Let's Talk About Movies

Category: The Twenty-First Century

  • Big Hero 6 [2014] ★★★

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    Talk all you want about technique, but a good animated film depends on story and character, and it’s those vital ingredients that make “Big Hero 6” so fresh and entertaining. It’s also a pleasure to see a movie meant for kids that’s clever but not too reliant on visuals. The hero here is a boy…

  • Horns [2014] ★★

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    If you’re looking for a fun Halloween night at the movies, “Horns” will most likely disappoint you. Daniel Radcliffe plays Ig Perrish, a local boy suspected of murdering his girlfriend, Merrin (Juno Temple). We think he’s innocent, but it doesn’t help that he grows horns and starts looking like the devil. Don’t ask. The movie, directed by Alexander…

  • John Wick [2014] ★★½

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    Ok, who’s kidding who? This tense, entertaining action thriller starring Keanu Reeves as a killer seeking revenge against the people who stole his 1969 Mustang and killed his puppy, isn’t new at all. You’ve seen it so many times before. Accept that and you’ll have a fine time at the movies. Reeves could play this routine stuff in his…

  • Interstellar [2014] ★★★½

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    The mind-blowing movie event of the year arrives just in time to hold back the flow of Hollywood junk that’s been infesting the multiplex for a while now. “Interstellar”, written and directed by the visionary Christopher Nolan, will be called many things, starting with “Inception” meets “2001: A Space Odyssey” meets “The Grapes of Wrath”. But “Interstellar” glows with…

  • Love, Rosie [2014] ★★½

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    “Love, Rosie” feels a lot like deja-vu, but it’s sweet, charming and entertaining. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies that cover a long time period in a constantly-changing relationship. From the peak of “When Harry Met Sally” to the low of “A Lot Like Love”, we’ve seen it all. So basically the outcome…

  • Repentance [2014] ★½

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    Forest Whitaker was so good in his Oscar winning performance in “The Last King Of Scotland” so why did he go and spoil everything with a cheesy thriller that buries him in endless clichés? I’d call this turd “Misery” meets “Psycho” but that would insult those movies. Much like “No Good Deed” (another movie you should avoid), “Repentance” doesn’t move…

  • Fury [2014] ★★★

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    It hurts to watch “Fury”…literally. I have never seen a more visceral film about WWII; I can’t count how many times I winced or moved while watching the picture. But that’s what makes it so good. Director David Ayer (the underrated “End of Watch”), and his actors outdid themselves to bring this gripping story to the screen, and…

  • Left Behind [2014] ★

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    With horrible acting, cheesy effects and disastrous storyline, “Left Behind” reaffirms the fact that the only thing left behind is Nicolas Cage’s career. Fiasco!

  • The Best Of Me [2014] ★★

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    Based on the best-selling weepie by Nicholas Sparks, “The Best Of Me” is a hazard to all those allergic to cheesy chick flicks, or Sparks’ flicks in general. James Marsden stars as Dawson Cole, a man who is suddenly brought back into his ex-partner Amanda’s (Michelle Monaghan) company, when the pair meet to read the will of an old friend…

  • Frank [2014] ★★★

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    Unleashed imagination is a hell of a rare thing to find at the movies these days. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, sure, but then what? Try “Frank”, an offbeat comedy loosely based on the story of Frank Sidebottom, a Brit comic who enjoyed some underground success in the late 1980s and early 1990s by wearing a fake…

  • Annabelle [2014] ★★½

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    Confession: I’m a sucker for James Wan’s horror movies. So naturally I was looking forward to “Annabelle”. Last year’s “The Conjuring” took everyone (even non horror fans) by surprise and became a huge hit. Naturally, it had to spawn a prequel. Gordon Gekko (That’s Michael Douglas, just in case) may reform in the Wall Street sequel,…

  • Rio, I Love You [2014] ★½

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    Dull follow-up to “Paris Je T’aime” and “New York I Love You” offers a range of episodes set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janero, mostly dealing with encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city. Most of them are slight and boring; these vignettes about the beautiful city of Rio may just…

  • The Judge [2014]

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    Director David Dobkin shows ambition for days in “The Judge”. That the movie is co-written by the gifted Nick Schenck (“Gran Torino”) is reason enough to recommend it. That the movie features two of the year’s best performances from Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall raises the bar another notch. So hold on tight. “The Judge” is a completely absorbing…

  • Dracula Untold [2014] ★½

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    It’s been a horrible year for classic “Universal” monsters. First “I, Frankenstein” back in January and now “Dracula Untold”, which tells the story of Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans), before and after his days as the famous vampire monster. The movie has its moments, but the overall result is an insult rather than a tribute…

  • Gone Girl [2014] ★★★½

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    Not only did David Fincher have to sweat out making his directing return following “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by adapting Gillian Flynn’s 2012 best seller, he also cast Ben Affleck in the leading role. Ballsy. So here’s the deal: His film sneaks up, messes with your head and then floors you. You can’t shake it. It’s…

  • The Prince [2014] ★

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      A retired assassin (Jason Patric) must get back in the game when his daughter is kidnapped. That’s “Taken” minus Liam Neeson and minus the fun. Awful, to say the least. Fiasco!

  • And So It Goes [2014] ★½

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    If you admire such films as “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “The Princess Bride” as I do, you’ll be rooting for director Rob Reiner to score another bull’s-eye with his latest effort. But it’s clear pretty early on that “And so it Goes” is a muddled misfire: a tiresome, talky “romantic” comedy about a…

  • The Rover [2014] ★★½

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    Aussie writer-director David Michôd follows up his critically acclaimed “Animal Kingdom” with a post-apocalyptic road movie that feels a lot like a western film.That means mainstream movie-goers will smell art and run like hell. And who can blame them? From the looks of things, “The Rover” is fighting a losing battle. Not to director David Michôd, whose Aussie-based “Animal…

  • The Equalizer [2014] ★★½

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    Confession: I thought this movie would suck. Denzel Washington back playing a killing machine a decade after “Man On Fire”? Please. Well, my bad. “The Equalizer”, this time directed by Antoine Fuqua, is a roller-coaster ride that takes off like a crazy-ass rocket. Your head will spin. Your palms will sweat. Your nerves will fry. What more do…

  • Life Itself [2014] ★★★½

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    Everything you need to know about Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic who passed away in 2013, is in Steve James’ fantastic documentary. Cancer destroyed Ebert’s body and robbed him of his voice, but he kept reviewing films on his blog till the day he died. In his final days, director Steve James followed him…