Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Category: Drama

  • Boyhood (***1/2): Life doesn’t give you bumpers

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    Boyhood – 2014 Written and Directed by Richard Linklater Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Marco Pella After having endured almost 3 hours of Richard Linklater’s passion project of 12 or so years, it is hard to come to any sort of conclusion. Was it a triumph of the artistic spirit? Is it a wasted opportunity of…

  • The Theory of Everything (****1/2) is a sweet tale about what love can create

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    The Theory of Everything – 2014 Director James Marsh Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis Screenplay by Anthony McCarten based on the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking To see The Theory of Everything is to see glimpses of brilliance, and the kind-hearted woman he loves. We…

  • The Imitation Game (***1/2) nice to know how we won

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    The Imitation Game – 2014 Director Morten Tyldum Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Allen Leech Screenplay by Graham Moore based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Adrew Hodges So many of these films come out that are based on real human events. Problem is, no one has the courage to tell the entire…

  • Whiplash (*****) dashes your hopes

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    Whiplash – 2014 Writer and Director Damien Chazelle Starring  J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser If you are looking for the inspirational story of the year, this is not it. If you are looking to see a movie about justice, it is not this film. Whiplash is almost unidentifiable in nature, in that the…

  • Birdman (***1/2): Who is this guy?

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    Birdman – 2014 Director Alejandro González Iñárritu Starring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Lindsay Duncan Screenplay Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo It’s during the second balcony scene with Mike and Sam (Norton and Stone) that one begins to realize how riveting Birdman has become. It’s not that the script is all that wonderful,…

  • Selma (*****): There can be no better time for this

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    Selma – 2014 Director Ava DuVernay Starring David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Niecy Nash, Colman Domingo, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Alessandro Nivola, Keith Stanfield, André Holland, Tessa Thompson, Wendell Pierce, Henry G. Sanders Screenplay by Paul Webb There are many strong feelings evoked for the viewer of Selma. In a country that is still struggling with the callouses of racial wounds,…

  • 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…

  • Unbroken (****) is a fitting tribute to the spirit

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    Unbroken – 2014 Director Angelia Jolie Starring Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock Screenplay Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand The first thing readers of the book based on the remarkable life of Louis Zamperini need to prepare for is that there is no way this movie, vast as it is, can match the sheer…

  • Foxcatcher (***): It doesn’t take a genius to be born into money

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    Foxcatcher – 2014 Director Bennett Miller Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall Screenplay by E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman A story about misfits can be a sweet thing about overcoming adversity. In the case of Mark (Tatum) and Dave Shultz’ (Ruffalo) intersection with John “Golden Eagle” du Pont (Carrell), it is an eerie and dangerous…

  • Jersey Boys (***1/2) is solid but dims the power of the band

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    Jersey Boys – 2014 Director Clint Eastwood Starring John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, Christopher Walken Screenplay based on the play by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice  When reviewing a movie based upon a musical, it’s hard to see the origin material as anything other than a starting point. Most of the events may have happened in one form…