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3/4
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CODA
(2021)
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Rob Thomas
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What "CODA" does so effectively is make this conflict a broader metaphor, for a teenager discovering the thing she loves and for her parents, even if they don't understand it, letting go and letting her pursue it.
Posted Aug 13, 2021
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Changing the Game
(2019)
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Rob Thomas
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One thing that becomes clear while watching "Changing the Game" is that sports are just as important for transgender athletes as any other athletes.
Posted Jun 23, 2021
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3/4
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Tenet
(2020)
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Rob Thomas
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"Tenet" is Nolan's attempt to outdo and subvert the James Bond thriller, a globe-hopping adventure that gets increasingly heady and convoluted as it goes forward. And then backward. And then forward again.
Posted Sep 03, 2020
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War Story
(2014)
|
Rob Thomas
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A raw and powerful film.
Posted Jun 26, 2020
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3/4
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The Booksellers
(2019)
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Rob Thomas
|
We miss browsing in our local bookstore, and we miss going the movies to see such an engaging documentary like this.
Posted Apr 17, 2020
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3/4
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Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
(2018)
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Rob Thomas
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We're used to documentaries that celebrate gorgeous scenes of the natural world, but "Anthropocene: The Human Epoch" adds a discomfiting twist, presenting beautiful images of some of the ugliest things that humans are doing to the planet.
Posted Oct 11, 2019
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3/4
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The Peanut Butter Falcon
(2019)
|
Rob Thomas
|
If you're predicting that these two men will forge an unlikely but close bond, you may have seen an independent movie before. However, the familiarity of "Falcon" doesn't make the journey any less sweet.
Posted Aug 23, 2019
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3/4
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John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum
(2019)
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Rob Thomas
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Keanu Reeves remains a magnetic centrifugal force in the midst of all the mayhem, the calm eye of a storm of blood spatters and broken bones.
Posted May 17, 2019
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4/4
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Wildlife
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
|
"Wildlife" is one of the best movies of the year, and a hard one to shake.
Posted Nov 09, 2018
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3.5/4
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Damsel
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
|
"Damsel" provides a heroine who has no trouble seizing control of her narrative from the misbehaving men in her life - sometimes with a rifle and dynamite if necessary.
Posted Sep 10, 2018
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3.5/4
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Juliet, Naked
(2018)
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Rob Thomas
|
"Juliet, Naked" touches on deeper themes, about regret and the passage of time, without dwelling too deeply on them.
Posted Sep 10, 2018
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2/4
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An Actor Prepares
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
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There was a lot of potential here in giving Irons such a larger-than-life character, but it wasn't long before I was kind of wishing I was watching "Cops & Slobbersons" instead.
Posted Sep 10, 2018
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2/4
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Boundaries
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
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Writer-director Shana Heste's film never transcends its clichés, wasting fine actors on a screenplay that whipsaws between broad comedy and shrill drama.
Posted Jul 23, 2018
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3.5/4
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American Animals
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
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In Bart Layton's immensely entertaining and unexpectedly thoughtful caper thriller, the line between taking part in a robbery and play-acting in a movie about a robbery is a thin one.
Posted Jul 02, 2018
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Virginia Minnesota
(2018)
|
Rob Thomas
|
But the chemistry between the female-led cast is so strong that it carries the film over any narrative bumps
Posted Mar 30, 2018
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2.5/4
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A Fantastic Woman
(2017)
|
Rob Thomas
|
Hopefully there will be many more films to come featuring trans performers in leading roles, and "Woman" can be looked back on as a well-meaning but flawed effort that paved the way.
Posted Mar 09, 2018
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Game Night
(2018)
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Rob Thomas
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It's like David Fincher's The Game as an R-rated comedy, a film that's playing games with its audience as much as its characters are playing games with each other. And, if you don't mind being messed with a little, that can be a lot of fun.
Posted Feb 23, 2018
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3.5/4
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Suck It Up
(2017)
|
Rob Thomas
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"Suck It Up" takes tragedy that seems insurmountable and builds something joyful out of it.
Posted Jan 10, 2018
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3.5/4
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In This Corner of the World
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
|
It builds cumulative power because we spend so much time, day in and day out, with this family. Their story, and their survival, becomes important to us.
Posted Aug 25, 2017
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3.5/4
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It Comes at Night
(2017)
|
Rob Thomas
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These big, dark gaps in the film, like the darkness around that small lantern's glow, invite us to project our worst fears into them.
Posted Jun 10, 2017
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3.5/4
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Things to Come
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
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Instead of building up to big moments, Hansen-Love seasons her film with perceptive little ones, an approach that perfectly suits Huppert's incisive, luminous performance.
Posted May 19, 2017
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3/4
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Gifted
(2017)
|
Rob Thomas
|
In the midst of turbulent times and fast and furious movies, the genial and good-hearted "Gifted" feels like a bit of a vacation at the theater.
Posted Apr 12, 2017
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3/4
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The Monster
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
|
We're coming up to the end of a year full of great horror movies. "The Monster" may have more modest goals than some of the others, but it deserves a place on that list.
Posted Dec 12, 2016
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3.5/4
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Certain Women
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
|
"Certain Women" differs in structure from some of Reichardt's past masterpieces like "Old Joy" and "Wendy & Lucy." But it has the same quiet, beating heart.
Posted Nov 11, 2016
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3/4
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Little Sister
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
|
Clark's film uses its 2008 setting as a backdrop for a funny, wistful little comedy-drama about family members learning to overcome themselves and reconnect with each other. Can we reconcile with those who know us only too well? Yes, we can.
Posted Oct 26, 2016
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3/4
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Kaili Blues
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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Like the films of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul ("Cemetery of Splendour,") "Kaili Blues" is a poetic, offbeat film that's of the sort that adventurous filmgoers dream about.
Posted Oct 12, 2016
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4/4
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Cameraperson
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
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This is autobiography in its truest form, a visual document of choices made and chances taken, and missed. It's wonderful.
Posted Oct 05, 2016
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3.5/4
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Almost Sunrise
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
|
The film provides a valuable chance to walk in the shoes of men we might not otherwise get to know.
Posted Oct 05, 2016
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3.5/4
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The Childhood of a Leader
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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The film is clear that no struggle is small to those who engage in it, be they people or nations, and the repercussions of careless decisions can be catastrophic.
Posted Oct 05, 2016
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3.5/4
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De Palma
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
|
DePalma repeating himself is better than most filmmakers saying something for the first time.
Posted Sep 01, 2016
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2.5/4
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Wiener-Dog
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
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The dog almost looks like he could be a Solondz character, waddling along on ridiculous little legs with a strangely dignified expression on his face.
Posted Aug 25, 2016
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3/4
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Into the Forest
(2015)
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Rob Thomas
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"Into the Forest" is a post-apocalyptic disaster movie without a single visual effect. No explosions, no zombies, no mobs rioting in the streets. There's just quiet, and dark.
Posted Jul 29, 2016
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4/4
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The Player
(1992)
|
Rob Thomas
|
In "The Player," Altman creates a scathing satire of Hollywood - and then lets his satire itself gets seduced by Hollywood schmaltz. Because what better way to show how seductive it is?
Posted Jun 10, 2016
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3/4
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Song of Lahore
(2015)
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Rob Thomas
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Like a Pakistani "Buena Vista Social Club," "Song of Lahore" pays tribute to some great, unsung musicians and their perseverance in tough times.
Posted May 20, 2016
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3/4
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Rams
(2015)
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Rob Thomas
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Rams is a very strange film, but it's one that takes us to the top of the world to find people that, sure enough, we recognize as ourselves.
Posted May 06, 2016
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3.5/4
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Back Home
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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What could be a more tired cliche for an indie drama than a family struggling to grieve the loss of a parent? And yet you'd think Joachim Trier's "Louder than Bombs" was the first film to ever explore this emotional territory.
Posted Apr 29, 2016
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1.5/4
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The Adderall Diaries
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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"The Adderall Diaries" never commits to any of these paths in a convincing way - the true-crime saga in particular feels bizarrely tacked-on, as if Elliott was taking a break in the middle of his emotional turmoil to watch an episode of "Law & Order."
Posted Apr 15, 2016
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3/4
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The Confirmation
(2016)
|
Rob Thomas
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Although they're separated by some 40 years in age, Owen and Lieberher are very similar actors. They have an unforced and intimate rapport together that fits Nelson's eloquent, no-nonsense writing and direction.
Posted Mar 19, 2016
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3/4
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The Boy and the Beast
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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Writer-director Mamoru Hosoda ("Wolf Children," "Summer Wars") expertly blends emotion and action into a gorgeous and enchanting anime film aimed at older children and adults.
Posted Mar 04, 2016
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3/4
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The Lady in the Van
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
|
It's a charming little movie about how, almost against their will, people can become better human beings to each other. It's easier that way.
Posted Feb 13, 2016
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2.5/4
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A Perfect Day
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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We see lots of shots of the aid workers' two trucks hurtling back and forth across the landscape, and the movie often seems to be just as aimless.
Posted Feb 11, 2016
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1.5/4
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Mojave
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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a limp and pretentious thriller that plays like the "Entourage" guys tried to make a Hitchcock movie: The Brah Who Knew Too Much.
Posted Jan 22, 2016
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3/4
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Lamb
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
|
The film's more difficult trick is to make us care for Lamb even as we recoil at how he near he gets to a moral precipice. The friendship between the two characters may be wildly inappropriate, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have value to them.
Posted Jan 15, 2016
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3.5/4
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Blind
(2014)
|
Rob Thomas
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"It's the dance between the two - the heady ideas and the depth of feeling - that make "Blind" such a joy to watch, keeping it from being either an exercise in meta in pathos."
Posted Dec 22, 2015
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1.5/4
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Applesauce
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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The fatal flaw is that they're all uninteresting, no matter how many fingers or toes they end up with.
Posted Dec 22, 2015
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3.5/4
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The Mend
(2014)
|
Rob Thomas
|
"It is a gloriously entertaining film that gives some terrific actors plenty to gnaw on. And they get unnervingly close to the bone."
Posted Dec 22, 2015
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2/4
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In the Heart of the Sea
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
|
The shadow of the whale and of the Great American Novel loom large over a weak screenplay and some stock seafaring characters.
Posted Dec 11, 2015
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3/4
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Racing Extinction
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
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This new wave of films wants to make environmental films that aren't just educational and enraging but poignant, exciting - and even beautiful.
Posted Nov 30, 2015
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3.5/4
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Creed
(2015)
|
Rob Thomas
|
If you don't feel a thrill when, during that championship bout, the original "Rocky" theme suddenly kicks in, I can't help you.
Posted Nov 25, 2015
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1/4
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Victor Frankenstein
(2015)
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Rob Thomas
|
I expected the latest iteration of the Frankenstein franchise to be bad, but would it be enjoyably bad? Then, in the first scene, we see Daniel Radcliffe capering about as a hunchback in clown makeup, and I thought, "Go on . . . I'm listening."
Posted Nov 25, 2015
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