recent product reviews
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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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 2,387 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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