MovieSorter

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Animal Kingdom
Good 66 Points 2010

Charismatic, disorienting and brooding, Animal Kingdom presents the truthy tale of an infamous crime family, including their murder of two Melbourne cops. The brooding gets a bit much by the third reel, weighing down what would otherwise be a great true-crime movie.

The charisma comes from …

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WikChip Video Infamous crime family, charismatic movie
Barney's Version
Very Good 83 Points 2010

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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WikChip Video Solid acting enlivens a solid novel
Black Widow
Really Great 66 Points 1987

Genre movies get no better than Black Widow, a noirish crime drama that delivers just what its title promises. A stunning woman seduces rich men to marry her, kills them, absconds with their fortunes and finds her next mark. You hardly want her caught, especially if you’re a guy and she’s not…

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WikChip Image Black Widow in Bridal Mode
Dawn of the Pla...
Really Great 83 Points 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a superior successor to 2011’s Great Ape Movie, the terrific Planet of the Apes reboot. An upgraded human cast rectifies the origin movie’s one significant flaw, while the ape acting – previously Bogart quality – has become downright Brando-esque. *#DawnOfA…

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WikChip Image Hail Caesar! The Great Ape Autocrat
1 Reply
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
Hud
Very Good 66 Points 1963

Paul Newman wanted to be bad and got his wish with Hud. He plays a charismatic asshole, a user and abuser whose evil becomes increasingly evident as the movie rolls along. Three Oscars came in its wake, though King Cool himself had to be satisfied with just a nomination. Think Hud would’ve s…

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WikChip Image His unwanted attention brought her an...
Jurassic World
Really Great 83 Points 2015

Dinosaurs rule the summer 2015 multiplex some twenty years after they first conquered the silver screen. Fact is, no one leaves un-entertained after experiencing Jurassic World, in 3D or not. No wonder then that it’s the biggest movie ever, or at least is off to the biggest opening ever, on its…

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WikChip Video Chris Pratt runs in high heels.
Mama
Good 66 Points 2013

Ghost stories should all be as good as Mama, as should Jessica Chastain performances. While the teens in Mama’s PG-13 demographic may not care about Chastain, we adults dragged along for the ride do. Fortunately everyone will value seeing a first-rate ghost story – spooky, startling, affectin…

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WikChip Image Nothing vulnerable about this Chastain
Mud
Really Great 86 Points 2013

Joe Morgenstern declared Mud an instant classic in the Wall Street Journal. Not sure why, but hell yes.

You almost want to ding Mud for being such a classically terrific movie, but damn if it doesn’t play out as monumentally cinematic yet nearly natural. Kind of a crime caper involving b…

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WikChip Image Leading men, now & then: Matthew & Tye
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  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
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Nebraska
Great 83 Points 2013

Nebraska is a triumph of character development and acting. Good thing, since the plot only goes from A to B – or from Billings to Omaha, which is further than A is from B, but not by much.

It dyspeptically portrays Middle-American lives lived as nasty and brutish. Short too? No, long and …

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WikChip Image The toughest of them all: June Squibb
1 Reply
  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
Rambo: Last Blood
Great 66 Points

Has there ever been a better franchise star than Sylvester Stallone? His multi-sequel characters – Rocky, Rambo, and Barney of The Expendables – have become treasured cinematic friends over the decades. The second one has his story brought to a well-…

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WikChip Video Spare Western vibe & samurai elements