Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Author: coolpapae

  • Jupiter Ascending (**): Plateaus quickly, then sinks under its own insignificance

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    Jupiter Ascending – 2015 Written and Directed by The Wachowskis Starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Maria Boyle Kennedy, James D’Arcy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw Jupiter Jones (Kunis) is the daughter of a broken young Russian couple.  When her father is killed while she is in the womb, her mother journeys with the rest of the family…

  • Birdman (***1/2): Who is this guy?

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    Birdman – 2014 Director Alejandro González Iñárritu Starring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Lindsay Duncan Screenplay Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo It’s during the second balcony scene with Mike and Sam (Norton and Stone) that one begins to realize how riveting Birdman has become. It’s not that the script is all that wonderful,…

  • A new reason to love Lucy (****)

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    Lucy – 2014 Written and Directed by Luc Besson Starring Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Amr Waked, Choi Min-sik, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Nicolas Phongpheth, Analeigh Tipton, Paul Chan For all the activity Luc Besson has had in movies over the last decade as writer and producer for some interesting action fare (most notably in the Transporter and Taken series), he has not directed many live…

  • The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (***1/2) – So it ends…

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    The Hobbit – The Battle of Five Armies Director Peter Jackson Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, Billy Connolly, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro based on the…

  • Selma (*****): There can be no better time for this

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    Selma – 2014 Director Ava DuVernay Starring David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Niecy Nash, Colman Domingo, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Alessandro Nivola, Keith Stanfield, André Holland, Tessa Thompson, Wendell Pierce, Henry G. Sanders Screenplay by Paul Webb There are many strong feelings evoked for the viewer of Selma. In a country that is still struggling with the callouses of racial wounds,…

  • American Sniper (****1/2): Bleeds carefully with Eastwood’s heart

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    American Sniper – 2014 Director Clint Eastwood Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Max Charles, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Navid Negahban Screenplay Jason Hall based on the book by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice When looking into the game plan of documenting a martyr, it’s not easy to present the subject as a whole person, flaws and all. One of the…

  • Unbroken (****) is a fitting tribute to the spirit

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    Unbroken – 2014 Director Angelia Jolie Starring Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock Screenplay Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand The first thing readers of the book based on the remarkable life of Louis Zamperini need to prepare for is that there is no way this movie, vast as it is, can match the sheer…

  • John Wick (***1/2): I’m thinking you don’t kill the dog

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    John Wick – 2014 Director Chad Stahelski, David Leitch Starring Keanu Reeves,Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Willem Dafoe Screenplay Derek Kolstad John Wick (Reeves) is a retired hitman / tough guy for the Russian Mob. He got out and nobody really wanted him back in. The Mob Boss’s Son, who amazingly had no clue who he was,…

  • Foxcatcher (***): It doesn’t take a genius to be born into money

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    Foxcatcher – 2014 Director Bennett Miller Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall Screenplay by E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman A story about misfits can be a sweet thing about overcoming adversity. In the case of Mark (Tatum) and Dave Shultz’ (Ruffalo) intersection with John “Golden Eagle” du Pont (Carrell), it is an eerie and dangerous…

  • Jersey Boys (***1/2) is solid but dims the power of the band

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    Jersey Boys – 2014 Director Clint Eastwood Starring John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, Christopher Walken Screenplay based on the play by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice  When reviewing a movie based upon a musical, it’s hard to see the origin material as anything other than a starting point. Most of the events may have happened in one form…