Category: CPE
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The 5th Wave (**) is low impact repetition
There is nothing here distinguishing this film from any of those other stories. The only appeal it can possibly have is if you are young enough to have not been inundated by the other examples and still think that it’s pluck that wins out over experience.
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The Hunger Games 4, Mockingjay 2 (***) is grim and joyless
So if you are looking for things to blow up, expectant surprises to pop out or just plain misery to abound, you may like this film. If you want the same thing, but you want your daughter to feel like she can be a hero, better stick to The Force Awakens.
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Black Mass (**) is not moving
Someone messes up, they go for a car ride, they get whacked. Someone gets arrested, they talk (or don’t) they go for a car ride…you know.
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Victor Frankenstein (*1/2) Igor is not Igor
Victor Frankenstein – 2015 Director Paul McGuigan Screenplay Max Landis based on the novel by Mary Shelley Starring Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, Charles Dance, Spencer Wilding, Freddie Fox Rule #3 – The real monster in any monster movie is not the narrator. Rule #54 – There is a pretty girl for everyone, especially if the hunchback is curable.…
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Brooklyn (*****) if only every girl was Irish this way
Brooklyn – 2015 Director John Crowley Screenplay Nick Hornby based on the book by Colm Tóibín Starring Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Fiona Glasscott, Jessica Paré There is a symmetry and beauty in the art in Brooklyn that is rarely seen in film. It’s a straightforward story of the complicated dream of immigration that takes place…
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10 Cloverfield Lane: Children behave… (****1/2)
This is the rare case where the tie in works for the right reasons.
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Steve Jobs (*****) is a good find
Steve Jobs – 2015 Director Danny Boyle Screenplay Aaron Sorkin based on the book by Walter Isaacson Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Perla Haney-Jardine There’s nothing quite as appealing as Oscar bait that actually feels like a real work of art. What we have with Steve Jobs is nothing less than Boyle, Sorkin, Fassbender, Winslet and even Jeff…
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I Don’t Have A Vote: The 88th Annual Oscars – Cut the crap
The 88th Avenue Oscars – Cut the crap Enough of this stuff. It’s getting old. Why is it that each year increasingly mediocre films are awarded for having one trick pony, when well rounded fare is given a pat on the ass and shown the side door? Yes, it’s Leonardo’s year. Why? Because we’ve been…
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Spotlight (****1/2) takes the road less travelled
Spotlight – 2015 Director Tom McCarthy Screenplay by McCarthy and Josh Singer Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Len Cariou, Jamey Sheridan, Paul Guilfoyle, Brian d’Arcy James, Billy Crudup In 2001, Marty Baron (Schreiber) is the new editor of the The Boston Globe. His perspective is that of an outsider and being so, he is not…
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Deadpool (***1/2) is a refresher course
Deadpool – 2016 Director Tim Miller Screenplay Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Ryan Reynolds Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Leslie Uggams First off, there is nothing in Deadpool that approaches the visual spectacle of his first scene in the first Wolverine spinoff. You know the one, when he gets off of the…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 