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Gainsbourg: A H...
Good 66 Points 2010

French musical sensation Serge Gainsbourg explains himself in this surreal biopic. Largely unknown here in America, Gainsbourg was a cross between Dylan, Sinatra and Leonard Cohen in France. The women he squired – including Brigitte Bardot during her superstar heyday – comprise a good part of h…

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WikChip Image Musician's Beauty: Gainsbourg & Bardot
Coco Chanel & I...
OK 66 Points 2010

Visually scintillating, musically avant-garde, dramatically turgid: This biopic of two cultural giants goes down like Brussels sprouts instead of foie gras. IOW, it takes effort to work through the two hour running time, when it should feel like savoring a rich delicacy. Pity, since Coco & Igor…

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WikChip Image Great design barely trumps turgid drama.
Quartet
OK 66 Points 2012

Senior citizen cinema is experiencing somewhat of a boomlet now. Quartet typifies the trend, spinning a gently comedic story about old flames who reunite in a retirement home for musicians and opera singers. It’s a pleasant enough movie, albeit too formulaic to be really interesting.

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WikChip Image Now that's a retirement home.
The Fabulous Ba...
Perfect 66 Points 1989

LOL funny, bracingly cool, drop-dead gorgeous – The Fabulous Baker Boys scores across the board, a retro treat of romantic heat, musical standards and moviestar glamour.

Its glamour begins when Jeff Bridges dons a tux after a one-night-stand, and spikes when Michelle Pfeiffer arrives in the …

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WikChip Video Put this on full screen.
Some Like It Hot
Perfect 66 Points 1959

Some Like It Hot kicked off the Sixties with a bang. Released in ‘59, it was nominated for six Oscars at the 1960 Academy Awards, winning only for Orry-Kelly’s dresses for Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and most especially Marilyn Monroe. Speaking of Monroe, she won the 1960 Golden Globe for Best A…

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WikChip Video Curtis does Grant, Monroe does Monroe
Muscle Shoals
Perfect 66 Points 2013

The Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James and Percy Sledge did their best work in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Lynyrd Skynyrd added the piano intro to Freebird while there. This Muscle Shoals documentary covers all that rocking glory, with Bono commenta…

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WikChip Video Keef vouches for Muscle Shoals magic
Glen Campbell: ...
Great 66 Points 2014

Excuse me while I dry my eyes, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me caused them to well-up on multiple occasions, when it wasn’t triggering deep nostalgia for a beloved entertainer. This loving documentary was made by the Rhinestone Cowboy’s family to share his struggles with Alzheimer’s before and during…

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WikChip Video Damn, he was some kinda great.
What Happened, ...
Great 66 Points 2015

Nina Simone’s name and presence had occasionally penetrated my consciousness and always piqued my interest. Happily, this well done documentary finally brought her consequential music and politics alive.

Dubbed the High Priestess of Soul, she was a unique and uniquely transfixing artist, fusin…

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WikChip Video Liz Garbus on her Nina Simone doc
Born to Be Blue
Great 66 Points 2015

Chet Baker was bodaciously gifted. The James Dean of Jazz had his own style of cool, West Coast Swing.

Plus, he was supermodel handsome. Ethan Hawke – the moviestar who plays Chet Baker – isn’t nearly as handsome as Baker was, even allowing for Hawke being in his 40s, playing a music idol in h…

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WikChip Video The real Chet does real Born to Be Blue
Miles Ahead
Very Good 66 Points 2015

A moviestar who directs himself playing an iconic figure in a dramatic biopic has a fool for a leading-man. Don Cheadle provides proof of this as Miles Davis in Miles Ahead, following in the footsteps of Kevin Spacey, who stubbed his toe directing himself as Bobby Darin in the similarly flawe…

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WikChip Video Kind of Blue is Kind of Perfect