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D.l. Hughley: Contrarian
(2018)
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David Bianculli
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D.L. Hughley, like seemingly every other standup comic in America, gets his own Netflix special. But Hughley is clever enough to do something special with his special, so check it out.
Posted Jul 17, 2019
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Clear History
(2013)
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David Bianculli
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It's safe to say, you're bound to enjoy the results. Clear History, for Larry David, is another clear winner.
Posted Jun 13, 2018
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Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk?
(2016)
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Ed Bark
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Meet the Donors likely won't remedy a thing. But as an up-close look at some of the country's biggest political givers and takers, it's something of an instant post-convention classic...
Posted Jun 12, 2018
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Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
(2016)
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Roger Catlin
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Working with the family of the musician, there are a lot of revealing home movie and archival footage and the words of Coltrane - from interviews or writings - are spoken with cool authority by Denzel Washington.
Posted Jun 12, 2018
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A Charlie Brown Christmas
(1965)
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David Bianculli
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Two score and two years later, it deserves just as large an audience. Gather the family - and enjoy.
Posted Jun 04, 2018
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The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
(2015)
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Bill Brioux
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The high-energy feature captures much of the spirit of the original, especially in the two leads--Henry Cavill as Solo and Armie Hammer as Kuryakin...
Posted Jun 01, 2018
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Mission: Impossible
(1996)
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David Bianculli
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De Palma's film has some stunning sequences... But the movie so betrayed the spirit of the original TV series, by betraying the spirit and integrity of a formerly unimpeachable character, that the entire project smelled of cynicism.
Posted Jun 01, 2018
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Network
(1976)
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David Bianculli
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Paddy Chayefsky's 1976 satire about network television, directed by Sidney Lumet, was amazing then, and it's amazing now...
Posted Apr 30, 2018
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Mercury 13
(2018)
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David Bianculli
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While the pace and approach of this new documentary is a bit leisurely, the subject certainly is worthy of interest.
Posted Apr 20, 2018
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Elvis Presley: The Searcher
(2018)
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David Hinckley
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Little of this is new information. But when even the 1968 comeback is 50 years in the past, a solid refresher course, that frames Elvis's legacy in a respectful and truthful way, borders on being essential.
Posted Apr 16, 2018
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Dolores
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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It's a story that should be told, and the fact it's being told while Huerta is still among us makes it all the more satisfying.
Posted Mar 27, 2018
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Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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Into the Night isn't a program everyone's going to want to watch. It's valuable anyway, because this is a game in which everyone's number will eventually be called.
Posted Mar 26, 2018
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Arthur Miller: Writer
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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This film biography of one of America's greatest playwrights is an extremely personal, subjective, and candid one, and with good reason.
Posted Mar 19, 2018
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Arthur Miller: Writer
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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Whatever the nuances of the man, some of which are seen here in ways they will not be seen elsewhere, that's not a bad call.
Posted Mar 19, 2018
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Take Your Pills
(2018)
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David Hinckley
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Valuable television isn't always fun television. Or easy television.
Posted Mar 16, 2018
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Ricky Gervais: Humanity
(2018)
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David Bianculli
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This is the first Ricky Gervais standup special in seven years... the ease with which he continues to command the stage, totally controlling the rhythms and reactions while seeming fully conversational, is even more astounding.
Posted Mar 13, 2018
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Jane
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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... a beautiful piece of work.
Posted Mar 12, 2018
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Jane
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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... the visuals themselves are nothing short of brilliant.
Posted Mar 12, 2018
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Maigret Sets a Trap
(2016)
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David Hinckley
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Atkinson himself does Maigret well enough so that a newcomer might be surprised to know he does comedy, too.
Posted Mar 01, 2018
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Notes From The Field
(2018)
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David Bianculli
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... [Anna Deavere] Smith, like Hal Holbrook in his one-man portrayals of Mark Twain in Mark Twain Tonight!, is equally impressive in terms of performance and research.
Posted Feb 26, 2018
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Atomic Homefront
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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Atomic Homefront comes to this story, unapologetically, from the conviction that government agencies on all levels, run by both parties, are trying to dance away from an increasingly clear responsibility...
Posted Feb 22, 2018
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Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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... [Director Stanley Nelson] makes a compelling case that whatever the flaws and however uncertain the future of many HBCUs, they have taken America further down the right road.
Posted Feb 20, 2018
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Chris Rock: Tamborine
(2018)
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David Bianculli
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Rock, in every TV special he's ever released, manages to touch on a topic in a way, and with a fervor and intelligence, I end up remembering long afterward.
Posted Feb 20, 2018
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Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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12 Bars, with the apparent full consent of its subject, gives us a man with feet of clay.
Posted Feb 14, 2018
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In the Cloud
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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It plays as derivatively as it sounds, but there is one reason, behind Byrne, to watch: One of his co-stars is Laura Fraser, who played Lydia the Stevia lover on Breaking Bad.
Posted Feb 08, 2018
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Marjorie Prime
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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... Marjorie Prime underscores the common threads in all human lives, including the insecurity, the frustration, the everyday pleasures and the inexorable passage of time.
Posted Feb 05, 2018
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Woodstock
(1970)
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David Bianculli
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... this four-hour expanded Director's Cut edition... wasn't released until 1994. And in this case, more is better and the strained, overwhelming size of the film just seems to mirror the subject itself.
Posted Feb 05, 2018
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I Am Not Your Negro
(2016)
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David Hinckley
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I Am Not Your Negro doesn't slam the door on the possibility of America ever getting it right. It does relay, powerfully, Baldwin's admonition that anyone who thinks we're close has not been following the race.
Posted Jan 16, 2018
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David Bowie: The Last Five Years
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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... for Bowie fans, undoubtedly it will be worth the wait.
Posted Jan 08, 2018
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David Bowie: The Last Five Years
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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Produced and directed by Francis Whately, this loving and reverential doc focuses on Bowie's impressive artistic output from 2011 until he died on Jan. 10, 2016.
Posted Jan 08, 2018
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Bright
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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It's not as horrible as many early reviews would suggest, but this first effort, at least, doesn't come close to living up to the potential of the premise, or the budget of the movie.
Posted Dec 27, 2017
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Panama's Animal Highway
(2017)
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Roger Catlin
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There's enough activity on Panama to supply a whole series on Panama's Animal Highway. For now, enjoy what they've packed into an hour.
Posted Dec 14, 2017
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Judd Apatow: The Return
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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... and Apatow's self-deprecating use of visual aids, especially his photos with former President Obama, is priceless.
Posted Dec 12, 2017
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32 Pills: My Sister's Suicide
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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32 Pills is a love story of another sort, wherein memories of pleasure will always be infused with regret and pain.
Posted Dec 07, 2017
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Psych: The Movie
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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Roday and Hill step back into their respective shoes without missing a step.
Posted Dec 07, 2017
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Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent
(2016)
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David Hinckley
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Jeremiah Tower has already left his mark on the world...
Posted Dec 04, 2017
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1922
(2017)
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David Bianculli
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1922 plays like an extended episode of Tales from the Crypt - and if approached that way, is lots of fun.
Posted Oct 20, 2017
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Spielberg
(2017)
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David Hinckley
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... [Director Susan] Lacy's complimentary portrait makes it clear that this slightly neurotic kid from the postwar suburbs had a gift that he never wasted.
Posted Oct 09, 2017
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