing his favorite songs in the soundtrack. The title of the movie doesn’t even make any sense. Given Williams’ recent string of awkward, uncomfortable movies, I am beginning to think that…
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Summer Catch (2001)
A lot of the baseball movie cliches and a bunch of characters I don’t care about. Biel is tasty, but Prinze is boring as the main character.
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The Lucky Ones (2008)
A refreshingly subdued character piece. McAdams is great, Robbins is decent, but Peña is a little overrated as an actor. He’s stone-faced.
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The Bank Job (2008)
One of Statham’s more natural performances, undoubtedly because it’s a foreign movie.
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Neatly told story, with just enough brutality and intensity to get you into it without turning you off. Nyqvist’s performance was good, and Rapace is a strangely magnetic presence. Her determination, concentrated gaze, and boyish physicality reminded me of Franka Potente in Run Lola Run. This version will never be…
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St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
Nice to see the Breakfast Club kids and other familiar faces, but the story and characters are kind of all over place. Relationships are so unrealistic that it’s hard to feel for these characters. Were they realistic in the 80’s? If so, we have changed a lot more than I…
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Hancock (2008)
A nice role for Smith, and some pretty fun effects. Some plot questions. Why wasn’t Theron’s character honest with him from the get-go? They both would have been better off if she wasn’t so quiet about it. And why is she so willing to get into a relationship with a…
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Clash of the Titans (2010)
I question some of the changes to the plot and characters, particularly in the case of Perseus. Why should we care about him? He has no real friends. The people of Argos hate him, the warriors he fights with don’t particularly care for him, and by the time he reaches…
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17 Again (2009)
Efron is surprisingly tolerable, and Mann is always money. Perry, who never really made it and is getting older, is OK with this bit part?
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Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Ritchie’s film is definitely polished, and Downey’s got some charisma, but it’s all kind of blah story-wise. It’s just not engaging. Holmes’ ramblings are well-researched and impressive, but they’d be a lot more fun if I gave a damn about his struggle.
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Role Models (2008)
Rudd’s got improv talent. Dare I say he’s the most natural comic actor of the last decade?
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Notorious (2009)
Woolard’s a very natural actor and portrays Wallace in a very real, very tender way. Even his musical performances are brilliant. The film, I think, attempts to portray Wallace objectively and without pulling any punches. Unfortunately, it’s hard to root for a guy who proves to have questionable morals.
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Right America: Feeling Wronged – Some Voices from the Campaign Trail (2009)
Obviously an angled perspective, but a revealing look at some of the morons who have the right to vote in this country nonetheless. So why hasn’t there been an articulate, pointed documentary in support of McCain?
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Involuntary (2008)
Wow, these are actors? Really wonderful performances have been coaxed out of these people. Feels a lot like voyeurism, but I guess it really isn’t.
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Bill Maher… But I’m Not Wrong (2010)
Interesting commentary, some good humor. He’s dead on with a lot of his points, but he enjoys pushing the envelope a little bit, too. Typical Maher. He’s very comfortable up there, maybe a tad too comfortable.
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The Ten Commandments (1956)
Interesting story, and Moses is an interesting person. I wonder how much of this Old Testament story is real. Interesting that neither DeMille nor Heston were Jewish. Heston’s performance is good. Brynner’s also pretty good, though his coloring and accent distinguish him from the rest of the Egyptians. A little…
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Temple Grandin (2010)
She was an interesting person, and the movie really shows you how an autistic person feels. The most fascinating thing was Grandin’s autistic self-awareness at the end. I would have liked to see more of that. Danes pulls off a pretty good performance. It’s almost laughable at first, but her…
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Lions for Lambs (2007)
Some interesting exchanges and lots of smart dialogue. Perhaps too smart. Conversations this witty and snappy are unrealistic. Around this time, contemplative interconnected stories (like Traffic and Magnolia) were trendy, but this one’s all over the place. The connections between the component stories are thin. Good cast and performances by…
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I Love You, Man (2009)
Surprisingly funny. Natural performances from a great and talented cast, with what seems to be some great ad libbing.
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Marked for Death (1990)
Typical Seagal fare. He’s got a cool shooting face, but he’s not very athletic-looking, he wears clothes with animals on them, and he’s generally a goofball.
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21 Grams (2003)
Gritty, reassembled stories, in the spirit of Traffic, Crash, and Magnolia. Iñárritu knows what he’s doing.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
Not funny. I feel humiliated for Lee, who is capable of much smarter work.
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The Windmill Movie (2008)
Interesting, personal biography about a tormented guy who seems to have suffered from the same insecurities as many artists and people in general. The footage is assembled creatively. I wonder if Rogers would have liked it.
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Watchmen (2009)
Surprisingly interesting characters and good performances for a superhero movie. Haley is wonderful in and out of costume as Rorschach, Goode plays a wonderful villain, and Crudup’s Dr. Manhattan might be one of the biggest bad-asses in the universe. Interesting choice to show his dong. Rorschach’s got the same voice…
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Max Payne (2008)
Gritty and dark, with loud bullets, over-dramatic music, slow-mo, and moody skies, but who cares? It’s all a little silly. Wahlberg, a talented and interesting actor, has been wasted in just about every one of his films since The Departed.
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Changeling (2008)
Engaging. Amazing that this all came from a true story. Nice to see Jolie playing the victim.
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Revolutionary Road (2008)
Good period piece, and it’s interesting watching these people’s lives fall apart. But depressing. What’s the message? Love is dead?
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The Informant! (2009)
Soderbergh, who has expertly delivered tight stories with fun characters and quality dialogue and whimsical direction in the past, disappoints. The story drags and Damon’s not funny. Playing funky music while he drives his car into the garage does not give the film pizazz.
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The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Like an episode of Quantum Leap. It’s fun to twist up the story play with all the time travel paradoxes, but there are some problems. He says he “always arrives too late to change anything”, but it’s obvious that he could. For example, he knows he is going to have…
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The story was already written by X-Men mythology, I suppose, and one could piece it together by watching the other X-Men movies. So it just doesn’t seem very fresh. Is the whole franchise getting a little tired? Action is mediocre, mostly ruined by fake-looking wire stunts. Jackman gives us more…
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Avatar (2009)
Epic. I knew I could count on James Cameron. Incredible and revolutionary special effects. The world we find ourselves in is completely new and completely real. Despite the fanciful colors and unusual life forms all around us, you can tell that efforts were made to make everything plausible. The experience…
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Elegy (2008)
With these kinds of insights into being an older man, I’m surprised that the film was directed by a woman. Kingsley delivers a comfortably awkward performance. Cruz is a natural beauty. Really struck a chord with me. I’ve been that guy so many times. But as engaging as their relationship…
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He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
A collection of lesson-filled love stories, much in the spirit of “Love Actually.” A quality ensemble cast with lots of nice, little performances. Bradley Cooper’s money when he’s given good material. Connelly is wonderfully off-type.
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Splash (1984)
Your basic 80’s comedy. Hanks is a natural, Hannah is surprisingly good. Is this the first time anyone’s really had to act underwater?
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Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction (2009)
He’s getting older, and he’s off the drugs (I think). Unfortunately, I think he’s losing it. Dare I say that his delivery is a bit stunted and his humor is relatively tame?
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The Wrestler (2008)
An engaging but unsettling story to watch. Like “Walk the Line”, it features a main character with very few redeeming qualities who doesn’t really change for the better. We just watch him bounce around a bit, and nothing really happens. Rourke was a good choice. He gives us a raw,…
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The Majestic (2001)
Well-made, not a surprise from Darabont. Nice story, cleanly told, although it requires a bit of magic and disbelief to digest it all.
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3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Really authentic period piece, with nice costumes and music. Well-made. Great cast and characters. Fun having non-Americans in the lead roles. Ben Foster was wonderful.
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This Boy’s Life (1993)
A good stepping stone for the young DiCaprio. He handles the role with ease. Barkin is always appealing. De Niro’s character reminds me a lot of someone I know… His kids would not be that cool if he’s the one who brought them up.
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By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009)
A pleasant, well put-together peek at the man on the rise. To be honest, Obama has always seemed this personable and fair, so the documentary doesn’t really reveal anything new about his character. I think a similar documentary on McCain would be telling.
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The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
A pretty standard mystery, no aliens or weird shit.
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The Rocker (2008)
Wilson’s got some comic chops, but I’m not sure he can carry a comedy by himself. Ellie Knaus is a cutie.
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This Is It (2009)
As close to the real show as we’re ever going to get. He was ready to do this show, no doubt about it. A closer look at Michael and his working habits. Most people have only seen performances and tabloid clips, never this side of him. Had more footage of…
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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
All the same problems of the first. I had hoped they’d learn from their mistakes, but they have not. Are they planning on prolonging the agony with a third? Climactic battles, but no character development to set them up. Prime dies? Really? I wish I cared. Every scene features a…
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The Proposal (2009)
Reynolds and Bullock are OK. Not horrible, not hilarious. I almost always hate movies that feature their main characters posing for the camera on the movie poster/DVD cover.
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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
More of the same low-brow drug and potty humor.
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JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America (2009)
Fantastic collection of footage. I wish we knew the truth. Garrison really was a bad-ass, wasn’t he? I’m surprised he wasn’t shot.
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The Brave One (2007)
Foster can do anything, but she excels playing the victim. This time, she gets some revenge. This has the same grittiness and vigilante storyline as Bacon’s Death Sentence. It’s even shot with a similar style.
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Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me (2009)
Wanda’s humor is cute and nasty. She’s got a good delivery, and her voice definitely helps. She’s got some zingers in there and relatively few misses. I like how emotional she seems when she comes out for her curtain-call.
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The Omega Man (1971)
Stupid monsters, stupid effects, but a great story. So when people get infected with this bacteria, most of them die, and the rest wear black and speak philosophy? Heston is his overstated, bitter, belly-laughing, toothy, awesome self. I can’t believe he was a sex symbol. He’s got a very average…
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For Your Consideration (2006)
Another Guest movie. Same cast, similar comedy. These guys must really love working with each other. A few pretty funny moments. A lot of the comedy is so tight that it’s amazing the scenes are mostly improvised. For improvised comedy dialogue, these people give “Curb Your Enthusiasm” a run for…
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WarGames (1983)
Broderick was a cute kid but not really that great an actor. He has a tenseness and roboticness that he still maintians today. A little bit of real suspense at the end. I remember when the suspense was more real…
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District 9 (2009)
Blomkamp comes out of nowhere to give us the first real sci-fi movie in years. I can easily count on one hand the number of movies that treats alien visits in a real and dramatic way, and this is one of them. The effects were quite fantastic (with the possible…
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The Happening (2008)
A haunting story ruined by horrible dialogue, awful acting, silly effects, and a crappy ending. Good score and a few almost suspenseful moments, but who cares? Wahlberg is depressingly uninspired and was probably not even the right choice to play the lead. His “be scientific” shtick was retarded. Was this…
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Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
A solid story provides a good foundation for Murphy’s comedy and charm. May have been the first film to truly define the style of the 80’s, and definitely the first film to expose the previously and strangely ignored subculture of Beverly Hills. In terms of the edginess, profanity, loose, casual…
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Inglourious Basterds (2009)
It looks like Tarantino finally wants to start making real films now. This is not the silly amalgamation of quirky characters typical of his previous work. Tarantino has crafted something more meaningful. This film has not one, but two real stories with real drama. From the first scene on the…
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Rocky III (1982)
Good continuation of the story. The characters are all evolving wonderfully. So I guess between Rocky II and Rocky III is when Rocky started taking steroids. He is noticeably more jacked in this one. The last scene is great, and the last shot is perfect.
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Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
The action and one-liners are obviously over-the-top for comic effect, but it’s just too much. Why would Clive and Giamatti do this? Nice to see Clive delivering babies and back in a BMW again.
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Walker Payne (2006)
Patric’s always pretty cool, but this plot’s a little simple. Strickland is delicious.
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The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A little boring. Decent performances all around, but none of them stick out as particularly dramatic.
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Religulous (2008)
Bill’s got some balls to take on religion in this country. This is something not even Michael Moore has done. Way to go. I wonder if they had bodyguards on location with them. Unfortunately, Maher takes a few gratuitous jabs while making his arguments. I know this is his schtick,…
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Stripes (1981)
Clearly a vehicle for Murray, and he’s got a certain panache. But comedies of the early 80’s were just rough. Nice cast. Ramis might be one of the most unfunny comedians of the 80’s. He’s always got a stupid little grin on his face.
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Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008)
A good effort by Bell. Very personal. He explores the problem by talking to an impressive number of people, thoroughly trying to show both sides of the issue. But which side is he on? Either way, I’m not sure that arguing for or against steroid use really addresses the root…
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Rocky II (1979)
Story’s a decent extension of the original. Despite the cheesy sound effects, the fight at the end and his victory speech gave me the Rocky chills. There’s still a magic there. I can see why they kept making them. Stallone is Stallone. The shy Shire was perfect.
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Harlem Nights (1989)
Murphy tried to make something stylish and swanky and authentic, but it misses the mark a bit. Story is a little dull, pacing of scenes and dialogue is a little off, editing is a little loose. Some good swearing humor, but that’s about all that stands out. Nice cast of…
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I'm a photographer, web developer, travel enthusiast, and movie buff living in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.In the summer of 1993, I started writing reviews for every movie I saw and haven't looked back. I'm up to 2,362 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
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