Category: 3.5 Stars
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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (***1/2) Diminishing Returns
“If I could, I would edit out most of the dialogue spoken by anyone but Hiccup, Astrid, Valka, Stoick and Abraham’s Grimmel the Grisly. It would not change the comprehension of the story one bit and it would definitely allow us to enjoy Toothless and his White Fury more. Anyone who owns cats will like…
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Another Look: The Highwaymen vs. Bonnie and Clyde
“The Warren Beatty film has received a gentle critical wind in the ensuing years, remembered more for its groundbreaking violence than for any of the many nominated performances. In retrospect, its not a bad film, but it’s not a classic, either. The main thing it lacks is a cohesive story that’s not real accurate with…
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The Kid (***1/2) is a good first step
“The Kid is a good film with a limited scope. D’Onofrio manages to keep things within the realm of the legend as we know it and add a little something extra. Here’s one vote to see the great actor work a little more on becoming a better director.”
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Captain Marvel is reviewed by a 40+ year-old man and his teenage daughter
“Em is excited at the prospects of this film. She looks forward to seeing Captain take over a leadership role with the Avengers. Conversations drift back and forth between characters as she imagines whose place she will supplant. This is not excitement for girl power. It’s just a person who enjoys the evolution of the…
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Velvet Buzzsaw (***1/2) cuts unevenly
“Gilroy has made a solid film. Not a spectacular one. If he hadn’t made the complete masterpiece Nightcrawler, I would be more impressed with what he tries to achieve here and less disappointed in the fact that he’s set such a high bar I seem intent on holding him to.”
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Bumblebee (***1/2) is straightforward storytelling
“This film is 2nd best of the series, after the first one. It’s really not close after these two films, even if I enjoy Revenge of the Fallen quite a lot.”
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Aquaman (***1/2) has fun in the shallows
“As it stands, the film still should do quite well. It’s more fun than any DCEU film than Wonder Woman yet it still feels like something that matters at times. Not all that much, though. I hope WW, The Flash and Aquaman push their leads and the DCEU out of the mire. ”
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The Girl In The Spider’s Web (***1/2) Returns to the scene
“Overall, the film is a winner, but barely. The lack of subtlety hurts when one can easily determine when they can step out to take a leak because they know the moments and plot points instinctively. If they can find a way to keep it all a mystery, that’d be a real treat.”
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Venom (***1/2) has some juice
#venom Somewhere between the drawing board and the actuality of the screen a great film was lost. What is left is a good film that has enough pieces on the cutting room floor, the home release should be interesting…Venom could surprise at the box office. It’s better than the standard is for hero films these…
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The Predator (***1/2) gets chopped up
The Predator is enjoyable, but it sure is fast, hard and choppy. Many of the scenes that might help build pull the story along for the slow and dimwitted are excised in favor of seeing people get sliced in half and repeatedly skewered by those massive retractable claws. Whether it’s a fair trade or not…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 