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C-
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The Instigators
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Whether the problems come primarily from script issues or uncertainty on his part is of little matter, The Instigators is a messy miscue.
Posted Aug 09, 2024
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C+
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Twisters
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
The reality for Twisters, however, is that it’s more reliant on the amusement park ride vibes it projects. It feels more like an immersive experience than an emotional one.
Posted Jul 24, 2024
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B+
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Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
“Deadpool and Wolverine” could have easily been mere fan service, but the powers-that-be have taken the time to draft and raucous, violent cinematic adventure.
Posted Jul 23, 2024
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B
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Yes, it's not going to be easy and there is significant explosive mayhem on the path to redemption. For those willing to come along for the ride, it's a trip worth taking.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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B+
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
The story is unexpectedly compelling and points to the progress being made in society in showing the diverse interests and emotions of individuals.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
|
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B
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The Bikeriders
(2023)
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George M. Thomas
|
Nichols crafts a gritty, compelling survey of biker history. Based on a book by Danny Lyon, who followed the club for a book of the same name, it’s told from the perspective of Kathy, Benny’s wife, an interesting choice.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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|
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Fly Me to the Moon
(2024)
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George M. Thomas
|
Where Fly Me to the Moon runs into turbulence is in weaving its disparate plot elements together. Is it a drama? Comedy? Rom-com? “X-Files” episode? Ultimately, that limits the ability to enjoy the film without the mind wandering.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
|
|
C
|
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes doesn’t do justice to its more recent predecessors.
Posted May 09, 2024
|
|
B-
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
The Fall Guy isn’t the perfect way to begin the summer movie season, but it’s a good start.
Posted May 02, 2024
|
|
B-
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Monkey Man
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Ultimately, Monkey Man gives action movie fans what they crave. For those looking for something more substantive, you’ve seen this before.
Posted Apr 13, 2024
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3.5/4
|
Almost Famous
(2000)
|
George M. Thomas
|
As appealing as the cast is, the movie's true star is writer-director Crowe. Almost Famous only solidifies his reputation as a talented filmmaker. The guy just doesn't make a bad film.
Posted Mar 26, 2024
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|
C-
|
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Add it all together, and Frozen Empire is a film that does justice to neither the past nor the present.
Posted Mar 22, 2024
|
|
A-
|
Dune: Part Two
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Under the guidance of director Denis Villeneuve, it becomes a cinematic experience in that it’s a technical marvel showcasing the best of film with an immersive experience that almost literally knocks the viewers' socks off.
Posted Mar 01, 2024
|
|
C-
|
Bob Marley: One Love
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Marley’s life certainly deserves the biopic treatment, but One Love doesn’t do the man’s musical legacy justice or explore the influence he created outside of it from the island nation of Jamaica.
Posted Feb 14, 2024
|
|
B
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Suncoast
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Chinn guides a deeply personal story with a steady hand. To its detriment, Suncoast lags at times, but that’s a small quibble in a film with such compelling performances.
Posted Feb 08, 2024
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|
C
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Argylle
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
It’s convoluted, and the plot is too loose for its own good. It contains more than its share of twists, but none are so exciting as to lift the film out of an overall funk even as Vaughn attempts to marry it to an absurdist sensibility.
Posted Feb 02, 2024
|
|
C
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The Underdoggs
(2024)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Ultimately, The Underdoggs proves to be a crass, cookie-cutter comedy.
Posted Jan 25, 2024
|
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2/4
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Mean Girls
(2004)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Good moments aside, Mean Girls doesn't offer enough to make you want to tolerate the character flaws of the queens of vapidity.
Posted Jan 02, 2024
|
|
C+
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Wish
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
“Wish” is a basic fairy tale that knows its audience and plays to it without guilt.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
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B-
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Napoleon
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
“Napoleon” lands with an epic thud as opposed to just being epic. That’s disappointing for anyone who had this one circled on their calendar for the holiday movie-going season.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
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|
C
|
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Though as a piece of filmmaking it isn’t bad, there’s little doubt that this bloated tale of the 10th Hunger Games goes on far too long and has to rely on secondary characters for any interesting bit that happens on the screen.
Posted Nov 16, 2023
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C
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Next Goal Wins
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
It’s a film that feels longer than its 1 hour, 43 minute run time. Ultimately, Next Goal Wins misses the mark.
Posted Nov 16, 2023
|
|
B-
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The Marvels
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
In Larson and Parris, there’s intelligence and strength with each having a flair for sarcasm. Their past life together also helps to add just a touch of the human element. Vellani brings unbridled enthusiasm to the screen.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
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3.5/4
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Flags of Our Fathers
(2006)
|
Rich Heldenfels
|
The movie explores two themes Eastwood has addressed before... One is good men driven to questionable acts, while the other involves the distinction between a celebrity image and basic humanity. Both once again receive thoughtful treatment here.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
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B
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Priscilla
(2023)
|
George M. Thomas
|
Coppola succeeds in providing a glimpse into a woman’s revolution that is fascinating and sad. Priscilla is worth a look.
Posted Nov 04, 2023
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4/4
|
Being John Malkovich
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
It sometimes seems like there is more legitimate creativity in [Malkovich] than there's been in almost every other movie released this year. The script is completely insane and consistently brilliant, and it's funny on almost every level imaginable.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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2.5/4
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Drive Me Crazy
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
There's more to like about this movie than you'd probably expect (certainly more than I did). Besides, the all-girl band the Donnas performs a cover of REO Speedwagon's Keep On Lovin' You at the big high school dance. That alone is worth $7.50.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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3/4
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Random Hearts
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
That kind of unorthodox (and perhaps unintentional) undercurrent is precisely what keeps Random Hearts interesting. Time and again, we see people reacting in ways that are unexpected, yet somehow realistic.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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2.5/4
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Anna and the King
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
Perhaps the true problem with Anna and the King is its medium; this probably should have been a TV miniseries... It has all the problems of an overlong art piece, but it still feels incomplete.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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1.5/4
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End of Days
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
End of Days is never interesting and usually silly, but it might help Arnold get some momentum if he really does run for the governorship of California. At least he'll get the anti-Satan vote.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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2.5/4
|
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
Parts of The Messenger are downright inspiring. Unfortunately, other parts are accidently funny, and a few are simply boring. This is ultimately a sprawling fiasco with a few glimmers of greatness.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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2/4
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Anywhere but Here
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
By the end of Anywhere But Here, everything has worked out perfectly (and predictably), but that perfection seems implausible and almost disappointing.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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|
1/4
|
Bats
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
The mechanical bats... are among the worst movie props in recent history. Sometimes they look like cats with wings; sometimes they resemble gargoyles; sometimes they look like little gray Yodas with oversize incisor teeth.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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4/4
|
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
There is something unworldly about [Tiger] that makes it seem like a story you imagined, not a film you watched on a screen. Somehow, the film is transcendent -- but in a completely straightforward manner. Quite simply, this is the year's best picture.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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|
1.5/4
|
Freddy Got Fingered
(2001)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
One gets the impression that Green consciously tried to make the worst film ever produced, and he’s doing it simply because a boardroom full of suits at 20th Century Fox gave him a dump truck of money.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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|
2.5/4
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Human Traffic
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
Watching this movie is sort of like taking drugs: Human Traffic is great fun for the 84 minutes you're there, but it's hard to remember what exactly happened and ultimately feels pointless (at least in retrospect).
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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|
2.5/4
|
Turn It Up
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
This is one of those pictures that is at its best when illustrating a certain kind of life in a certain kind of place at a certain point in U.S. history. In 40 years, it might make a valuable period piece.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
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|
3/4
|
Gladiator
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
The individual performances are great and the images are stunning, and -- perhaps most important -- Gladiator offers an escapist quality that makes its derivative flaws seem minor.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Bringing Out the Dead
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
It seems like Bringing Out the Dead should be highly complex and multi-layered, but it's unlikely that anyone would walk out of the theater at its conclusion with new insight on anything.
Posted Oct 30, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
All the characters make these self-evident, monotone comments about all the supernatural insanity that plagues them, and nobody seems nearly as upset as they should be.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
1.5/4
|
The Watcher
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
What's ultimately most frustrating about The Watcher is the way it takes a scenario that's genuinely frightening and makes it seem implausible.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Shaft
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
This is really a totally different creation, and it ends up being almost as good for totally different reasons.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
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|
3.5/4
|
The Straight Story
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
This is probably the best Disney movie I've ever seen, and I can't imagine how anyone (and I mean anyone) could not find something appealing about this wholly wonderful narrative.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Sleepy Hollow
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
All the trees are wickedly gnarled, the sky is never blue, and nothing seems real For a story about a headless assassin in 1799, the setting is completely flawless. The story, however, is not.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
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|
2.5/4
|
Shadow of the Vampire
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
Does this mean Shadow of the Vampire is good? Sort of. Does it means it's bad? Sometimes. But it's usually entertaining.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Flawless
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
The problem is that we really don't care about either of these people. Instead of feeling nervous, I felt bored.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Bicentennial Man
(1999)
|
George M. Thomas
|
The film is worth a look. Williams is the primary reason. His performance has heart, brains and courage.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
1.5/4
|
Gossip
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
The college kids in Gossip live unreal lives in an unreal world and deal with unreal problems. We watch them destroy themselves in a remarkably unreal fashion, and I still think we're supposed to feel sorry for them.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
American Psycho
(2000)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
I will not give away the ending to American Psycho, but I will say this: The last three scenes are implausible and unnecessary (and totally unrelated to the book) and the ending includes the cheapest, most manipulative trick in filmmaking.
Posted Oct 28, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
The Hurricane
(1999)
|
Chuck Klosterman
|
There are a handful of scenes that Washington carries all by himself, but the rest of The Hurricane is an ill-constructed failure. It's slow and poorly written, and -- somehow -- it's a non-fiction story that often feels unrealistic
Posted Oct 27, 2023
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