Category: 4.5 Stars
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Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is very nearly a classic
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – 2011 Directed by Troy Nixey Starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack Thompson Written by Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins based on the original story by Nigel McKeand Guillermo Del Toro has a fascinating sense of what makes something scary. Each of the films he has written and/or…
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Contagion: Elizabeth Bennet prevents the people of the world from becoming a bunch of zombies
Contagion – 2011 Directed by Steven Soderburgh Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Bryan Cranston, Sanaa Lathan, Elliot Gould, Chin Han, John Hawkes, Demetri Martin Written by Scott Z. Burns It’s been a long time since I had given a second thought about Jennifer Ehle. After…
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Another Earth: A familiar song, but almost a masterpiece.
Another Earth – 2011 Directed by Mike Cahill Starring Brit Marling, William Mapother, Kumar Pallana Written by Mike Cahill, Brit Marling There is an overwhelming melancholy that permeates every inch of Another Earth. Every action is a deliberate intention to right a wrong, to help a vacant heart, to serve someone completely. The wrong that has…
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Cool Papa E Reviews The Movies of Todd Phillips, backwards
The Hangover, Part II – 2011 Written by Scot Armstrong, Craig Mazin and Todd Phillips Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti Synopsis Second verse, same as the first, only this time it takes place in “Thighland,” Helms character is getting married and his future brother-in-law is the one getting married.…
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The Complete Muppet Theatrical Movie Series, Reviewed by Cool Papa E
The Muppet Movie Release Date – June 22, 1979 Directed by James Frawley Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz (The Muppets) Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton Written by Jack Burns, Jerry Juhl Review – The international phenomenon, for the first time on the big screen, would have been an easy film to…
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Finally, a movie unafraid to show a Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher – 2011 Directed by Jake Kasdan Written by Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupinsky Starring Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, Phyllis Smith, Molly Shannon, John Michael Higgins, Eric Stonestreet Russell: …it might be too soon, but do you wanna grab a bite or something sometime? Elizabeth: You still a gym teacher? Russell: I am. Yeah. Elizabeth: Then,…
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All this useless pondering: The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life – 2011 Written and Directed by Terrance Mallick Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn, Joanna Going, Hunter McCracken “The nuns taught us there were two ways through life – the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow. Grace doesn’t try…
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Forgotten Gem: Mao’s Last Dancer
Mao’s Last Dancer – 2009 Directed by Bruce Beresford Starring Cin Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Joan Chen, Kyle MacClachlan, Wang Shuangbao, Amanda Schull, Ferdinand Hoang Written by Jan Sardi, based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin There’s a point early in Mao’s Last Dancer when young Li Cunxin, is missing home badly. He’s been selected from his small…
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Win Win shows the epic heart of Giamatti
Win Win – 2011 Written and Directed by Thomas McCarthy Starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor, Bobby Cannavale, Burt Young, Alex Shaffer, Melanie Lynskey, Margo Martindale, David W. Thompson Win Win is a movie so effortlessly amazing that it makes you happy to be alive just long enough to have viewed it. Each performance…
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X-Men: First Class is the pinnacle of the series
X-Men: First Class – 2011 Directed by Matthew Vaughn Starring Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon Written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stenz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn Somewhere along the way, they decided to step it up a notch. The last couple of X-Men films, while…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 