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Taken
Very Good 98 Points 2008

This surprisingly effective revenge thriller plays better than its formulaic trailer might suggest. The mix of A-List star, well written script and competent direction injects plenty of life into an implausible set-up and the resulting cat-and-mouse games.

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WikChip Image A-List Star Slumming = Movie Worth Se...
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  • BrianSez – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
  • jasonhurwitz – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
  • Wick – Excellent review Tom. I hadn't heard anything about...
Margot at the W...
Great 83 Points 2007

Nicole Kidman goes to her estranged sister’s wedding. Jennifer Jason Leigh, said brilliant and beautiful sister, is marrying Jack Black, a buffoon who spectacularly overestimates himself. Classic Jack Black.

Speaking of spectacular, Kidman’s Margot is a spectacularly successful fiction write…

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WikChip Image Who says you can't go home again?
The Savages
Very Good 83 Points 2007

Emotional Savages would be a more apt title for this examination of petty narcissists forced to depend on each other. They are an elderly father and his two grown children, making the story recognizable to a generation of baby boomers, many of whom are dealing with similar responsibilities.

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There Will Be B...
Great 104 Points 2007

Great – if sadly flawed – exploration of the early California oil industry, dramatized through the exploits of an entrepreneurial ogre. A Chinatown for Oil, the movie serves as fascinating Golden State period piece and socialist screed, decrying the imagined crimes of tycoons as it celebrates …

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2 Replies
  • Wick – Regarding "Wolfman898's Review":/movie_reviews/1697-...
  • Wick – First of all, my apologies if an alert went out twic...
Rails & Ties
Great 83 Points 2007

Sad, sweet and ultimately redemptive, Rails & Ties uses two tragic turns of event to trigger an ironic story about how character and hope can win out in the end. Likely to find an audience over time, this soulful movie is deeply cathartic for those touched by cancer, childless marriage, suicid…

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WikChip Image Like Father, Like Daughter
King of California
OK 84 Points 2007

Well intentioned flop: the comedy never inspires laughs and the drama never hits home. Nonetheless, the great concept – oddball father drags practical daughter on a real treasure hunt through modern day suburbia – and the likable performances by Evan Rachel Wood and Michael Douglas make this wat…

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Rumor Has It
OK 66 Points 2005

More drama than comedy makes Rumor Has It more trouble than it’s worth, especially for a middle-aged dude like me. Romcoms are good when they’re funny and sexy. Rumor Has It nails sexy but wiffs funny.

Jennifer Anniston is more irritated than comedic, yet still sexy as hell. Thus, this "c…

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WikChip Video Great Bit by 2 Great Stars
Secondhand Lions
Very Good 66 Points 2003

Great-uncles lead to great adventure for a boy in need of a loving home. Some have put down this movie as sentimental and bland, but I found it wry and satisfying. Especially for boys and men, the resonance runs deep. Come to think of it, it would be the perfect movie to watch on Father’s Day,…

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You Can Count o...
Perfect 66 Points 2000

A small movie – though not a short one – of deeply personal relationships, You Can Count on Me launched two Hollywood careers and elevated a third. Kenneth Lonergan’s debut marked him as an auteur of surpassing talent, while Mark Ruffalo’s first starring role marked him as an everyman actor of…

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WikChip Image Boy do these three need each other.
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Malèna
Perfect 66 Points 2000

Deeply, floridly Italian, Malèna is a sumptuous WWII find, a Sicilian movie extraordinaire and a devastating depiction of Italian machismo reacting to the hottest signorina since Sophia Loren.

Monica Belluci plays the title character, a gorgeous war bride living in a small Sicilian town, bro…

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WikChip Image where Malèna went, the town followed