Category: Action
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Star Wars The Last Jedi – Listening to old voices with a new ear
Star Wars The Last Jedi – 2017 Written and Directed by Rian Johnson Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro After so many movies and so much written and television on the characters and concepts of the force, it was a kind of foregone conclusion that we’d…
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Justice League (**1/2) Gathered too soon
I want to see more films with this cast. They are likable and they have something to offer. A deliberate altering of the path needs to happen behind to make that talent come alive.
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47 Meters Down (***) Almost didn’t make it
47 Meters Down – 2017 Director Johannes Roberts Screenplay by Roberts and Ernest Riara Starring Claire Holt, Mandy Moore, Chris J. Johnson, Yani Gellman, Santiago A. Segura, Matthew Modine 47 Meters Down is not a great movie. It’s really not all that good of a movie. What keeps it from being a bad film, however is a good script. Two sisters Lisa…
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Thor Ragnarok (****) a well-placed step towards the inevitable
In all, this is a fun film that is as good as one could expect coming from one of the heretofore most boring parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If it feels a bit underdone, it’s because it still follows the formula of megalomaniac who almost has it all until she doesn’t. Marvel has done…
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Brawl in Cell Block 99 (***1/2) – Grinds it out.
The brutality of this film almost demands that it be seen with friends who enjoy being shocked. There has not been this kind of mutilation in a film with this kind of acting in my life of watching film. The real prize is Vaughn, who shows complete trust in the words and storytelling of the…
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Kingsman: The Golden Circle (****) – Viva Las Vegan
There is no dip in quality or effort in this film. If you enjoyed the first one and can willingly suspend disbelief when it comes to characters that come and go, you should have no problems here. Vaughn’s sense of humor, understanding of visual flair and development of character is still on point here.
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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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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 Guest (****) While we’re on Adam Wingard…
The strength of the film is in the script and Wingard exploring the range of his lead antagonist.
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 