Tag: Willem Dafoe
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Murder on the Orient Express (***1/2) – It’s never about whodonit
Murder on the Orient Express – 2017 Director Kenneth Branagh Screenplay Michael Green based on the novel by Agatha Christie Starring Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Tom Bateman “Lies – and again lies. It amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning.” (said Bouc) “There are…
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Golden Sombrero: To Live And Die In L.A. (*) is just awful
To Live and Die in L.A. – 1985 Director William Friedkin Screenplay Friedkin & Gerald Petievich based on the novel by Petievich Starring Willem Dafoe, William L. Peterson, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, Jane Leeves, Jimmy Hart “You ain’t my partner. You ain’t even my fuckin’ friend!” If they took every horrible thing about 80’s…
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Death Note (***) is Pandora’s Box by another name
Director Adam Wingard Screenplay by Charles Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides, Jeremy Slater Starring Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, Jason Liles, Willem Dafoe Before we go too far in any direction, this film is not great. It’s not a giant disappointment, though. It is just a little one. Anyone who has time to accuse the filmmakers of whitewashing the original material…
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John Wick (***1/2): I’m thinking you don’t kill the dog
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,…
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The Fault In Our Stars Extended Edition (****): So much depends…
The Fault In Our Stars – 2014 Director Josh Boone Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe Screenplay Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber based on the book by John Green There is one point early on in The Fault in Our Stars which rings partially true. Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster (Elgort and Woodley) have met cute in…
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The Grand Budapest Hotel: Having a story to tell can do wonders
Grand Budapest Hotel – 2014 Written and Directed by Wes Anderson Starring Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori Wes Anderson films inspire a groundswell of apathy from me. Often his work feels like Jazz to me, a form of art given much credit, even…
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Out of the Furnace The fire’s gone
Out of the Furnace – 2013 Director Scott Cooper Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana, Sam Shepard Screenplay Brad Ingelsby and Cooper “He might be safer over in Iraq” It’s hard to recall the last movie that featured common folk in Steel Mill country of Pennsylvania that started out with anything close to a sunny day.…
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Forgotten Gem: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done? – 2009 Director Werner Herzog Starring Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Udo Kier, Michael Peña, Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif Screenplay by Herzog and Herbert Golder Herzog and Golder were thinking of making a movie about the real life murderer Mark Yavorsky, who committed a matricide, mirroring the play of Orestes. He…
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Cool Papa E Reviews the Spider-Man movie series
On July 3, 2012, the newest incarnation of Spider-Man spins its web on the public. Some people, including me, think its a little too soon to be coming up with a reboot of the Tobey Maguire / Sam Raimi blockbuster series, given that the last one was released just in 2007. Whether the new one…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 