Category: other
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The Hater [2020] ★★½
This polish thriller currently streaming on Netflix juggles a lot of ideas at once, and at 135 minutes, it can be a bit too much, but it’s not a complete waste. In fact, it’s still entirely watchable, thanks to a solid performance by Maciej Musialowski, who plays a young man trying to find a purpose…
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Roma [2018] ★★★
“Roma” doesn’t look or feel like any other movie I’ve seen in 2018, and not just because it was shot in black and white. It has a distinct atmosphere, and that’s obvious from the very first shot. Director Alfonso Cuarón transports us back to his childhood neighborhood in Mexico City. The year is 1970 and we’re…
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The Nile Hilton Incident [2017] ★★★
A police officer in Cairo talking and investigating a murder like a character out of a 1940’s film noir starring Humphrey Bogart. It’s a daring move, but a damn good one, so it should be on your list of movies to see before the year is over. A spoof would have been enough for writer/director…
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Germany Year Zero [1948] ★★★½
Roberto Rossellini’s “Germany Year Zero” is a frightening portrait of post-WWII Berlin, from the point of view of 12-year-old Edmund, who lives with his family in terrible conditions. The war may have ended, Hitler’s third Reich has fallen, but Berlin has never been more miserable. Edmund’s only concern is to provide food for his bedridden…
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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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Rio, I Love You [2014] ★½
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…
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Only Lovers Left Alive [2014] ★★
Jim Jarmusch (“Mystery Train”, “Dead Man”) is a smart filmmaker, and his new movie is so original, that I wish I liked it more. I was fascinated by its premise at first, about two vampires (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton) who’s been in love for centuries. For reasons unexplained, they now live in different parts…
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Nymphomaniac (Volume I and Volume II) [2014] ★★
Depending on your reaction to the cinematic outrages perpetrated by Danish director Lars Von Trier (remember Antichrist?), you might want to add or subtract two from the rating I just gave “Nymphomaniac”. It seems that Van Trier enjoys courting controversy, and some of his films are deliberately designed to provoke and upset audiences. But he’s…
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Adore [2013] ★½
Embarrassingly bad drama set in Western Australia, where two best friends (Naomi Watts and Robin Wright) hook up with each other’s sons (say what?). Wright’s boy, Ian (Xavier Samuel), gets Watts in the sack first. Then Watts, angry as hell, thinks it’s only right to have sex with Wright’s son. Sounds sexy? Not really. With that cast,…
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The Hunt [2013] ★★★½
A powerful and thought provoking drama is rare during summer season. That’s what makes “The Hunt” so special, and I hope moviegoers will find their way to see it. It’s one of the year’s best films. Danish writer-director Thomas Vinterberg aims to shock his audience by telling the story of a divorced schoolteacher (Mads Mikkelsen, Le…
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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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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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Wadjda [2012] ★★★½
Can I tell you how thrilled I am that I got to see this movie? Part of the response comes from the excitement of discovery: a writer-director from Saudi Arabia,Haifaa Al Mansour, making her feature debut, and creating a movie that is both entertaining and thought provoking. The hype-meisters of moviedom have made it difficult to use words…
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest [2009]
Stieg Larsson’s ‘Millennium Trilogy’ comes to a conclusion with “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”, and while the third installment is not as engaging as its predecessors, it still manages to tie up all the loose ends, as it should. I think it’s safe to say that in order to enjoy this final chapter,…
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Sleeping Beauty [2011]
Maybe you thought since Emily Browning (“Sucker Punch”) is naked most of the time in “Sleeping Beauty” that the movie would be double the fun. No way Jose. On a scale of 1 to 10, “Sleeping Beauty” is a negative 10. A total bust, a stupefyingly unattractive erotic movie that tries to be clever and…
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Senna [2011]
Fantastic documentary chronicles the life and death of Formula one legend Ayrton Senna, from his days as a go-kart racer, to his debut as a professional driver, his rivalry with Alain Prost (that includes him winning the title three times), and ultimately his tragic death on May 1st 1994. But that’s not all. Beneath the…
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Melancholia [2011]
Part of me doesn’t want to tell you that “Melancholia” is a movie about the end of the world. Chances are you’ll groan and stop reading. Maybe you’re right, because “Melancholia”, directed by controversial director Lars Von Trier, wouldn’t appeal to an audience seeking something fast paced or even action packed. Von Trier followers on…
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Incendies [2010] ★★★★
Sometimes, death is only the beginning of a story. Such is the case with Jeanne and Simon, a twin brother and sister who go to a notary’s office to hear the reading of their mother’s will. Speaking to them from beyond, as it were, she says she will not rest in peace until they locate their father…
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The Girl Who Played With Fire [2009]
Fine sequel to the critically acclaimed “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” finds Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace who reprises her role in style) returning to Sweden after a year in exile. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist, journalist and publisher of the magazine “Millenium” decides to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between…
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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [2009]
“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is a fantastic film to begin with, but not without its heroine, a 24 year old goth girl named lisbeth, with body piercings and tattoos. She’s small, smart, damaged and a computer hacker. Her attention is fixed on violence against women, in which her own presence is a repeated…
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