Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Category: 3.5 Stars

  • We Are Still Here (***1/2) is the solid work of someone who likes horror

    We Are Still Here (***1/2) is the solid work of someone who likes horror

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    coolpapae
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    Having middle-aged leads adds to the authentic feeling. Younger actors tend to have less to draw on and their looks of terror seem more manufactured. In this case, Crampton and Sensenig are not tempted to run upstairs when they are the last ones to bed.

  • Cobain: Montage of Heck (***1/2): The long short of it

    Cobain: Montage of Heck (***1/2): The long short of it

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    coolpapae
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    Cobain: Montage of Heck – 2015 Written and Directed by Brett Morgen Starring Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt Novoselic Animation by Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsing In the history of musicians given too much importance after an untimely death, Kurt Cobain ranks somewhere between John Lennon and Jim Morrison. His disaffected youth angle added…

  • Furious 7 (***1/2): Meatball Hallmark Card

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    Furious 7 – 2015 Director James Wan Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham Screenplay Chris Morgan If one could sum up the entire Furious franchise in 3 phrases, it would be: I don’t have friends. I got family. I live life a quarter-mile at a time. One last ride. At this point,…

  • Fury (***1/2) Rolls over familiar ground

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    Fury – 2014 Written and Directed by David Ayer Starring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, Scott Eastwood How to get a coward to fight late in the last days before VE Day? This is the question that Fury spends its time trying to answer. Pvt. Norman “Machine” Ellison (Lerman) is a young man with a “conscience” who…

  • 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 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • Dolphin Tale 2 (***1/2) Accomplishes what it sets out to do

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    Dolphin Tale 2 – 2014 Writer and Director Charles Martin Smith Starring Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Morgan Freeman, Bethany Hamilton Dolphin Tale 2 is a continuation of a story that is a sweet if derivative of real events.  This time around, Winter, a dolphin – who lost her tail fins and was nursed back to health…