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![]() The Peter Principle personified: Kevin Spacey reached his level of incompetence by writing, directing and starring in Beyond the Sea, a surreal biopic of Bobby Darin. The starring part was mostly fine. The writing and directing parts, not so much. Darin’s terrific songs make the movie an…
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Kate Bosworth models Sandra Dee
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![]() The battles of 1st Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville get brought to terribly glorious life in this opening salvo of a planned Civil War trilogy. Funded by a son of the South, Gods and Generals focuses on sympathetic Confederate heroes Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. It could …
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One of the signal moments in US history.
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![]() Defiance is a white horse of a movie, telling an improbable and previously little known story that seems too good to be true. Anglo-Saxon star Daniel Craig playing Jewish partisan Tuvia Bielski adds to the fable. A must see for Jews and other WWII buffs, the movie delivers plenty of action, i…
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Action Hero: The real Tuvia Bielski
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![]() Polish up the acceptance speeches. Changeling deserves a passel of trophies, though Best Picture isn’t one of them. The difficult story – while expertly told – ends up a mildly exhausting slog, one not worth enduring for anyone not wanting to visualize the most elemental of maternal nightmare… |
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![]() The Civil War’s decisive battle can get extensively aired over nearly 4½ hours, and does in Gettysburg. The real battle lasted three days in July of 1863, say 36 hours actually fighting. The movie covers fully an eighth of that. Stamina is required, a long plane ride ideal. Consider it a …
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Hell saved the Exceptional Nation.
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![]() Flash of Genius is an involving and interesting, albeit frustrating, biopic of a guy who succeeds at invention, fails at business and craters at life. It’s well recommended for those interested in cars and/or entrepreneurs, and for fans of Greg Kinnear. Being a successful inventor wasn’t en…
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Kearns through a windshield doggedly
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![]() A must see for the true rock fan, this awkwardly titled rockumentary should have been called Axemen since it’s an intimate portrait of three great guitar heroes, two of them certified Rock Gods. The movie wraps flashbacks, interviews and archival footage around a jam session with the three: …
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BlackTree.TV vid catches "Whole Lotta...
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![]() Ain’t no better basketball movie than this boys-to-men documentary about LeBron James and his brothers-in-hoops. Even better, More Than a Game can be enjoyed equally well by non-basketball fans because it’s also a brilliant and touching portrait of half a dozen contemporary African-American mal…
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A man leads his team of boys into man...
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![]() This magnificent political biography also happens to be a very good movie. Not a great movie, but a great and important story, well told and even better acted by its two leads. Lessons in history and leadership should all be so charismatic. The movie has rhythms and totems unfamiliar to Amer…
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American superstars as African heroes
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This ultimate princess movie recounts one of history’s greatest love stories. But it’s more than a chick flick given the lens it provides into the geopolitical machinations at the heart of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Students of history and those interested in the British mona…
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Victoria & Albert: Ultimate Royal Couple
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