Category: Ratings
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Vacation (**) is not fun for anyone
Vacation – 2015 Written and Directed by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Leslie Mann, Beverly D’Angelo, Chris Hemsworth, Chevy Chase The original Vacation was a work of the upwardly mobile talent of Harold Ramis and John Hughes. It also featured perhaps the last performance of Chevy Chase before it all started going downhill. It’s a…
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Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (**1/2): Doesn’t try real hard
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse – 2015 Director Christopher B. Landon Starring Tye Sheridan, David Koechner, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, Halston Sage, Cloris Leachman, Niki Koss, Patrick Schwarzenegger Screenplay Carrie Evans, Emi Mochizuki, Christopher B. Landon Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse tries to be smart. It tries to have heart. But not that hard. Its mission…
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Creed (****): One step at a time, one round at a time…
Creed – 2015 Director Ryan Coogler Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Tony Bellew, Graham McTavish Screenplay Coogler, Aaron Covington, Stallone As a tribute to a classic series, Ryan Coogler could not have taken a better angle. The thought of Rocky’s kid taking the throne was mercifully left in the garbage bin of history with the last proper entry in the…
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American Ultra (***): Stoned Identity
American Ultra – 2015 Director Nima Nourizadeh Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman, Tony Hale Screenplay Max Landis One of the least appealing aspects about Pulp Fiction is the way Tarantino cuts the legs off the ending about halfway through the film. Seeing that Vincent and Marsellus arrive in tact and uninjured from their…
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The Gift (****) that cannot be returned
The Gift – 2015 Written, Directed and Starring Joel Edgerton Starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall Joel Edgerton is one of the more talented actors I have seen in recent years. His work in Animal Kingdom, Warrior and more recently The Great Gatsby are a good start for the uninitiated. At first glance of the trailer, this movie…
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Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (***) – There’s always someone saying don’t worry about it
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Director Wes Ball Starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Giancarlo Esposito, Alexander Flores, Aidan Gillen, Ki Hong Lee, Jacob Lofland, Barry Pepper, Rosa Salazar, Lili Taylor, Alan Tudyk, Patricia Clarkson Screenplay T.S. Nowlin based on the book by James Dashner The very first thought I have when thinking about the title of the 2nd in The Maze Runner series is the…
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Bone Tomahawk (****): I believe those fleas were alive and talented
Bone Tomahawk Written and Directed by S. Craig Zahler Starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, David Arquette, Sid Haig, Sean Young, Evan Jonigkeit Two murdering thieves (Haig and Arquette) hear a sound as they rob the corpses of their victims. Going off to investigate, they end up crossing into the sacred ground of a tribe of cannibalistic Troglodytes…the kind that…
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Everest (***) : In the battle of you against the world…
Everest – 2015 Director Baltasar Kormákur Starring Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Kelley Screenplay William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy Noted realist Franz Kafka once said: “In man’s struggle against the world, bet on the world.” Everest is the big screen chronicle of the story of a bunch of adventurers who refuse the logic of this…
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Crimson Peak (**1/2): Feeding on Butterflies
Crimson Peak – 2015 Director Guillermo Del Toro Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver Screenplay Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Lucinda Coxson Full disclosure: I am a fan of Del Toro. I will give him the kinds of breaks that I would not grant others. For this reason, my reviews of his films should be viewed as…
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Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension (*1/2): Is that all there is?
Director Gregory Plotkin Starring Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Dan Gill, Ivy George, Olivia Taylor Dudley Screenplay Jason Harry Pagan, Andrew Deutschman, Adam Robitel, Gavin Heffernan When viewing the Paranormal Activity series, one gets the indelible feeling of disintegration and waning interest by the film makers themselves. For the first two films especially, this was not the case. The viewer is brought in through a…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 