Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Category: Action

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • A Walk Among The Tombstones (***1/2): Deliberate, with a few surprises

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    A Walk Among The Tombstones – 2014 Writer and Director Scott Frank Starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook, Sebastian Roché, Brian “Astro” Bradley, David Harbour, Adam David Thompson Based upon the book by Lawrence Block There is something very lived in about Liam Neeson’s Matthew Scudder, the protagonist from A Walk Among The Tombstones. Given the this story takes place…

  • The Equalizer (***1/2) is brutal art in motion

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    The Equalizer – 2014 Director Antoine Fuqua Starring Denzel Washington,  Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo Screenplay Richard Wenk based on the TV Show by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloane The Equalizer is the type of story that would have agonized one to watch if it had been created by lesser talents than Fuqua and especially Denzel. Bearing…

  • The Expendables 3 (***1/2) – Holy crap! It’s not bad!

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    The Expendables 3 – 2014 Director Patrick Hughes Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz, Robert Davi, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger Screenplay by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Sylvester Stallone The first two episodes of this series went down the toilet bowl. The first was a decent attempt at creating a story with some…

  • Nightcrawler (*****) is the best kind of throwback

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    Nightcrawler – 2014 Written & Directed by Dan Gilroy Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton, Ann Cusack, Kevin Rahm, Eric Lange This is the kind of film that keeps me watching movies. The acting, the cinematography, the script and the promise of making an unforgettable experience with a small amount of overhead.…

  • Edge Of Tomorrow (***1/2): Try, try again…

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    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…

  • The November Man (*): Is about as smooth as a Movember Man

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    November Man – 2014 Director Roger Donaldson Starring Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Eliza Taylor, Caterina Scorsone, Bill Smitrovich, Will Patton Screenplay by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek based on the Bill Granger book, There Are No Spies About 30 minutes into The November Man, Pierce Brosnan’s Devereaux, fresh off of saving Kurylenko’s Alice from certain death, informs her in the most defeated…

  • The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (***): If you can work it in

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    The Amazing Spider-Man 2: 2014 Director Marc Webb Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field Screenplay Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner The opening segment of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 seems like it could really be fun. The actor most suited for the role, Andrew Garfield,…

  • Guardians of the Galaxy (*****): Super Awesome Mix, Vol.1

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    Guardians of the Galaxy – 2014 Director James Gunn Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro, Peter Serafinowicz Screenplay Gunn & Nicole Perman I just saw the movie event of the summer.  And I waited until I saw it…