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Dann Gire
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Napoleon (2023) |
But the battles give us more spectacle than thrills, more action than suspense, leaving Kirby's charismatic, finely layered performance as the film's strongest asset. Kubrick would probably approve of her. After 116 takes... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 28, 2023
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Wish (2023) |
Do not Wish upon this star-crossed Disney animated musical. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 28, 2023
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Alien (1979) |
For all that Alien is -- science fiction, horror story, suspense tale, mystery -- above everything else it is a welcome throwback to the good old-fashioned monster movies of the 1950s. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 16, 2023
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Common Ground (2023) |
Common Ground tackles the unholy alliance of "big farma" chemical companies and Congress, so that lobbyists and political contributions make stock prices more important than American lives and health. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 10, 2023
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Priscilla (2023) |
Few Hollywood biographical dramas pack the risky level of exploitative and sensationalistic naughtiness nimbly negotiated in Priscilla. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) |
An intriguing premise undermined by simply terrible storytelling... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) |
Epic themes. Epic settings. Epic camera work. Epic ending. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Oct 18, 2023
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The Creator (2023) |
The best visual joke in The Creator? The subtle suggestion that AI humanoids might actually be smarter than humans. Even with literal holes in their heads. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Sep 30, 2023
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Fair Play (2023) |
Fair Play is a smart, twisty mix of romance and corporate politics. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Sep 30, 2023
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Lone Star (1996) |
Just as he did in his ambitious, underrated City of Hope, Sayles seamlessly directs an ensemble cast through a story in which politics, personalities and desires become so tightly intertwined that it's impossible to separate them. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Sep 06, 2023
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Moulin Rouge (2001) |
Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated $50 million musical Moulin Rouge! brazenly assaults the senses with rat-a-tat-tat editing, anachronistic pop songs and kaleidoscopic visuals placed in a setting stuck somewhere between Busby Berkeley and Timothy Leary. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Sep 05, 2023
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The Hill (2023) |
The Hill celebrates a time-tested formula for dad-and-son baseball dramas. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Aug 26, 2023
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Strays (2023) |
If watching talking canines constantly committing gnomosexual acts with inanimate yard statuary floats your boat, this might be your dream cruise. Otherwise, it could just give you a sinking sensation. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Aug 18, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) |
That 61-year-old Cruise continues to perform as many of his own stunts as possible anchors the flimsy verisimilitude of these outlandish events. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jul 11, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
A sequel where the snappiest asset is Indy's whip. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 29, 2023
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No Hard Feelings (2023) |
Percy, played with beguiling innocence and good will by a likable Feldman, may be unprepared for life, but he possesses a pure heart and an idealized view of love and sex. You want the best for him. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 23, 2023
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Asteroid City (2023) |
Asteroid City? A fun, nostalgically retro place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there for a full 104 minutes. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 23, 2023
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Elemental (2023) |
Elemental clearly belongs on Pixar's periodic table of animated features, right down to the bubbling chemistry between its two romantic leads and comic wit embedded in both words and visuals. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 17, 2023
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The Little Mermaid (2023) |
This remake fails to fix one key criticism of the original Little Mermaid: the sexist message that women must transform themselves to fit into their man's world... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 03, 2023
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The Boogeyman (2023) |
An atmospherically overwrought, suspense-challenged collection of easy scares and moldy cliches. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jun 03, 2023
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) |
McAdams, in what clearly qualifies as the personal best of her career, tells Margaret the unpleasant family history in a clear, deliberate voice, but her eyes betray the lingering pain and sadness that she refuses to express. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted May 17, 2023
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Polite Society (2023) |
A boldly deranged, multi-pop-cultural movie... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted May 17, 2023
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Heavenly Creatures (1994) |
Jackson proves he can master subtlety as well as excess. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted May 16, 2023
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Evil Dead Rise (2023) |
A disappointingly derivative trauma-drama. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Apr 22, 2023
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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) |
Graded by the volume of quality kills, call it a success of excess. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Mar 27, 2023
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Moving On (2022) |
The light laughs and dark drama don't mix well... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Boys on the Side (1995) |
It's a simple story, but one filled with so many unexpected, instant detours and eccentric, evolving characters that Boys on the Side takes on a sheen of painful reality. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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9 to 5 (1980) |
Nine to Five is a genuine good time that pokes fun at a common target in corporate society, the boss. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Mar 03, 2023
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Creed III (2023) |
Majors reigns as the de facto champ of this movie with a gravitas and world-weariness... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Mar 03, 2023
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The Other Fellow (2022) |
A clever, engaging documentary... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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Somebody I Used To Know (2023) |
Dramatically flat... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Feb 11, 2023
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Knock at the Cabin (2023) |
Leave it to M. Night Shyamalan to turn a simple, creepy home invasion thriller into an apocalyptic tale steeped in the biblical Book of Revelations. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Feb 04, 2023
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80 for Brady (2023) |
The screenplay's lame, but the dames are game all the same. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Feb 04, 2023
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The Big Lebowski (1998) |
With The Big Lebowski, the Coens return to their Hudsucker Proxy ways, and despite Jeff Bridges' ability to humanize the cast, this anxiously awaited Fargo follow-up falls victim to the dreaded style-over-substance virus. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 24, 2023
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Missing (2023) |
An energized, timely, tech-savvy thriller set in a scary surveillance state. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Eve's Bayou (1997) |
The visually sumptuous and morally ambiguous Eve's Bayou possesses a strong sense of time and place, and makes for an auspicious first effort by actress-turned-writer/director Kasi Lemmons. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 10, 2023
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The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) |
A movie that bleeds with authenticity for its locations and local culture. And bleeds for other reasons. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) |
The most fun I had at the movies in 2022. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) |
An exhausting, confusing, hilariously funny, pleasing assault on the ears and eyes from directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Bones and All (2022) |
This unconventional horror tale/romance blends queasiness and sincerity with one of the year's best supporting performances by Mark Rylance. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Living (2022) |
A lot of mirrors get used here (time for reflection?) in a life-affirming story that sucker-punches you with the fist of reality. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Tár (2022) |
Cate Blanchett rocks the world of classical music as Lydia Tár. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Elvis (2022) |
The story of the King has been told many times, but nothing like Baz Luhrmann's sensational, impressionistic take on Elvis Presley (played with pitch-perfect resonance by an explosively charismatic Austin Butler). - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Women Talking (2022) |
Sarah Polley's deft direction keeps the momentum moving as women victimized in an isolated religious community grapple with how to deal with a culture that sanctions sexual abuse and domination by selfish men. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) |
The perfectly-itched Puss has boots for walking away with your heart... - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 23, 2022
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Babylon (2022) |
A frustrating, glorious, messy epic. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 23, 2022
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Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) |
Del Toro's dark vision strings Pinocchio along with enchanting fantasy, haunting intelligence. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 17, 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
Pure, distilled, 3-D cinematic rapture. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 17, 2022
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Deadly Friend (1986) |
By the ridiculous, obligatory shockeroo finale, we can't escape the feeling Craven has played us all for schmucks. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 10, 2022
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Groundhog Day (1993) |
Beneath its veneer of of caustic laughs and touching romance is a subtle but profound spiritual odyssey. - Chicago Daily Herald
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| Posted Dec 07, 2022
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