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5/5
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The Trial of the Chicago 7
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Sorkin does a great job condensing a trial that lasted nearly five months and whose transcript totaled 22,000 pages into an engrossing two-hour movie.
Posted Oct 11, 2020
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Enola Holmes
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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With its imaginative storytelling and visual inventiveness, "Enola Holmes" comes highly recommended for youngsters looking for a sassy heroine to rival the likes of Alex Ryder and other male screen heroes.
Posted Sep 24, 2020
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The Swamp
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Yet while I didn't come out of "The Swamp" with any more respect for Republican lawmakers than when I went in (okay, maybe a smidgen in a couple of cases), I did find the film and Gaetz equally fascinating.
Posted Aug 24, 2020
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4/5
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Showbiz Kids
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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A reminder that though it's a horribly precarious path, Hollywood would be a far poorer place without its preternaturally gifted young actors.
Posted Jul 26, 2020
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4/5
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John Lewis: Good Trouble
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Not all monuments are made of stone or bronze. This documentary is a worthy tribute to the Democratic congressman and civil rights activist.
Posted Jul 24, 2020
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4/5
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Stockton on My Mind
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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It's not often I say this, but this film deserves a sequel in five or 10 years' time to see how things work out.
Posted Jul 24, 2020
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5/5
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Athlete A
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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I've always hated the phrase 'Not all heroes wear capes,' but it turns out in this case it's true: They actually wear shiny leotards.
Posted Jul 09, 2020
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5/5
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The Outpost
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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The best, most believable war movie I've seen in years. It's an Afghan Alamo, where everyone is too busy dodging bullets and RPGs to issue vainglorious speeches.
Posted Jul 09, 2020
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Irresistible
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Irresistible won't lead to the overthrow of America's political system. But it may put a smile on your face. For now, that will just have to do.
Posted Jun 30, 2020
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Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Thanks to Trump, Cohn's amoral approach to life still haunts us today, making this documentary more vital than we could have imagined just a few short years ago.
Posted Jun 16, 2020
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The King of Staten Island
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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But, as I may have mentioned, the film is almost as long as a Trump rally, and what follows is a redemption tale that feels horribly clichéd about salt-of-the-earth firefighters.
Posted Jun 16, 2020
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Da 5 Bloods
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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It's another passionate, vital piece of cinema from Lee.
Posted Jun 11, 2020
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Spelling the Dream
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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The film is also surprisingly funny, thanks largely to comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Posted Jun 11, 2020
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Apollo 11
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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"Apollo 11" is a documentary that deserves to be seen on the largest TV screen and with the best sound system.
Posted May 18, 2020
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Badass Beauty Queen: The Story of Anastasia Lin
(2017)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Yet Lin is such a fascinating subject that the film overcomes its modest storytelling qualities and obvious biases by sticking her front and center, and letting her tell her own story.
Posted May 18, 2020
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Becoming
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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"Becoming" is still a quietly informative, uplifting film.
Posted May 18, 2020
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Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Whether talking about food, cellphones, relationships or the U.S. Postal Service, this felt like a 1 percenter struggling to find anything new to say about life, because he won't truly address how much his life has changed since the mid-1990s.
Posted May 07, 2020
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Extraction
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Far superior to Netflix's previous attempts at a big-budget action movie... it turns out that "Extraction" is precisely the testosterone-fueled pic we needed until our beloved movie theaters can reopen for business.
Posted May 04, 2020
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Bad Education
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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In making you care for all of the characters, no matter what they may or may not have done, "Bad Education" proves itself to be one class act.
Posted May 04, 2020
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Beastie Boys Story
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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This is funny and ultimately very touching - just make sure you stay for the end credits and some star cameos.
Posted May 04, 2020
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The Half of It
(2020)
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Adrian Hennigan
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This is a beautifully perceptive movie about love, identity and taco sausages, with a killer set-piece that rivals "The Graduate" for showstopping church scenes.
Posted May 04, 2020
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Planet of the Humans
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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This cri de coeur from... Gibbs may lack balance and counterarguments, but it convincingly makes the case that "less must be the new more" if humankind is to have any chance of not being wiped out due to overpopulation and overconsumption,
Posted May 04, 2020
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Circus of Books
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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[A] really heart-warming tale.
Posted Apr 27, 2020
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Dark Waters
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Haynes' film is a more somber affair. That doesn't mean "Dark Waters" isn't worth watching: It is a very well-told, faithful recreation of the protracted series of events that occurred in West Virginia and Ohio between 1996 and 2017.
Posted Feb 25, 2020
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The Farewell
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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Wang's film simmers on a low flame, which is also the source of its charm and the empathy it stirs.
Posted Feb 12, 2020
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Uncut Gems
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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This is filmmaking of the highest order.
Posted Jan 30, 2020
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1917
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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The result is an unparalleled and impressive spectacle, to which the eyes are riveted.
Posted Jan 07, 2020
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Bombshell
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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"Bombshell" really could have been an atonal disaster... Yet it succeeds, thanks to a combination of star power, smart script and the use of film conventions.
Posted Dec 27, 2019
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The Two Popes
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Warm, witty and surprisingly moving, this comedy-drama is the most unlikely bromance you will see all year.
Posted Dec 16, 2019
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Marriage Story
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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"Marriage Story" is funny, sad, tragic, comic (if only there were a word to combine those emotions) and, ultimately, rather heartbreaking.
Posted Dec 02, 2019
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The Laundromat
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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The film works spasmodically, but its scattershot approach to the storyline ultimately proves its undoing.
Posted Oct 21, 2019
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A Rainy Day in New York
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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If "A Rainy Day in New York" aspires to be a situation comedy, the situations lack any comical element. If it intends to be a romantic comedy, the blend of the comic and the romantic seems forced and lacks any stable basis in the script.
Posted Oct 16, 2019
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After the Wedding
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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This is the second time we've watched this cinematic wedding and followed its aftermath, and if Freundlich's film conveys a message of any sort, it's that twice is sometimes once too many.
Posted Oct 07, 2019
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Downton Abbey
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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It's not a disgrace compared to the series, but it doesn't empower the television version or add anything to it. It's superfluous.
Posted Sep 17, 2019
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Pain and Glory
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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"Pain and Glory" is a lovely, moving and compelling work, like every Almodovar picture.
Posted Aug 13, 2019
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The Red Sea Diving Resort
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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There's no doubting the ripeness of this yarn; it's just a shame that most of the characters are so bland and forgettable.
Posted Jul 29, 2019
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Yesterday
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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[I]t all seems truly unnecessary.
Posted Jul 05, 2019
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Knock Down the House
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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For anyone with even the slightest interest in the seismic changes occurring in American politics, this is a must-see film.
Posted Jul 02, 2019
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A Whore Like Me
(2019)
|
Shany Littman
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The project succeeds in exemplary fashion. Not just in terms of the content, but cinematically too.
Posted Jun 12, 2019
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Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
(2019)
|
Uri Klein
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[The film] is not directed very skillfully. One problem is that Berlinger uses too many songs on the soundtrack, to represent the period of the narrative. Still, the film works as a kind of existential allegory centering on a monster who exudes charisma.
Posted Jun 01, 2019
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The Favourite
(2018)
|
Uri Klein
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In short, for the first time, a Lanthimos film brought me sheer enjoyment.
Posted Feb 08, 2019
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Green Book
(2018)
|
Uri Klein
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The occupation with racism in 1960s America is translated in the movie into simplistic, sentimental kitsch, which creates for present-day America a reactionary white fantasy.
Posted Jan 29, 2019
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Fyre
(2019)
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Adrian Hennigan
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Overall, the Netflix documentary is far stronger on the behind-the-scenes details.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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Fyre Fraud
(2019)
|
Adrian Hennigan
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The Hulu doc works harder to paint a bigger picture -- such as how McFarland was able to access large amounts of money to fund his schemes. However, its patronizing depiction of millennials may well alienate many of them.
Posted Jan 28, 2019
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The Silent Revolution
(2018)
|
Uri Klein
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What is the source of the romanticization and nostalgia? ...It is a longing that is especially evident in mainstream films like "The Silent Revolution," for simpler days, when it was possible to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys.
Posted Jan 23, 2019
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Mary Poppins Returns
(2018)
|
Uri Klein
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"Mary Poppins Returns" is one of those contemporary films that attack us with weightiness instead of wrapping us in warmth.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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5/5
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Roma
(2018)
|
Adrian Hennigan
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A film that deserves to be seen by anyone who cares about cinema.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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2/5
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Bird Box
(2018)
|
Adrian Hennigan
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It wants to be A Disquieting Place - but fails.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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2/5
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The Angel
(2018)
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Adrian Hennigan
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The film can only scratch the surface of this amazing story, and by doing so actually makes it seem much less remarkable than it really is.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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3/5
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22 July
(2018)
|
Adrian Hennigan
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Leaves you a little disconcerted by its almost feel-good message that democracy can defeat fascism if only the youth of the world make their voices heard.
Posted Nov 16, 2018
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