recent product reviews
Predator 2 (1990)
Pretty awful. They took the original and added a shitty story, shitty characters, and shitty dialogue.
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The Apartment (1960)
A wonderful little story, smartly told and well-directed. Long takes and wider shots, which I know Wilder fought for, both work wonderfully. Made during the wonderful transition between the formal 50’s and experimental 60’s. In the themes and performances, you can see the boundaries being pushed a little bit, but…
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Beautiful to see Seuss’ characters and universe come to life on film. Maybe it captured the imagination back in the day, but under a critical eye, the story and animation and songs are all pretty bad.
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Paths of Glory (1957)
Kubrick makes movies about men victimized by their environments, men who are being disconnected from each other, men who must abandon the formalities of daily life to deal with the pressure and chaos of their personal struggles. This one’s a perfect example. But this one’s made before Kubrick really started…
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Bridge of Spies (2015)
A story about an important and overlooked period in American history. Beautifully shot, with great effects and period costumes. A touch of light comedy perfectly sweetens the tension of the story. Performances ring true for the period, with everyone looking and feeling authentic. Spielberg, when he’s on, creates a depth…
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Spotlight (2015)
Not a documentary, but it’s made with a certain straightforwardness and detail that leads me to believe that the facts were heavily researched and few fictional liberties were really taken. That said, as an instrument of social change, I don’t think the film will really change things a whole lot…
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The Hateful Eight (2015)
As expected, it’s violent, dialogue-driven, and filled with two-faced characters. But for a film this long, I’m just not sure the story is interesting enough. Not a whole lot happens. A stagecoach picks up a black guy, they go to a cabin, and characters spar with dialogue for a while…
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As Good as It Gets (1997)
Not sure what Melvin’s OCD has to do with anything. He’s clearly an asshole, and that’s what drives the conflict in the story. His OCD is really just a distraction. Nicholson’s pretty good. I’ve always thought Hunt is cute in an unconventional sort of way. Kinnear is fantastic, one of…
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The Punisher: Dirty Laundry (2012)
Why would they make a short for this? I don’t get it. There’s not much to it.
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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
A great exposé of one of the biggest shams in recent years. Amazing the Church even allowed it to get made. If they were smart, they would have prevented its production from happening in the first place. Now, it’s too late. It’s scary how seductive this is to some people,…
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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 2,371 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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