Category: Classic
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The Family: Not everything’s alright
The Family – 2013 Director Luc Besson Starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, Tommy Lee Jones, John D’Leo Writers Besson and Michael Caleo Fading are the days in which Robert DeNiro commanded the screen. The script of The Family goes so far as to describe his use of the “F”-word at the expense of actually seeing him use it.…
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12 Years a Slave: Real Real Gone
12 Years A Slave – 2013 Director Steve McQueen Actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard Writer John Ridley based on the book by Solomon Northup I have owned a copy of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ for 10 years, and have yet to watch the film. In my heart, it is easy…
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (*****) is loaded with simplicity
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…
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About Time: Most Charming and Clever
About Time – 2013 Written and Directed by Richard Curtis Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie, Lydia Wilson, Richard Cordery Meetings in romantic comedies are hard to do well. So many of them giver the appearance of cleverness, but instead have been used so many times they have worn a path on the brain of the…
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Frozen: I love warm hugs!
Frozen – 2013 Directors Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Starring Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Williams, Edie McClurg Screenplay Jennifer Lee based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen I hope I never get too old to appreciate the effect of a magical story on a child-like heart. Watching this movie with my daughters was a transformative event for…
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Forgotten Gems: The Changeling house as haunted as the Man
The Changeling – 1980 Director Peter Medak Starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh, Helen Burns, Madeleine Sherwood Screenplay Russell Hunter, William Gray, Diana Maddox It’s hard for me to picture George C. Scott as a happy man. While I am sure many could agree with me on this sentiment, our reasons may differ. My mind’s eye has forever…
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Forgotten Gem: John Carpenter’s Halloween 35th Anniversary Edition finally comes to High Def
Halloween – 1978 Director John Carpenter Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews Screenplay Carpenter and Debra Hill The Shape. The Innocence. The piano score. The lens that showed the danger just out of focus, and then in focus. Just for a second. The leaves that blow in, almost…
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The Reluctant Fundamentalist: What is the Pakistani dream?
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – 2012 Director Mira Nair Starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Martin Donovan Screenplay William Wheeler Written by Mohsin Hamid and Ami Boghani I am thankful for the cinematic voice that is Mira Nair. Who else could take a subject as potentially divisive as a man’s movement from a devoted…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 