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![]() More than just the chariot race, Ben-Hur virtually defines big screen epic. At three and a half hours, it’s a lot of movie, full of bravura performances, grand visuals, and tasteful religious symbolism. One of only three movies to win 11 Oscars,1 it deserves the acclaim that accompanies the…
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Ben-Hur: This, in widescreen Technico...
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![]() Finally, a USA friendly Iraq War movie, the novelty of which shows how far Hollywood has drifted from objective reality and obvious movie subjects. Wonder of wonders, a show of fellow Americans resolutely and professionally pursuing their liberation mission offers a tremendous adrenaline rush, a…
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SFC James: More gung ho than sane.
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![]() Saddam Hussein’s elder son Uday savaged Iraq for decades until US Special Forces took him out in 2003. The devil gets his due in The Devil’s Double, a high octane biopic based on his body-double’s memoirs. From outrageous tragedy a magnificent movie emerges, momentous as a hurtling Mercede…
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Pacino's Scarface? Cooper's Funnyface.
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![]() Three Kings succeeds magnificently as cockeyed caper movie, less so as metaphor for America’s abortive involvement in Iraq following the Persian Gulf War. The former unspools propulsively as George Clooney’s disgruntled commando leads a ragtag crew on a crazy hunt for Saddam Hussein’s gold. T…
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Exploding Cow, Unplanned Responsibili...
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![]() This is a damn good Iraq War movie, apolitical and told through the eyes of Marines who walked through the sands of hell. Plus, it’s a great Marine Corps movie overall. So why did it flame out at the theaters? Start with the bad title. Megan Leavey is easy to say once you hear it, but is kin…
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The real Megan & Rex at Yankee Stadium
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![]() A mashup of Israel’s bravura capture of Adolph Eichmann and the moral confusion of Munich, The Debt pays off almost completely, missing perfection by ceding reality. Well that and because the Mossad agents’ reluctance to kill the fictional Surgeon of Birkenau annoys as much as it galvanizes….
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The two visages of Rachel Singer.
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![]() The Raid on Entebbe stands as one of the great military feats of all time. Then there’s 7 Days in Entebbe, which stumbles along as a just OK recreation of that legendary event. Leftist in orientation, this Jeff Skoll production1 tells a full story about the communist kidnappers and their radi…
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The movie's not nearly this good.
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![]() Given the dismal state of Islamist terror movies, this surprisingly evenhanded thriller tops the heap, though its disjointed plot comes together slowly and Leonardo DiCaprio’s CIA character lacks charisma. Fortunately he’s flanked by two great actors, the estimable Russell Crowe and the slickly … |
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![]() The heart of a battle-tank turns into a heart of darkness for four soldiers – softies – thrust into the horror of war. The obvious comparison to Das Boot captures Lebanon’s ironclad claustrophobia and blinkered view. Yet, Apocalypse Now seems more fitting an antecedent given how these unw…
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Caught in the crosshairs: Major Hardb...
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![]() Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Pay $15 for an IMAX sequel that spurns the music and conventions that defined Mission Impossible in the first place and that fails to induce vertigo, IMAX or no. Doesn’t seem a worthwhile value in these recessionary times. MI – GP is a good movi…
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Famous nose meets self-destructing fone
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