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I am one of the few people who will admit to liking the 1976 version of King Kong. There are three reasons for this. It was the first movie I saw in an indoor movie theater and, as such, it left an imprint on the impressionable mind of a nine-year ...
(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy for those who don't often like romantic comedies. Or, to put it another way, it's for those who appreciate the emotions but are unenthusiastic about the clichés and formulas that contribute to the cookie-...
U.S. Release Date: 2009-07-17
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Sexual Situations, Profanity)
Genre: ROMANCE/COMEDY
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
When J.J. Abrams released Cloverfield in 2008, it arrived cloaked in secrecy. Now, some eight years later, the film’s so-called “blood relative” (Abrams’ term, not mine), comes with a similar marketing strategy. Going-in, viewers are unlikely...
U.S. Release Date: 2016-03-11
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Disturbing Images, Profanity)
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.
This column offers “10 Top Performances of 2017.” It does not present the “Top 10 Performances of 2017” nor the “Best 10 Performances of 2017.” I want to highlight ten performances (without making actor/actress or lead/support distinctions) that have lodged in my memory.
I suppose there's some entertainment value to be had from the sheer badness of 10,000 B.C. The movie takes itself serious enough that, viewed from a warped perspective in a state of inebriation, it might actually be fun. Seen in more mundane circ...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-03-07
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence)
Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, ...
There have been two exceptional versions of Reginald Rose's teleplay, 12 Angry Men. The first (and better known) was the 1957 adaptation, which starred such luminaries as Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, E.G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman, and Lee...
U.S. Release Date: -
MPAA Rating: "NR"
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Martin Balsam, George Voskovec, Ed Begley, ...
12 Rounds is the unholy stepchild of Die Hard with a Vengeance and Speed, starring a man whose lack of range makes Steven Seagal seem nuanced by comparison. John Cena is so wooden that one worries about his being in scenes with fire for fear that ...
U.S. Release Date: 2009-03-27
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence)
Genre: ACTION
Director: Renny Harlin
Cast: John Cena, Aiden Gillen, Ashley Scott, ...
12 Strong represents a recent war as depicted on screen in an old-fashioned way. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, war movies followed an established template that pitted the “good guys” (often Americans) against the “bad guys.” Such fi...
U.S. Release Date: 2018-01-19
MPAA Rating: "R" (War Violence, Profanity)
Genre: War/Thriller
Director: Nicolai Fuglsig
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, ...
12 Years a Slave, sure to be a heavy hitter when the 2014 Oscar nominations are announced, is a powerful and compelling adaptation of Solomon Northup's autobiographical account of the dozen years he spent as a slave on Louisiana plantations from 18...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-10-18
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Disturbing Images, Nudity, Sexual Content)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbander, Lupita Nyong'o, ...