Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne and Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne in Gone Girl. PHOTO COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX Having purposely kept myself in the dark regarding the central conceit at the core of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel Gone Girl, I approached David Fincher’s adaptation of it ready to be knocked back on my heels. […]
Movies
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Washington invaluable in slick Equalizer
Denzel Washington as Robert McCall in The Equalizer. PHOTO COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES There’s no escaping the “been-there-done-that” feel that hangs over the new Denzel Washington actioner The Equalizer. Based ever so loosely on the Edward Woodward television series from the 80s, you can’t help but draw connections between this, Washington’s own Man on Fire and […]
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Neeson walks strong Among the Tombstones
Liam Neeson as Matt Scudder in A Walk Among the Tombstones. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES In the last decade, Liam Neeson has seemingly taken every script that’s come his way. He’s been forthcoming in his reasoning as, since the tragic death of his wife Natasha Richardson, he’s freely admitted that the best way for him […]
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Drop fails to live up to Hardy’s fine work
James Gandolfini stars as Cousin Marv and Tom Hardy stars as Bob Saginowski in Fox Searchlight Pictures’ The Drop. Michael Roskam’s The Drop is a movie I wanted to like more than I did. I kept looking among the many positive things in the film for just one more great moment, one more clever turn […]
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Boyhood: Subtle, powerful meditation on life
Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood. PHOTO COURTESY IFC FILMS On the surface, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood seems to be nothing more than a gimmick. Filmed for a week to 10 days over the course of 12 summers using the same cast, the movie serves not only as a time capsule of the […]
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Brosnan shines in November Man
Pierce Brosnan as Peter Devereaux in The November Man. Could the widespread usage and acceptance of Viagra be somehow linked to the spate of action films with heroes over 60 years old in the last decade? Now that sexual virility is attainable at any age, is it such a leap to assume that movie audiences […]
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Dame: dynamic yet tired
Mickey Rourke as Marv in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. PHOTO COUTRESY Dimension Films There’s no question that Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is a visually stunning piece of work, the sort of film DVDs were made for – you’ll find yourself wanting to freeze-frame multiple […]
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Magic in the Moonlight
Emma Stone and Colin Firth in Magic in the Moonlight While Magic in the Moonlight doesn’t rank as one of Woody Allen’s finer efforts, it certainly isn’t without its charms. Of course, one should keep in mind that the writer/director’s lesser films are better than the best that most modern filmmakers can come up with, […]
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Familiar Expendables 3
Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross in Expendables 3. Having now sat through three Expendables movies, I can safely say that this is the most predictable franchise in film history. Nothing, and I mean nothing, comes as a surprise in Sylvester Stallone’s series for geriatric action heroes. Each movie’s plot marches lockstep through a pattern that’s […]
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Brown biopic
Jill Scott and Chadwick Boseman in Get on Up. I’ve often said that film biographies are a no-win proposition and any director foolhardy enough to take one on is just asking for trouble. Sure to disappoint those who are expecting to see a full examination of the subject’s life and likely to run afoul of […]
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Guardians: Star Wars for a new generation
Chris Pratt stars as Peter Quill/Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. PHOTO COURTESY MARVEL STUDIOS It’s been a dismal summer at the movies not only where the quality of films is concerned but also in regards to how much fun viewers have been having. Sure, 22 Jump Street was funny and X-Men: Days of […]
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Dismal Sex Tape
Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz in Sex Tape. In watching Jake Kasdan’s dismal Sex Tape, I was under the impression that many of its key players were having a series of days like this during its making – uninspired, flat, dull and not at all funny. The movie is a lackluster effort where lead actor […]
