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Essential though Patton may be – as war movie, as American history, as biopic – it’s not the epochal statement the Academy thought they were canonizing with seven Oscars in 1971, including Best Picture. Back then Frances Ford Coppola’s script seemed subversive, undermining American militarism …
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If I had my way, I'd meet Rommel F2F.
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Hail the maximum sword and sandal movie. Gladiator tells a relatively unadorned story stupendously well. Its great star – Russell Crowe – fights above his weight class, delivering a superman performance while hewing to his characteristically understated readings. Highly watchable then and … |
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Deeply, floridly Italian, Malèna is a sumptuous WWII find, a Sicilian movie extraordinaire and a devastating depiction of Italian machismo reacting to the hottest signorina since Sophia Loren. Monica Belluci plays the title character, a gorgeous war bride living in a small Sicilian town, bro…
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where Malèna went, the town followed
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A behind-the-scenes peek at high fashion, huge egos and what’s left of La Dolce Vita, this documentary of superstar designer Valentino works as a modest entertainment, but mostly serves as a character study of a monstrously successful artistic genius and his promotional alter ego. For those in…
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Valentino Visions in White
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A new addition to the canon of great mafia movies, Gomorra entertainingly details the mundane savagery and sociopathic activities of Italy’s oldest organized crime organization. Darkly funny, Gomorra brings to life Roberto Saviano’s hugely important book…
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Camorra Country: Cancer @ the heart o...
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I find self-loathing shmucks more annoying than interesting. So Barney’s Version – about a dissolute TV exec played by the redoubtable Paul Giamatti – surprised me by deepening into an affecting and intriguing drama in its third reel. Based on Mordecai Richler’s final novel, its literary pedig…
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Solid acting enlivens a solid novel
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Worth seeing, albeit plenty disappointing, The Tourist proves little more than an exercise in high style. Ogling beauty, the movie fetishizes Angelina Jolie and Venice, its grand hotels, sleek wooden motorboats and tiny arched bridges a gorgeous platform for her turn as The Most Beautiful Woma…
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Icons: Depp & the Venetian Tower
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The tangled web of deception surrounding James Bond reaches its nexus in Spectre, a more than serviceable installment in the Blond Bond Era. Daniel Craig’s 007 is once again a stone-cold assassin, reprising the gritty killer persona he established in Casino Royale and has doggedly pursued in …
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Monica Bellucci is spectacular.
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The only smile triggered by Jason Bourne comes after the very long end credits, where the fine print under a “Green is Universal” logo brags about how this steroidal killfest used Sustainable Filming Practices. So let’s get this straight. After the private jets used by Matt Damon and his large …
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Mighty Matt rocks his upside-down grin.
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All the Money in the World slays as a kidnapping thriller and as a biopic of the legendary J. Paul Getty, once the world’s richest man. The thriller jumps off to a startling beginning, takes a series of surprising turns, and remains thrilling right up to the well-known ending. That’s a solid sh… |