The Adjustment Bureau review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 12 March 2013 06:45 (A review of The Adjustment Bureau)Electric chemistry between Blunt and Damon doesn't bring enough to this fanciful and intelligent story. The build-up to the explanation of what was going on was better than post-explanation. I wanted to like this more but found myself fairly unsatisfied as the credits rolled.
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Looper review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 10 March 2013 10:32 (A review of Looper )Taut and suspenseful, a gloomy future is painted fairly well. Levitt is a kick-ass actor and I think he's going to be a powerhouse in the industry. Good performances and slick editing. Enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.
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The Company Men review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 10 March 2013 01:25 (A review of The Company Men)Compelling story about corporate downsizing in order to eke that much more out of the bottom line. A good cast with good performances makes this watchable, but I was a little disappointed with the ending.
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The Magic of Belle Isle review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 10 March 2013 01:50 (A review of The Magic of Belle Isle)Another redemption type story but enjoyable enough. Kudos to Freeman and Madsen for giving it their best. Sorry to see such a middling effort from Rob Reiner.
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Take Me Home review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 10 March 2013 01:44 (A review of Take Me Home)Kinda feel-good and happy-endey kinda thing. The chemistry wasn't really there (ironically) but it was an amiable road picture nonetheless. Jaeger does a good job wearing all three hats.
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Interesting yet ultimately unsatisfying
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 7 March 2013 04:28 (A review of Survivors)I just finished watching the 2 series. As an interesting diversion, it worked, and I finally got used to liking characters that I didn't like so much. But, in the end, the repeated stupidity of their actions was a huge letdown. So many of the situations were so phony and forced that a huge suspension of belief was required to move forward and try to finish watching the story. A pedestrian effort on the part of the writers. I guess the original story was based on a book. I could try reading that at some point since I'm sure that it flows better than this show. I am glad they largely encapsulated the storyline and gave a rather satisfying finish, even with a bit of a twist at the end.
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Identity Thief review
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 22 February 2013 03:27 (A review of Identity Thief)A slight yet amiable comedy about, what else, redemption. Fairly predictable but I enjoyed Melissa McCarthy. I wouldn't want you to spend your money here, certainly not at an overpriced theater. A simple little time-killer for Netflix streaming or the like. Similar to the conclusion of an Ebert review I read recently, if you go in with low expectations, you should be fairly satisfied.
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God Bless America review
Posted : 11 years, 10 months ago on 2 December 2012 01:18 (A review of God Bless America)I liked the structure of this movie and even a lot of what it had to say as social commentary. However, the blase-blase attitude the film had about killing should have been one of the things Frank had a problem with...movies and entertainment that have devalued life to the point where so many of these Jersey Shore watching types might have no compunction about picking up a gun and 2nd Amendment-ing people without so much as shedding a tear. After that unbelievably long sentence, let me just say that God Bless America was a fairly interesting film and I encourage people to acquire their own take on the points being made.
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Red State review
Posted : 11 years, 10 months ago on 2 December 2012 01:09 (A review of Red State)Interesting, I suppose, in a violent way, but the violence overshadowed any greater point that the movie might have had to make. Maybe the story points weren't fleshed out well enough, but I didn't care about any of these people so trying to come up with some emotion as they were all being shot was a hard sell. I've really liked Kevin Smith's work in the past, but I don't think this one measured up.
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Tomorrow, When the War Began review
Posted : 11 years, 11 months ago on 25 October 2012 11:17 (A review of Tomorrow, When the War Began)A really interesting "teen" movie. El and her friends go away for the weekend only to find themselves in occupied territory when they return. Kudos to Caitlin Stasey who delevers a really good performance. Lots of action and some decent SFX.
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