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Army of Darkness
(1992)
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Dan DiNicola
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It's a product designed by men who will themselves into an adolescent state of mind and reach for the art of spoof and slapstick. It works for a while, but soon it's easy to be bored, if not turned off, by the self-congratulatory little jokes.
Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Boys on the Side
(1995)
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Dan DiNicola
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All these small moments, all these pleasures, do not add up to a satisfying emotional whole.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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9 to 5
(1980)
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Dan DiNicola
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I would not bet against it being a hit, but I will take issue with its flippant and simple-minded approach.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Thelma & Louise
(1991)
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Dan DiNicola
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Together Davis and Sarandon are an unforgettable duo. It is fun to watch them work.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Godzilla
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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A cartoonish explosion -- a monster show designed to make us gape in awe at such technical wizardry. It's all stomping and romping, which will eventually tire out some viewers and pass the testosterone test for others.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Wild Things
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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There's good trash and bad trash. As trash goes, Wild Things is pretty good.
Posted Feb 02, 2023
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C
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The Winter Guest
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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A dull, plodding exercise directed by actor Alan Rickman.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B
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The Wedding Singer
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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[Drew Barrymore is] developing into a fine actress, but most of all, some of the bits will send you rolling in the aisles. This is one sweet and pleasant comedy.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B+
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Wag the Dog
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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The idea sags near the end, but for some time, it is right on.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C+
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U.S. Marshals
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Like most sequels, this one is sharp and fast-paced, but it's a formula nevertheless.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B+
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Twilight
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Like its hero, it's cool and laid-back.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B-
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Sphere
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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An undersea, sci-fi, paranoid thriller which packs tension but cannot release the powerful payoff we have a right to expect.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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D+
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Senseless
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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It's the kind of movie funnier in the planning stages than on film.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C-
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The Replacement Killers
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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This film might be the ultimate temp job, but stars Chow Yin-Fat and Mira Sorvino deserve better work.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C
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Palmetto
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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The film's plot doesn't always hang together and is hampered by unlikely surprises.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B-
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Mr. Magoo
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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The movie lives from gag to gag, with the barest of plot... A perfect diversion for little ones.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B
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Mouse Hunt
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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The real fun is watching what the special-effects team does with the mouse -- or mice -- who are for the most part trained. The kids giggle while moms and dads roar right along with them.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A-
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My Life in Pink
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Has the good sense not to preach or treat its characters with frivolity. It is in the truest sense of the word a family film.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B
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Krippendorf's Tribe
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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A clever and funny movie about a desperate lie that grows out of control.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B
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Jackie Brown
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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To enjoy this you have to be into it for the kicks. It baits us, but does not completely reel us in.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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D-
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Hard Rain
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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The first candidate for one of the worst films of 1998.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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F
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Half Baked
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Though billed as Cheech & Chong of the '90s, this movie is not funny.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B+
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Great Expectations
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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The film has a defining contemporary hipness, and features good work by Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. But it's more a meditation on its source than a filming of it.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A
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Good Will Hunting
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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A terrifically warm, tender and entertaining story... In significant ways, the "Rocky" of the '90s.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C
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The Gingerbread Man
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Altman lays compelling groundwork for a story that eventually turns on deadly clichés, and Kenneth Branagh lacks the star power needed to overcome shortcomings of character and plot.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C
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Dark City
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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The movie's design is its only redeeming feature. This is one movie which seems to have been made almost exclusively for members of a Dungeons & Dragons fan club.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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D-
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Caught Up
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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The movie is so full of story twists, its narrative is equivalent to a badly made pretzel.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A-
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The Borrowers
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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A terrific family treat based on the novel by Mary Norton.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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C
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Blues Brothers 2000
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Skip the film and buy the soundtrack.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A-
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As Good as It Gets
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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A charming romantic comedy that will make you laugh and feel good. Excellent performances all around.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A
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The Apostle
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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Instead of reducing his minister to an Elmer Gantry hypocrite, Duvall gives us a flawed man who nevertheless has a deep, loving religious conviction. This is the finest movie ever made about a minister or priest.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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B
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The Big Lebowski
(1998)
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Dan DiNicola
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You're into this not so much for the plot but for the kicks and L.A. ambiance.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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A-
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The Wings of the Dove
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Sensuous, intelligent and moving, this is one of the best of the year.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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A
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Titanic
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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One of the greatest disaster films ever and certainly the one truly genuine blockbuster movie of the '90s.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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Starship Troopers
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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It's not as serious as it is a comic variation on old-fashioned ideas. Kids won't get the tongue-in-cheek approach, but part of the appeal is that the movie works on both levels.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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Soul Food
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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This movie could have sunk to soap opera melodrama. But Tillman really cares about each multidimensional character. As a result, the film resonates.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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C
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Seven Years in Tibet
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Too sluggish and fares better as a travelogue than a drama.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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Scream 2
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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This sequel to the highly successful original is wittier and just as scary.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B
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John Grisham's The Rainmaker
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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The great director Francis Ford Coppola takes a John Grisham novel and shows us and directors of other Grisham adaptations how things should be done.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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A-
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One Night Stand
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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A fine, perceptive drama starring Wesley Snipes as a married man who realizes he has been living a life of self-deception.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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My Best Friend's Wedding
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Julia Roberts makes a glorious return in this romantic comedy... The screenplay is filled with bright dialogue and clever twists.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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C
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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No dominant sense of style, no evocation of classic Southern charm or presence of a Gothic sensibility. This one meanders for more than two hours and we emerge tired and unfulfilled.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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Men in Black
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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This is a hilarious, deadpan sci-comedy comedy about special G-men who keep resident aliens from outer space in line.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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A+
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L.A. Confidential
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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The best and richest crime-cop drama in decades... This is an instant classic.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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C
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Kiss the Girls
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd both deserve better than this mediocre, muddled, dark and only at times engrossing psychodrama.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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C-
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The Jackal
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Sidney Poitier is the FBI deputy director and the only one in the cast to lend this movie credibility.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B+
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In & Out
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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An amiable and wickedly funny comedy.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B-
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I Know What You Did Last Summer
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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This is a fun, energetic and scary movie by Jim Gillespie.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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B-
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Home Alone 3
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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No surprises here as far as the plot, just changes in casting keep this sequel lively.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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C
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The Game
(1997)
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Dan DiNicola
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Douglas works hard, and even if it's at first enticing, the movie is shallow and much ado about nothing.
Posted Jan 10, 2023
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