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3.5/5
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Paper Towns
(2015)
|
Jim Slotek
|
For all the drama and comedy, nothing much really happens in it - other than the palpable maturation of nearly every character in less than two hours.
Posted Jul 23, 2015
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3/5
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Southpaw
(2015)
|
Liz Braun
|
Despite brilliant fight scenes and impressive performances, Southpaw is brought down by ham-handed storytelling.
Posted Jul 23, 2015
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3/5
|
Pixels
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Pixels requires a lot of disbelief, but it is a blast to behold and a good way to see Sandler do something at a higher level.
Posted Jul 22, 2015
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X-Men
(2000)
|
Louis B. Hobson
|
The best news is that you don't even have to know what a Marvel Comic is to enjoy X-Men.
Posted Jul 15, 2015
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3.5/5
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Ant-Man
(2015)
|
Steve Tilley
|
Ant-Man is an entertaining blend of a superhero origin story and a caper film, the funniest and most grounded Marvel movie to date.
Posted Jul 15, 2015
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2.5/5
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Minions
(2015)
|
Steve Tilley
|
An entire movie about them feels like eating a bowl of pure sugar. Which means very young kids will love it, while adults might feel a bit nauseous by the end.
Posted Jul 09, 2015
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2/5
|
Terminator Genisys
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Terminator Genisys does not just reboot the famous franchise, it puts the boots to all the earlier films, their iconic characters and any fans who expected T5 to show more respect for the origins of James Cameron's man vs. machine saga.
Posted Jun 30, 2015
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2.5/5
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Magic Mike XXL
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
A sloppy and often silly road movie that takes most of the same characters we met in 2012 and gives them a last hurrah as macho male entertainers.
Posted Jun 29, 2015
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3/5
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Ted 2
(2015)
|
Jim Slotek
|
It gave me at least eight good laughs - mostly from set pieces that had nothing to do with the story. Your mileage may vary.
Posted Jun 25, 2015
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|
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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982)
|
Louis B. Hobson
|
Time has done little to diminish the power of E.T.'s signature moments.
Posted Jun 19, 2015
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4.5/5
|
Inside Out
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
A near-perfect balance of humour, pathos, adventure and poignant emotion. That makes it great entertainment for children and adults. The film is sophisticated, intelligent and heartfelt -- plus a ton of fun, too.
Posted Jun 18, 2015
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2/5
|
Jurassic World
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Compared to Steven Spielberg's much-loved original, this fourth instalment in the franchise is a cruel joke.
Posted Jun 11, 2015
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1.5/5
|
Insidious: Chapter 3
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
What a disappointment this is. Especially coming after Chapters 1 and 2, which both delivered the frights with a slow burn mixed with ingenuity and style.
Posted Jun 04, 2015
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4.5/5
|
Entourage
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
It is Piven who is the Gorilla Glue that holds this whole enterprise together. Without Piven's creative insanity, Entourage would not work this well again.
Posted Jun 02, 2015
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2/5
|
Poltergeist
(2015)
|
Liz Braun
|
The audience isn't invested in the characters or their fate. Bit of a problem.
Posted May 22, 2015
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4/5
|
Tomorrowland
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Tomorrowland may be structurally flawed, but it is also wonderfully imaginative, visually arresting and completely daring. That makes it a winner for audiences willing to submit to the awkward flow of the narrative.
Posted May 21, 2015
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|
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Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
It is listless, boring and as flat to the floor as Paul Blart when he slams down in a coma or gets knocked down by a villain, a vehicle or a horse's hind hoof.
Posted Apr 17, 2015
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4.5/5
|
Furious 7
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Loud, long and laughably over-the-top, Furious 7 is one of the best pure action movies ever made.
Posted Apr 02, 2015
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|
2.5/5
|
Get Hard
(2015)
|
Steve Tilley
|
It's like a chocolate wrapped in poop and then dipped in more chocolate. There's no way to enjoy it without tasting some crap.
Posted Mar 26, 2015
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1.5/5
|
Unfinished Business
(2015)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Unfinished Business has a big heart, a tiny brain and a lot of bad attitude. That turns it into a murky mess as a movie.
Posted Mar 06, 2015
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|
|
Gladiator
(2000)
|
Randall King
|
By emphasizing big battles and spilled blood, Scott banks on the hope the movie audience will be no more discerning than the Colosseum's screaming mob.
Posted Feb 22, 2015
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2/5
|
The Boy Next Door
(2015)
|
Liz Braun
|
The well-written thriller is a masterpiece of tension, brought to life by strong performances, a clever plot and ... yeah, of course we're joking. It's a crap movie.
Posted Jan 22, 2015
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|
1.5/5
|
Taken 3
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
With his quirks and thoughtful manner, Whitaker seems to be in a different movie. Neeson knows better, just going through the motions and spouting the idiotic dialogue that Besson and Kamen cooked up in English and Russian.
Posted Jan 09, 2015
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|
4.5/5
|
The Grand Budapest Hotel
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Wes Anderson's latest opus, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is bloody bonkers and simply splendid.
Posted Jan 02, 2015
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3.5/5
|
The Gambler
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
At the risk of overselling what is a good but not great movie, The Gambler is a slick, stylish thriller about gambling, self-destruction and personal redemption.
Posted Dec 23, 2014
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3/5
|
The Interview
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
It may be profane and sloppy and silly and insulting to the North Koreans, but The Interview is a guilty pleasure.
Posted Dec 18, 2014
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|
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a thrilling and a fitting end to an extraordinary fantasy adventure.
Posted Dec 16, 2014
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4/5
|
The Imitation Game
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
There is nothing unique about the film itself - except for the mesmerizing performance by Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role.
Posted Dec 11, 2014
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3/5
|
Corner Gas: The Movie
(2014)
|
Jim Slotek
|
It is about as good and authentic and funny as we could expect of a movie based on a TV series about almost nothing.
Posted Dec 01, 2014
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|
2.5/5
|
Horrible Bosses 2
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Too episodic, too halting, too disjointed to be credited as an accomplished comedy.
Posted Nov 26, 2014
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4/5
|
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Mockingjay - Part 1 is as dingy and dark as Blade Runner, but just as fascinating. No more party dresses catching fire. No more fantasy games. In their place is a war tableau that seems realistic, even if this is a futuristic fantasy film.
Posted Nov 20, 2014
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1/4
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Dumb and Dumber To
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
What seemed fresh and silly and naive and hilarious in 1994 - like the cascading joke sequence about the most annoying sound in the world - now seems contrived and repetitive and sometimes repulsive.
Posted Nov 13, 2014
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4.5/5
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Interstellar
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Interstellar is the most ambitious, intelligent and daring space epic since Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Posted Nov 04, 2014
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|
|
Alien
(1979)
|
Derek Tse
|
This 1979 horror-sci-fi masterpiece still holds up remarkably well on the big screen, a testament to the skill of director Ridley Scott.
Posted Oct 15, 2014
|
|
1/5
|
Left Behind
(2014)
|
Liz Braun
|
When you are following in the footsteps of Kirk Cameron, nothing good can come from that.
Posted Oct 03, 2014
|
|
4/5
|
Gone Girl
(2014)
|
Liz Braun
|
Even those who have read Gillian Flynn's novel can expect to be surprised by the jolts and jumps in David Fincher's take on events.
Posted Sep 29, 2014
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|
2.5/5
|
The Maze Runner
(2014)
|
Jim Slotek
|
The movie whets the viewer's appetite, and then offers up nothing but loose ends and strained credulity.
Posted Sep 19, 2014
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3/5
|
Swearnet
(2014)
|
Liz Braun
|
It just gets sort of stupid. And the movie is too long. But these are minor quibbles.
Posted Aug 29, 2014
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|
2.5/5
|
The Calling
(2014)
|
Liz Braun
|
It comes to the screen as a clumsy tale, alas, but a strong cast that includes Oscar winner Susan Sarandon elevates matters somewhat.
Posted Aug 29, 2014
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|
|
Chicken Run
(2000)
|
Louis B. Hobson
|
The claymation comedy Chicken Run is eggsactly what the doctor ordered. It's a witty, high-spirited adventure that will appeal to moviegoers of all ages. Call it chicken soup for the funny bone.
Posted Aug 24, 2014
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|
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Chicken Run
(2000)
|
Randall King
|
Indeed, it's the best movie comedy to come out of England since Monty Python packed up the circus.
Posted Aug 24, 2014
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|
3.5/5
|
Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
With nine years gone since the first Sin City film, it was way too long, yet well worth the wait, to finally get the sequel.
Posted Aug 21, 2014
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|
2.5/5
|
The Expendables 3
(2014)
|
Steve Tilley
|
The Expendables 3 is like a joke that's been told too many times to still be funny.
Posted Aug 15, 2014
|
|
2.5/5
|
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2014)
|
Steve Tilley
|
I never thought I'd say these words, but here they are: I wish there was more Michael Bay in this movie.
Posted Aug 07, 2014
|
|
4.5/5
|
Guardians of the Galaxy
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
The Marvel Cinematic Universe was getting a little too safe and dangerously repetitive. Guardians of the Galaxy gleefully breaks all the rules.
Posted Jul 29, 2014
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3/5
|
Hercules
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
Idiocy and excess is rarely this much fun - but Brett Ratner's Hercules is just the kind of macho madness that this comic book version of the myth requires when Dwayne Johnson is the chosen one.
Posted Jul 25, 2014
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Bless the Child
(2000)
|
Louis B. Hobson
|
Bless the Child is unsettling but it is never really terrifying. It's closer to a scary dream than a true nightmare.
Posted Jul 22, 2014
|
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The In Crowd
(2000)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
The acting is universally abysmal, although so are all the lines of dialogue. So I can't entirely blame the cast members.
Posted Jul 18, 2014
|
|
2/5
|
Sex Tape
(2014)
|
Liz Braun
|
Even the most fervent fans of Cameron Diaz or Jason Segel will find little to like in Sex Tape, a tone deaf comedy about private life and public humiliation.
Posted Jul 16, 2014
|
|
4.5/5
|
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
(2014)
|
Bruce Kirkland
|
For its action, its humanity, its empathy and its exceptional intelligence, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the best Hollywood blockbuster this year.
Posted Jul 10, 2014
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