Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Author: coolpapae

  • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (*****) is loaded with simplicity

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    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – 1962 Director John Ford Starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles, Edmond O’Brien, Lee Van Cleef, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, John Carradine, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin Screenplay Willis Golbeck and James Warner Bellah based upon the story by Dorothy M. Johnson There is a…

  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Opportunity Lost and Exhausted

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    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – 2013 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 Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro based on the book The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien I can remember when I first saw the movie Star Wars: Attack of the…

  • The Butler (***1/2) – Broad strokes don’t work as well as fine detail

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    The Butler – 2013 Directed by Lee Daniels Starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Terence Howard, David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley, David Banner, Mariah Carey, Adriane Lenox, Yaya DaCosta, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Clarence Williams III, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Colman Domingo, Robin Williams, James DuMont, Robert Aberdeen, James Mardsen, Minka Kelly, Liev Schreiber. John Cusack, Alex Manette,…

  • Escape Plan (***): Character actors beware

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      Escape Plan – 2013 Director Mikael Håfström Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, Amy Ryan, Sam Neill, Faran Tahir Screenplay Miles Chapman, Jason Keller Having skipped many of Sylvester Stallone’s mid ’80’s early ’90’s fare, such as Over The Top, Lock Up, Cobra, Oscar, Stop! or my Mom will Shoot, etc., I sometimes wondered if…

  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (***1/2) more hunger, more games

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      The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – 2013 Director Francis Lawrence Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland Screenplay Simon Beaufoy, Michael deBruyn based on the book by Suzanne Collins After struggling through the first book of the series, The Hunger Games, I was not looking forward to the movie…

  • Prisoners (****) exceeds the grasp of its flaws

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    Prisoners – 2013 Director Denis Villeneuve Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Dylan Minnette Screenplay Aaron Guzikowski One could say that I am not a fan of Paul Dano or Melissa Leo.  They often play detestable creatures; almost always intentionally.  Many of the best parts of their films involve them losing or being hurt in some way.…

  • Despicable Me 2 (***): The great average

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    Despicable Me 2 – 2013 Directors Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong Screenplay Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio It’s a simple premise.  Put a threadbare story involving super criminals, make one a loveable doof who can’t resist cute kids (who can?), throw in some adorable Igor types and then you’ve…

  • Don Jon (****1/2): Consideration is the key

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    Don Jon – 2013 Written and Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Rob Brown, Glenne Headly, Brie Larson, Tony Danza There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that Brie Larson is featured in not only this film, but she is also a player in The Spectacular Now.  Each film features a man working through some…

  • The Spectacular Now (****)- Young, drunk and full of hope.

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    The Spectacular Now – 2013 Director James Ponsoldt Starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler, Bob Odenkirk, Andre Royer, Dayo Okeniyi, Kaitlyn Dever Screenplay Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber based on the book by Tim Tharp There is a time after Sutter and Aimee (Teller and Woodley) share a most intimate moment where she lays there and looks…

  • Gravity: Beautiful, if annoying

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    Gravity – 2013 Director Alfonso Cuarón Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris (voice) Screenplay Jonás and Alfonso Cuarón In the end, it’s not how long one lives, but the quality of life one lives.  The events that take place in the span of the film Gravity lends credence to that axiom.  If I were in the…