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Death Sentence
(2007)
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Forrest Hartman
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Once Death Sentence reaches the mid-point of the second act, it has become so ludicrous that Wan's excess is more likely to draw laughs than tears.
Posted Sep 13, 2023
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3.5/4
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Before Midnight
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Making a movie with nothing more than smart dialogue and fine performances is a dying art, but Linklater, Hawke and Delpy remind us that it's a skill worth saving.
Posted Oct 23, 2013
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4/4
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The Conjuring
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Director James Wan, best known for creating the Saw franchise, delivers his finest work to date. Instead of relying on the graphic, slasher-style techniques that made Saw a hit, Wan turns to old-fashioned suspense, and the payoff is big.
Posted Oct 23, 2013
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3/4
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The Heat
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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There's no getting away from the fact that The Heat is lightweight and derivative, but its formulas have been freshened just enough to make it fun. With Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock on board, that's enough.
Posted Oct 15, 2013
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3.5/4
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Pacific Rim
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
The plot is well designed considering how silly the movie really is. Credit that to Guillermo Del Toro. He obviously put a lot of though into the picture, but it's still a basic action film, and the selling point is giant robots battling giant monsters.
Posted Oct 15, 2013
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2/4
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This Is the End
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
|
The best thing about This Is the End is playing "spot-the-celebrity" in the early frames. Do this, and you'll find everyone from Jason Segel to David Krumholtz. If all that talent were put to better use, the film might have been worth watching.
Posted Oct 01, 2013
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3/4
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The Frozen Ground
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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The Frozen Ground isn't innovative, but it is a well-paced and engaging thriller that has the added appeal of a truth-based narrative.
Posted Oct 01, 2013
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2/4
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The Big Wedding
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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The goofy characters waltz through plenty of offbeat situations, but that's not enough because quirky and funny are not synonymous.
Posted Aug 13, 2013
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2.5/4
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Olympus Has Fallen
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
|
Olympus Has Fallen has excellent action sequences, and Fuqua does a terrific job making Washington, D.C., look like a battleground. For indulgent viewers, this will be enough.
Posted Aug 13, 2013
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3/4
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The Place Beyond the Pines
(2012)
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Forrest Hartman
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Writer-director Derek Cianfrance gained considerable attention for his 2010 drama Blue Valentine, and he has created an even finer movie with The Place Beyond the Pines.
Posted Aug 06, 2013
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3/4
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Mud
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
|
Mud should cement [writer-director Jeff Nichols'] reputation as a storyteller capable of extracting intense excitement from character-based dramas.
Posted Aug 06, 2013
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3.5/4
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Oblivion
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Oblivion is a deliberate and beautifully crafted picture that embraces genre trappings without sacrificing the emotional heft of pure drama.
Posted Aug 06, 2013
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2/4
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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[Jon M.] Chu is a stylish director, and it's fun to watch him blow things up. He also paces the material furiously. For awhile, this strategy works. But, as with most movies that don't have any substance, the pomposity and spectacle grow tiresome.
Posted Jul 30, 2013
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2.5/4
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Ginger & Rosa
(2012)
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Forrest Hartman
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As good as the movie is performance-wise, [director Sally] Potter allows the pacing to drag frequently, meaning viewers must be patient with Ginger & Rosa.
Posted Jul 30, 2013
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1.5/4
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Bullet to the Head
(2012)
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Forrest Hartman
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A big, dumb action film that charges forward believing Stallone is charismatic enough to sell even bad writing. He's not.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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2/4
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Evil Dead
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Evil Dead owes everything to its predecessor, and [director Fede] Alvarez never tries to hide that fact, even when his movie feels painfully redundant.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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3.5/4
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42
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Writer-director Brian Helgeland delivers his best movie with 42, a sharp, earnest tale about Jackie Robinson's contributions to Major League Baseball.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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3/4
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The Gatekeepers
(2012)
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Forrest Hartman
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The Gatekeepers shines as both an excellent history lesson and a remarkably in-depth look at one of the world's most important covert agencies.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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2/4
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Admission
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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What's a romantic comedy to do when it is neither romantic nor comedic? When that film is Admission, it plunges forward drunkenly, hoping to overcome its inadequacies with goodwill created by the cast.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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.5/4
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The Host
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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The Host fails as a romance, but it also struggles as an adventure film. The body-snatching angle has been done before, and the aliens... aren't menacing enough.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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3.5/4
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The House I Live In
(2012)
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Forrest Hartman
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Americans have long celebrated justice and freedom, but director Eugene Jarecki's The House I Live In forces viewers to look closely at political policies that have turned the nation into the No. 1 jailer in the world.
Posted Jul 16, 2013
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2/4
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Phantom
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Done well, submarine movies are intense affairs that keep viewers glued to the screen as characters play breathtaking games of cat-and-mouse. Done poorly, they turn out like Phantom.
Posted Jun 25, 2013
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2/4
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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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A slow, humdrum comedy that would have worked better as a 10-minute sketch than a feature film.
Posted Jun 25, 2013
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2/4
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21 and Over
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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There's a reason 21 & Over feels like a low-rent, teen version of The Hangover. It was written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the two scribes who created the comedy blockbuster. Only this time, they're out of new ideas.
Posted Jun 18, 2013
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2.5/4
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Jack the Giant Slayer
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Although a fairy tale, the movie is presented as a big-budget, special-effects blockbuster that plays as much like Clash of the Titans as a Disney cartoon. That places a lot of limitations on audience.
Posted Jun 18, 2013
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2.5/4
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Snitch
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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[Director Rick Roman] Waugh is self indulgent in his approach to the material, and the dialogue occasionally bogs in preachy rhetoric. Once one moves beyond these annoyances, Snitch works as a simple and enjoyable action thriller.
Posted Jun 11, 2013
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2.5/4
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Oz the Great and Powerful
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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For a movie that looks gorgeous, evokes memories of a cinematic classic and boasts a bundle of star power, Oz the Great and Powerful is oddly flat.
Posted Jun 11, 2013
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2/4
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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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[Director Tommy] Wirkola attempts to balance his over-the-top gore with gags, but the jokes often fall flat. The characters aren't very compelling either, and that's a problem in a film built around action.
Posted Jun 11, 2013
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3/4
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Dark Skies
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Dark Skies unveils its horror slowly, creating a suspenseful ride that feels satisfying even though we're traveling a familiar road.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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2/4
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Identity Thief
(2013)
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Forrest Hartman
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Very little about Identity Thief is original. After a brief introduction that leads to Sandy and Diana travelling across the country together, viewers are saddled with a story that's essentially a road movie with an Odd Couple twist.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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3/4
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Warm Bodies
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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As one might expect from a zombie romance, the film doesn't pack a lot of big ideas. Still, the concept is original, and watching it unfold is loads of fun.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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1.5/5
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A Good Day to Die Hard
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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This new entry to the Die Hard series features a seriously underdeveloped plot held together by stunt sequences that are as overblown as they are ridiculous.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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3.5/4
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Epic
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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Beautiful 3D animation coupled with a compelling story and fantastic writing make this the best animated movies since Rise of the Guardians.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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2.5/4
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Fast & Furious 6
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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The plotting is ridiculous and the dialogue is melodramatic, but the stunts are as good as they get.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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3.5/4
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After Earth
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, who hadn't made a truly great film since 2002, returns to form with this exciting and well-paced adventure
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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3/4
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The Internship
(2013)
|
Forrest Hartman
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The film takes product placement to a new level; as it is essentially a recruiting ad for Google. Get past that and it's also a consistently funny comedy.
Posted Jun 07, 2013
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3/4
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The Hammer
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
The Hammer could have become a typically sappy sports flick, but [Adam Carolla] filled it with enough of his trademark humor to keep things fresh even with plotting that isn't groundbreaking."
Posted Jun 06, 2013
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4/4
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Ratatouille
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
Rarely do Pixar films fall short of excellence, and Ratatouille is no exception.
Posted Jul 04, 2007
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2/4
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Transformers
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
A big, dumb, special effects-laden action flick.
Posted Jul 04, 2007
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2/4
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Nancy Drew
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
Although passable, Nancy Drew would feel right at home on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, which means the real mystery is how it ended up with a widespread theatrical release.
Posted Jun 22, 2007
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2/4
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Day Watch
(2006)
|
Forrest Hartman
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Somewhere around the 45-minute mark the film transforms from cool-and-atmospheric thriller to indecipherable mess.
Posted Jun 22, 2007
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3/4
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Evan Almighty
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
Evan Almighty is filled with broad, slapstick moments and one too many bits involving falling bird poop, but it has its heart in the right place and is morally laudable.
Posted Jun 22, 2007
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1/4
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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
It's yo-ho-ho and a bottle of dumb!
Posted Jun 01, 2007
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3/4
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Gracie
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
The [Shue] family's passion for the story is evident, and it shows through in a well-acted and even inspiring movie that will hold particular appeal for young female athletes.
Posted Jun 01, 2007
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3.5/4
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Knocked Up
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
There's value in films about supernatural heroes and bigger-than-life villains, but the ones that stick with us feature characters we can relate to. Apatow has given birth to that sort of film, and he should be a very proud papa.
Posted Jun 01, 2007
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2.4/4
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Year of the Dog
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
The characters in Year of the Dog are far more interesting than the events they take part in. And the setup is better than the payoff.
Posted May 18, 2007
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3/4
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28 Weeks Later
(2007)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
A good deal better than the average Hollywood horror film, but 28 Weeks Later doesn't have the inventiveness, originality or intelligence that made its predecessor one of the top horror pictures of the past five years.
Posted May 18, 2007
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3.5/4
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The Last King of Scotland
(2006)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
Forest Whitaker's intense, studied performance shows Amin not only as a madman responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of his countrymen, but as a charismatic figure capable of winning hearts and minds
Posted Jan 19, 2007
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4/4
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Letters From Iwo Jima
(2006)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
One of the finest war films ever made - in any language.
Posted Jan 19, 2007
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3.5/4
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Charlotte's Web
(2006)
|
Forrest Hartman
|
It's refreshing to watch a movie that is both artistically brilliant and truly family friendly.
Posted Dec 20, 2006
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