recent product reviews
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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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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