In 2009, writer/director Neill Blomkamp got the film world’s attention with District 9, a powerful sci-fi allegory that examined the vagaries of Apartheid that plagued his native South Africa. Inventive, uncompromising and a reminder that the best futuristic fiction deals with issues of today, the movie ended up scoring an Academy Award nomination for Best […]
Chuck Koplinski
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Ludicrous 2 Guns a fun exercise for its two stars
While taking in Baltasar Kormakur’s action epic, 2 Guns, I was waiting for a kitchen sink to be thrown in at some point during the bloody proceedings. After all, here’s a movie that makes sure to include every trope of the genre. Double-crosses, shootouts, explosions, dirty federal officers, a Mexican drug cartel, wisecracks and a […]
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To Do a definite don’t
If Maggie Carey’s The To Do List proves anything, it’s that young women can be just as crude and insensitive where sex is concerned as young men. It also shows how difficult it is to make a clever comedy where this subject is concerned. So many of the “jokes” here are simplistic while the script […]
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Restrained Wolverine engaging and character-driven
After the misfire that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it could be argued that the last thing we need is yet another film featuring the most famous of the Marvel mutants. However, Hugh Jackman, who came to fame playing the Adamantium-laden hero, knew there was more life left in the character and was the driving force […]
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The Way Way Back familiar but fun
I have a feeling that if you were to press Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the writers and directors of The Way Way Back, they’d freely admit that there’s nothing remotely original in their film. Yet another coming-of-age movie that hits all the familiar tropes, it focuses on an alienated teen who ultimately finds his […]
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Mixed intentions mute Fruitvale’s power
Fueled by a sense of anger and with the resolve to activate, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station is an accomplished debut feature that, despite its good intentions, left this viewer with an uneasy feeling. Depicting the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, a young African-American who was senselessly killed by a transit officer in […]
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Coogler and Jordan honor memory of Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station
When he heard the news of the tragic death of Oscar Grant, aspiring filmmaker Ryan Coogler knew he had to act but was unsure how to go about it. “I’m from the Bay Area and things like that just don’t happen there. He was a young man, he was one of us and I couldn’t […]
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Sandler and company aim low once more in Grown Ups 2
I’m sure that Adam Sandler is a very nice man. You never read anything bad about him in the news and he’s obviously very loyal to his friends. You’ll find many of the same names on the cast list of his films. He’s provided employment for a good many of his former Saturday Night Live […]
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Familiar frights haunt The Conjuring
In the fall of 1971, Roger and Carolyn Perron (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) got a fantastic deal on a sprawling home in rural Rhode Island. To be sure, it was a house that needed some work – the floors were in need of finishing, there were more than a few squeaky hinges that needed […]
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Explain reveals Hart to be a lightweight
I was prepared for Kevin Hart not to be the next Richard Pryor but that he doesn’t have the chops to fill Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle’s shoes is a grave disappointment. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is the comic’s first concert film, one that shows him in performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden, […]
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Smart, stylish, spectacular Rim sets high standard for summer fare
No one could blame you if you were to assume that Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is just another empty, overwrought summer movie that delivers nothing but repetitive violence and stock characters. What with scenes of giant robots beating up Godzilla-like monsters being the focus of the film’s numerous previews, it seems to follow Dan […]
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Likable characters, inventive visuals buoy Despicable 2
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud’s Despicable Me 2 is that it seems far less ambitious than its predecessor. Sporting little in the way of character development as well as a fairly standard plot, the film flirts with being a throwaway exercise throughout. With a running time of 98 minutes, […]
