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A hypocritical indictment of conspicuous consumption, this bargain-basement satire never strikes beyond the obvious. Nominally attempting to bury the cult of brands, The Joneses instead praises them – name dropping and extolling cars, fragrances, golf clubs and all the effluvia touted in the a…
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Amber Heard: Generic hottie, generic ...
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![]() Message-movies that dramatize real world events start with two strikes against them. The message they promote likely doesn’t resonate with everyone. And they have to hew to an often humdrum storyline. Thus Made in Dagenham is a pleasant surprise, quirky instead of humdrum, not heavy-handed… |
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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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Big sis Amanda Peet: Skin deep beauty
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![]() Win Win has become such a cliche, yet is anything but in the entirely winning movie of that title. Cleverly mining today’s uneven economy, the uneasy equality of modern marriages, the unjust world of neglected kids, and not least, the under-appreciated sport of high school wrestling, Win Win…
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Who says meaningful auteur cinema is ...
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![]() Clint Eastwood does U.S. history – again, here essaying one of the 20th Century’s most consequential Americans. There were times during J. Edgar when it seemed to warrant a 4 Star Great, but couldn’t maintain it, falling back in the end to a respectable 3 Star Good. Thus, history buffs and fa…
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Handsome Couple, and Mother
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![]() Two movies in one – the demented story of a badass junkie and the inspiring story of an avenging angel. Both are about the same guy, Sam Childers, an American biker who has saved and continues to save hundreds of otherwise doomed Sudanese kids. As a kickass movie about a real guy trying to stop…
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Boy finds his man. Man finds his call...
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![]() Woe is me – what I felt watching The Company Men, perhaps because that’s how its characters felt. Notwithstanding its glorification of self-pity, the movie tells a surprisingly good story, touching on many familiar elements of our current woeful economy. People living beyond their means, in…
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Formerly fatuous: Costner & Affleck
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![]() Women rule The Help. They rule the Junior League, they rule their roosts and they rule each other. Some are white and privileged, most of whom behave in ugly ways. Others are black and disenfranchised. Their world seems far away, yet existed a mere 50 years ago in the Jim Crow South. Vie…
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Someone get this woman an Oscar!
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![]() Small town BFFs get into big trouble in this high quality yet overlooked drama about disaffected youth. How disaffected? Both girls are from troubled households, though one has a good head on her shoulders. The other? A “cutter” and Mean Girl extraordinaire. Together they anchor a terrific i…
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Here comes trouble.
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