recent product reviews
Once (2007)
Nice, simple story. The music and talent is great, though maybe there’s a bit too much of it and not enough dialogue and character development.
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The Light Between Oceans (2016)
Gently paced, cleanly told, beautifully shot. Some of the shots are subtle but carefully chosen and metaphorical. This is a polished, smart movie. Fassbender’s performance is wonderfully restrained, and the old age make-up and performance is spot-on. Vikander, with her wonderfully expressive puppy dog eyes, puts in a great dramatic…
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I’m Here (2010)
Spike Jonze is an interesting dude, isn’t he? He’s a genius, but something’s a little off-center with him. A strange, charming but nightmarish story. Nice effects. Why English accents?
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13 Hours (2016)
This movie oozes with Bay’s visual style. Scenes are overly color-treated and contrasty, characters are all good-looking, orange, shiny, each trying to out-cool the other with macho lingo. Editing is predictably kinetic and with predictable interludes of slow-motion. Good action, though, with firefights and explosions that are intense and believable.…
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Finding Dory (2016)
Nothing really stands out about this one. Basically an continuation of Finding Nemo, only the story is not as crisp and the comedy is not as funny. Dory’s memory issue goes from cute affectation to downright annoying. Isn’t the story more about Dory finding her parents than it is about…
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David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)
I love Gervais and Brent, but this one just didn’t have the engaging humor of The Office. Main reason for that is the thin plot, a lack of subplots, and a shortage of supporting characters with real personalities. Gervais is trying to carry this thing solely with Brent’s schtick, and…
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The Accountant (2016)
Well-structured, seriously and methodically and efficiently told, with carefully constructed flashbacks revealing character and the motivations for the story, obviously written by someone who knows a lot about the legalities of corporate accounting. This feels literary, almost Grisham-y. Affleck plays a character that’s a mix of Raymond Babbitt and Jason…
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
A showcase of visual effects, but it’s all incredibly boring. I’m just not a fan of Harry Potter or magical fantasy stories. I went into this not knowing it was a Harry Potter film. My mistake. Ooh, a quirky little animal that is exotic and strangely cute and makes unusual…
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Fastball (2016)
Great biography of the fastball. Nicely paced, well-shot, with plenty of first-hand commentary from established players and some of the all-time greats. If anything, would have liked a bit of conjecture about how fast the balls were thrown in the early days of baseball. The math that brings it all…
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Allied (2016)
Like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, only with a historical setting and the polish of Robert Zemeckis. Story and characters are engaging throughout. Great sets and costumes help make it feel like an authentic period piece. Slow-paced, but the editing is good. Cotillard is great, but I think Pitt is bad…
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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 2,388 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
Some of these reviews contain spoilers, so if that bothers you, don't read!
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