(Note: This review is of the 3-D IMAX version of “Beowulf,” which is not showing at all theaters. Check your local listings for details.) It is oddly appropriate that the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language is the inspiration for the absolute newest in motion picture technology. Director Robert Zemeckis has chosen to […]
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“Lars and the Real Girl” is an slightly absurdist and truly original story about family and love. It is incredibly well executed and the acting is ridiculously good. Ryan Gosling actually deserves an Oscar nomination. Do not seek out or read a plot summary of this film, should you stumble upon one. It was a […]
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The new horror flick “30 Days of Night,” based on the comic book series of the same name, is one of those simple, high concept movies you can explain to your friends right away. In a tiny Alaskan oil town, it stays dark for 30 days out of the year. Bloodthirsty vampires come to feast, […]
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One of the toughest and most intangible things for a first-time director to capture onscreen is a consistent mood or tone. In his directorial debut, Ben Affleck creates a strong sense of locale that permeates the entire story and becomes its most affecting element. It is familiar turf for Boston native Affleck, and his movie […]
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As far as I can tell, the Farrelly Brothers did just one thing that’s different in this movie than they’ve done in their previous films. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what that is without ruining the ending. So, lets talk about what they did…again. Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) is a commitment-phobic sporting goods store owner […]
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A greatest hits album can span somebody’s entire career but it rarely paints a complete portrait of the artist. Director Julie Taymor’s “Across the Universe” is like a greatest hits album in more ways than one. Besides being a visually resplendent re-interpretation of Beatles songs, the film is that rare movie musical where you go […]
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I have a friend who doesn’t believe that human beings have ever landed on the moon. Like many of the doubters who continue deny mankind’s farthest-reaching achievement, he does so on the basis that the technology was never advanced enough to get us there. I think he’s full of it. But the fact that some […]
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In David Cronenberg’s moody new crime drama “Eastern Promises,” the narration from a dead Russian girl’s diary provides a jarring dash of naïveté that is in stark contrast to everything that has come before it. She speaks of immigrating to Great Britain, and her hopes and dreams once she arrives. What awaits her, however, is […]
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“Some balls are held for charity/And some for fancy dress/But when they’re held for pleasure/They’re the balls that I like best” – Bon Scott, AC/DC Showing the same general sloppiness and overall disinterest for anything remotely resembling a new idea or coherent storytelling that he did with “Reno 911: Miami,” director Robert Ben Garant gets […]
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Hollywood trailers run the stylistic gamut, just like the films they advertise. On that rare occasion a trailer, like the first theatrical teaser for “The Fellowship of the Ring,” gives you just enough to drive you absolutely insane with anticipation and unquenchable curiosity. Other trailers like the mysterious “Cloverfield” (the J. J. Abrams water-cooler topic-of-the-week) […]
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After the success of 2003 Oscar-nominated documentary “Spellbound,” writer/director Jeffrey Blitz tries his hand at a bit of fanciful semi-autobiographical material with “Rocket Science.” While trying to distance his own stuttering past from that of his ironically-named protagonist, nerdy-cute Hal Hefner, Blitz’s movie comes across as needy in the worst way. No fault lies in […]
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Back in 1994, director Kevin Smith’s indie sensation “Clerks” was originally given an NC-17 rating despite the absence of any nudity or violence. The adults-only rating—which translates to box office poison—was singularly due to the film’s excessive profanity. With the help of Miramax lawyers, Smith appealed the decision and was eventually handed an R-rating, but […]
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“The Bourne Ultimatum” is the best of the Bourne franchise’s three films. I went back and watched “Identity” and “Supremacy” just this week to make sure. “Ultimatum” is a frenzied journey that layers chase scene upon chase scene into a furiously paced action-adventure extravaganza that never lets up. Even so, I still miss Franka Potente. […]
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There are a number of qualities that separate “Rescue Dawn” from other prisoner of war and Vietnam-era films. First off, it feels more authentic. The same way that the first fifteen minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” pinned you back in your seat with its apparent realism – the bullets whizzing past your head, and a […]
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The year is 2057. Like its namesake from Greek mythology, a spaceship called the Icarus II is flying too close to the Sun. But the ship’s eight crew members have more in mind than just getting closer to the source of Earth’s power—they plan to detonate a nuclear explosion on its surface. This will re-ignite […]
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