Category: Ratings
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BlacKkKlansman (****1/2) greatness mixed with prejudice
Spike Lee makes a great film, then he takes a dump in the credits with easily refuted claims through selected editing. Why?
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Black and Blue (**1/2) is familiar territory
Overall, the film is competent, nothing more. There are no real scenes that give one the sense of being in New Orleans, other than destitution. If you like the actors, give it a try.
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Criterion: Red Sun (*) You can’t spend ideas
Director Terence YoungScreenplay Denne Bart Petitclerc, William Roberts, Lawrence RomanStarring Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine Red Sun is a Franco-Italian gimmick film made on the cheap. It seemed like a great idea, I suppose. Mifune’s move to making American films always feels gimmicky. Race relations had evolved only to the point…
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Netflix’s Extraction (****) Hold my beer
Extraction is a very good film. It will be a big hit on Netflix for a while when the streaming giant needs something to keep everyone happy in quarantine. I know I will be watching it again soon.
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Criterion: Seven Samurai (*****) stands the test of time
Seven Samurai should be Movies 101 for any serious lover of film. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
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The Fifth Element (****) is worth Another Look
The name Korben Dallas just begs for a series of sequels. These never happened. Maybe it is for the best, but I could have enjoyed a few more ventures to other planets in the future.
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Criterion: The Life of Oharu (****1/2)-Miss Misery
Like the best art, we learn something about humanity and the will to persevere.
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Another Look: Step-Brothers (Unrated) Why did Holmes & Watson fail?
There’s almost enough here to make a movie that’s not half bad.
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Criterion: The Idiot (**) – Pure soul / faithless world / messy film
There is no known full version of this film. If there were, it might take me a year to finish. It would likely be a lot better, though.
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Forgotten Gem: Superbad (*****) became a classic and we all moved on…
There are so few comedies that are rewatchable. Ethical or not, this is a funny film about people we all knew in high school. None of them possess any sort of genius. Most of them are decent. Each of them were have a series of delightful failures with little victories along the way.
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 