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2.5/4
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Alien 3
(1992)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
The shift in emphasis halfway through the movie makes it seem as if all the intelligence has been suddenly sucked out of it, leaving only the shell. Like the victims of its monster, it becomes nothing but a host.
Posted Jul 31, 2024
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3/10
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Aliens
(1986)
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Jeff Strickler
|
Totally lacking originality, the film tries to compensate with excess... The last half of the movie amounts to one action sequence re-enacted half a dozen times with little or no variation. It's instant replay ad nauseam.
Posted Jul 30, 2024
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Skywalkers: A Love Story
(2024)
|
Neal Justin
|
It's a hard, but visually stunning, way to learn about love.
Posted Jul 18, 2024
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|
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Descendants: The Rise of Red
(2024)
|
Neal Justin
|
Youngsters who are ready to be introduced to the wonder of musicals would be better off discovering an old chestnut such as 1939′s "Babes in Arms."
Posted Jul 18, 2024
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4/5
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Twister
(1996)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
Twister fits the most important part of the formula: not much story, but oodles of adrenaline. If the tornado scenes don't get your heart beating, you need a pacemaker.
Posted Jul 12, 2024
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7/10
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When Harry Met Sally...
(1989)
|
Jeff Strickler
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This is a sophisticated romantic comedy about a pair of longtime friends who have trouble realizing they are in love.
Posted Jul 09, 2024
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The Great Lillian Hall
(2024)
|
Neal Justin
|
Hall has her fair share of shortcomings, but Lange adds just enough touches to make you pray that she makes it to the opening night.
Posted Jun 11, 2024
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|
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Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All
(2023)
|
Neal Justin
|
"Life After All" has plenty of music, but the film is more interested in celebrating optimism and bringing viewers one step closer to fine.
Posted May 28, 2024
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3.5/4
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
There aren't many directors who understand action as well as Miller does and, like "Fury Road," "Furiosa" is filled with awe-inspiring displays of stunt work choreography.
Posted May 21, 2024
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2/4
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Back to Black
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
Success came early and easily to Winehouse. There has to be a story there, too, but "Black" doesn't tell it.
Posted May 15, 2024
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3.5/4
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
"Kingdom" is an entirely new story. Parts of it will hit differently if you've seen its predecessors but you could also make this your first "Apes" movie without missing a beat.
Posted May 08, 2024
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8/10
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Steel Magnolias
(1989)
|
Jeff Strickler
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A very funny, yet very moving film.
Posted May 02, 2024
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3/4
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
Unwieldy, with what seems to be an ending that's followed by 30 more minutes of mayhem, but it also makes it feel like it contains just about everything you'd want in a summer movie.
Posted May 01, 2024
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3.5/4
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Planet of the Apes
(2001)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
Burton faced a double-edged challenge in reworking such a beloved movie: appeasing the fans of the original while reaching out to a new audience. He does a nifty job of hitting both targets without allowing either aspect to interfere with the other.
Posted Apr 30, 2024
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8/10
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Postcards From the Edge
(1990)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
If you're looking for serious insight into the heroine's battles with drug addiction and her actress mother, you're not going to find it here. [But] Meryl Streep as the daughter and Shirley MacLaine as the mother offer a one-two punch of pure delight.
Posted Apr 29, 2024
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3/4
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Challengers
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
I hope you're getting the sense that "Challengers" is a much bolder, more — sorry — challenging movie than it appears to be.
Posted Apr 23, 2024
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4/10
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Spaceballs
(1987)
|
Jeff Strickler
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Parts of it work wonderfully, but whole stretches flounder.
Posted Apr 12, 2024
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8/10
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Little Women
(1994)
|
Jeff Strickler
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By opening the story to a contemporary reading, Armstrong and company have made Little Women into a big deal.
Posted Apr 11, 2024
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3/4
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Civil War
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
The raw, up-close footage is so immersive that, in the moment, I bought it.
Posted Apr 10, 2024
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3/5
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Seven
(1995)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
Topping the list of admirable elements is the performance of Morgan Freeman and a script part mystery, part morality play. The elements that don't work include a grisly fascination of serial murder and a plot that stumbles into... hackneyed clichés.
Posted Mar 28, 2024
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3.5/4
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Almost Famous
(2000)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
This is not an exposé, something the film makes clear from the outset. It's a memory piece. Those memories are pleasant, and so is the movie.
Posted Mar 26, 2024
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2.5/4
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
It's tough to balance the casual vibe required for comedy to work with the effortfulness of huge special effects, but "Frozen Empire" pulls it off.
Posted Mar 21, 2024
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2.5/4
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Drive-Away Dolls
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
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The humor is, as the screenwriters have gleefully acknowledged, "juvenile," but the performances are vivid and, honestly, I'd watch a whole movie starring deadpan Bill Camp as Curlie, who rents the women the car that leads to all of their adventures.
Posted Mar 06, 2024
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3.5/4
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Dune: Part Two
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
As in all of these sci-fi epics, there are plenty of scenes in which computer-generated characters drive computer-generated vehicles past computer-generated backdrops but, in "Dune," it feels human, slightly messy and organic.
Posted Mar 06, 2024
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8/10
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The Shawshank Redemption
(1994)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
The Shawshank Redemption is a movie that lives or dies on the capabilities of its stars. And they are eminently capable.
Posted Mar 02, 2024
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9/10
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Forrest Gump
(1994)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
By turns silly and sensitive, romantic and ridiculous, schmaltzy and sincere, this biography of a fictional character is entertaining and touching.
Posted Mar 01, 2024
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9/10
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Four Weddings and a Funeral
(1994)
|
Jeff Strickler
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Newell has bathed this film in an upbeat tone. There are no tricks Four Weddings and a Funeral, but is one smart film.
Posted Feb 28, 2024
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|
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Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin
(2024)
|
Neal Justin
|
Brown and his buddies may remain in elementary school, but the "Peanuts" franchise is growing up.
Posted Feb 22, 2024
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|
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Dune
(1984)
|
Jim Fuller
|
I can't imagine that anyone who has not read Dune will be able to make any sense whatever out of the film, or that anyone who has read the book will be anything other than angry as what has been done to it.
Posted Feb 14, 2024
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2/4
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Bob Marley: One Love
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
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Lashana Lynch is outstanding as the legendary musician's talented, principled wife.
Posted Feb 13, 2024
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9/10
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Quiz Show
(1994)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
[Ralph Fiennes] is able to capture the many incongruent parts of the character's personality, putting them together in such a way that seemingly contradictory traits complement one another.
Posted Feb 12, 2024
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1/4
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Lisa Frankenstein
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
It's an attempt at comedy and romance. Neither works.
Posted Feb 07, 2024
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2/4
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Argylle
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
When the stakes change every five minutes in a movie, that's the same thing as there being nothing at stake.
Posted Feb 02, 2024
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2.5/4
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Mean Girls
(2024)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
I... couldn't help wishing I was watching the original or, failing that, a remake with this cast and less singing.
Posted Jan 12, 2024
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|
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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
(1982)
|
Eric Black
|
If you are hopelessly addicted to either or both of the stars, you may find enough In this weak, forgettable, overhyped film to sustain your interest for two hours.
Posted Dec 31, 2023
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2.5/4
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The Boys in the Boat
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
Clooney just doesn't tell us enough about either the boys or the boat.
Posted Dec 31, 2023
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3/4
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Poor Things
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
No actor in 2023 has committed to a role more than Emma Stone does in "Poor Things."
Posted Dec 22, 2023
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3.5/5
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Heat
(1995)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
Every time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro try to light a fire under Heat, writer-director-producer Michael Mann dumps water on them.
Posted Dec 20, 2023
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2.5/4
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The Color Purple
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
If you get restless near the beginning of the musical version of "The Color Purple," rest assured: It improves.
Posted Dec 19, 2023
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Birdy
(1984)
|
Bob Lundegaard
|
The simplest solution is to say go see it because it's an extraordinary movie and it features two extraordinary but totally different performances in the leading roles.
Posted Dec 16, 2023
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3/4
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American Fiction
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
The movie gets to a provocative place, ultimately, and is lucky to have Wright anchoring it until it finally arrives there.
Posted Dec 15, 2023
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4/4
|
Wonka
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
King has a graceful, light touch and, somehow, he has gotten everyone associated with his movie to buy into his very specific, very endearing worldview.
Posted Dec 15, 2023
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8/10
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The Last of the Mohicans
(1992)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
At times, Mann tries to lend The Last of the Mohicans the trappings of a historical epic, which it's not. But as a shoot-'em-up, it's a dandy.
Posted Dec 13, 2023
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3.5/4
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RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ
(2023)
|
Chris Riemenschneider
|
Ultimately the 2-hour, 48-minute run time does seem about a half-hour too much. But hey, isn't every superhero movie too long these days?
Posted Dec 01, 2023
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EXmas
(2023)
|
Neal Justin
|
Meester and Amell are inventive comic actors who have you rooting for them from the opening moments.
Posted Nov 29, 2023
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8/10
|
Home Alone
(1990)
|
Jeff Strickler
|
What Home Alone lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in good, clean family fun.
Posted Nov 29, 2023
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2.5/4
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Wish
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
You can probably guess how things turn out in "Wish"; one thing about assembling a new movie from parts of old ones is that it's going to have a hard time surprising us. But that worked — for me, at least — because nostalgia is the point of the movie.
Posted Nov 25, 2023
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3/4
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Maestro
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
What "Maestro" wants us to know is that Bernstein was most fully alive, was most himself, when he was making music.
Posted Nov 25, 2023
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3/4
|
Saltburn
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
I've seen Keoghan in many movies but I barely recognized him in "Saltburn." It's a high-wire act and, even if "Saltburn" isn't always sure what it's doing, Keoghan never misses a beat.
Posted Nov 25, 2023
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3/4
|
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(2023)
|
Chris Hewitt
|
Whereas many of these prequels feel like crass cash-ins, "Songbirds & Snakes" stands on its own as an absorbing story with a terrific new character, just to the left of the lead.
Posted Nov 17, 2023
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