Tim Burton’s attempts to homage, revamp, and satirize his latest remake Dark Shadows are ambitious, but fruitless. As he tries to entertain, wow, scare, and captivate the audience, he takes what could have been a tongue-in-cheek revival of the cult classic and instead makes a film that lacks cohesiveness with no clear tone or...
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There is no denying that Chimpanzee is a joy to watch. Clocking in at just over an hour, it is engaging, stunningly beautiful, and even made me temporarily want one (well, a baby that doesn’t have superhuman strength yet, at least). It is only about what the title implies and contains a surprising absence of...
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Sometimes a movie is unafraid to just move at its own pace. In a generation of films that consistently insist on wowing the moviegoer for every frame with booms, bangs and pops, The Secret World of Arrietty is tastefully understated and unafraid of it’s own delicate pace. That is not to say that the film...
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Maybe I was overly optimistic, but Harold Lloyd’s classic “Safety Last!” was the first association I found myself thinking of as I waited for the unfortunately limp Man on a Ledge to begin. In the infamous sequence from the silent film, Lloyd scales a building (and hangs from a clock) which provides shock, humor,...
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Every little boy seems drawn to adventure. Swashbuckling. Damsels in distress. Treasure. Dragons or other mythical beasts. Pirates. The wilderness. The jungle. The sea. Just a few choice key words can evoke the imagery of a gaggle of boys riding their bikes on a secret quest filled with mystery and imaginary guns fired with...
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Sherlock Holmes, action hero is at it again. The year is 1895 and turn of the century London is murky, rainy and CGI’d as ever. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows picks up where the first film left off. Not much has changed since the conclusion of part one. Sherlock’s always faithful partner-in-fighting-crime, Watson (Jude...
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While it’s possible you’ve never heard of Fishbone, chances are at least one of your favorite bands have. This African American band that formed in a South Central L.A. junior high school in 1979 could easily be classified as punk, funk, ska or a number of other things. The band lacks the ease of...
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The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne, is equal parts touching, thoughtful and honest. It contains as many moments of subtle truthfulness as high drama and never goes too long without a genuinely funny moment. All of this could as equally be said for George Clooney and his career. The pairing, in fact, of...
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As The Rum Diary closes “Dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson 1937-2005″ fills the screen. While plenty films of honor loved ones that served as inspiration or support for a piece, few are as fueled with admiration as this. It is an ode written from pupil to mentor, a piece of fiction glorifying and building...
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Vincent Wants to Sea is a sugary-sweet German film, directed by Ralf Huettner, about psychological disorders and how through friendship, self-determination and travel one’s obstacles have the potential to be won. The pun-infused title expresses not only that Vincent wants to go to the sea, but also that he wants to “see” aka learn,...
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