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8/10
|
Finding Yingying
(2020)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...an accomplished and heartfelt film that drops a real bombshell in the final third.
Posted Nov 08, 2020
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7/10
|
Dunkirk
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...[Dunkirk delivers] film-going experience that is more visceral than intellectual or emotional.
Posted Jul 21, 2017
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6/10
|
The Journey
(2016)
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Sarah Boslaugh
|
Even if you don't know much about the Troubles, you can still admire the excellent acting in The Journey, but if you have some knowledge of the context, you'll enjoy it a lot more.
Posted Jul 21, 2017
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7/10
|
The Big Sick
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Turning your own life into material for a show is the most stand-up thing in the world, but it's seldom done as skillfully as in this film.
Posted Jul 07, 2017
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8/10
|
The Beguiled
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Longtime Coppola collaborators Anne Ross (production design) and Stacey Battat (costume design) achieve just the right note of frayed gentility that characterizes the world of these women.
Posted Jun 30, 2017
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6/10
|
The Hero
(2017)
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Sarah Boslaugh
|
...[features] strong performances, beautiful cinematography (the Los Angeles coast has never looked better than it does through Rob Givens' lens), and a screenplay willing explore what it means to suddenly become aware of your own mortality.
Posted Jun 30, 2017
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6/10
|
Beatriz at Dinner
(2017)
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Sarah Boslaugh
|
Beatriz at Dinner is too on the nose to be a great film, but it's still thought-provoking and entertaining.
Posted Jun 23, 2017
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4/10
|
My Cousin Rachel
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...My Cousin Rachel is a damp squib: a melodrama without the drama, a romance with no spark, and a thriller whose every twist and turn is obvious to any viewer who has managed to stay awake.
Posted Jun 09, 2017
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6/10
|
It Comes at Night
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
It Comes at Night is technically accomplished-in fact it looks exactly like a film that made the most of a small budget-and the acting is good within the limitations of the roles.
Posted Jun 09, 2017
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7/10
|
Megan Leavey
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...director Gabriela Cowperthwaite hits all the expected beats in this coming-of-age tale, but with enough unexpected details that they seem fresh and new.
Posted Jun 09, 2017
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8/10
|
The Mummy
(1932)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Karloff delivers perhaps his finest acting performance in The Mummy, creating a sympathetic and distinctively human character...
Posted Jun 08, 2017
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8/10
|
Wonder Woman
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Wonder Woman is a different kind of superhero film.
Posted Jun 02, 2017
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6/10
|
Paris Can Wait
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
The original title, Bonjour Anne (Hello Anne) is actually more fitting than Paris Can Wait...
Posted Jun 02, 2017
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7/10
|
The Wedding Plan
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
The success of The Wedding Plan rests largely on Koler's performance.
Posted May 26, 2017
|
|
6/10
|
The Lovers
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Here's my message to Hollywood: Send more Debra Winger!
Posted May 19, 2017
|
|
4/10
|
Alien: Covenant
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...a conventional sci-fi film so completely lacking in the spark that made [Scott's] previous work so compelling.
Posted May 19, 2017
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7/10
|
The Bleeder
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Its greatest gift is that it doesn't try to make too much of his central character.
Posted May 19, 2017
|
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4/10
|
The Wall
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Some individual action sequences within this film are also effective, but they don't add up to anything, making The Wall a very long 82 minutes indeed.
Posted May 12, 2017
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6/10
|
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
It's a showcase for Gere's talents, and his performance goes a long way toward making a flawed movie worth seeing.
Posted May 05, 2017
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7/10
|
Born in China
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Disney knows on which side their bread is buttered, and there's nothing like a baby panda being cradled by its mother to make an audience go "Awww."
Posted May 02, 2017
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8/10
|
The Red Shoes
(1948)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...takes art very seriously-as a matter of life and death, in fact...
Posted May 02, 2017
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|
8/10
|
Graduation
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
There's a popular saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but from Romeo's point of view, his family is already in hell and he's just seeking a road out for his daughter.
Posted Apr 27, 2017
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|
7/10
|
The Promise
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...the story of Mikael, Chris, and Ana is a hook to bring people to the history and politics detailed in The Promise, giving them an emotional connection to events with which they may be entirely unfamiliar.
Posted Apr 21, 2017
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4/10
|
The Lost City of Z
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...an adventure story with no adventure, a heroic tale with no hero, and a very long afternoon at the movies without nearly enough in the way of a payoff.
Posted Apr 21, 2017
|
|
5/10
|
Free Fire
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...once the bullets start flying, you'll have a hard time remembering who was on which side-and you probably won't care anyway.
Posted Apr 21, 2017
|
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6/10
|
Their Finest
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Their Finest is not on the same level as Scherfig's best film, An Education, but it's a good period piece and quite enjoyable as such.
Posted Apr 21, 2017
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6/10
|
The Fate of the Furious
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...take[s] place in a fictional world where the laws of biology and physics don't apply, but the tenets of friendship and family do.
Posted Apr 13, 2017
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6/10
|
Tommy's Honour
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Connery's unfussy direction communicates respect for the admirable aspects of the contemporary society while also pointing out its flaws.
Posted Apr 13, 2017
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4/10
|
Gifted
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Gifted is melodramatic from start to finish, full of stereotypical characters, stock situations, and ridiculous plot twists.
Posted Apr 12, 2017
|
|
3/10
|
Queen of the Desert
(2015)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Gertrude Bell deserves better, and so do we.
Posted Apr 07, 2017
|
|
7/10
|
Not One Less
(1999)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
The relentlessly small scale of Not One Less is essential to its power.
Posted Apr 03, 2017
|
|
6/10
|
The Zookeeper's Wife
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
There are some wonderfully surreal scenes of wild animals running free in the streets, an excellent visual metaphor for the absurdity and randomness of war.
Posted Mar 30, 2017
|
|
7/10
|
Personal Shopper
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Stewart offers an intriguing portrait of a young woman in limbo.
Posted Mar 24, 2017
|
|
7/10
|
Land of Mine
(2015)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...a well-done film about a little-known chapter of history ...
Posted Mar 17, 2017
|
|
4/10
|
Kong: Skull Island
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
I went to see Kong: Skull Island hoping for some good, dumb fun. Unfortunately, while director Jordan Vogt-Roberts nailed the dumb part, he managed to miss out on the fun.
Posted Mar 09, 2017
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7/10
|
Whose Streets?
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Watching Whose Streets is the next best thing to being there, with the advantage that you don't risk being teargassed or arrested in the process.
Posted Mar 06, 2017
|
|
7/10
|
Casting JonBenét
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
..hugely entertaining while offering some pointed commentary on celebrity culture and the grief porn industry.
Posted Mar 06, 2017
|
|
7/10
|
Strong Island
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Ford displays a strong visual sense that raises this film above the many true-crime documentaries now in circulation.
Posted Mar 06, 2017
|
|
9/10
|
My Life as a Dog
(1985)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
My Life as a Dog succeeds on an intimate, human scale that is entirely appropriate for a story covering about a year in the life of a pretty ordinary boy in a pretty ordinary place.
Posted Mar 06, 2017
|
|
6/10
|
Logan
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
I can't think of another superhero film where the main subject is the heroes getting old and losing their powers, nor of one that opens with their world apparently coming to an end.
Posted Mar 02, 2017
|
|
8/10
|
The Red Turtle
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
The unfussy, semi-realistic ligne claire (clear line) drawing style is a perfect match for the story, and color is used both expressively and symbolically...
Posted Feb 24, 2017
|
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6/10
|
The Great Wall
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
The draw is spectacle and on that score director Yimou Zhang and his crew more than deliver.
Posted Feb 17, 2017
|
|
8/10
|
The Haunting
(1963)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
...one of the most fascinating aspects of The Haunting is the multiple interpretations available for many events, which might be supernatural, or might be the product of a disturbed mind or distorted perceptions.
Posted Feb 06, 2017
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|
8/10
|
I Am Not Your Negro
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
[Baldwin was] a writer and thinker so far ahead of his time that many would regard him as a radical today.
Posted Feb 03, 2017
|
|
6/10
|
A Dog's Purpose
(2017)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
If you're up for an overdose of crowning moments of heartwarming, then this is the film for you; if not, you'd best give it a wide berth.
Posted Jan 27, 2017
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|
6/10
|
Paterson
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
A certain type of viewer (particularly white dudes with literary aspirations) will want to jump right into the film and live there...
Posted Jan 12, 2017
|
|
8/10
|
Silence
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
If you feel horrified by the methods used by the Shogunate against Christians in this film, just consider what the other Inquisition was doing in Europe at the time to people who were not Christian, or not the right kind of Christian.
Posted Jan 12, 2017
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3/10
|
Live by Night
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
Brendan Gleeson does more fine acting in his few brief scenes than Affleck does in the entire film (note: posing is not acting, no matter how rugged your jaw line).
Posted Jan 12, 2017
|
|
8/10
|
Patriots Day
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
... well-made, traditional movie with a great sense of place and a cast of characters you can identify with..
Posted Jan 12, 2017
|
|
6/10
|
A Monster Calls
(2016)
|
Sarah Boslaugh
|
A Monster Calls does not entirely succeed in its ambitious undertaking, but it does offer enough pleasures to make it worth your while.
Posted Jan 06, 2017
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