Category: The Twenty-First Century
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The Great Gatsby [2013] ★★★
Months before its release, everyone was already talking about Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby”. So expectations were high, perhaps a bit too high. Early reviews however have been inordinately pissy and there’s no doubt that the movie is too long at 142 minutes, too reliant on its own visual experience in the first half hour…
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Star Trek: Into Darkness [2013] ★★★½
Summer season is officially on with “Star Trek: Into Darkness”, a spectacular follow up to the 2009 movie starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and directed by J.J Abrams. I couldn’t be more surprised. After six TV series and 10 movies, the franchise has been milked so hard, it’s a wonder the idea hasn’t dried out and disintegrated. The…
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21 & Over [2013] ★½
Remember “Superbad” in 2007 and “The Hangover” in 2009? If so, you’ll feel like you’ve already seen “21 & Over”, except that it isn’t funny or original at all. The movie features two morons who surprise their friend with a visit for his 21st birthday. The guy has an important medical school interview early the next morning…
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Scary Movie 5 [2013]
Maybe you thought since Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan poke fun at themselves that this fifth installment would be double the fun. Not a chance. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the laugh meter, “Scary Movie 5” is a negative 10. A stupid, unfunny and shamelessly lazy farce packed with tired, cringe-inducing jokes…
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Trance [2013] ★★★
Danny Boyle follows up “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours” with this juicy, mind bending thriller. He and his screenwriters have crafted the kind of twisty tale we don’t see very often nowadays. James McAvoy plays Simon, a London auctioneer who teams up with art thief Franck (Vincent Cassel, as good as always) to steal Goya’s masterpiece, “Witches in…
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Silent Hill: Revelation [2012]
Ugly follow-up to the 2006 movie finds Sean Bean trying to protect his daughter Heather (Adelaide Clemens) after his wife Rose (Radha Mitchell) rescued her from Silent Hill and then disappeared. Later on Dad himself is abducted so it’s up to Heather and her friend Vincent to get him back. Another video game becomes a silly excuse…
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![Iron Man 3 [2013] ★★★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130423184409iron_man_3_theatrical_poster.jpg?w=864)
Iron Man 3 [2013] ★★★
Just when you wanted to forget all about the ”Iron Man” franchise (yes, part 2 sucked), along comes this primal blast of a second sequel, a potent reminder of what jazzed us about the first “Iron Man” film and the Marvel comics that inspired it. Must have been really hard coming up with a second sequel to a movie everyone…
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![The Big Wedding [2013] ★½](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/the-big-wedding-poster.jpg?w=1024)
The Big Wedding [2013] ★½
Four Academy Award winners were involved in this craptacular comedy. Four! Robert DeNiro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams. Time to weep. The plot? DeNiro and his crazy family are trying to survive a weekend wedding celebration, with disastrous consequences (pun intended). This embarrassing comedy wastes a talented cast in a laugh-less story. Gag after gag falls…
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The Host [2013] ★½
“The Host” is another soulless movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s book. I’ve never read it which means I can’t compare the details and nuances of that book and the film. But I can still review it. The needlessly long story involves Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement”, “The Lovely Bones”) as Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans alive until aliens insert…
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The Place Beyond The Pines [2013] ★★★½
Director Derek Cianfrance pours everything he knows about directing in “The Place beyond the Pines”. His movie messes with your head and then floors you. It’s that honest, that powerful. Describing the plot without giving too much away would be impossible. But you should know straight away that it’s a long, emotional ride. The movie is…
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![The Call [2013] ★★½](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/the-call-poster.jpg?w=540)
The Call [2013] ★★½
If you’re willing to pay money to see a movie in which Halle Berry plays a 911 operator who spends most of the time talking on the phone, then you know exactly what you’re in for. There’s no use complaining. What makes the movie a fun ride (and believe me it is entertaining) is the…
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3096 Days [2013] ★★½
“3096 Days” is the true story of Natascha Kampusch, the 10 year old Austrian girl who was snatched off the street by a stranger in 1998. Her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil shut her in an underground room beneath his garage, telling her that the doors and windows were booby trapped and that her family had forgotten about her. The…
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Iron Man 3 – Sneak Peek
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Searching For Sugar Man [2012] ★★★½
This year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary is the incredible story of a Mexican- American songwriter called Rodriguez, who failed miserably in America in the early 70’s but became a pop culture icon in South Africa where he found a huge audience. The sad thing is that Rodriguez had no idea he was a legend…
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Oblivion [2013] ★★
Here’s a hit and miss sci-fi film that leaves you wishing it was better than it is. Why? Because director Joseph Kosinsky (“Tron: Legacy”) wussies out on a sharp premise. Because he wastes a killer cast that’s ready to rock the shit out of it. Never happens. This is not to say that “Oblivion” doesn’t…
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Evil Dead [2013] ★★½
First things first: I’m a huge fan of the original “Evil Dead”, in which 5 friends traveled to a cabin in the mountains where they found evil spirits lurking around in the forest. The movie was shot on a tight budget, but still managed to provide a violent and gruesome experience. So in mind, nothing could…
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G.I Joe: Retaliation [2013] ★★
Sounds like fun. A sequel to the 2009 surprise “hit” based on the popular children’s toys and cartoons. Cool right? Not right. But here’s a little confession: I actually wanted this one to be good. Or at least decent. Or at least a reminder of what got us all fired up about the Joes in…
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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone [2013] ★★½
Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as corny Vegas magicians. Jim Carrey as a wannabe magician. What’s not to like? “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”, cheesy as it may sound, has a lot of genuine laughs. Too bad it doesn’t have enough to carry it over the finish line, a mere 90 minutes after it begins. Still,…
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The Croods [2013] ★★★
I had no idea what to expect from this animated feature, and to be honest , I thought the trailer was lame. So it’s with a great sense of relief and delight that I offer an enthusiastic review of “The Croods”. It has a neat premise and often breathtaking execution. What’s more, if you want…
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Olympus Has Fallen [2013] ★★
For about an hour, before the movie crashes and burns in a bonfire of exaggeration and stupidity overkill, “Olympus Has Fallen” shapes up as a fun ride. I’m not a huge fan of director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day” was massively overrated in my opinion), but the guy knows how to pump the action pedal. Hell, he…
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