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Revolutionary Road
Very Good 83 Points 2008

A smug couple fights spectacularly over their narcissistic disappointments, with their immature worldview presented as the final word on family-centered suburban existence. Melodramatic, occasionally quite funny, flawlessly performed, supremely well made, Rev. Road is worth seeing if family tr…

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WikChip Image The classic novel behind the movie.
2 Replies
  • BrianSez – Yeah - maybe I was a bit liberal with that acting. M...
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":/movie_reviews/2707-re...
Sling Blade
Really Great 83 Points 1996

An American classic, Billy Bob Thornton’s Sling Blade rings true to small town norms and values. Most of its characters are good people, to Thornton’s credit as the movie’s writer, director and star, and son of small town Arkansas himself. The two bad ones trigger well crafted drama that feel…

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WikChip Image Masterful Acting: Walsh & Thornton
White Men Can't...
Great 83 Points 1992

Ron Shelton made White Men Can’t Jump after Bull Durham and before Tin Cup. His sequence of great sports movies is thus baseball, basketball, golf. This middle one – his hoops hit – nailed the J with its title, even if the rest veers from perfection.

White Men Can’t Jump was welcom…

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WikChip Image They've Got Game.
3 Replies
  • BrettHarrison – Regarding "Wick's Review":http://www.viewguide.com/m...
  • Wick – Regarding "Wick's Review":http://www.viewguide.com/m...
  • BrianSez – Regarding "Wick's Review":http://www.viewguide.com/m...
Sunshine Cleaning
Very Good 83 Points 2008

A quality date movie for grownups, Sunshine Cleaning shares more than just an ironically radiant title with 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine. Both are about overcoming failed dreams, not to mention both feature Alan Arkin as a kooky grandfather. While this year’s model doesn’t reach the inspired…

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The Burning Plain
Great 83 Points 2008

A woman on the edge propels the oh-so-smart drama in this almost too clever movie. The story turns back in on itself time and again, not fully revealing its convergence till the end. An ultimately satisfying twist does come, though not before we’re asked to hang in through lots of puzzlingly se…

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WikChip Image OK, not from the movie, but Jennifer!!
1 Reply
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":/movie_reviews/3083-th...
The Joneses
Pretty Bad 83 Points 2009

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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WikChip Image Amber Heard: Generic hottie, generic ...
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
Stone
Very Good 83 Points 2010

De Niro and Norton’s moviestar masterclass combined with austerely beautiful filmmaking elevates a formulaic story that trades heavily in caricature. Often darkly funny, occasionally LOL so, Stone surmounts its insufficient title by proving itself an involving experience.

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WikChip Image Moviestar Masterclass: De Niro & Norton
Barney's Version
Very Good 83 Points 2010

I find self-loathing shmucks more annoying than interesting. So Barney’s Version – about a dissolute TV exec played by the redoubtable Paul Giamatti – surprised me by deepening into an affecting and intriguing drama in its third reel. Based on Mordecai Richler’s final novel, its literary pedig…

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WikChip Video Solid acting enlivens a solid novel
Super 8
Really Great 83 Points 2011

Spielbergian indeed — middle school kids running their own show, parents stricken with tragedy, lots of bike riding, police cruisers and one big honking Air Force train in one hell of a crash.

Cincinnati, we’ve got a problem.

And America’s got a really great summer blockbuster. Set in mid…

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WikChip Image The Older Sister: Amanda Michalka