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Tara Thorne
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Late Night (2019) |
That this film was made at all-let alone caused a money-throwing frenzy-is shocking. That anyone gets to see it is a gift and a privilege, so get to it. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Jun 20, 2019
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The Biggest Little Farm (2018) |
In a time when technology and stuff are measures of success, The Biggest Little Farm offers up a more traditional view of life, existing from what the earth is able to give, in whatever form it may come. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted May 30, 2019
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Ordinary Days (2017) |
Its concept-the same story told from three perspectives, each segment handled by a different director-could've played as pointless schtick, but here it's deployed deftly enough to keep you guessing until nearly the final shot. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted May 20, 2019
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The Hustle (2019) |
The Hustle doesn't have a grand message and it doesn't need one. It's two top-notch comedians trying to steal the movie from one another. They both win. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted May 17, 2019
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Birds of Passage (2018) |
The directors coax layered, duplicitous performances out of their actors, a lot of whom are performing for the first time, including the formidable Carmiña Martínez as Wayuu matriarch Ursula. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Apr 12, 2019
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Gloria Bell (2018) |
Julianne Moore's brightest spot in ages. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Apr 01, 2019
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Neither Wolf Nor Dog (2016) |
It's a gentle, educational ride, and Canadians will see the parallels in the two countries' treatment of its Indigenous citizens. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Apr 01, 2019
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The Hummingbird Project (2018) |
Eisenberg does his usual, but Skarsgård gets a lot of notes to play with Anton, whose quiet genius is offset by great bursts of energy in the form of screaming or running. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Apr 01, 2019
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Captain Marvel (2019) |
Anyone who saw Larson's finely wrought work in The United States of Tara knows she is equally adept at drama and comedy and Carol Danvers is allowed both, a rarity in this universe. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Mar 14, 2019
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Arctic (2018) |
You're on board with this sort of thing or you're not-in this case Arctic is incredibly captivating, made with care and wholly entertaining, plus it's got an ending that leaves you with a discussion. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Feb 22, 2019
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On the Basis of Sex (2018) |
Even if - despite the fact - men still feel the need to point out the obvious in 2019, Bader Ginsburg and [director Mimi] Leder are much-appreciated proof that change takes time, is arduous and worth it. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Jan 25, 2019
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If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) |
But this is less a movie than an actual experience, built to wash over you, leaving bits behind - of race and justice - for you to look at and think about long afterward. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Jan 04, 2019
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The Front Runner (2018) |
It's not thrilling, exactly, but it is engaging and ultimately-surprisingly?-wistful, especially if you went to wikipedia before the movie. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Dec 01, 2018
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Clara (2018) |
It does gain traction in its final 20 minutes, when Clara's big reveal appears and pays off most of the previous hour, but that sacrifices actual emotion for dutifully plotted emotional beats. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Dec 01, 2018
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Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) |
It's a heartbreaker of a performance. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 30, 2018
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Widows (2018) |
It won't get the awards attention of 12 Years a Slave, but it should. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 30, 2018
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Childstar (2004) |
Mike Goldbach wrote Childstar in 2004; this is his first feature as writer-director, and it's nimble and full of visual tricks, funny and sexy, yet somehow a suspenseful thriller. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Toy Story 3 (2010) |
Leave it to Pixar to subvert the Hollywood rule of sequels, which states that each subsequent film must have eyes full of dollar signs at the expense of quality. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Whip It (2009) |
Though it's got first-timer mistakes (too long, too many food fights) its indie-rock girl-power charms are, like co-star Kristen Wiig, undeniable. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Mother and Child (2009) |
There are powerful moments and the cast is note-perfect. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009) |
Precious is a hard but worthy journey. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Oceans (2009) |
There's surprisingly small amount of eco finger-wagging and a touch too many suspicious reaction shots... but Oceans is marvellously, fantastically shot (very little blood, parents) and foleyed, heavy-handed soundtrack aside. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Jack Goes Boating (2010) |
It's tonally uncomfortable, which was probably Hoffman's intent, and though it's not a home run, there's great acting on display-another common theme in films adapted from plays. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Waiting for Superman (2010) |
Guggenheim's heartbreaking film, a Best Documentary contender that did not even get nominated---he won for An Inconvenient Truth---opens with an admission of white liberal guilt. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Please Give (2010) |
The most underrated American director this side of Richard Linklater, Nicole Holofcener, continues to be a master of The Moment: a tiny but meaningful exchange or look or gesture that conveys more emotion than any awards-bait monologue could. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Passion Play (2010) |
Terribly shot and written, Glazer's got Rourke facing death so many times that an hour in you're hoping someone will just shoot him already, or at least you, and end this awful experiment. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Everything Must Go (2010) |
The film is not quite there somehow-like Punch Drunk Love-level Adam Sandler, Ferrell needs a scene in which he busts out his signature belligerent yelling, or some kind of outburst, but he's just flat and defeated, and not in the Oscar-winning way. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Girlfriend (2010) |
Understated, well-acted and likely never to be heard from again, Girlfriend is the kind of movie you come to film festivals to see. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Virginia (2010) |
It's not funny, it's not charming and it's only clear it's set in modern day when a character mentions the internet. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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The Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
It is a masterclass of acting, directing, writing and cinematography, of tonality, of pacing and of emotion. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Peep World (2010) |
A strong ensemble led by narrator Lewis Black, Peep World is reasonably funny but never overly so, and the climactic dinner doesn't feel long enough to support the preceding hourish before it. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Somewhere (2010) |
More tone poem than film, Somewhere finds Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) at her most untethered and experimental. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) |
Allen has forgotten how to write like people talk, and the muted yellows of upper-class London are as boring as the script, which contains a Viagra joke, in 2010. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Heartbeats (2010) |
[Director Xavier Dolan's] got an unquestionably terrific eye but a bit of a tin ear for dialogue, and continues to shoot himself in loving close-up, a detriment. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Tamara Drewe (2010) |
It's fun but overlong, not a waste of regular time, but probably of festival time. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Janie Jones (2010) |
It reminds me of one of those Disney movies about sports. I liked it. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Tabloid (2010) |
It's a well-told story without any consequence or larger meaning, and it's the first round of applause I've witnessed at press screenings this year. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Beautiful Boy (2010) |
The best scenes take place in a motel room, mostly hand-held, and Bello absolutely goes for it, and it's admirable that they hold themselves back a little bit in a story that's begging for histrionics. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Mother of Rock Lillian Roxon (2010) |
Featuring talking head interviews... it also contains great archival photos and excerpts from Roxon's writings, which at the time were progressive in feminism and music journalism. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011) |
Metallica aside - Berlinger also directed Some Kind of Monster - Purgatory is beautifully framed, critical but not judgmental of the law enforcement official... and even-handed with the jailed men who are somehow not bitter or beaten by their ordeal. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Kaboom (2010) |
Watch with friends. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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How Do You Know (2010) |
Brooks wants to make a contemporary relationship film and a topical one about the financial crisis and winds up failing on both sides. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Public Speaking (2010) |
Nonetheless, this is high-brow entertainment of the wittiest order---a little cold, but so what? - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Hysteria (2011) |
The movie, directed by Tanya Wexler, is a pretty conventional British run at something fun, like when Stephen Frears does a funny one. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 17, 2018
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Jennifer's Body (2009) |
Jennifer's Body assures that Cody is not a one-hit wonder - not that she needed to prove it. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011) |
This pleasant enough straight-to-DVD comedy stars Catherine Keener as an uptight lawyer who takes her kids (one is Elizabeth Olsen) to her Mom's for the summer. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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The Future (2011) |
Miranda July is a divisive force and a rare, vital talent. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Pariah (2011) |
Pariah is a fine debut---it's all been done, but rarely with performances this raw and real. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Page Eight (2011) |
For a "spy thriller" there is zero violence, zero running, zero screaming and only minimal double crossing-the whole thing is rather civilized and zingy. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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Damsels in Distress (2011) |
It's completely absurd, and though overlong, completely hilarious. - The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2018
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