Author: coolpapae
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American Made (***1/2) Liman and Cruise in Scorsese mode
American Made – 2017 Director Doug Liman Screenplay Gary Spinelli Starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jayma Mays, Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones, Alejandro Edda, Mauicio Mejia, Connor Trinneer, Jed Rees Watching Tom Cruise move through the quick cuts of Doug Liman’s story about Barry Seals secret life of transporting weapons, taking pictures for the Feds and drugs for…
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Atomic Blonde (***) – John Wick for chicks
Atomic Blonde – 2017 Director David Leitch Screenplay Kurt Johnstad based on The Coldest City by Antony Johnston, Sam Hart Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, Til Schweigher, Eddie Marsan, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave, Roland Møller There have been a few efforts to make Charlize Theron into an action star. Some of them good, like Mad Max…
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The Midnight Meat Train (**) before he was Bradley Cooper and after he was Clive Barker
The Midnight Meat Train – 2008 Director Ryuhei Kitamura Screenplay Jeff Buhler based on the short story by Clive Barker Starring Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Roger Bart, Ted Raimi, Vinnie Jones, Tony Curran Watching The Midnight Meat Train is a weird feeling. Looking back at Bradley Cooper before he found his acting mojo, he still seems like a kid here, even though he…
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Blade Runner 2049 (****) chooses life
There’s a lot here for people who loved the first film. For those who just liked it, like yours truly, this bridges some gaps. Not sure where they can go with the next film, if there is one with the same writer, it is sure to be interesting.
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Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (****) and Victoria & Abdul (***): Two pieces of a life continued
These films are not to be missed, if you want to see a master at her best. If forced to choose, I will take Connolly, Sher and Dench over Dench by ostensibly by herself.
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Adams and Jefferson on Movies: The Exorcist and its true sequel, Legion (Part 2 – Extended Editions)
CoolPapaE: First off, watching both stories at least twice in the space of a week, I can almost smell cigarette smoke wafting everywhere in my imagination. I know it was a different time, from 1990 and back, but seeing the different situations where cigarettes are presented became nauseating. Everyone had to just smell horrible.…
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Golden Sombrero: To Live And Die In L.A. (*) is just awful
To Live and Die in L.A. – 1985 Director William Friedkin Screenplay Friedkin & Gerald Petievich based on the novel by Petievich Starring Willem Dafoe, William L. Peterson, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, Jane Leeves, Jimmy Hart “You ain’t my partner. You ain’t even my fuckin’ friend!” If they took every horrible thing about 80’s…
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THE UNINVITED (1944): “If a spirit comes back, it’s for some particular purpose.”
Originally posted on Things I left my son: THE UNINVITED – 1944 – 99 minutes – ★★★★ Directed by Lewis Allen Starring Ray Milland (Roderick Fitzgerald), Ruth Hussey (Pamela Fitzgerald), Gail Russell (Stella Meredith), Donald Crisp (Commander Beech), Alan Napier (Dr. Scott), Cornelia Otis Skinner (Miss Holloway). Cinematography by Charles B. Lang Music by Victor Young Where to watch: Criterion Collection blu-ray, released in 2013. Alan Napier, Ray Milland, Gail Russell,…
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The Big Sick (*****) is graceful, genuine and funny
That there are several real male and female characters in The Big Sick is a tribute to its writers, the real life couple whose story is presented in the film. There are very few caricatures in the film. The ones that might qualify are so deftly handled, it just feels like a person we know…
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Gerald’s Game (****): We deserve the sunlight
Flanagan has a vision that many of us may not see at first. He carried the hardcover version of this book around with him for years while pitching films. Most didn’t see a movie in it. He saw more than a movie. He saw something about how some of us spend our lives in the…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 