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Traffic
(2000)
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John Wirt
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Douglas is Traffic's marquee name, but Del Toro is the film's great discovery.
Posted Sep 06, 2023
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3/4
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The Torch
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Buddy Guy, the 85-year-old blues star from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, is the subject of two recent documentaries. The newly released "The Torch" is a better account of Guys marathon rise to fame than last years oddly stilted PBS documentary.
Posted Apr 15, 2022
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2.4/5
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Luca
(2021)
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John Wirt
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Following Pixar's many high-achieving movies, "Luca" underachieves, its best moments negated by lengthy stretches of mediocrity.
Posted Jun 18, 2021
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4/4
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In the Heights
(2021)
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John Wirt
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The summer's first movie event.
Posted Jun 10, 2021
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2.5/4
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Spirit Untamed
(2021)
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John Wirt
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A modestly engaging animated girl-power adventure best suited for younger children.
Posted Jun 04, 2021
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3.5/4
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The Father
(2020)
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John Wirt
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A corrosive narrative of the death of memory and loss of identity, "The Father" confirms Hopkins' continuing prowess, Colman's growing status and Florian Zeller's arrival as a major film director.
Posted Mar 11, 2021
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3/4
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Nomadland
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Frances McDormand poignantly haunts the American West.
Posted Feb 18, 2021
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2.5/4
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Judas and the Black Messiah
(2021)
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John Wirt
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Splendid principal cast members make the most of their roles, earning their audience. Even so, they can't fix a scattershot, simultaneously overreaching and underachieving screenplay.
Posted Feb 11, 2021
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3.5/4
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News of the World
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Hanks has earned his way into a classic Hollywood fraternity. Like John Wayne, James Stewart and Gary Cooper, Hanks has shaped an indelible screen identity. His new old-fashioned western, "News of the World," is another feather in his filmography.
Posted Dec 30, 2020
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4/4
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Soul
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Another major achievement from Pixar, and obvious contender for best animated feature awards.
Posted Dec 24, 2020
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2.4/5
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Godmothered
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Before its fairy dust dissipates into the cold Boston night, "Godmothered" is an almost magical delight.
Posted Dec 08, 2020
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3/4
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Unhinged
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Yes, it's a latter-day B-movie potboiler, but also successful at provoking thrills, shocks and some timely thoughts about the anger and disunion that characterizes our time.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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3/4
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Greyhound
(2020)
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John Wirt
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Hanks' courageous and conscientious commander joins his splendid line of classic characters.
Posted Jul 07, 2020
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4/4
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A Hidden Life
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Playing Franz Jägerstätter, August Diehl gracefully shoulders the cruelty inflicted upon a common man who heard the better angels of our nature.
Posted Mar 21, 2020
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3/4
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Uncut Gems
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Famous for playing annoying louts in comedies, Adam Sandler goes viscerally dramatic as a grating gambling addict in 'Uncut Gems.'
Posted Dec 25, 2019
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2.5/4
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Bombshell
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Despites its big ambitions and abundance of talent, 'Bombshell' does too little with too much.
Posted Dec 19, 2019
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4/4
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Dolemite Is My Name
(2019)
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John Wirt
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"Dolemite Is My Name" is filled with heart, bust-out-loud comedy and a whole lot of cussing. Murphy lives the role of Moore, a man who doesn't let choruses of naysayers keep him down.
Posted Nov 15, 2019
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2.5/4
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Harriet
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Cynthia Erivo's performance as the film's heroic title character is the move's highest card.
Posted Oct 31, 2019
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3/4
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Black and Blue
(2019)
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John Wirt
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A tense action-thriller featuring the Oscar-nominated Naomie Harris.
Posted Oct 25, 2019
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2.5/4
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The Laundromat
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Has entertaining sequences, a master director's touch and Meryl Streep, but the pieces don't make a satisfying whole.
Posted Oct 24, 2019
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3/4
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Downton Abbey
(2019)
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John Wirt
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There's plenty of Downton Abbey charm to go around. Enough for fans of the series to love and even nonfans to enjoy.
Posted Sep 19, 2019
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Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
(2019)
|
Adam Lubitow
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Toni Morrison was a treasure, and "The Pieces I Am" paints a luminous portrait of this cherished writer.
Posted Aug 14, 2019
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3.5/4
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Spider-Man: Far From Home
(2019)
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John Wirt
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Despite the awesome responsibility thrust up young (Peter) Parker, this superhero romp doesn't take itself too seriously.
Posted Jun 28, 2019
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8.5/10
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They Shall Not Grow Old
(2018)
|
Adam Lubitow
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The effect is to take something as enormous and incomprehensible in scope as a world war and make it shockingly intimate.
Posted Jun 21, 2019
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9/10
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Amazing Grace
(2018)
|
Adam Lubitow
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At one point the Reverend Cleveland sits, holding his head in his hands and begins to sob - and I get it, man.
Posted Jun 10, 2019
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8/10
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Burning
(2018)
|
Adam Lubitow
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Wherever you land on the film's meaning, the picture that finally comes into view is a difficult one to shake.
Posted Mar 14, 2019
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The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
(2019)
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Adam Lubitow
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Just as clever, inventive and funny as the original, even if a bit of the novelty has worn off.
Posted Mar 14, 2019
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3/4
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High Flying Bird
(2019)
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John Wirt
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The brisk tempo may leave some in a ball of confusion, 'High Flying Bird' ultimately rallies and wins.
Posted Feb 08, 2019
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3/4
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Blaze
(2018)
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John Wirt
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A deeply personal explanation of a gifted, flawed artist, the film earns empathy for the legend it reveals.
Posted Sep 18, 2018
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3.5/4
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Rodents of Unusual Size
(2017)
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John Wirt
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The alarming and amusing "Rodents of Unusual Size" documents the nutria invasion of Louisiana.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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1.5/4
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Billionaire Boys Club
(2018)
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John Wirt
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Billionaire Boys Club would fail even if Kevin Spacey's career hadn't crashed.
Posted Aug 17, 2018
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3.5/4
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BlacKkKlansman
(2018)
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John Wirt
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BlacKkKlansman wades into the same comic-horror-suspense territory that "Get Out" so brilliantly explores.
Posted Aug 07, 2018
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3/4
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LBJ
(2016)
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John Wirt
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Rob Reiner directs a high-achieving cast led by Woody Harrelson, who grabs his role as Lyndon Baines Johnson by the ears.
Posted Nov 03, 2017
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3.5/4
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Mudbound
(2017)
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John Wirt
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Writer-director Dee Rees' adaptation of Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel contains powerful moments and loads of atmosphere.
Posted Oct 12, 2017
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3.5/4
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Patti Cake$
(2017)
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John Wirt
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In writer-director Geremy Jasper's impressive first feature, Australian actress Danielle Macdonald brings the aspirational title character all the spunk and vulnerability she needs.
Posted Aug 31, 2017
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2.5/4
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Kidnap
(2017)
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John Wirt
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As exploitation movies go, "Kidnap" delivers in primal, high-octane style.
Posted Aug 04, 2017
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3/4
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Girls Trip
(2017)
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John Wirt
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'Girls Trip' is about friendship and loyalty. But that warm foundation is also fertile ground for ladies on the loose in the Big Easy. Director Malcolm D. Lee and his quartet of ready-to-play actresses hit the streets running.
Posted Jul 21, 2017
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3.5/4
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The Beguiled
(2017)
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John Wirt
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A droll, atmospheric adaptation of Thomas Cullinan's 1966 novel. Although the 1971 film adaptation starring Clint Eastwood is well-regarded, writer-director Sofia Coppola deftly reimagines the story from a delectably feminine point of view.
Posted Jun 28, 2017
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2/4
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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
(2016)
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John Wirt
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Never Go Back never met a clich it didn't like.
Posted Oct 21, 2016
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3.5/4
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Deepwater Horizon
(2016)
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John Wirt
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Peter Berg directs the calamitous spectacle in mesmerizing style. The movie delivers a spellbinding, heart-rending story about the human cost of the catastrophe.
Posted Sep 29, 2016
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4/4
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My Golden Days
(2015)
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John Wirt
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A devastating romance that lingers feverishly in the mind.
Posted Jul 06, 2016
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2.5/4
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Finding Dory
(2016)
|
John Wirt
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Finding Dory has its moments, but it's not one of Pixar's home runs.
Posted Jun 16, 2016
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2/4
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Triple 9
(2016)
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John Wirt
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In the bloody muddle "Triple 9," Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson and Kate Winslet manage to make a few scenes count.
Posted Feb 25, 2016
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3/4
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Macbeth
(2015)
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John Wirt
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A worthy 'Macbeth' refresher course, highlighted by Michael Fassbender's feverish Macbeth and Marion Cotillard's simmering Lady Macbeth.
Posted Feb 18, 2016
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3/4
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Of Mind and Music
(2014)
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John Wirt
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"Of Mind and Music," an intimately told story with few characters, surprises with unexpected impact, thanks to the talented cast and the powerful dual forces of music and human kindness.
Posted Feb 12, 2016
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3.5/4
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Coming Home
(2014)
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John Wirt
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The performances, appearing as they do in an intimate, elegant drama of love, separation and loyalty, are so affecting and so devoted to the characters in the most unselfish ways.
Posted Dec 11, 2015
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2.5/4
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All Things Must Pass
(2015)
|
John Wirt
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Director Colin Hanks lets his affection for his subject run over. The film probably is for record aficionados only.
Posted Dec 11, 2015
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2/4
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Trumbo
(2015)
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John Wirt
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Trumbo leaves a door open for someone, sometime to make a better movie about the blacklisted screenwriter who lived long enough to be vindicated and honored.
Posted Nov 26, 2015
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4/4
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Brooklyn
(2015)
|
John Wirt
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A beautifully staged and acted immigrant drama.
Posted Nov 26, 2015
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2.5/4
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The Good Dinosaur
(2015)
|
John Wirt
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Beautiful sights, stale storytelling.
Posted Nov 26, 2015
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