Barry Lyndon (1975)
Slow and sterile, like a lot of Kubrick’s movies. No way a movie like this gets made today. Too epic and not commercial enough. With it’s long, static takes, natural lighting, average-looking characters acting confidently and naturally with period dialogue, and seemingly authentic costumes and sets, it’s an immersive snapshot…
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Brave (2012)
It’s a bit touching, but it could be a bit more. The story and characters are a bit one-dimensional. The whole thing’s a little more Disney than Pixar’s other movies. For a change, we get to see an understanding and compassionate father, and a cold and ruthless mother. Some good…
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Real Steel (2011)
Not horrible. Pulls many of the same strings as Rocky. Goyo is actually pretty good. Olga Fonda is a knockout.
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Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Some humorous underacting, and a few funny lines. A lot of good nostalgia humor from an impressive cast of young comic actors. Rudd nails it. A veil of weak Saturday Night Live humor cheapens the whole thing just a bit.
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3 Idiots (2009)
A revelry of piss, suicide, musical numbers, crying, and bad comedy. Any attempt at drama is killed by some combination of the aforementioned. With so many swings in mood, it’s hard to appreciate the story. Humor comes in the form of slapstick, childish insults, and carnival music. And when the…
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Network (1976)
A look at the self-consciousness of television in the 70’s, how mass media sensationalism has corrupted and ruined us, and the state of the corporate-driven world. In these respects, the film was way ahead of its time. Today, we need a similar comment on the Internet. Also an interesting comment…
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Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
A Leone epic, but the length of the movie is also epic and the pacing is excruciatingly slow. I know there was controversy about how this film was cut by American studios, and cutting things out indiscriminately is not the right thing to do, but I know that there is…
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The Expendables 2 (2012)
With an improved story, some heart, more tongue-in-cheek humor, and snappy lines, this one’s better than the first. Willis and Schwarzenegger surprisingly good in action roles. Jet Li’s brilliant but hardly in the movie at all. Why? Yu is good, but I would have liked more action from her to…
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Craig is solid in the lead, and Mara fills some big shoes with a courageous performance. But why does everyone pull off a Swedish accent except Craig? Casting choices aside, this film doesn’t have much that is original. The same story (albeit with some slight changes), style, and intensity are…
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U2: Elevation 2001 Live from Boston (2001)
Documentary-like concert footage, with simple shots of the performers and few shots of the crowd. Not much pizzazz. Much of the footage suffers from resolution and/or focus issues. The Bono cam is cool but hardly used. The tour’s flashy video is hardly integrated at all. The only creative license seems…
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127 Hours (2010)
Harrowing, emotional story and performance. For the first time, Franco really shows what he can do. Really uncomfortable to watch, but that just makes the ending that much more powerful. Great score, editing, and photography, especially considering the small space where most of the story took place. Boyle knows what…
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Another Earth (2011)
It’s fine having a weird main character, but when everyone is weird, or if everyone acts as if the main character is not being weird, it doesn’t work. When people do not act and react in realistic ways, the story is not realistic. And I won’t even get into the…
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Knight and Day (2010)
Stupid. Cruise is weird enough to put his heart and soul into a dumb movie, but Diaz should be ashamed.
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Breakdown (1997)
Better than I thought it would be. Nice story and pacing. Walsh is quality.
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21 Jump Street (2012)
Started out silly and just got dumber as it went on. Tatum is surprisingly funny, Hill is surprisingly unfunny.
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About Schmidt (2002)
Depressing, but there’s enough quirkiness to keep it light. Payne’s good at that. He’s not Wes Anderson quirky, but there’s just enough to take the edge off. Nice to see Nicholson embracing his old age. Interesting ending. What’s the message there?
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Shaft (1971)
Slow-moving and a little awkward, like most movies from the 70’s. But this one’s got style. Roundtree’s silky smooth in the lead role.
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My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
A happy movie filled with magic and innocence, but not much happens. It evokes a feeling more than it tells a story. Miyazaki seems to use the same themes, animation, and music in all of his movies. Nice characters. Fanning does a good job in the Disney dub. I want…
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Ip Man (2008)
Donnie Yen is fantastic. A stoic, engaging performance, and the guy can really move. A perfect example of how understated heroes are always the most interesting. Siu-Wong Fan and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi are bad-ass villains. Wonderful kung fu with some real impacts. Well-shot and edited, this martial arts action is some…
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The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Fanciful, engaging story, but when David realizes that the caseworkers not human, shouldn’t he have asked more questions? Blunt is really good, the effects to put her face on a dancer were flawless. Mackie is great, too. Nolfi’s direction was great. Why hasn’t he done more? Good score by Thomas…
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Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Probably popular because it was one of the first movies of its kind and, for today’s audiences, because it was Arnold’s first big movie. But when you strip all that away, story is lame. Blaring music and visuals are not enough to create drama. I do like how Conan’s not…
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Ran (1985)
Epic in scale, but boring. The story’s just not all that interesting, and the characters too theatrical to be real. Japanese people are either: silent and contemplative, or yelling because they are angry, or confused, or desperate
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
With most of the character-driven drama unfolding on a single set, it feels very theatrical. Natural, improvised dialogue gives it a refreshing authenticity. The beginning is a bit odd. The bank employees seem unusually calm for a hold-up, and some of the lines and situations border on comedy, undercutting the…
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Same blaring horns and character-heavy plot of the other Batman movies. The setup was a bit slow, but the second half was pretty solid. Hathaway was OK, but I still preferred Pfeiffer. Hardy was good as Bane, but his mask made it hard for him to be expressive and, with…
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Life of Brian (1979)
The absurdity of Monty Python isn’t really for me, but there are a few funny moments, especially in scenes where cast members struggle to contain their laughter. Palin’s my favorite. He has amazing control of his voice.
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Shutter Island (2010)
A classic thriller. Scorsese definitely channeled Hitchcock for this one. Story is nice and twisty. Great sets, careful special effects, and smooth, sweeping camera motions really set the mood. Some editing/continuity errors. I know a lot of it was intentional, but some of it was just sloppy. DiCaprio’s good at…
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Drive (2011)
Intriguing. Artsy direction, with beautiful photography and poignant moments of silence and reflection. The mixed score of echoey percussion (reminiscent of Heat) and the 80’s-inspired soundtrack, along with the old school font and colors for the title and credits, give the film a very interesting feel. Early on, the lack…
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The Dream Team (2012)
Some good stories, some good footage. But instead of individual interviews of players saying how awesome it was, group interviews may have rekindled some of that old camaraderie. Would have been nice to see. Graphics showing the actual scores of games they played as they progressed to the gold medal…
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Thunderball (1965)
A magic combination of action, one-liners, and sexuality separated Bond movies from the rest. But here, we’ve got a the goofy story, bad dubbing, and dated effects.
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Ted (2012)
Polished and touching, but I was expecting more real comedy from Seth. There’s lots of easy “I can’t believe he said that” humor, but not much real wit. Somehow, I think that this was a learning experience for Seth. His future live-action movies will be much better.
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997)
An insult to Verne that something so low-budget and poorly acted was made from his masterpiece. Julie Cox is attractive like an alien.
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Oldboy (2003)
A twisted story, raw and intense. Choi Min-sik keeps us engaged the whole way. Nice photography and editing.
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Das Boot (1981)
A noble attempt to make a real movie during an otherwise awkward and unsatisfying few years in film history. But there’s not much going on. These guys spend days on end looking for other boats and picking at each others pubic lice, and it feels like we’re watching it all…
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Mary and Max (2009)
Funny writing and great animation. Pretty cool how everything form Australia was brown and everything from New York was gray. All the dark humor is fun but is so excessive that it prevents any real drama. Lots of farting and random animal suffering. Death is whimsical. The main theme is…
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Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger – London, New York, Johannesburg (2008)
Chris Rock’s got it. Good stuff. Your standard Rock material, topical and on point. Amazing how seamlessly it’s all woven together. Rock seems to be pretty good about staying on script.
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The Switch (2010)
Not much to it. Bateman’s easygoing humor works when he’s got funny people and a good story around him, but he doesn’t have that here.
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Friends with Benefits (2011)
Risque story line and sex scenes from a couple of today’s hot, young stars. Trendy backdrops of New York and LA. Disabled father figure provides drama. Too easy. Patricia Clarkson was funny.
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Prometheus (2012)
A film epic in scale is reduced to a mediocre action flick by sloppy execution. How realistic is this high-priced scientific expedition? To begin with, there’s no way a long-term expedition into space would be comprised of characters so antagonistic towards each other for no particular reason. Think about how…
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White Chicks (2004)
The Wayans brothers are funny. This one’s goofy, bit not too goofy. There’s actually some good comedy here.
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Downfall (2004)
Lots of research went into the proper sequencing of events and the impressively reconstructed sets. The same authentic treatment for other German stories from war in subsequent films would be epic. Authentic performances all around. Kudos to Ganz for pulling it off. Discounting the argument that Hitler should never be…
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Jackie Chan’s Who Am I? (1998)
Bad acting, even for a kung fu movie. It’s especially amazing how awful the white, typically Australian actors are. It’s also dumb how everyone, even the executive types, break out with perfect kung fu. How realistic is that? Some decent action on the roof at the end.
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Vertigo 2005: U2 Live from Chicago (2005)
Uninspired, documentary-style footage of a U2 concert. Almost no crowd shots. And why Chicago? It doesn’t seem like a particularly interesting venue. Bono flubbing a few lines didn’t help. A concert film should be more than this. U2 3D did it right.
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The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
Interesting story, but the buildup to the creepy and touching ending is a bit long and slow. Darín is an interesting actor and turns in a nice performance. One of the signs of a good movie is that you feel like you really know and understand the characters by the…
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Gossip (2000)
Nice cast of future stars, but the plot is juvenile and it feels like a low-budget movie from the mid-90’s.
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Drive Angry (2011)
Awful. Is this what Nic Cage and William Fichtner have reduced themselves to?
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Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Interesting concept, but not even a modern treatment is enough to make Shakespeare appealing to me.
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Warrior (2011)
A nicely paced, well-told, real story with real characters. This is a good fighting movie, probably the best since Rocky. Hardy, Edgerton, and Nolte all turn in Oscar-worthy performances. I find it interesting that the two quintessential American tough guys were played by non-Americans. A statement on the sad state…
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Unknown (2011)
It’s basically The Bourne Identity with Neeson reprising his role as a bad-ass from Taken. In the course of finding his true identity, some of the decisions Harris makes when interacting with others are dumb or unrealistic. Not knowing he was an agent, he would have been more inquisitive and…
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The Avengers (2012)
Fantastic action/effects and a pretty good story, if not a bit confusing for those not familiar with all of the backstories, particularly Thor’s. But it doesn’t take long to get up to speed on the characters. Through careful storytelling, their individual strengths and weaknesses are revealed in time. Great casting…
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Dying Young (1991)
A young Roberts good, and Scott’s performance a cancer patient is heartbreaking and courageous, but the story’s missing something. Is it too simple? Are the supporting characters and their relationships to the main characters underused and underexplored? There’s obvious drama with a dying man falling in love, but there’s potential…
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The Tree of Life (2011)
Long and meandering and cerebral, it’s stream-of-consciousness with a Steadicam. That’s Malick. Beautiful photography, together with thoughtful set design, careful exposure, and a moving camera really capture the time and place. Wonderful astronomy, geology, and biology effects. Great acting, or non-acting, from the kids. Pitt and Chastain are good, but…
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City Lights (1931)
People love this one, but it’s not one of Chaplin’s best, in my opinion. Modern Times weaves a good story with Chaplin’s physical comedy much more effectively. An unconventionally ambiguous ending for its time. Also not sure why it’s called City Lights.
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The Pianist (2002)
Any story about Jews in WWII Poland is going to be depressing. Relying on that as the source of the drama, and not the personal story of the main characters, is cheating. The story is all over the place. There are times when I’m not sure where Szpilman is, why…
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The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
Good for fans of the series. The young actors were surprisingly funny.
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Elizabeth (1998)
An interesting slice of her life, but enough for a movie? Blanchett is pretty good, and based on the available evidence, really looked like her. But does her characters suffer enough for us to really care?
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Eat Pray Love (2010)
One of the best movies about the self-discovery component of travel. This one resonates with many of my personal feelings on the subject. Great cast. Roberts is marvelously expressive. I wonder how it would have played with a male in the lead role. Jenkins does a great job playing a…
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Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Nice little story. A strange combination of magic and intense violence. This one is not for the kiddies. Wonderful effects and colors. The palette of greens, browns, and white was deliberate and magical. Thoughtful, seamless editing weaves it all together. Baquero is unconventionally cute and magnetic. López is the perfect…
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The Artist (2011)
Points for novelty, but the story was merely decent. The goofy, theatrical overacting of Dujardin’s performance is often found in French cinema and usually annoying, but here it fits the part perfectly. Valentin is suave, funny, and emotional. A great performance. Bejo is good, too. The dance number at the…
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Lionheart (1990)
Typical Van Damme fare. His physique and some of his moves are the centerpiece, and there’s not much else. Forced stories, completely amateur actors, low-budget sets.
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The Magic of Flight (1996)
More about the Blue Angels specifically than flight in general. Good sound, but Selleck’s narration was a bit simplistic and cheesy. Some more scientific background would have been interesting.
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The Lives of Others (2006)
Quality story about what might be becoming a forgotten era in Germany. The story, performances, and remarkably authentic sets are important documentation for this period of Germany’s history. Mühe was completely engaging as the cold, calculating Wiesler, reminding me a bit of Brían F. O’Byrne in The International. His Oscar-worthy…
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Not a real story, it’s more of a snapshot of quirky characters at a mental institute. Nothing happens. It’s a horrifying ending, and a minor character gets redeemed, but it’s not enough. Every Academy Award in 1975? Really? You can feel the Broadway roots. It’s all very theatrical, with melodrama,…
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A Separation (2011)
The comfortable pacing, handheld camera, lack of score, and perfectly natural dialogue make the story and the people in it very real. Perfect performances by all actors: lead and supporting, big and small, young and old. An interesting exploration of Iranian law and faith and the gray area in between.…
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The Prestige (2006)
Interesting story from an interesting time. The plot bounces around just enough to keep things unpredictable. Great characters and performances. Jackman, Bale, and Caine are all good. Even Johansson pulls it off. Wonderful job on costumes and sets. How could they not have gotten an Oscar for that?
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John Carter (2012)
Reminded me a lot of Avatar. A man, or more precisely a copy of a man, is whisked to another world filled with aliens, aliens who are tall and slender and athletic and tribal. In this world, he finds his purpose in life, and he finds love. Given the choice…
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Airport (1970)
A lot of films from this period of American history showcased technology newly made available to the public and expressed a certain confidence in adopting it. Technical dialogue and rigid protocol were integral elements of the plot. In this case, the new technology was commercial air travel. The interwoven stories…
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All That Heaven Allows (1955)
A flat story about morals rather than one with drama and interesting characters. Hudson, in particular, was a bit dull. By the musical crescendo at the end, I wasn’t feeling much.
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Robin Hood (2010)
Decent but unremarkable story, performances, and action. Ridley Scott is good at making mediocre epic movies. Mark Strong’s pretty cool.
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Project X (2012)
Nothing to it. When a movie reduces itself to a midget punching other people in the balls, it’s hopeless. The only thing I know for sure is that I wanted to punch Oliver Cooper in the face and that Alexis Knapp is good-looking. Was Thomas really on drugs? Looked like…
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X-Men: First Class (2011)
Pretty faithful to the series. Lots of great effects. Love the cameos by Jackman and Romijn.
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Hugo (2011)
An homage to early cinema, and a nice rendition of 1930’s Paris, but for what? It’s more a slice of life than a story worth telling. Nice effects and lots of gliding camerawork, but there’s just not much to it. Why do they have English accents? This isn’t Dickens. Quite…
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Single White Female (1992)
Good story, classically spooky. I could see this as a remake of a Hitchcockian 50’s horror. Leigh is good at playing evil.
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Stir Crazy (1980)
Perhaps funny for its time, but it doesn’t hold up. Slow and silly. Wilder always has a nice delivery. Was Pryor comfortable in front of the camera? He’s always got that deer-in-the-headlights look. Neither of them are terribly funny. Minor characters and extras were all so horrible in the 70’s…
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The Hangover Part II (2011)
With the characters already established, the adventure continues. Only this time, the comedy is better. Galifianakis is especially funny.
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Superman III (1983)
The whole thing’s a bit silly. Lame story, uninspired performances, and really bad slapstick. The scrapyard fight and supercomputer finale were the only good sequences. I bet Reeve had a good time playing bad Superman. That was by far the most interesting character. But without Lex and almost no Lois,…
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Safe House (2012)
Exciting to see Washington play a bad guy, and just as exciting to see Reynolds, typically the pretty-boy smart-ass, constantly beaten and humbled and victimized by situations way over his head. He doesn’t crack a joke once. Both do an amazing job. Espinosa, a relative newcomer, has skills. Story and…
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Contagion (2011)
Through understated, natural performances from an exceptional cast, really good make-up, unobtrusive photography and editing, and a Cliff Martinez score that beats with urgency and gloom, Soderbergh creates a realistic sense of apocalyptic desperation. It’s very real and very scary. Soderbergh continues his love affair with Matt Damon. They work…
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Midnight in Paris (2011)
Whimsical and fun. The exploration of nostalgia and the Golden Age Fallacy is fascinating. Wilson is great. He’s obviously playing the Woody Allen role: talkative and pensive and confused about his place in the universe. McAdams is cute but flubs a few lines. Nice performances by all the historical characters.…
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The Atomic Cafe (1982)
An interesting look at an important and often overlooked part of American history. Loader’s description of the film as “compilation verite” seems quite accurate.
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Red Planet (2000)
A pretty good implementation of sci-fi, I think. A pleasant, leisurely pace, nice effects, and few cheap scares. I’m surprised that NASA turned down consultation on the film due to what they considered to be rampant scientific inaccuracies. This one seemed more true-to-life than a lot of other sci-fi movies.…
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The January Man (1989)
Horrible dialogue, a idiotic story, misplaced comedy, and uninspired direction. The plot is singular and weak. Any killer with a predictable pattern would WANT to be caught, reducing whatever drama there may have been to nothing. Great cast, but the characters are just caricatures, leaving performances flat and lifeless. Keitel…
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
A noble attempt to get some great characters together, and the action is decent, but it’s but nothing special. Connery’s last movie was an action movie. Go figure.
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K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Not bad. But of the recent international submarine dramas, this one’s probably the least interesting.
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JFK (1991)
Stone does a pretty good job exploring the complex character associations of the conspiracy and dramatizing the assassination. Very long but maintains interest. Great casting and performances from a lot of familiar faces. Neat seeing Lemmon do drama.
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Anaconda (1997)
Silly movie with horrible effects, as expected. Might have been a good movie if it was made fifty years ago. Lots of familiar faces, but the characters are hollow. Voight does his best Scarface impression. How did Llosa even get this made?
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Unstoppable (2010)
Some of the situations are annoyingly overdramatic, and the nauseating editing superficializes the action. This is Scott’s trademark and often his downfall. Can’t think of another movie about a runaway train.
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Flirting with Disaster (1996)
Borders on being too silly, even for a farce. One of Stiller’s early roles. I guess I never realized how prolific he’s been. Without anyone really noticing, he’s become one of the biggest stars of our generation. Camerawork’s not so hot. Russell got a lot better later on.
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Moneyball (2011)
A bit long, even for a guy who loves baseball and statistics. Pitt took the role and ran, but I’m just not sure the role and story is dramatic and interesting enough to maintain interest for 2+ hours. The backstory about Beane’s family was just a backstory when it should…
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RoboCop (1987)
Good 80’s action movie with great Verhoeven bloodiness, but the story and characters are a little thin. Certainly took some inspiration from Terminator. Weller’s pretty good, but it’s too bad this is the only thing he’d ever be known for. Smith, who’s had a long career playing tame supporting characters,…
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Three Fugitives (1989)
Funny. Short’s a good physical comedian. He would have been huge in the 20’s. Nolte is a good contrast. The kid is cute.
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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 2,363 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
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