Clever Is As Clever Does Inception is in love with its own cleverness, a fascinating movie that aims high and often delivers, but could have been much more if greater quantities of surprise and emotion had been added to the mix.
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Film Reviews
A Worthy Prequel The new Robin Hood is an imposter. Both the film and the character are not what they purport to be. But that’s OK because Ridley Scott’s tale with Russell Crowe in the title role has its own charms.
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Scrap Metal Heap The summer’s first blockbuster, Iron Man 2, bursts upon the screen with a sleek look, high-tech gadgetry and impressive firepower. But for all its bluster and beauty the film feels empty. Characters who should be compelling are merely watchable. The workmanlike story carries us along but never fully engages. We spend two [...]
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Shattered Glass Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is a joyless journey through the looking glass, a frustrating tale with a distinctive yet unpleasing look. Emotionally detached and visually off-putting, its cardinal sin is that it fails to engage the audience. That’s not to say there aren’t intriguing elements in the film.
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Love Almost Dear John starts perfect and keeps the momentum going through much of the film, until the promise of greatness is dulled by a flat ending.
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Extraordinary Measures Starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford Directed by Tom Vaughan Desperate Man, Cranky Man One test of a competent tearjerker is whether it makes you cry, or at least tear up at the appropriate moments. By this standard, Extraordinary Measures was a success, though I refuse to admit whether I was flat out [...]
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Daybreakers Starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe and Claudia Karvan Directed/written by The Spierig Brothers There Will Be Blood Vampires live forever, unless they meet their fate by daylight, a wooden stake in the heart or wither away from lack of sustenance, i.e. human blood, which is the central dilemma facing a world overrun [...]
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Crazy Heart Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal Directed/written by Scott Cooper Photo by Lorey Sebastian/Fox Searchlight Pictures If Bad Was Good There are moments in Crazy Heart that feel true and right (mostly when Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal share the screen). But the rest of the film feels like an exercise in attitude, with its [...]
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Nine Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard and Judy Dench Directed by Rob Marshall Riddle, Mystery, Enigma Watching NINE made me think of Winston Churchill’s famous quote about the Soviet Union in 1939. He described the Soviets as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” For our purposes, NINE is the riddle. The mystery is the movie [...]
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Sherlock Holmes Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong Directed by Guy Ritchie More Than Elementary The trailer for Sherlock Holmes promised visual punch, a thrilling ride and sharp one liners. That was fine, but my concern was that the movie might be all style, no substance. Not to worry. The film [...]
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The Blind Side Starring Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron Directed by John Lee Hancock Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner Leigh Anne Tuohy is a force of nature. As played by Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, this mother of two, who lives in a mansion and works as an interior designer, says what she thinks and [...]
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AVATAR Starring Sam Worthington Directed/Written by James Cameron Avatar, Schmavatar Avatar tugged at me emotionally from time to time, like a well-oiled machine that knows how to manipulate an audience. But for all the grandeur and effects, the anticipation and spectacle, when you cut through the hood what you’re left with is a big cartoon, [...]
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AN EDUCATION Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard Directed by Lone Scherfig Almost A Great Film Have you ever seen a movie that delights you to the core, a film that lifts you up and plants you down inside the world it creates, carrying you along with ease, promising a perfect ride. A movie where everything – the [...]
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