9 years ago
Reviews (10 posts found)
“Harmontown”
On paper, Harmontown seems like the very definition of a documentary discerning viewers should approach with caution. Its main character is one of the executive producers, and its website is a subpage of the site for the podcast that gives the doc its name. T...
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“The Equalizer”
The Equalizer is many things — grotesquely violent, relentlessly grim, proudly empty-headed — but maybe its most notable aspect is the way it messily jams its influences together in an unsuccessful attempt to become a good movie by trying to look and sound lik...
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“The Boxtrolls”
“We are revolting children, living in revolting times”, Tim Minchin’s lyrics go in one of Matilda The Musical’s most entrancing songs, which captures the true spirit of Roald Dahl’s imagination, which seeds the justifiably dark but ultimately hopeful depths of...
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“Hector and the Search for Happiness”
What makes people happy? If you want a pleasant enough film to neatly present a response to the age-old complex question that isn’t answered with the number 42, look to Hector and the Search for Happiness. Hector (Simon Pegg) is a frazzled psychiatrist worn do...
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“Lilting”
Grief is often a foreign, alienating concept, even to those who’ve previously experienced it. Every loss is unique, and each aftermath is a formerly unexplored terrain. In writer/director Hong Khaou’s quiet, yet confident and instantly affecting debut feature ...
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“The Two Faces of January”
There’s something refreshing about new movies that rehash classic genres without feeling the need to have a clever spin on the tried-and-true formula. As far as thrillers go, The Two Faces of January may lack in flashy gimmicks or post-modern twists, but has s...
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“Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” Review
If there's one thing Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart isn't short on, it's imagination. The film, produced by Luc Besson, France's mad scientist of commercial filmmaking, is a lovingly madcap bricolage of ideas run rampant; it borrows from countless genres, nic...
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“Pride”
The best thing that can be said about Pride, and this really is a compliment, is that it’s one of the least offensive mainstream movies about queer people and issues that’s yet been made. While most of the cast and above-the-line crew is straight, it probably ...
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“Stop the Pounding Heart” Review
Stop the Pounding Heart, the latest feature by independent director Roberto Minervini, focuses on Sara, a 14-year old girl living in the heart of America, where bull riding is the pastime of choice and the Confederate flag can still be freely waved. She’s one ...
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“The Maze Runner” Review
At what point are we allowed to be offended by the continued content-ification of blockbuster movies? When even the most competently made of childish action entertainment, like the new YA adaptation, The Maze Runner, leaves audiences groaning at the admission ...
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