From Russia with Love (1963)
The plot’s a little slow and convoluted by today’s standards, but it’s easy to see how Bond really caught on. The violence, action, and scantily clad women were a fresh, risqué, appealing take on the spy movie. Scenes are nicely paced, dialogue is good, and the action and fight scenes…
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The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
Mediocre in just about every way. In World War II, it seems Canadians were basically Scots. Fight scenes used to be so goofy.
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Live and Let Die (1973)
Goofy but fun for its time. Moore was cool and had all the cheesy lines, but he’s not that great at action. Seymour’s an absolute knockout. She has a Linda Harrison as Nova sweetness/quietness/cuteness thing to her in this one. One of my favorite Bond girls.
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Tension at Table Rock (1956)
Richard Egan has a wonderfully nasal voice, but he is a completely boring hero in a completely boring movie.
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White House Down (2013)
Die Hard in the White House, basically. White tank top? Really? That said, the action isn’t bad. Tatum’s pretty good.
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12 Angry Men (1957)
Theatrical in its simplicity, intense character drama, and the single set. Gotta hand it to Lumet, it’s quality. Well-shot, with some impressively long takes. Great cast, great characters, great performances. Cobb had a George C. Scott quality to him. An all white male jury. I wonder if a multi-gender, multi-race…
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Rear Window (1954)
In an era of movies about the prim and proper, Hitchcock is never afraid to explore the dark and scandalous. This is also a class in the power of suggestion. A whole murder takes place, and we don’t see anything. Nicely shot, nicely paced. This is about as much as…
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
A pretty good character piece. No surprise that Paul Thomas Anderson watched this film for inspiration before writing There Will Be Blood, as the psychological breakdowns are similar. Bogart definitely has a stoic presence about him. Walter Huston is good. Holt holds his own. A refreshingly exotic location for a…
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Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)
A heartfelt homage to the cast and crew, and a wonderful job getting so much of them back. A boon for real fans of the series. The rapid-fire interviews are marvelously intercut, and the documentary is cleanly broken down into logical sections for each film. The editor deserves a lot…
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Patton (1970)
Epic in length and scope, but unfortunately the story is a little boring. Scott commits to the role, but he plays a character who is not very redeeming. Scott is known as one of the great actors, but he doesn’t have a great body of film work. That makes it…
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American Sniper (2014)
A respectful account of a war hero, but the story as it’s told seems a bit simplistic. I know we’re bound by the truth here, but something was missing for me dramatically. A man goes to war, bad guys die, friends get killed, and he struggles to reconnect with his…
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Nightcrawler (2014)
Starts off with a creepy guy being creepy, but the tension builds nicely and it all unfolds into something pretty heavy. A quality production. Gyllenhaal convincingly plays a sadistic genius. His cold stare and speech inflections are a nice touch. This is definitely a Gyllenhaal vehicle, but the creepiness of…
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Big Hero 6 (2014)
Fun, fast-paced, emotional story. You can count on the Pixar folks for that. Brilliant animation, especially when flying around the city. The effects inside the portal were truly magical. Even Hiro’s hair was amazing. Baymax is likable and fun, with dialogue and a voice that’s hilariously sterile and charming. Pixar’s…
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Life Stinks (1991)
This movie stinks. The comedy of Mel Brooks just isn’t for me. Simplistic, on-the-nose comedy like this might have been funny in the 1930’s, but these days, we need a bit more.
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Midnight Run (1988)
A woefully mediocre attempt at another 80’s cop comedy. Grodin is almost funny a few times. Apparently they wanted a big name actress, someone like Cher, in Grodin’s role. I think that would have been great.
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The Imitation Game (2014)
Another Oscar contender about a tragic scientist. A solid production, but not exceptional. The story deftly jumps between present and flashback, something that can be tricky to do. Cumberbatch is a bit weird looking, but he can act, can’t he? Strong is strong, as usual. Knightley is OK.
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13 Assassins (2010)
A samurai version of 300. I do appreciate the epic scale and simplicity of the story. Early on, there’s a lot of talking and it’s a bit hard keeping track of who’s who, but things pick up. Really, the whole movie is a build-up to a big ass-kicking at the…
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Overboard (1987)
A silly diversion for the married couple. Goldie loved to show off her body, didn’t she? We didn’t need that goofy banjo music highlighting every comedy scene.
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Funny Farm (1988)
Nothing funny about this farm. This was the beginning of the end for Chevy.
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The Babe (1992)
The movie exists to say that Babe was a notorious historical figure who hit a lot of home runs, and there’s not much else. Relationships with the people around him, whether it’s wives or players, are glossed over. Goodman kind of looks the part, but his swing is awful. The…
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The Theory of Everything (2014)
Thoughtfully made with just the right amount of magic. Most know Hawking as the smart guy in a wheelchair, but this film shows the world what a tragic figure he really is. What a treat that Hawking is alive for us to give this to him. It’s the performances that…
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The Alamo (1960)
A dramatic historical story, seemingly faithful to the historical accounts. Wayne’s not bad. Widmark looks just like Heston. Not surprising that Wayne wanted Heston for one of the roles.
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Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
An imitation of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Pretty crappy but some familiar faces and decent effects. I particularly enjoyed the cat crawling into a human body.
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Whiplash (2014)
Music porn. Anyone who loves music will love this movie. Beautifully edited and shot, with a warm, golden glow cascading over every scene. Simmons plays a truly hateful authoritarian whose intensity rivals R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket. And he’s good at it. Oscar material. Teller plays a pretty…
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Birdman (2014)
With its long takes and non-stop dialogue, Birdman takes inspiration from Mike Nichols and The Player. There’s some really clever editing and some fancy camera movements in there, but Iñárritu takes it all one step further with an eccentric story and eccentric characters and an eccentric star. Some might give…
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Fury (2014)
Not really much to the story. These guys are in a tank and need to kill Germans. They blow shit up and people die. Is that it? And whose journey is this? Don’s or Norman’s? Neither of their stories are compelling enough, and there’s a bit of dramatic awkwardness that…
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Gone Girl (2014)
A good mindfuck whodunnit, feels a bit like a Hitchcock classic, if not a little long and drawn out. I know it was adapted from a book, but I feel like it could have been an hour shorter. But the film is as manipulative as its characters. It pulls a…
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Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey (2014)
A noble effort at updating the series, an epic endeavor by Seth MacFarlane. But I just have to compare, and it’s not as good as Sagan’s original series. The segments are a bit disorganized and disconnected, especially in the early episodes. Sagan was better at packaging things up into relevant…
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Divergent (2014)
Appeals to the Hunger Games crowd. Forced adventure, a hint of magic, familiar actors playing shallow caricatures. Woodley isn’t bad, but I think we’ll see better from her down the road.
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Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Interesting premise, mixing the “redo” time travel concept of Groundhog Day and About Time with science fiction. Limon is quality. Hate Cruise if you want, but he can act. His performance is great, except for how he says “literally”. Blunt is at her foxiest. Paxton acts for a change. The…
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Not much of an improvement over the first two of the series. If you’re into the character drama, the end was pretty good.
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Enough Said (2013)
Low-budget, but a sweet little story. Good cast, characters, and performances. Louis-Dreyfus’ schtick is charming. Gandolfini in an uncomfortable but authentic role.
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The Book Thief (2013)
Beautiful photography, wonderful sets, but the story doesn’t really go anywhere. Any story about Jews during WWII should be easy drama, but this girl’s story is not very dramatic. Nélisse (Liesel) is adorable, such expressive eyes and a really great performance. Liersch (Rudy) is great as well. Rushmore turns in…
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Killing Zoe (1993)
A jumble of drugs and violence and foul language, it’s amateurish and simple. This is something Tarantino would have made as a teenager. It’s no surprise that Avary is friends with Tarantino. Shame Stoltz never had a real career. Delpy is cute.
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The Wicker Man (1973)
Well this is fucking weird. A lot of weird movies came out around this time. It’s almost like the world, filmmakers in particular, were trying to come to grips with the occult, religion, superstition, nature, and nudity. Christopher Lee’s voice is wonderful. The inspiration for the Burning Man festival, maybe?
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Hidalgo (2004)
An OK feel-good story about a pretty, well-trained horse. Johnston has a filmography of mediocre kids movies. Amazing that he also made Captain America: The First Avenger.
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A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
Cool to see much of the same cast, and it’s interestingly updated for the 80’s, but it’s just so awkward. Would have been nice getting the real Cindy and Sam back.
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About Time (2013)
Curtis has made something that is polished, cute, fun, and unpredictable. It combines the heart, wit, wonderfully snappy dialogue, and English charm of Love Actually with the a “how can I live each day best” exploration that’s in Groundhog Day. Gleeson is exceptionally funny, and magnetic. McAdams is undeniably cute.…
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We’re the Millers (2013)
Sudeikis is funny, Aniston does a pretty good job, Roberts is OK. Poulter seems like he’s trying really hard to look and act American.
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Poltergeist (1982)
Quality horror for its time, with pretty good, creepy effects. What ever happened to those long, quiet takes in horror movies? They were so effective at building suspense. I wonder if it would have been any better if Spielberg had full director privileges.
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Boyhood (2014)
There’s the novelty of having shot the film with the same actors over 12 years, so there’s that. But there’s not much else. Was there a plot? Or did Linklater shoot these short pieces and hope to cobble them together into something coherent and interesting in the end? The most…
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Wrong Side of Town (2010)
There’s something endearing about that main character, but when you look like that, you can’t play it straight. That just makes you look goofy. Just as there is something distinctive about your look, there has to be something distinctive about your personality. That’s one of the things that really worked…
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Interstellar (2014)
Mature and contemplative science fiction on an epic scale. It makes you think, it makes you feel. This is a space adventure, but there are very human elements that tie everything together. Nolan’s take on love is actually quite poignant. Nolan does something subtle but impressive here, cleverly skipping over…
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The Hunger Games (2012)
Fantasy stories generally don’t appeal to me because the drama feels fabricated, acting is over-the-top, and sets/costumes are outlandish. But this one’s not bad. Lawrence does a pretty good job in a role that launched her career. Interesting that her co-star Hutcherson hasn’t amounted to anything.
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Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Same formula as the original, a bit more explicit this time. Moretz is growing up but still good. Taylor-Johnson has been working out, hasn’t he? Carrey’s a nice addition, though he’s in that awkward zone between not too funny and not too dramatic.
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Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
The whole thing is getting a bit old, with stories getting thinner and masks getting cheaper. A good time to end the series. The crying Caesar statue at the end was a bit much. I find Darden unappealing. Certainly no need for that many close-ups of his face.
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Best of the Best (1989)
An implementation of the Rocky/Karate Kid formula, but it’s pretty lousy. A ragtag collection of B and C actors. Roberts is awful.
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A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
Once again, amazingly faithful to the original series. This parody really works. Glad whole cast came back. Gary Cole as Mike is fabulously deadpan. Matheson isn’t so great, though. Or at least the writing for him isn’t so funny.
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Clear History (2013)
Just like Curb Your Enthusiasm. Lots of improv and a few funny moments, but some of it seems a bit forced. This one was made for TV, but I wonder if it’s possible to make a big commercial movie in which every scene is mostly improvised. Has that ever been…
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Kind of fun. Stiller’s comedy always has a bit of heart in it.
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The Bourne Legacy (2012)
The whole thing has a very James Bond feel, only instead of the hero acting on official government business, this hero is evading his own government. There’s a certain polish and international quality that reminds me of 2006’s Casino Royale. Interesting that Daniel Craig visited his wife Rachel Weisz during…
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Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Poorly shot and edited, and the ape masks/prosthetics/makeup are starting to look a bit cheap. Architecture and hairstyles and sideburns give it away as a 70’s movie. I wonder if there’s ever been a period piece made that doesn’t give away the era in which it was produced through it’s…
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Under the Sea 3D (2009)
Beautiful photography and great 3D effects. How are these sea creatures not afraid of what must be a hulking camera? Carrey’s pretty good and flashes a hint of his trademark humor. I wonder how funny he could make a documentary like this if given free reign. The environmental message a…
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Miracle (2004)
Disney did a pretty good job with this one. Some dramatic liberties were taken, but the film properly honors the memory of Brooks and team. Has Disney made any other historical dramas? Carefully shot, with great sets and costumes, muted colors, old feel film stock, and good hockey action. This…
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We Fight to Be Free (2006)
Jumps around a bit, but the performances and production quality are really great. A lot more than I expected for a short at the Mount Vernon visitor center. Roché was an interesting choice for Washington but pulls it off. Bit confused that Lang (of current Avatar fame) jumps back and…
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Awakenings (1990)
A touching story, nicely directed by Penny Marshall. This generation’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. De Niro and Williams are both great. Williams did indeed have a knack for drama. Around this time, mental disabilities (Rain Man) and old people rediscovering the magic of life (Cocoon) made for trendy…
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Iron Man 3 (2013)
A wonderfully dark addition to the series. Instead of being the stock superhero, Black’s Iron Man is scared and vulnerable, and it really works dramatically. Ambitious story, ambitious effects, and it all works. Downey really has a way with words. He’s so quick and has a unique cadence. I can’t…
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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
With a retro-futuristic feel, it’s got a Watchmen kind of vibe to it. A lot of characters and places to keep straight, though. Lots of little laughs. Pratt’s got a nice presence as the lead. As a space-faring swindler and sweet-talker, he’s the new Han Solo. His personality and sense…
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Nixon By Nixon: In His Own Words (2014)
With raw footage and no narrator to guide things and shape the story, it’s a stream-of-consciousness collection of clips. While a bit disorganized, they provide an interesting insight into the man, media, and global issues of the 60’s and 70’s. After hearing some of Nixon’s meetings and calls, no one…
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
The story feels long and thorough, but it’s mostly a deep exploration of human-human politics, ape-ape politics, and human-ape politics. Not a whole lot really happens, and that’s what makes things feel a bit slow. Clarke was good as Malcolm despite not being a familiar face. Oldman played a nice…
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Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Cute and fun, but not enough conflict, not very meaningful, kind of boring. Nothing important is at stake. In homage the the first, they should have waited for a dramatic scene to hear the apes first speak. Would have given a thrill to viewers seeing an Apes movie for the…
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Jaws 2 (1978)
Not a bad sequel, with much of the same cast and same feel as the classic. Of course, it’s not quite as original and polished as the first one. Wonderfully gruesome shark death.
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Chef (2014)
There’s a very smooth flow to the story. Acting and dialogue are all very natural, and the characters are appealing and friendly. The problem is that everyone is too nice, everything is too perfect. In a single movie, we have the best ex-wife, the best ex-wife’s ex-husband, the best friend,…
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The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
I’m starting to get tired of the Wes Anderson formula. Quirky, quick-talking characters struggle with a regimented, constricting establishment (school in Rushmore, family tradition in The Royal Tenenbaums, Boy Scouts in Moonrise Kingdom, a historic hotel in this one) that is just as quirky as the characters. Extra comedy comes…
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The Lego Movie (2014)
This is fantastic marketing for Lego. We’re shown how cool the toys can be with a little bit of creativity. The end, in particular, is as heavy a sales pitch as there has ever been in a movie. I would like to see where Lego’s revenues go after this. Effects…
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X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Pretty good, but these X-Men movies are starting to get a bit old. In much the same way that the Matrix sequels sucked, all of this franchise’s characters have already been established, all the effects have been done. It feels like there’s nothing new to contribute to the series, making…
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In the Line of Fire (1993)
Slow and safe and formulaic. There’s just not much to it. Typical early 90’s movie. Strange pigeon line to end the movie.
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Godzilla (2014)
I have been waiting for something to erase Roland Emmerich’s horrendous 1998 movie from my head, and we finally have something good. This is what Emmerich’s movie should have been. This is a good monster movie. Edwards delivers some truly beautiful visuals and shows some skill with pacing and suspense.…
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Metal Tornado (2011)
Horribly awful. Poor Lou Diamond Phillips. He was once considered a respectable actor.
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Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Iconic final scene, but rest of the movie is damn boring. The slow and melodic pace, typical of Leone and his westerns, puts you right to sleep. Lots of weird dubbing issues, which makes more sense after learning the entire dialogue track was recorded in post. What language did they…
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Interesting story, great effects, and a few great action sequences. The Marvel formula works, but it’s starting to get repetitive. All of these superhero movies are starting to run together for me. I’m not even sure what they could do to make them better. Stan was intense, intriguing, and cool,…
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Death Proof (2007)
A Tarantino film. Campy 70’s stylistic elements, and he pours it on thick here, with dated angles and framing of shots, film and color treatments, old-time fonts and title graphics, and all the hissing and popping and sloppy editing of a vintage film. Add in profanity-laced, fast-talking dialogue, a glorified…
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Son of Rambow (2007)
The slapstick, offbeat humor, and child innocence comedy make for an unfunny mix. It’s just silly. Poulter is good, though.
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Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
An engaging detective story. A little scripted, staged, and overdramatized at times, but still good. Nice effects, animation, silky dolly shots, lots of good B-roll, and a ready-made soundtrack polish things up quite nicely. It’s got all the qualities that make it trendy to like. The combination of mystery, intrigue,…
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Frozen (2013)
Excellent animation. In the details, you can see a lot of Pixar’s influence. Skin is imperfectly perfect, fingers are wonderfully three-dimensional, blocks of ice refract and reflect light perfectly. All of the ice effects were really great. The story’s pretty good, but a little too much singing and dancing for…
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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Totally a Scorsese film. A flashback New York story about money, drugs, and loose women. Frequent narration to the viewer, lots of quick talking, and just the right amount of industry lingo to keep it authentic. The difference here is that this movie was an epic three hours long, and…
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Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
A deep, engaging, depressing character study. Easy to see why he and Leto are Oscars. Both completely devote themselves to their tragic roles. It’s no stretch for McConaughey to play a Texan, but the weight loss was astonishing. Leto’s good. Why does he do so little acting? Cleanly directed and…
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Captain Phillips (2013)
Cleanly directed and very suspenseful. It’s all more powerful knowing that it’s a true story. Hanks is good in a very real, very human role. He really shines in the film’s last few minutes. With a simmering ferocity in his eyes, Abdi is creepy and perfect. Photos of the real-life…
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Her (2013)
A engaging, haunting look at the future of socialization and romance, and a touching story about one man’s connection with technology. Is this what’s really going to happen? Jonze put this movie together beautifully. Some great shots, wonderful colors and architecture, a nice score, and carefully edited. I love Jonze’s…
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Air Speed (1999)
Awful in just about every respect. Cuthbert’s cute, but the best is yet to come.
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The Great Dictator (1940)
My immediate reaction to The Great Dictator was that it is horribly offensive to Jews. They were victimized and ultimately exterminated by the German regime in the 40’s, and here we have a popular actor making light of the whole situation in a comedy with off-the-cuff remarks about concentration camps…
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12 Years a Slave (2013)
A very realistic, depressing, and gruesome look at an unfortunate period in American history. What we have in this film is a valuable historical document for those who want to know what slavery in the US was really like. But where’s the dramatic arc? Where’s the personal story of growth…
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Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)
Cute movie. Not one of Dench’s best, but she’s snappy and articulate and engaging as usual. Kelly Reilly is a stunner.
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The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Everything happens to peak suspense, everything neatly contributes to the story. The plot reminded me of La Femme Nikita and the Bourne movies which would come later. Davis plays a pretty good bad-ass. And yes, she’s pretty sexy. Jackson’s got some good lines. Why the title? Because it sounds cool?
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Snake Eyes (1998)
De Palma having fun with extremely long takes and multiple camera angles. And Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage. Other than that, story and dialogue and direction is 90’s plain.
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Beethoven (1992)
Silly. Grodin can be a lot funnier. Good for the kids, maybe? Turner & Hooch found success as a sloppy dog movie a few years earlier. I guess it was worth another shot.
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Lone Survivor (2013)
One the most intense, violent, bloody movies I’ve ever seen. Up there with Saving Private Ryan, and this one might have been worse. But it’s good. Most movies about the American military overdo the machismo and bravado to the point where it’s disingenuous and, to me, borderline offensive. But this…
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The Hunt (Jagten) (2012)
A small story, but a good one. This is a frustrating, unsettling movie to watch, but I guess that’s a testament to its storytelling. Mikkelsen is great. So is everyone else, for that matter. Non-American actors just seem much more natural. What’s the secret? A remarkable performance from Wedderkopp. When…
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Rush (2013)
This might be Howard’s best film. His movies are usually pretty safe and sterile, but he takes some chances here. Intense subject matter, edgy characters, really great shots, creative editing choices, and some pretty gruesome scenes. Hemsworth is pretty good, but Brühl’s performance steals the show. Nice to see him…
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54 (1998)
A flamboyant time and place. Myers definitely plays off-type. But aside from the shock value, there’s not much to it.
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
A nice story, pleasantly told by Madden. Wayward, geriatric souls find a spiritual awakening in India. This is Eat Pray Love for old people. Dench’s commentary is particularly poignant. Good characters and good performances by quality actors. Patel has had some attractive costars over the years, hasn’t he?
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Looper (2012)
A little trippy and confusing. When the main characters have an opportunity to clarify the multi-threaded story, they cop out with an “I don’t wanna talk about time travel shit!” line of dialogue. Lame. Nevertheless, I like how it all comes together. Great ending. Gordon-Levitt has been around for a…
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The Intouchables (2011)
That magical balance of comedy and drama make both a little bit better. Lots of fun to see these guys busting each other’s balls. But for two guys who had become best friends, Driss’ employment seemed to end a little too abruptly. Cluzet is the French Dustin Hoffman. Wonderfully expressive…
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Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Pretty dumb. It’s too bad Russell didn’t really have career as action star, maybe because he’s just too cheesy, at least in this one. He also talks a bit like Howard Cosell. Has he always talked like that? The inspiration for Mortal Kombat’s Raiden?
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42 (2013)
Boseman does a good job as Jackie. The baseball play is also pretty good, though I would have liked to see Boseman emulate Jackie’s unique running style. But the story tends to drag a bit. We get it, white people in the south hated him. At the risk of sounding…
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Dark Skies (2013)
A mix of Poltergeist and Signs. Freaky things happen to a family in a suburban neighborhood, an old wise person comes to help, turns out it’s extraterrestrial in origin, and they communicate via walkie-talkies. A few good stings, but the aliens were kind of crappy-looking.
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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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