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![]() Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a superior successor to 2011’s Great Ape Movie, the terrific Planet of the Apes reboot. An upgraded human cast rectifies the origin movie’s one significant flaw, while the ape acting – previously Bogart quality – has become downright Brando-esque. *#DawnOfA…
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Hail Caesar! The Great Ape Autocrat
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![]() An upgraded cast elevates the latest Transformers movie into a perfectly acceptable summer blockbuster. Yes, yes, it’s still based on Mattel action figures, whose Godzilla-like scale dwarfs we puny humans. Plus, bombastic director Michael Bay supercharges his movies to absurdly over-the-top …
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Nicola Peltz, an upgrade over Megan Fox
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![]() When the Game Stands Tall pegs several meters: football movies – coach movies – Bay Area movies. Arguably the greatest Football Movie ever, it is surely the first great Bay Area Football Movie. It profiles an all-time great football coach: Coach Bob Ladouceur of Concord’s legendary De La Salle…
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Jim Caviezel talks about Coach Lad
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![]() Boyhood is the first Great American Movie of 2014. It profiles the emergence of a slacker, delivered as the insightful backstory of an aimless guy who ends up haunting the streets of Austin. Through that Texan lens, the great Richard Linklater has created a transcendent portrait of 21st century…
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The Linklater Family Values Players
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![]() And So It Goes goes very well as a date night destination, especially for those of us who have received AARP junk mail. It’s a RomCom for the ages, the golden ages, which start pretty early these days. Diane Keaton & Michael Douglas are perfectly cast in this classic Rob Reiner RomCom. It’s …
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Modern Fam: Grandpa, Granddaughter, G...
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![]() The Arab Spring comes alive in Tyrant, the most politically important TV series to come along in – well – a long time. Palace intrigue swirls around the fictional Al Fayeed family, tyrannical rulers of the fictional Arab country Abbudin. Their prodigal son returns from Los Angeles in the prem…
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The Sopranos have got nothing on them
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![]() The Hundred-Foot Journey is a feel-good, foodie movie starring Helen Mirren set in provincial France. Mature date-night movie choices get no safer. Predictable as a brasserie menu, it’s equivalently satisfying.
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Well Put Together Woman
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![]() Modern Family-style gender and role confusion provides ample grist for 90 minutes of scintillating cinematic fare in The Skeleton Twins. More sisters than brother & sister, said twins are played by Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig, confirming they’re the most talented SNL alumni on the scene today.
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More Sisters than Brother & Sister
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![]() Gone Girl stirs the pot, no doubt about that. Premiering amidst the NFL-stoked domestic violence uproar, this sordid thriller about a wife’s murder is akin to throwing gas on a fire. But never mind all that societal stuff, is it a good movie? Yes, a great one, albeit far from perfect. The es…
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Smile! Oops, maybe not.
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![]() Halfway through this crowd-pleasing movie, a senior citizen in the row behind us blurted out “This is a very good movie.” He’s right, albeit his exclamation is more telling than intended, as it conveys The Judge’s appeal to middle-agers of Robert Downey Jr’s generation and especially to those o…
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The Moviestars Are The Thing.
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