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![]() Darker and more realistic than the 1969 original featuring John Wayne, this 21st Century retelling of a classic Wild West retribution story succeeds in almost every respect — often funny, richly evocative, shockingly brutal, cleverly revisionist. That last comes from the clear hero – a 14 year …
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Tall in the Saddle: Hailee Steinfeld
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![]() Behold the Great American Movie starring American idol George Clooney flying on American Airlines. This All American trifecta makes Up in the Air an instant American classic. And a damn funny one at that: good thing, since we Americans love to laugh, especially when nursing a really f-ing bad…
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Keep Up Now
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![]() Django Unchained is an absurdly good movie that goes where few filmmakers dare tread, and succeeds so completely that only Tarantino could pull it off. What he’s pulled off is a Tarantinic take on the first of the two racial decimations to occur in the heart of Western Civilization, three year…
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Give this man an Oscar. Seriously.
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![]() Think of this de facto zombie movie as No Country for Little Boys: a surreally grim milieu through which a dauntless Father must shepherd his pure-hearted Son. Such a nihilistic extravaganza creates ample opportunities for life lessons of the most extreme sort. The result is gripping, though …
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Dauntless Paternal Love
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![]() Contemporary thriller-on-a-train, ultimately gripping though it takes a while to get there, not unlike an interesting train trip. Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley bring star power to writer-director Brad Anderson’s well constructed movie, though the script and secondary characters are also first… |
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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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![]() Quadrophenia stands on its own from Quadrophenia, the Who’s great rock opera from whence it sprang. For starters, the movie’s considerable spoken dialog means it’s not an opera. And while many of the album’s songs are used, not all are and they’re augmented by a few created for the movie.
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Riding up in front of a hundred faces...
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![]() Not Money, “Money” being Swingers’ buzzword for winning. Granted the movie stood out in the mid-90s for its over-the-top retro sensibilities and for introducing Vince Vaughn’s charming jerk act to a wide audience. Those attributes and an achingly lovely Heather Graham are all that recommend i… |
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![]() George Miller reboots Mad Max for a new generation with Fury Road. Tom Hardy ably replaces Mel Gibson, while Charlize Theron shepherds five wives through hell, adding a woman’s touch to what remains an absurdly masculine movie. The result is an exhilarating – albeit ridiculous – entertainment…
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Heavy-metal guitarist / hood ornament
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![]() Safety not guaranteed, but viewing pleasure is assured from this endearing romcom. It features a smart story about a Miss Lonelyheart falling in love with an apparently crazy time-traveler she’s researching for an exposé. His crazy but real (crazy-real?) scenario meshes well with today’s über-ir…
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"If it were so certain, I wouldn't be...
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