Category: crime
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Logan Lucky [2017] ★★½
Critics have been praising director Steven Soderbergh’s comeback movie (he retired 4 years ago after “Side Effects”), and there’s no denying that he’s still got it, even though I didn’t fully embrace the overall result. On the plus side, “Logan Lucky” has a well-cast ensemble and gives us Daniel Craig like we’ve never seen him before.…
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American Made [2017] ★★★
Tom Cruise is on top of his game in this fact-based movie about Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who ended up working for both the CIA and the drug cartel (run by The Pablo Escobar), in the late 70’s and early 80’s. You just can’t make this up, and you just can’t ask for a better…
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Rome, Open City [1945] ★★★½
Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini kicked off his so-called “war trilogy” with “Rome, Open City”, a harrowing look at Rome during the Nazi occupation of 1944. Though the events that take place in the movie are strictly fictional, Rossellini knows exactly how to deliver an authentic experience. The main character here is Don Pietro, an Italian…
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Baby Driver [2017] ★★★½
Forget the Fast and the Furious movies, if you want a truly original car movie that pumps up your adrenaline level with first-rate action scenes and a killer soundtrack, “Baby Driver” is the summer film for you. This instant classic from director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead”, “Scott Pilgrim Vs the World”) is everything…
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6 Great Nicolas Cage Movies
People often ask me: why do you hate Nicolas Cage? Truth be told, I don’t. Aside from the shitty movies he’s been doing for the past decade, Cage is an Oscar winner and one the most popular stars of the 90’s. Let’s take a closer look at some of his finest moments. Yes, they do…
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The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse [1933] ★★★★
People always mention “Metropolis” and “M” when they talk about German filmmaker Fritz Lang. While they’re both terrific, I personally vouch for “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse”, one of the best movies of the early talkies. Made in 1933, at a time when Nazism was on the rise, “Dr. Mabuse” was banned in Germany by…
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Nocturnal Animals [2016] ★★★
I’m ashamed to say that I’m a bit late coming to this movie, but having witnessed Amy Adams in one of the best performances of her career in Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece “Arrival”, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into “Nocturnal Animals”. And I wasn’t wrong: this is a scary, stylish, and terrifically twisted film…
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T2 Trainspotting [2017] ★★★
It took writer John Hodge and director Danny Boyle 20 years to cook up a sequel to “Trainspotting”, one of the most talked about movies of the 90’s and a cult classic. Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller and Ewen Bremmer were in their mid-20’s when the first film was released. Now they’re all back in “T2”,…
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![Live By Night [2016] ★★★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/lbnben-2.jpg?w=1000)
Live By Night [2016] ★★★
It’s no surprise that a movie set during the roaring 20’s would win me over almost instantly. I’m a sucker for old gangster films of the 30’s and 40’s in which Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and the great James Cagney headlined most of them. In paying tribute to this era, Ben Affleck has managed…
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The Accountant [2016] ★★★
It could have been a straightforward action movie with nothing new to offer, but “The Accountant” has a lot to offer, including a memorable performance from its leading man: Ben Affleck. He plays an accountant, but not your average accountant. Away from his boring job at a CPA office, he freelances as an accountant for some…
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Hell Or High Water [2016] ★★★½
The movie with the worst trailer also turned out to be one of the year’s finest crime dramas. Working from a fierce script by Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario”. Need I say more?), director David Mackenzie sucks us in with incredible skill. The movie opens with Chris Pine and Ben Foster (both absolutely sensational by the way)…
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The Manchurian Candidate [1962] ★★★★
Regarded as the quintessential political satire of the 1960’s, “The Manchurian Candidate” is also meant to provoke paranoia and fear as an American patrol is captured and brainwashed by Chinese communists during the Koran war. One soldier, Raymond Shaw (a terrific Laurence Harvey), has been programmed for a top secret mission: to murder a presidential…
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War Dogs [2016] ★★★
A cross between “Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Hangover”, “War Dogs” arrives to theaters with no particular expectations, and that’s probably a good thing. Good, because, despite its familiar premise, the movie is highly entertaining. Director Todd Phillips has been itching for a comeback after a series of disappointing films, and “War Dogs”…
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Central Intelligence [2016] ★★½
It’s a Hollywood summer tradition: a silly comedy starring two likable actors. We’ve seen it in “The Heat”, “Spy” and “The Other Guys”. In Central Intelligence’s case, they are a good reason to buy a ticket, and they go by the name of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. In a prologue set 20 years ago, we…
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Blackway [2016] ★★
It’s been a painfully slow month at the movies. All the big movies are scheduled for release in July. Meanwhile, I decided to give “Blackway” (aka “Go With Me”) a shot especially since I’ve been itching to see Anthony Hopkins in good form again (his last good performance being in 2012’s “Hitchcock”). Sadly, there’s nothing…
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Manhattan Night [2016] ★½
You’d think a Mystery film starring Adrien Brody that looks and feels like a 1940’s film noir would be worth recommending. It isn’t. “Manhattan Night” follows Brody’s desperate search for the truth when a seductive woman asks him to investigate the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband. As far as atmosphere goes, the movie looks…
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The Nice Guys [2016] ★★★
It’s not “LA Confidential”, but “The Nice Guys” is smart, funny and a treat to watch. Detective movies have been around for a very long time that it’s bracing to still find one with the smarts to laugh at itself, not to mention the 1970’s recreation that is so remarkably good, from costuming to the…
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The Trust [2016] ★
Nicolas Cage strikes again in one of the year’s worst movies, playing a police officer who learns of a vault with a large amount of money. Along with his partner (a washed up Elijah Wood who desperately needs to find a better agent), he decides to investigate more in order to break into it. If…
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Secret In Their Eyes [2015] ★★★
“Secret in their Eyes” is powerful and extremely well acted, even if you’ve seen the 2009 Argentinian movie of the same name. Here’s the deal: Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a powerhouse performance as Ray, an investigator who is tormented by the unsolved rape and murder of his partner’s daughter. He is matched by Julia Roberts, who is exceptional,…
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Legend [2015] ★★★
A fact based story about the Kray brothers, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, starring Tom Hardy in a double performance sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. Yet “Legend” pulls the magician’s trick of distraction, offering enough solid entertainment value—with good use of locations, charismatic actors, and moments of shocking violence—to divert attention from its faults. For some…
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