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Please Give
Very Good 83 Points 2010

Everybody’s damaged in Please Give. Most are awful, some sweet, all adrift. Misanthropic, it generates frequent laughs at the expense of these modern Manhattanites. Think a more seriously inclined Seinfeld – from the feminine side. Not that …

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WikChip Image Big sis Amanda Peet: Skin deep beauty
Prisoners
Very Good 83 Points 2013

Not as good as it thinks it is or was cracked up to be, Prisoners nonetheless proves to be an involving, impressive and ultimately satisfying thriller. It’s worth being imprisoned inside a theater for 2½ hours.

Yet sleazy storytelling-tricks weigh it down and a grimly enthusiastic desire t…

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WikChip Image Two men tortured by the same crime
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
Richard Jewell
Really Great 66 Points 2019

The FBI’s reputation takes a big blow in Richard Jewell, making Clint Eastwood’s movie about 1996 timely in 2019. Last week’s Justice Department IG report crushed any belief that the upper echelon of the FBI is the least bit trustworthy. That came years after the FBI didn’t pay attention "when …

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WikChip Video Mike Wallace interviews Jewell 6 year...
Robot & Frank
Very Good 66 Points 2012

Anyone who’s dealt with an elderly parent will be charmed by Robot & Frank, a gentle and deft SciFi comedy. Perhaps the best Alzheimer’s movie yet, though the A Word is never mentioned, it carries an emotional kick that leavens it in the end, elevating it to more than just a lark.

The gre…

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WikChip Image Teaching a robot to pick a lock
Rogue One: A St...
Good 83 Points 2016

The Force is with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, albeit weakly and episodically. Thus, this one-off Star Wars movie registers as a mildly tasty surprise while we endure the two year wait between major episodes.

Rogue One tells the backstory of the Death Star, that ultimate weapon of mass de…

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WikChip Image Peter Cushing: ghost of Star Wars past
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
Run Hide Fight
Really Great 66 Points 2020

Biden voters won’t like Run Hide Fight, a movie about the Trump half of the country. Folks in Trump country eschew victimology. The left obsesses on it. We celebrate lone heroes doing what needs done.

Isabel May as Zoe Hull is a hero who does all that and more when her high school gets attac…

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WikChip Video Backstage Premiere: Run Hide Fight
Rust and Bone
Great 66 Points 2012

The good news about Rust and Bone is that it’s not about an orca trainer’s accident. It’s about her recovery. In any case, hers is only half the story, the rest being about an oafish stud with a small child in tow. What happens to father and son is tougher to take than what happens to her – …

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WikChip Image Communing Mammals: Human and Orca
San Andreas
Great 83 Points 2015

Yes I did and I’m glad I did, saw San Andreas, in 3D and everything. Having long since become a Californian, I felt ready for its disaster movie ethos of If you love something, destroy it on the big screen.

Fortunately, San Andreas is a consummately manipulative and charming blockbuster….

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WikChip Video Sia's mournful California Dreaming