Category: CPE
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Deliver Us From Evil (***) survives
Deliver Us From Evil – 2014 Director Scott Derrickson Starring Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Sean Harris, Joel McHale Screenplay by Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman Scott Derrickson has a way of making things seem really bad. Not just movie bad, but real, we’re not gonna make it bad. Sinister was replete with all sorts of things we’d all seen before, but…
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Chef (***1/2) is a plea to be recognized right out in the open
Chef – 2014 Written and Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Jr., Emjay Anthony One has only to look at Jon Favreau’s Carl Casper’s delicate handling of a menu that he’s made for no one while his staff makes a 10 year menu for a packed house to realize…
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Enemy (*****) Tangled and Dark
Enemy – 2013 Director Denis Villeneuve Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini, Mélanie Laurent Screenplay by Javier Gullón based on The Double by José Saramago “Chaos is order yet undeciphered.” Enemy is the kind of film that challenges you to absorb every moment. It’s not enough just to watch this film, you have to feel it. If you keep…
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Gone Girl (*****) won’t be ignored
Gone Girl – 2014 Director David Fincher Starring Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Kim Dickens, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Emily Ratajkowski, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson Screenplay Gillian Flynn based on her novel There is no better director thank David Fincher. Really, no one even comes consistently close to what he…
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Belle (****) is a beautiful complicated being
Belle – 2013 Director Amma Asante Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Sam Reid, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Tom Felton, James Norton Screenplay Misan Segay and Asante Belle has a premise quite unlike any I have seen. This is not to say that there are no films that have covered the idea of race, freedom and proper British society…
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Annabelle (***): Solid, but nothing you haven’t seen before
Annabelle – 2014 Director John R. Leonetti Starring Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard, Kerry O’Malley, Brian Howe, Eric Ladin, Ivar Brogger, Tree O’Toole, Kiera Daniels, Morganna May, Michelle Romano, Christopher Shaw Screenplay Gary Dauberman There is a consistency about the horror films of James Wan, from the Saw franchise through Insidious and The…
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Edge Of Tomorrow (***1/2): Try, try again…
Edge of Tomorrow – 2014 Director Doug Liman Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth based on All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka First thing’s first. Edge of Tomorrow is a likable film. Tom Cruise puts everything into it, just like usual. Cruise’s Major William Cage is a mouthpiece…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 