Category: The Twenty-First Century
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Annie [2014] ★½
What a disaster. Jamie Foxx is such a fine actor that matching him up with Quvenzhané Wallis (who was Oscar nominated for her role in 2012’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” at the age of 9) to modernize the beloved stage musical “Annie” sounds promising. On paper. What’s onscreen feels squeezed, dull and curiously lifeless. It’s got no kick…
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Exodus: Gods And Kings [2014] ★★½
Christian Bale starring as Moses in an epic movie directed by the great Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”) sounds like Oscar bait. Truth is: it isn’t. And the sooner you realize that, the more fun you’ll have at this enjoyable (if overlong) slice of history. It may not be a perfect film, or even a great one, but…
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Foxcatcher [2014] ★★★½
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about “Foxcatcher” ever since Bennett Miller won the best director prize at this year’s Cannes festival. Now that’s it’s finally here, this brilliant and devastating drama starring Steve Carell (in a role of a lifetime), Mark Ruffalo (in one of his best performances) and Channing Tatum can…
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Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb [2014] ★★½
As mainstream Hollywood studio movies go, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” isn’t bad. I’ve seen my share of bad sequels and this isn’t one of them, although the setting couldn’t be more familiar. Ben Stiller is back at it again and this time he’s on a very serious mission: he has to go…
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![The Worst Movies of the Year [2014]](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/untitled-1.png?w=600)
The Worst Movies of the Year [2014]
There’s enough plot here for a half hour TV show, and yet director Stiles White plods along endless clichés that get sillier and sillier as we move along. Full review. Watching “Age Of Extinction” makes you die a little inside. Is this the future of movies? God help us! Michael Bay, you’ve done it again. Click for full review. A…
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I Origins [2014] ★★½
Don’t let this low-budget Sci-Fi Drama put you down. “I Origins”, written and directed by Mike Cahill (who did such a good job with “Another Earth” a few years ago), offers imagination and provocation to spare. It may not be as good as his first feature, but it has staying power and it’s damn hard…
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Tusk [2014] ★★
This weird-ass movie from writer/director Kevin Smith is proof that the man is still crazy as fuck. And I don’t mean that as a compliment. The always likable Justin Long isn’t so likable here, playing Wallace, half of an L.A. podcasting team. He and his partner Teddy (Haley Joel Osment aka that kid from “The Sixth…
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Men, Women & Children [2014] ★★½
I think critics are being too harsh on Jason Reitman’s “Men, Women & Children”. It may not be as good as last year’s “Disconnect”, but at a time when so many movies offer nothing but escapism, it’s refreshing to encounter one that has something to say about modern society, and a good enough cast to bring it…
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The Babadook [2014] ★★½
You know something is up when an Australian horror movie comes out of nowhere to win several awards at the Gerardmer Fantastic Film Festival earlier this year. Truth be told, “The Babadook” doesn’t completely live up to its potential, but it does know how to creep you out. Amelia (Essie Davis) and her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman)…
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![Laggies [2014] ★★½](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/laggies-poster-e1417381163779.jpg?w=842)
Laggies [2014] ★★½
“Laggies” is far from innovative, but it’s pleasant enough, and I think that’s the fitting adjective for this coming of age film starring Keira Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell. Knightley plays Megan, a 20 something woman who is still trying to figure out what to do with her life. When she discovers her father is…
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Horrible Bosses 2 [2014] ★★
Sequels are the curse of modern-day comedies. Occasionally you find a good one, but more often the second installment ruins all the fun and sense of discovery that made the original a hit in the first place. “Horrible Bosses” was one of my favorite comedies of 2011. I tried to remind myself of that as I watched…
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The Theory Of Everything [2014] ★★★½
Eddie Redmayne has emerged as a fine actor over the past few years, in films like “My Week With Marilyn” and “Les Miserables“. With his performance in “The Theory Of Everything”, he reaches a new plateau, transforming himself into the brilliant Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor-neuron disease at just 21 and was given only 2 years…
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St. Vincent [2014] ★★★
“St. Vincent” is one of the nicest surprises of the year. It entertained me and left me with a feeling of satisfaction that’s all too rare these days. The story is best described as a comedy, but like many of the best films in that genre it’s rooted in truth: honest observations about family and friendship.…
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![The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 [2014] ★★★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/movkinjsy-0-fes.jpg?w=1024)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 [2014] ★★★
Splitting a final book into two parts can be a burden, especially for part one. By that standard, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1” , the third film based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy should be a placeholder, stuck between the first two films and the grand finale. That’s not entirely true here. “Mockingjay- Part 1”, which builds on the…
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Ouija [2014] ★½
“Ouija” is the latest in a long line of “scary kids” movies like “Children of the Damned”, “The Ring”, and even “The Grudge”. So you have to admire filmmakers who can pretend that these movies never existed as hit films or as spawners of multiple ripoffs.The silly plot follows a young woman named Laine (Olivia Cooke from “Bates…
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The Drop [2014] ★★½
If you love James Gandolfini (and who doesn’t), this is your last chance to see the late actor on the big screen. And it’s a damn good performance, playing a small-time crook who runs a Brooklyn bar that serves as a money drop for Russian dealers. The bartender, Marv’s cousin Bob (the great Tom Hardy), goes along…
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Dumb And Dumber To [2014] ★★½
The first Dumb and Dumber hit theaters in 1994, which in Bieber years is about a century ago. Did we need a sequel? As a long time fan of Harry and Lloyd, I’d say hell yes. I can’t recall the number of times I’ve seen the first film. But I do recall the number of…
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Locke [2014] ★★★
That’s Tom Hardy behind the wheel. He’s Ivan Locke, a Brit, driving from Birmingham to London in real time. He’s a husband and father driving away from his biggest job ever as a construction manager because his one night stand is having his baby tonight in a London hospital. He’s also about to call his wife and…
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Nightcrawler [2014] ★★★½
A while ago, I had the chance to watch a 1933 movie called “Picture Snatcher”, in which the great James Cagney plays an ex-con who gets a newspaper job by snapping a forbidden photograph showing the execution of a convicted murderess. 80 years later and the subject of corrupt journalism couldn’t be more relevant. Want proof? “Nightcrawler”, the…
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A Most Wanted Man [2014] ★★★
Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the best actors on the planet. For more proof, feel free to check out “A Most Wanted Man”, Anton Corbijn’s tense spy thriller, based on John le Carré’s 2008 novel, in which Hoffman gives a performance that is flawless in every detail. He plays Günther Bachmann, a German intelligence operative who…
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