Category: 3/4
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Kingsman: The Golden Circle [2017] ★★★
Sequels to successful movies are usually tricky business, but I had a total blast watching “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”. Yes, the element of surprise is gone and there isn’t much to discover here. The good news, however, is that director Matthew Vaughn hasn’t lost his love for inspired lunacy. Hanging with Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and…
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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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My Cousin Rachel [2017] ★★★
As we needed further proof of her exceptional talent, Rachel Weisz delivers a mesmerizing performance as the title character, a woman who could be innocent or an evil seductress with murderous thoughts. Working from a novel by Daphne Du Maurier (who also wrote Hitchcock’s Oscar winner “Rebecca”), director Roger Michell explores the possibilities of both…
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IT [2017] ★★★
Movies based on Stephen King’s novels tend to range from terrific (“The Shawshank Redemption”) to just plain awful (“Cell”), but being one of his scariest and most popular stories, I approached “It” with high expectations. Filmmaker Tommy Lee Wallace had already adapted the story into a mini-series back in 1990, but the new film never…
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It Comes At Night [2017] ★★★
If you’ve seen Joel Edgerton in “Warrior” and “The Gift”, you probably know he’s an actor who means business. In “It Comes At Night”, an indie horror film that distances itself from the multiplex formula, Edgerton sinks his teeth into the complex role of a family man who keeps his family secure within a safe…
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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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The Party [2017] ★★★
“The Party” is potent and entertaining. I walked in with no particular expectations, having read almost nothing about it, and what I got was a showcase for a host of gifted actors, including Patricia Clarkson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, and Cillian Murphy. The title of the movie is self-explanatory: a cabinet politician (Kristin…
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Spider-Man: Homecoming [2017] ★★★
Ever since Tom Holland’s Spider-Man made a brief (but memorable) appearance in last year’s terrific “Captain America: Civil War”, Marvel fans were eager to see if this reboot could finally win them over again. I personally didn’t hate Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, but his movies were far from memorable. Which is why I’m happy…
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Wonder Woman [2017] ★★★
As far as origin stories go, “Wonder Woman” is pretty good. For starters, a comic book movie set during World War One offers the perfect opportunity to have an intriguing villain and cheer for the good guys as a result. Gal Gadot is once again well cast in the leading role, as she not only…
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Berlin Syndrome [2017] ★★★
“Berlin Syndrome” is terrifying because it feels real. I can’t remember the last time I liked a character in a horror movie from the get-go and then found myself rooting for her to survive. So props to director Cate Shortland and her lead actress Teresa Palmer for turning the familiar into something bracingly fresh. I hadn’t…
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Alien: Covenant [2017] ★★★
I don’t pretend to understand everything that goes on in the “Alien” universe, but having enjoyed most of these films (including 2012’s underrated “Prometheus”), I couldn’t wait to see what director Ridley Scott had in store for us this time around. Indeed, I wasn’t wrong: “Covenant” is a first-rate sci-fi/horror movie in every aspect, and…
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King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword [2017] ★★★
On paper, it looked tricky: Guy Ritchie (“Snatch”, “Sherlock Holmes”) directing a movie about King Arthur, the born King who was robbed of his birthright and was forced to grow up in the back alleys of Londinium. So I’m happy to report that “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” won me over. Although the story…
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The Lost City Of Z [2017] ★★★
An old-fashioned tale of adventure and discovery is probably the last thing audiences will choose to see at the movies this weekend. Damn shame. “The Lost City of Z”, written and directed by James Gray (“Two Lovers”, “We Own The Night”) with a keen eye for detail, is an impressive piece of work, featuring a…
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The Promise [2017] ★★★
For the very first time, a big budget Hollywood production starring an all star cast tells a love story amidst the Armenian genocide. No wonder the Turks are angry. Screw them. “The Promise”, starring Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon, promises an emotional ride and delivers, as we follow the story of Michael…
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Get Out [2017] ★★★
It came out of nowhere. First time director Jordan Peele, working with a tight budget (around $5 million), has managed to craft one of the year’s most profitable horror/slasher/comedy/satirical movies ($149 million at last count). So what’s all the fuss about? On the surface, it sounds like a mix between “Guess who’s coming to dinner”…
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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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Kong: Skull Island [2017] ★★★
Behold: One of the oldest and most iconic monsters in film history returns to the big screen. Kong has come a long way since he starred in the 1933 classic movie that spawned many spinoffs and reboots (the last of them being Peter Jackson’s majestic 2005 “King Kong”). “Skull Island” was produced by the same…
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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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Hidden Figures [2016] ★★★
I don’t pretend to understand everything about “Hidden Figures”, about three brilliant women who worked for NASA in the early 1960’s, but instead of being put off, I found myself intrigued, even wanting to know more about the work they did following the events of this film. Taraji P. Henson is perfectly cast as a mathematical genius…
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Dalida [2016] ★★★
I can’t remember a time when my mom didn’t play Dalida records in our house. As far as I knew, Dalida has enjoyed enormous popularity all around the world, largely because of hit songs like “Laissez-Moi Danser”, “Helwa Ya Baladi”, “Salma Ya Salama” and many more. But what I didn’t know is that off stage,…
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