Category: Ratings
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The Avengers: A bold initiative that delivers on every level
The Avengers – 2012 Written & Directed by Joss Whedon Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Gweneth Paltrow, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Clark Gregg When Marvel announced, in 2005, that there was a plan to develop The Avengers into a major motion picture, most people outside of…
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The Innkeepers is a pedestrian ride
The Innkeepers – 2011 Written and Directed by Ti West Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis There’s a deliberate method to The Innkeepers that reminds me of a time, in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s, when people of limited means and imaginations made movies for regular broadcast television intended to give kids a scare, but not too…
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The Sitter has too many issues to get real laughs
The Sitter – 2011 Directed by David Gordon Green Starring Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Max Records, Sam Rockwell, J.B. Smoove, Method Man, Erin Daniels, D.W. Moffett, Landry Bender, Kevin Hernandez, Kylie Bunbury, Jessica Hecht Screenplay by Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka The question that occurs to me, while watching The Sitter, is the following: what in the hell…
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The Descendants is a fresh dose of pain
The Descendants – 2011 Directed by Alexander Payne Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster, Barbara L. Southern Screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, based on The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings “I don’t want my daughters growing up entitled and spoiled. And I agree with my father – you give your children enough…
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The Divide: End of the world Lord of the Flies
The Divide- 2012 Directed by Xavier Gens Starring Michael Biehn, Laura German, Milo Ventimiglia, Courtney B. Vance, Iván González, Michael Eklund, Abbey Thickson, Ashton Holmes, Roseanna Arquette Written by Karl Mueller, Eron Sheean There are several reasons why The Divide should not work. Low budget, a cadre of B actors, and a claustrophobic atmosphere. This is a recipe for overacting.…
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CPE and Em: War Horse, or Em’s most eagerly anticipated film of the year
War Horse – 2011 Directed by Steven Speilberg Starring Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston Screenplay by Richard Curtis and Lee Hall based on War Horse by Michael Morpurgo From the first time a commercial for this film happened upon our screen, Em has bugged her mother and (especially) me to let her watch this movie.…
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The Darkest Hour is indeed quite dim
The Darkest Hour – 2011 Directed by Chris Gorak Starring Emille Hirsch, Max Minghella, Rachel Taylor, Olivia Thirlby, Joel Kinnaman Screenplay by Jon Spaihts It’s not the fact that we get to see the film’s signature move, disintegrating humans, dogs, etc, hundreds of times. It’s not the fact that the dialogue in the film is stiff enough to…
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We Got A Zoo: A Family Classic that avoids being preachy
We Bought A Zoo – 2011 Directed by Cameron Crowe Starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, J.B. Smoove, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Angus Macfadyen, Maggie Elisabeth Jones Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna and Crowe My wife hates movies with animals. She is not partial to sad sack films that hang broken hearts out on…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 