Review
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Review: 'Super 8' Is A Summer Blockbuster Just Like You Always Remembered
The first teaser for “Super 8” debuted in front of “Iron Man 2” way back in early May of 2010, featuring a single sequence of a violent train collision and a mystery car containing something ominous, large, strong and very scary. The helmer behind such box office hits as the “Star Trek” reboot as well as some of the more intriguing fare to show up on television in the last few years, throw the name J.J. Abrams onto a project and speculation – and excitement – begins to run rampant. Was it a monster movie? A sequel to “Cloverfield”? Some even broke down the ending shot of this first teaser, frame by frame, in hopes of some clue as to what was ...
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Review: Despite All Its Little Foibles, 'X-Men: First Class' Is Near First Rate
While a titled cross has been key in "X-Men: First Class" iconography (as well as a huge part of its incessant and not-entirely-original marketing campaign), suggesting that "X" indeed does mark the spot, the symbol most associated with the highly anticipated sequel/prequel/reboot/whatever-the-fuck-it-is is a question mark. Things have been leaning to and fro in the buildup to the movie's release, with pros and cons both flying wildly. Its unequaled cast (including a mix of veterans and up-and-comers including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and more) was balanced out by reports ...
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Review: 'Good Neighbours' A Lackluster Thriller & A Whodunit Without A Mystery
What happens when you're faced with the knowledge that you're neighbor is a serial killer? That's the question asked in "Good Neighbours" (it's a Canadian film, hence the spelling), the second collaboration between director Jacob Tierney and actor Jay Baruchel (they teamed on last year's tepid "The ...
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Stage Review: Terry Gilliam's Opera 'The Damnation of Faust' Is A Return To Form & Then Some
We've made no bones about our disappointment in Terry Gilliam's recent work. We absolutely have sympathy for the behind-the-scenes troubles that the helmer's suffered in recent years, with a string of bad luck almost unmatched among filmmakers, but unfortunately the work that has made it to the scre...
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Book Review: 'Johnny Depp' Biography Could Use Some of Its Subject's Star Swagger
As last week’s staggering box office take for the lukewarm “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” proved (at the time of this writing it's amassed almost $500 million worldwide), audiences are still fascinated and entranced by Johnny Depp, even when his dandy mugging is overpowered by anthrop...
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Review: 'United Red Army' A Text Book Heavy Look At History
Let's say that 100 minutes is the perfect running time for a film and something that all types of audiences can get behind without complaint. Within that standard is about 20 minutes of leniency; remove that much and things feel brisk, tack on that much and different elements are allowed to flourish...
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Review: 'Kung Fu Panda 2' Is A Fast & Furry Action Adventure
Brad Bird, genius director of "The Iron Giant," "Ratatouille," and "The Incredibles," is fond of saying that animation isn't a genre, it's an art form. His point is that there can be animated versions of a wide array of cinematic genres – thrillers, say, or maybe westerns or even romantic comedies. He's right, of course; it's just that most animated movies that aren't made by Bird's compatriots at Pixar aim for that broad, middle-of-the-road buddy comedy bulls-eye. Which is why, when DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" was released in 2008, it was sort of shocking. Not because it was particularly revolutionary looking, and not because its ...
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Review: 'Tuesday, After Christmas' Features Strong Performances In Otherwise Contrived Adultery Tale
The following is a reprint of our review from the New York Film Festival in 2010.
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Review: 'The Hangover Part II' Is A Lazy, Unpleasant & Unfunny Mess
Unlike most of the summer movies, which seem to be thundering into theaters without any real anticipation beyond the cacophonous marketing hype, "The Hangover Part II" seems to be a film people are unreasonably excited for. The 2009 original, directed by Todd Phillips, has metamorphosed from simply being the biggest R-rated comedy of all time (and winner of a Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe) to being a movie that average filmgoers consider an instant "classic" of the genre and a staple of any fun-lover's DVD collection. (It's also the biggest selling comedy DVD of all time. Jesus.) The prospect of another movie, again sta...
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Review: 'Too Big To Fail' A Solid, Brisk & Entertaining Run Through The 2008 Bailout
"Motherfucker." That is the first word of dialogue uttered in "Too Big To Fail" and it sums up the feeling for many who in the fall of 2008 watched closely as the United States came precariously close to suffering a major economic collapse unlike anything seen since the Great Depression. It was a sharp wake up call for the nation and the subject has already spawned a handful of films, notably Michael Moore's rushed and reactionary "Capitalism: A Love Story" and the much better Oscar-winning documentary "Inside Job." At Sundance earlier this year, "Margin Call" premiered, going inside a fictional financial institution for twenty-four hours as ...
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