recent product reviews
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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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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