Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Category: Ratings

  • Selma (*****): There can be no better time for this

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    Selma – 2014 Director Ava DuVernay Starring David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Niecy Nash, Colman Domingo, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Alessandro Nivola, Keith Stanfield, André Holland, Tessa Thompson, Wendell Pierce, Henry G. Sanders Screenplay by Paul Webb There are many strong feelings evoked for the viewer of Selma. In a country that is still struggling with the callouses of racial wounds,…

  • American Sniper (****1/2): Bleeds carefully with Eastwood’s heart

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    American Sniper – 2014 Director Clint Eastwood Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Max Charles, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Navid Negahban Screenplay Jason Hall based on the book by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice When looking into the game plan of documenting a martyr, it’s not easy to present the subject as a whole person, flaws and all. One of the…

  • Unbroken (****) is a fitting tribute to the spirit

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    Unbroken – 2014 Director Angelia Jolie Starring Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock Screenplay Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand The first thing readers of the book based on the remarkable life of Louis Zamperini need to prepare for is that there is no way this movie, vast as it is, can match the sheer…

  • 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,…

  • Foxcatcher (***): It doesn’t take a genius to be born into money

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    Foxcatcher – 2014 Director Bennett Miller Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall Screenplay by E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman A story about misfits can be a sweet thing about overcoming adversity. In the case of Mark (Tatum) and Dave Shultz’ (Ruffalo) intersection with John “Golden Eagle” du Pont (Carrell), it is an eerie and dangerous…

  • 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…

  • Dumb and Dumber To (**1/2) Makes one think maybe the first one wasn’t that good

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    Dumb and Dumber To – 2014 Director Peter and Bobby Farrelly Starring Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Laurie Holden, Kathleen Turner, Brady Bluhm, Steve Tom, Rachel Melvin , Rob Riggle, Paul Blackthorne, Dalton Gray, Swizz Beatz Screenplay Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, Sean Anders, John Morris, Bennett Yellin, Mike Cerrone Dumb and Dumber is one of those movies that seemed like a great movie when I saw it. Watching its sequel, the tone and the feel are…

  • A Walk Among The Tombstones (***1/2): Deliberate, with a few surprises

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    A Walk Among The Tombstones – 2014 Writer and Director Scott Frank Starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Boyd Holbrook, Sebastian Roché, Brian “Astro” Bradley, David Harbour, Adam David Thompson Based upon the book by Lawrence Block There is something very lived in about Liam Neeson’s Matthew Scudder, the protagonist from A Walk Among The Tombstones. Given the this story takes place…

  • The Hundred-Foot Journey (**) feels like a trip to McDonald’s

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    The Hundred-Foot Journey – 2014 Director Lasse Hallström Starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon Screenplay Steven Knight based on the book by Richard C. Morais Part of the problem with the wave of Oprah Winfrey endorsed artistic product is that every story feels so antiseptic to actual living. The story that would otherwise be compelling feels…