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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
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
Danny Collins
Great 83 Points 2015

Al Pacino plays faux-rockstar Danny Collins like a demented Neal Diamond, complete with big singalong. Danny Collins instantly enters the Pacino Pantheon, Extreme Extrovert Wing. Rockstar Al is in the house.

The film is entirely high concept, albeit inspired by a real story: John Lennon wro…

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WikChip Video The Story of Danny Collins
The Savages
Very Good 83 Points 2007

Emotional Savages would be a more apt title for this examination of petty narcissists forced to depend on each other. They are an elderly father and his two grown children, making the story recognizable to a generation of baby boomers, many of whom are dealing with similar responsibilities.

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A Quiet Place
Really Great 83 Points 2018

A Quiet Place is a primo horror movie for non-horror fans, such as John Krasinski & Emily Blunt. He wrote, directed and starred in this 90-minute masterpiece. She “only” stars in it, meaning he directed his real-life wife in the movie’s cruel crucible of silence. Interesting choice for a couple…

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WikChip Video Watch after seeing A Quiet Place
Drive
Really Great 83 Points 2011

Where did Drive come from? Under-titled and under-promoted, it seems to have sprang from nowhere. Pity, because it’s an extremely invigorating thriller. It also burnishes Ryan Gosling’s growing legend while establishing Nicolas Winding Refn as a major Hollywood director. Wow.

Few action …

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WikChip Image Hammer in hand, Gosling looks for a n...
Olympus Has Fallen
Good 83 Points 2013

Spectacular calamity followed by impressive vengeance makes Olympus Has Fallen an amply satisfying cinematic experience. So what if it’s jingoism. It’s extremely well executed jingoism, by jingo! Patriotic action-movie fans – like me – happen to like this sort of button-pushing entertainment…

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WikChip Image Stunts and FX make the movie.
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
Nebraska
Great 83 Points 2013

Nebraska is a triumph of character development and acting. Good thing, since the plot only goes from A to B – or from Billings to Omaha, which is further than A is from B, but not by much.

It dyspeptically portrays Middle-American lives lived as nasty and brutish. Short too? No, long and …

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WikChip Image The toughest of them all: June Squibb
1 Reply
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
The Lego Movie
Perfect 83 Points 2014

The Lego Movie pegs the meter, several of them actually: comedy, smarts, humanity, trendiness. Simply one of the most brilliant movies of recent years and a helluva lot of fun, it’s every bit the wonderful and transcendent movie that Toy Story

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WikChip Video Fun Lego Movie Bloopers Reel
1 Reply
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...