Category: Ratings
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Mr. Peabody & Sherman (***1/2) isn’t going to hurt anybody
Mr. Peabody & Sherman – 2014 Director Rob Minkoff Starring Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Leslie Mann, Stephen Colbert, Allison Janney Screenplay Craig Wright based on the show Peabody’s Improbable History by Ted Key Based on a series of cartoon shorts that were part of The Bullwinkle Show, the idea for Mr. Peabody & Sherman resonated for several years in the…
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Dallas Buyers Club (***) fights a bad guy too easy to criticize
Dallas Buyers Club – 2013 Director Jean-Marc Vallée Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Griffin Dunne, Dennis O’Hare, Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts, Kevin Rankin Screenplay by Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack One of the unwritten rules of movie awards is weight loss or transformations of a dramatic nature leads to Golden Statues. This formula worked twice for…
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Maleficent (***1/2) True love falls from trees
Maleficent – 2014 Director Robert Stromberg Starring Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville Screenplay by Linda Woolverton based on Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault While watching Angelia Jolie’s re-imagining of Maleficent, part of me is amazed at the myriad ways one is allowed to see beyond what is really Disney’s most incomplete Princess story..…
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Deliver Us From Evil (***) survives
Deliver Us From Evil – 2014 Director Scott Derrickson Starring Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Sean Harris, Joel McHale Screenplay by Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman Scott Derrickson has a way of making things seem really bad. Not just movie bad, but real, we’re not gonna make it bad. Sinister was replete with all sorts of things we’d all seen before, but…
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Chef (***1/2) is a plea to be recognized right out in the open
Chef – 2014 Written and Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Jr., Emjay Anthony One has only to look at Jon Favreau’s Carl Casper’s delicate handling of a menu that he’s made for no one while his staff makes a 10 year menu for a packed house to realize…
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Enemy (*****) Tangled and Dark
Enemy – 2013 Director Denis Villeneuve Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini, Mélanie Laurent Screenplay by Javier Gullón based on The Double by José Saramago “Chaos is order yet undeciphered.” Enemy is the kind of film that challenges you to absorb every moment. It’s not enough just to watch this film, you have to feel it. If you keep…
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Gone Girl (*****) won’t be ignored
Gone Girl – 2014 Director David Fincher Starring Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, Kim Dickens, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Emily Ratajkowski, Patrick Fugit, Casey Wilson Screenplay Gillian Flynn based on her novel There is no better director thank David Fincher. Really, no one even comes consistently close to what he…
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Belle (****) is a beautiful complicated being
Belle – 2013 Director Amma Asante Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Sam Reid, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Tom Felton, James Norton Screenplay Misan Segay and Asante Belle has a premise quite unlike any I have seen. This is not to say that there are no films that have covered the idea of race, freedom and proper British society…
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Annabelle (***): Solid, but nothing you haven’t seen before
Annabelle – 2014 Director John R. Leonetti Starring Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard, Kerry O’Malley, Brian Howe, Eric Ladin, Ivar Brogger, Tree O’Toole, Kiera Daniels, Morganna May, Michelle Romano, Christopher Shaw Screenplay Gary Dauberman There is a consistency about the horror films of James Wan, from the Saw franchise through Insidious and The…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 