1
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Brüno (2009)
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Pam Grady
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Cohen probably did not consciously echo The Magic Christian, but he would have done well to learn from it.
EDIT
Posted Jul 13, 2009
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2
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(500) Days of Summer (2009)
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Pam Grady
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Fast, funny and absolutely delightful.
EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2009
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3
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Moon (2009)
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Pam Grady
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Jones displays such a complete command of his narrative that it is hard to believe this is his first feature.
EDIT
Posted Jan 22, 2009
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4
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Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
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Telly Davidson
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The major highlight is the awkward, out-of-step dialogue between Lane and Gere as their budding relationship morphs from wariness to friendliness to love.
EDIT
Posted Sep 26, 2008
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5
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The Doorman (2007)
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Brent Simon
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Despite the fact that The Doorman features dozens of cameos by real-life boldface names, the film itself is a mess.
EDIT
Posted Sep 23, 2008
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6
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College (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Personally, I wouldn't waste a $5 drink on this one, but I do understand that teen's irritation.
EDIT
Posted Sep 12, 2008
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7
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Towelhead (2007)
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Richard Horgan
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Nearly a decade after the triumph of American Beauty, Ball has stumbled to the level of American Booty.
EDIT
Posted Sep 10, 2008
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8
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Blindness (2008)
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Pam Grady
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Ignore that wretched Riviera buzz, because Blindness is a haunting work and a wonderful distillation of José Saramago's novel.
EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2008
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9
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Death Race (2008)
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Pam Grady
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The movie Death Race most resembles is not Death Race 2000 or even another action movie but rather a beloved 1994 prison drama.
EDIT
Posted Aug 22, 2008
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10
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Hamlet 2 (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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Nowhere is the failure of this film more evident than in the much ballyhooed Elisabeth Shue subplot.
EDIT
Posted Aug 21, 2008
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11
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Transsiberian (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Nowadays, Kingsley is a bit like the English version of Morgan Freeman - an actor with a seemingly inherent reservoir of gravitas, yet no qualms about glossy paycheck gigs.
EDIT
Posted Aug 15, 2008
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12
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Elegy (2008)
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Brett Buckalew
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In the early scenes of the two lovers discovering each other's bodies and personal quirks, Coixet coaxes work from Kingsley and Cruz that is remarkably intimate.
EDIT
Posted Aug 8, 2008
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13
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Swing Vote (2008)
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Telly Davidson
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Carroll turns Costner into her comic foil, effectively relegating the Oscar winner to giving a supporting-sidekick performance in his own film.
EDIT
Posted Aug 1, 2008
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14
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The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Ironic, then, that 20th Century Fox's quiescent sales job may ultimately cost the film a suitable first-weekend box office splash.
EDIT
Posted Jul 25, 2008
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15
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Mamma Mia! (2008)
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Pam Grady
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It is not merely that Pierce Brosnan cannot sing; it is that he looks so uncomfortable doing it.
EDIT
Posted Jul 21, 2008
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16
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Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
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Pam Grady
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Had Werner Herzog lived 500 years ago, he probably would have become a celebrated conquistador, mapping out brave new worlds.
EDIT
Posted Jul 2, 2008
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17
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The Wackness (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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Kingsley's pot smoking puddle of regret is one of the few Big Apple personas to come close to Hoffman's bag of Ratso Rizzo tricks.
EDIT
Posted Jun 30, 2008
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18
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Get Smart (2008)
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Pam Grady
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The smartest thing about the movie is the way Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp inject a little bit of that 1960's spirit.
EDIT
Posted Jun 20, 2008
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19
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Sex and the City (2008)
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Pam Grady
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Opt for the much better (and much shorter) version made in 1959 starring Hope Lange, Diane Baker, Suzy Parker and Joan Crawford.
EDIT
Posted May 30, 2008
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20
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War, Inc. (2008)
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Brent Simon
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The filmic equivalent of a bleating, hot microphone - all crossed wires and misfunneled energy.
EDIT
Posted May 27, 2008
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21
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The Fall (2006)
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Brett Buckalew
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The best movie of the year so far by a wide mile.
EDIT
Posted May 12, 2008
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22
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Speed Racer (2008)
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Brent Simon
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All in all, I'm pretty sure Hunter S. Thompson had hallucinations like this.
EDIT
Posted May 9, 2008
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23
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Hear and Now (2007)
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Shelley Gabert
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It's the merging of filmmaker and daughter that makes this documentary and memoir so compelling and appealing to a mass audience.
EDIT
Posted May 7, 2008
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24
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Noise (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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A much better strategy for alarm activist Bean would have been to give Robbins a microphone and make this as a trenchant documentary.
EDIT
Posted May 6, 2008
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25
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Redbelt (2008)
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Brett Buckalew
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The journey has its charms, but the destination calls to mind Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?"
EDIT
Posted May 2, 2008
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26
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Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Mostly works because it's well cast, wildly written and full of good, old-fashioned comedic friction.
EDIT
Posted Apr 28, 2008
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27
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The Auteur (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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There's no Hitchcock in The Auteur, which is surprising considering the second syllable of the Master of Suspense's surname.
EDIT
Posted Apr 25, 2008
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28
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
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Brent Simon
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The phrase "good enough" applies, without any negative connotations that might unintentionally summon forth.
EDIT
Posted Apr 18, 2008
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29
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Anamorph (2007)
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Shelley Gabert
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A pale imitation of David Fincher's Seven.
EDIT
Posted Apr 16, 2008
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30
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Captain Abu Raed (2007)
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Richard Horgan
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Writer-director Matalqa cites City Lights as one of his favorites, and to Chaplin there are two predominant connections in his film.
EDIT
Posted Apr 10, 2008
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31
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Sex and Death 101 (2007)
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Brent Simon
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A fun, sloppy treatment of a profound premise that, as a reunion project between Waters and Ryder, feels right.
EDIT
Posted Apr 10, 2008
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32
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My Blueberry Nights (2007)
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Kevin Biggers
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Right from the beginning, there's a discomforting sense of banality blanketing the film: the journey, the pie motif, the faith in "new beginnings."
EDIT
Posted Apr 4, 2008
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33
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Run Fat Boy Run (2007)
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FilmStew Staff Report
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A fry-up of American, British and Irish comedy sensibilities that will have no trouble satisfying mainstream movie appetites.
EDIT
Posted Apr 2, 2008
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34
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21 (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Across the Universe star Jim Sturgess reaffirms himself as a sympathetic, highly likable screen presence.
EDIT
Posted Apr 1, 2008
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35
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Stop-Loss (2008)
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Brett Buckalew
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Much of Stop-Loss' first act feels like the cast of Hee-Haw auditioning for a Best Years of Our Lives remake.
EDIT
Posted Mar 31, 2008
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36
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The Hammer (2007)
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Brent Simon
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Succeeds in spite of itself.
EDIT
Posted Mar 28, 2008
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37
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Young at Heart (2007)
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Lisa Johnson
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The best film I've seen so far this year and easily one of my favorite documentaries ever.
EDIT
Posted Mar 28, 2008
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38
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Hats Off (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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A wonderful continuation of Johnstone's previous age-is-but-a-number twilight documentaries Martha & Ethel and Throwing Curves.
EDIT
Posted Mar 28, 2008
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39
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Priceless (2006)
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Richard Horgan
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Tautou positively sparkles as a crafty master of the French Riviera sexual-favors-for-financial-rewards shell game.
EDIT
Posted Mar 27, 2008
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40
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Chapter 27 (2007)
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Telly Davidson
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Leto's performance is as great a physical, if not emotional, transformation as Charlize Theron's "hagging it up" for Monster.
EDIT
Posted Mar 25, 2008
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41
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Funny Games (2007)
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Brent Simon
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Posits that we humans are a persuadable lot, willing to accept almost anything in the name of entertainment.
EDIT
Posted Mar 14, 2008
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42
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Penelope (2006)
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Brent Simon
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The success of Juno has re-set the bar for whimsical tales of headstrong, intelligent young women grappling with life difficulties.
EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2008
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43
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Married Life (2007)
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Richard Horgan
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Cooper and Brosnan display more genuine chemistry than anything that passes for sparks between Cooper and kept woman McAdams.
EDIT
Posted Mar 5, 2008
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44
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The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
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Brent Simon
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There will always be adults who want to catch up on the history lessons they slept or passed notes through during their younger years.
EDIT
Posted Feb 29, 2008
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45
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Vantage Point (2008)
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Brent Simon
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Jittery, Bourne-style-lite mayhem, with edits every one-half to one-third a second.
EDIT
Posted Feb 22, 2008
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46
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Charlie Bartlett (2007)
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Pam Grady
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Charlie's more unsavory activities spring from the same source tapped in Rock 'n' Roll High School by Clint Howard's Eaglebauer character.
EDIT
Posted Feb 22, 2008
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47
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Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
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Richard Horgan
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The character of Poppy is an entirely original female film protagonist, sort of a British working class version of Annie Hall.
EDIT
Posted Feb 22, 2008
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48
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Be Kind Rewind (2008)
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Pam Grady
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Gondry is the first director since School of Rock's Richard Linklater to fully capture Black's truculent charm and actually make it - charming.
EDIT
Posted Feb 21, 2008
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49
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Beaufort (2007)
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Richard Horgan
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Announces to North American audiences a major new talent in the form of 39-year-old writer-director Joseph Cedar.
EDIT
Posted Feb 20, 2008
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50
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Definitely, Maybe (2008)
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Brent Simon
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By trading in metaphor and parallel structure, makes a compelling allegorical statement about just how stuck in a rut we collectively feel our nation is.
EDIT
Posted Feb 18, 2008
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