Let's Talk About Movies

Category: The Twenty-First Century

  • Taken 2 [2012] ★★

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    I think it’s useless to try and figure out why “Taken 2” is so disappointing. The film only exists because, after the huge success of the first movie, its studio demanded a sequel. And if their instincts were correct, people will definitely rush to see it this weekend. Fair enough. But if your only choice of…

  • Magic Mike [2012] ★★

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    All the women in the world are lining up to see “Magic Mike”. Why? Because it stars Channing Tatum (yep that dude from “Dear John and “The Vow”) as a stripper. Sounds like the  movie event of the year no? Not really. Stripping aside, the plot couldn’t be more predictable. The problem lies not entirely…

  • The Watch [2012] ★★

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    I love Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill. These guys are funny. So why isn’t “The Watch” any good? Start with the silly premise: Suburban husband Stiller manages a Costco, where one his employees is  murdered one night in a highly mysterious manner. The local police are morons, so this pushes Stiller to form his own…

  • Arbitrage [2012]

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    Want to see Richard Gere in a dynamite performance? Step up for “Arbitrage”, a thrillingly intense look at what goes down when people commit sins in the name of money. I know I know. You might have seen it all before, but first time director Nicholas Jarecki does wonders with his movie, focusing on what goes…

  • Lawless [2012] ★★★

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    Tom Hardy starring in this fact based story about The Bondurant brothers alongside Shia LaBeouf , Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce sounds like Oscar Bait. It isn’t. And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying  crime drama. To be completely honest, there’s no reason  “Lawless” should play as well as it does; it’s…

  • Red Lights [2012] ★½

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    Judging from the trailer, “Red Lights” looked like it might be one of the best horror movies we’ve seen in quite a while. But isn’t it always the case with trailers? Surprise. The movie sucks.  Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver (both good actors) play two university professors who specialize in explaining to people why ghosts don’t really…

  • Premium Rush [2012] ★★½

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    If you’re looking for a thrilling ride, try “Premium Rush”, a crackling blend of suspense and fun that delivers exactly what you would expect from it, nothing more, nothing less. Joseph Gordon Levitt is perfectly cast as a daredevil bike messenger. His latest job? Make a run from uptown to Chinatown to deliver a very important ticket.…

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower [2012] ★★★

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    If you’ve read the book version of “The perks of Being a Wallflower”, you already know what it’s about. I had the advantage of not knowing anything when I saw it today, which made it all the more enjoyable. What seems to be a typical coming of age movie (at least from its trailer) turns out…

  • The Bourne Legacy [2012] ★★★

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    I don’t know how a film this entertaining can be considered a flop by so many moviegoers. At first glance, it seemed almost impossible to make a fourth Bourne movie without its leading man Matt Damon or its director Paul Greengrass. Surprise. It’s not half bad. In fact, and despite its overlength, “The Bourne Legacy”…

  • The Campaign [2012] ★★½

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    Will Ferrell is the go-to guy if you want to laugh your-self silly. He could just stand there staring at you and get you giggling. Then there’s Zach  Galifianakis, a smart actor with a natural clown’s gift for playing dumb. Both actors rip off each other with inspired lunacy in “The Campaign”, playing candidates for an upcoming…

  • Resident Evil: Retribution [2012]

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    No tension, excitement, or interest, amateurish action, and lousy CGI’s.That’s “Resident Evil Retribution” in a nutshell.  Even die hard fans of the series will agree with me this time around. The 5th installment is the worst one so far and I demand an explanation. I never expected Shakespeare but I guess I never expected it to…

  • Total Recall [2012] ★★

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    Cool cast. Potent premise. Piss-poor execution. And so dies “Total Recall”, a wannabe sci-fi movie set in the future, also a remake of a 1990 film of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone (not yet a major star). Of the movie, at least it can be said that no one was tampering with a…

  • The Cold Light Of Day [2012]

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    We got problems. Start with the title. What the hell does it mean? Then there’s the movie itself, which should be an enjoyable thriller but settles for just awful. Henry  Cavill (the next Man Of Steel) plays Will Shaw, a young Wall Street trader who is taking time away from work to spend a holiday…

  • ATM [2012] ★½

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    Three people find themselves trapped in an ATM building, while a hooded killer stands outside, messing with them. That’s the premise of this truly dreadful movie, which has enough ideas to fill out a 20 minute short. Unfortunately, “ATM” runs 90 minutes, and as it ambles along you can feel the life draining from it. The…

  • Ted [2012] ★★★

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    Sometimes a comedy movie just clicks. Welcome to one of those times. “Ted”, from director Seth MacFarlane (the wacky dude  behind TV’s “Family Guy”) fires off big, fat, raucous laughs as if it had an endless supply. It doesn’t. The film limps a bit in the final stretch and doesn’t know when to quit. A small price…

  • The Tall Man [2012]

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    Jessica Biel, whose career has been sputtering on life support for years, plays a woman who is trying to uncover the mystery of the so called Tall Man, after her son goes missing one night. Useful tip: don’t ask. Don’t watch. Fiasco!

  • 2 Days In New York [2012] ★★½

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    Amusing but uneven follow-up to the 2007 movie “2 Days In Paris” finds Julie Delpy’s family coming to visit her and her boyfriend (Chris Rock) in New York.  We previously met Delpy’s character Marion in the first movie, in which she traveled to Paris with her American boyfriend Jack (Adam Goldberg), who could barely handle her…

  • The Expendables 2 [2012] ★★

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    No one expected Shakespeare, but director Simon West’s failure to turn this franchise into something memorable can easily be ranked as one of the biggest disappointments of the decade. Admit it though: on the surface, the idea of Sylvester Stallone assembling a team of action stars to kick ass is a testosterone turn-on. Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason…

  • Brave [2012] ★★★

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    I approach each new Disney Pixar film with a combination of eagerness and apprehension: will it be as good as I want it to be? As far as “Brave” is concerned,  I knew within minutes that the answer was yes. Even though it doesn’t break any new grounds, I was still captivated by it. It’s that…

  • Bernie [2012] ★★★

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    Jack Black’s presence generally makes any movie worth seeing, and this is no exception. Want more proof? “The School Of Rock”, “Be Kind Rewind”  and “Tenacious D”.  In “Bernie”, a strange movie directed by Richard Linklater , Black plays a beloved mortician. I say beloved because he is so good at what he does, and everyone…