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The Lighthouse
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The suspense and supernatural elements-especially as filmed in film-noir, 35-millimeter black-and-white-are as palpable as they are astonishing. A brilliant achievement.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Parasite
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Ingeniously written and directed, plus faultlessly acted, this is one of the great movie experiences of this or any year.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Marriage Story
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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It's wise and emotionally battering, but it never forgets to be crazily funny and doesn't pander. Beautiful, heartbreaking stuff.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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The Irishman
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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This is a magnificently wise, majestic, top-shelf work about the relentless passage of time and the fate awaiting us all, connected or not.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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2.5/4
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Star Wars ends with a whimper, not the royal farewell the franchise deserved.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Joker
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The whole damn thing is directed with such boldness and vision that Todd Phillips (yeah, the Hangover guy) should never look back again. A big-screen must see.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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The Farewell
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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This is a humane, wise treasure of a movie.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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1917
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Mendes and Co. make it all seem fresh and vital again. This is a a movie filled with gorgeous and grotesque imagery...
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Knives Out
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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A great time at the movies and just begging for a sequel.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Jojo Rabbit
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The cauldron-a pinch of Mel Brooks here, a bit of Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be there-bubbles over with terrific performances.
Posted Feb 11, 2020
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2/4
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Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
(2020)
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Stephen Rebello
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'Birds of Prey' is a fast and irreverent spit in the eye to the pomposity of the overblown superhero genre.
Posted Feb 07, 2020
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2.5/4
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Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The movie is getting almost universally praised as a second coming of summer-movie fun. To this viewer, it just seemed like a letdown. Tarantino is better than this.
Posted Jul 29, 2019
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Transit
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Directing with deadly and terrifying brilliance worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, Christian Petzold has adapted from Anna Segher's 1944 novel of the same name and created a paranoid Kafka-like masterwork.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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High Life
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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It's a chilly, somber, despairing thing, this one, but put me in the cheering section.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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Long Day's Journey Into Night
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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The movie is not just a meditation on the old song lyric, How can we hang on to a dream? but also Why should we want to? Gorgeous, languid and haunting moviemaking.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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High Flying Bird
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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It's all about the exploitation of race and class, and it's terrific, truth-telling entertainment. One of Soderbergh's best, ever. And that's saying something.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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3/4
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Spider-Man: Far From Home
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Tom Holland helps the joyful film stand out amid the superhero glut.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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Diane
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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There's not a better movie in theaters than this sometimes-surreal, surprising, marvelously wise and humane one directed by Kent Jones.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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Ash Is Purest White
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Gorgeous to look at and spectacularly well-acted.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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Booksmart
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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For anyone who leaned too hard into academic success in high school at the expense of carousing, partying, being cool and rocking out, the hilarious, joyously filthy Booksmart cuts deep.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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Amazing Grace
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Soul-stirring and absolutely unmissable.
Posted Jul 08, 2019
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3.5/5
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Rocketman
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The movie soars with its honest portrayal of Sir Elton, anchored by a show-stopping, where-did-that-come-from lead performance from Egerto.
Posted Jun 04, 2019
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2.5/4
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The Beach Bum
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The movie has its pleasures, aside from the cinematography and some of McConaughey's fearlessly all-in performance.
Posted Apr 05, 2019
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3/4
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Us
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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How fantastic is it, in our predigested, everything-dumbed-down era, to be able to leave the theater baffled, debating interpretations and occasionally throwing nervous glances over our shoulders.
Posted Mar 26, 2019
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2.5/4
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Triple Frontier
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The well-made but frustrating Triple Frontier, which takes its title from the intersection of the borders of Brazil, Peru and Colombia, has almost everything going for it but depth, focus and gravitas.
Posted Mar 15, 2019
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2.5/4
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Alita: Battle Angel
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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What's the point of blowing somewhere around $200 million on boldly innovative sound and vision when it is built upon a script that just thuds along?
Posted Mar 08, 2019
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3/4
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Fighting With My Family
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Thanks to a smart script, charming performances and captivating story, the film is a delight
Posted Mar 08, 2019
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2.5/4
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Captain Marvel
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Captain Marvel isn't a pain to sit through...but such a venerable character long overdue on the big screen, the talents involved in putting her there and Marvel's rabidly faithful international audience deserved much better.
Posted Mar 08, 2019
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3/4
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Cold Pursuit
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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The darkly comedic thrills keep coming in a film that is more fun than it needs to be.
Posted Feb 08, 2019
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1.5/4
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Serenity
(2019)
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Stephen Rebello
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Everyone in front of and behind the camera has done such good work in the past that maybe we should consider Serenity a bold but wacky misstep.
Posted Jan 26, 2019
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Won't You Be My Neighbor?
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Morgan Neville has made an emotional, humanistic, fair-and-balanced documentary.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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Sorry to Bother You
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Wildly visually explosive and supremely confident...
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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Shoplifters
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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It's a new landmark in humanist cinema.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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Roma
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Director Alfonso Cuaron has made a full-on masterpiece with this heartbreaking, semi-autobiographical knockout.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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Leave No Trace
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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America isn't broken-it's shattered. Every frame, every moment, every performance in director Debra Granik's quietly devastating and haunting survival saga tells us so.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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The Rider
(2017)
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Stephen Rebello
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The S.D. cowboy and broncobuster, no longer able to do the job that gave his life shape and purpose, gets saved by what he learns from his devotion to the beauty, stillness, mystery and wildness of horses.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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First Reformed
(2017)
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Stephen Rebello
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Screenwriter-director Paul Schrader returns to greatness with this lacerating, austere portrait of a crisis of faith.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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Cold War
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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This is a masterful, romantic movie filled with stunning imagery, gorgeous use of folk music and jazz and you won't find a false moment in the entire running time. Probably a classic-to-be, certainly first-class moviemaking.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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The Favourite
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Uproarious, down-and-dirty, obscene and completely on its own weird and wicked wavelength...
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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3/4
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Bumblebee
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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We're abuzz about the franchise having transformed into a leaner, character-driven and altogether delightful one...
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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2.5/4
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Vice
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Christian Bale is something else again. A deeply introspective, often unknowable chameleon of an actor, he creates a scarily accurate portrait of a canny, callous beast. He is the reason to see what is, in the end, a deadpan, savage tragedy of errors.
Posted Dec 21, 2018
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3/4
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The Mule
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Clint Eastwood is as compelling as ever, and the movie offers ample helpings of heart and levity.
Posted Dec 14, 2018
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3/4
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Vox Lux
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Vox Lux doesn't bother to answer any of the questions, just tosses them at us like Molotov cocktails. No matter.
Posted Dec 08, 2018
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3.5/4
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Widows
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Viola Davis thrills in this taut ride that doesn't stick to genre convention.
Posted Nov 30, 2018
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3/4
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Green Book
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Green Book won't pass the sniff test for those demanding period realism or a hard-hitting, nuanced take on racism. It's earnest and uplifting, and it's racial commentary isn't subtle.
Posted Nov 21, 2018
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2.5/4
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Bohemian Rhapsody
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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The film is surprisingly smooth. Too smooth. The way Freddie Mercury lived his life, he deserved a movie guaranteed to blow our minds. Think, say, director Ken Russell at his balls-out, gaga peak. PG-13 just won't cut it.
Posted Nov 02, 2018
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3.5/4
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Suspiria
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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I found Suspiria to be ravishing, repellant, skin-crawling-and unforgettable.
Posted Oct 26, 2018
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3.5/4
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant deliver awards-worthy performances in this powerful gem.
Posted Oct 18, 2018
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3.5/4
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First Man
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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It's about ordinary Americans reaching for the seemingly impossible-and, despite the human costs, scoring astonishing achievements in rocket ships crammed with spinning dials, levers, equipment that doesn't always work.
Posted Oct 12, 2018
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1/4
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The Happytime Murders
(2018)
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Stephen Rebello
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The Happytime Murders turns out to be a place where good ideas went to die.
Posted Oct 05, 2018
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