Category: GENRE
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We Need To Talk About Kevin [2011] ★★★
It isn’t easy being a sleeper nowadays. There’s been so much buildup for “We Need To Talk About Kevin”, which has traveled the film festival circuit since last year, that it’s difficult for ordinary moviegoers to feel as if they’re discovering it for themselves. I hope huge expectations don’t harm the film’s reception: it really is…
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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [2012] ★★½
Forgive me people for I have sinned: I liked “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”. And contrary to what I expected, the movie is a fun experience, meant to be savored on the big screen. Producer Tim Burton offers up a big, impressive, eye-opening production. It’s also well cast, with two forceful male characters played for all they’re…
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Wanderlust [2012] ★★
I don’t want to sound like a party pooper, but “Wanderlust” is one of the few Paul Rudd movies that I couldn’t enjoy. Now don’t get me wrong. The man is still a pleasure to watch. But I couldn’t care less about the plot or its outcome. The best thing I can derive from it…
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The Dictator [2012] ★★
As someone who, swimming against the current, doesn’t care much for Sacha Baron Cohen and his alter egos, Borat, Ali G and Bruno, I still wanted to give the guy another chance to impress me. I certainly couldn’t have predicted a movie as lame and mediocre as “The Dictator”. Why? Because it wussies out on…
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Moonrise Kingdom [2012] ★★★
Simplicity is not a quality most Hollywood moviemakers aspire to achieve, but for me it’s part of the charm of “Moonrise Kingdom”, an amusing, low-key movie that strikes a tone unlike any other film this year. I’m a huge admirer of director Wes Anderson, but I’m not one of his can-do-no wrong fans. I loved…
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Piranha 3DD [2012]
I watch bad movies so you can save your money. Case in point: “Piranha 3DD”, a truly awful sequel to the silly but entertaining “Piranha”. The first one had blood, full frontal nudity and Christopher Lloyd as a wacky scientist. Back then, I called it “the most enjoyable crap I’ve seen in a long time”.…
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La Délicatesse [2012] ★★½
Not every movie has to be an event, or a blockbuster. Sometimes, all I ask of a film is that it offers an entertaining diversion for a certain period of time. That’s exactly what I got from “La Delicatesse”. During this current movie season, when it’s all about superheroes and visual experience, small movies tend…
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The Flowers Of War [2011] ★★★
Some movies open on thousands of screens, others play in just a handful of theaters. And some films, lacking promotion, simply materialize, with the hope that people will discover them on cable, or DVD, like “The Flowers Of Wars”, a movie I was lucky enough to catch on the big screen. I didn’t want to read…
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Prometheus [2012] ★★★
Prometheus is at once a fascinating and a frustrating movie. I found much of it captivating, and while I resist the hype-driven phrase “visual experience,” I did find myself drawn into its 3-D world, an extraordinarily rich cinematic environment created, in breathtaking detail, by artists and computers. I didn’t think I could care about another “Alien” movie,…
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Project X [2012] ★½
A lot of times, while I’m watching a bad movie, several questions arise: “What the hell is that?” or better yet: “What the hell were they thinking?” That’s exactly what I asked myself while suffering through “Project X”, which is anything but funny, as some might lead you to think. I think “tragic” would be…
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Snow White And The Huntsman [2012] ★★
Poor Grimm brothers can’t get a break from Hollywood, at least not since two “Snow White” movies were released this year. The first one, “Mirror Mirror”, was pure garbage. Now “Snow White and the Huntsman” is here. So how bad is it? Not that bad to be honest, uneven to be sure and terribly slow…
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Battleship [2012] ★½
I really wanted to like this movie. No wait, I didn’t. I mean, who wants to see a movie based not on a book, or an animated series, but a board game? Not me, not you, not anyone. It’s tempting to dismiss Peter Berg’s long, loud and ludicrous “Battleship” with three words — piece of…
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Men In Black 3 [2012] ★★½
Says it isn’t so. Are they actually releasing a third Men In Black movie even though part two was a total disaster? Seems like it. But here’s the good news: the sequel nobody asked for is actually pretty enjoyable. Why? It’s not that the characters got more interesting; Will Smith is still Will Smith, while…
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Shame [2011] ★★★
“Shame” is a disturbing but vivid portrait of a sex addict that will push you out of your comfort zone into uncharted territory. Director Steve McQueen, who previously worked with Michael Fassbender in the equally good “Hunger” creates a palpable sense of unease from start to finish. But you won’t be able to take your…
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The Five Year Engagement [2012] ★★½
Here’s the thing about comedies: Even when the script is freighted with formula, the right actors can keep it afloat, even airborne. That’s where “The Five Year Engagement” really lucks out, even though it goes on for two hours (that’s too long for a comedy in my opinion). For that, all credit to Jason Segel, who’s…
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The Cabin In The Woods [2012] ★★
Start hating me now, horror fans. But the gory, predictable and plodding “Cabin in the Woods” is one of the most disappointing movies of the year. Disappointing why? Because judging from every review on the planet, I expected something memorable. Something huge. Something so damn exciting I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it. Alas,…
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Dark Shadows [2012] ★★★
Good news Tim Burton junkies, “Dark Shadows” lives up to its hype. For the summer, Burton serves up the gothic soap opera that aired on Television from 1966 to 1971 about a young man who, following a curse, turns into a vampire. A recipe for disaster? You’d think. Instead, “Dark Shadows” is a thriller-diller from start…
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21 Jump Street [2012] ★★★
Just when I was ready to effing scream if I had to sit through another lame comedy, along comes “21 Jump Street” to make me a believer. That’s right, the movie is gut-bustingly funny. It’s raunchy, reckless, and ready to party. What’s not to like? I’ve never been a fan of Channing Tatum, but he is surprisingly…
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Friends With Kids [2012] ★★½
“Friends with Kids” is a strikingly original comedy with serious undertones. Judging from the cast, it may sound like another “Bridesmaids”, while in fact it’s not. Some moviegoers may be disappointed with the lack of “vulgarity”, but I was not. This is a movie that takes its time, as it covers a long time in…
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Comme Un Chef [2012] ★★½
I’ve been in the grip of a bad cold for almost 4 days; I somehow managed to work a little bit on my blog, but I hadn’t seen a movie since Tuesday (which in my book is about a century). By Friday afternoon I was frustrated, so I did what I’ve always done when I’m feeling…
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