Category: Ratings
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Cloud Atlas: And then a bunch of stuff happened…
Cloud Atlas – 2012 Writers and Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, Tom Tykwer Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant Based on Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell If there’s one thing I learned from the time tripping global opus known…
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Identity Thief: I want my life back
Identity Thief – 2013 Director Seth Gordon Starring Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Génesis Rodríguez, T.I., Robert Patrick, John Cho, Morris Chestnut, Eric Stonestreet, Jonathan Banks Screenplay Craig Mazin This movie would not exist without a dedicated ignorance to common sense. Financial accountant extraordinaire Sandy Patterson (Bateman) answers a phone call at random to his…
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Quartet is a beautiful study of music becoming sweeter
Quartet – 2012 Director Dustin Hoffman Starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon Screenplay Ronald Harwood There is a moment early on in Quartet when Wilf, who is played with a casual brilliance by Billy Connolly, comes upon a fellow boarder at Beecham house while on his morning walk. The man…
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The Last Exorcism Part II: When one “Last” is not enough
The Last Exorcism Part II – 2013 Director Ed Gass-Donnelly Starring Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark, Muse Watson, Louis Herthum, Tara Riggs Screenplay by Gass-Donnelly and Damien Chezelle It’s not supercilious, but it is a little silly. It bares little resemblance to the first film, unless you count the lead actress (Bell) and occasional appearances by…
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Side Effects is full frontal storytelling
Side Effects – 2013 Director Steven Soderbergh Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw Screenplay Scott Z. Burns There is a propulsive feeling to the first 1/3 of Side Effects. It’s a little like we’re heading towards inevitable disaster. Once disaster strikes, the viewer is somewhat shocked, and like Dr. Jonathan Banks…
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Beautiful Creatures is a sterile experience
Beautiful Creatures – 2013 Written and Directed by Richard LaGravenese Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann, Emma Thompson Based on the book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl First things first. I hate the accent applied by Ehrenreich. Normally bad accents don’t serve as much of a distraction, but this one…
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John Dies At The End: What in the Name of Elvis is going on?
John Dies At The End – 2013 Writer and Director Don Coscarelli Starring Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Doug Jones, Glynn Turman, Daniel Roebuck, Angus Scrimm, Jimmy Wong One reaches a point where everything is a metaphor, and nothing is real. Coscarelli reaches this point in the opening moments of John Dies at the…
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Safe Haven: This is turning into a routine…
Safe Haven – 2013 Director Lasse Hallström Starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, David Lyons, Cobie Smulders, Red West Screenplay Gage Lansky, Dana Stevens, based on the book by Nicholas Sparks Lasse Hallström is a director with a past appealing to the ladies. Starting off doing a bunch of ABBA videos and then ABBA: The Movie, he has had…
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Snitch: Big Truck…small payload.
Snitch – 2013 Director Ric Roman Waugh Starring Dwayne Johnson, Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Benhamin Bratt, Jon Bernthal, Michael Kenneth Williams Written by Justin Haythe and Waugh So why would any fan of Dwayne Johnson want to see this film? There are no guns. There are no fast cars. There are no explosions. We don’t get to see…
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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters – Finally, a fairy tale that’s rated “R”
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters – 2013 Writer and Director Tommy Wirkola Starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stromare, Pihla Viitala, Derek Mears, Robin Atkin Downes, Thomas Mann Hansel and Gretel as children look to be less than a year apart. When we see them as adults, in the forms of Gemma Arterton (27) and…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 