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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
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
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
Secondhand Lions
Very Good 66 Points 2003

Great-uncles lead to great adventure for a boy in need of a loving home. Some have put down this movie as sentimental and bland, but I found it wry and satisfying. Especially for boys and men, the resonance runs deep. Come to think of it, it would be the perfect movie to watch on Father’s Day,…

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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...
Summer Hours
Great 66 Points 2008

A finely observed familial drama about siblings dealing with the death of their mother and the disposition of their museum-like childhood home, Summer Hours disdains standard movie drama. It’s edgeless, a film for two mature cohor…

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WikChip Image Mother and Daughter of Privilege
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
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Smart People
Great 82 Points 2008

Very funny ensemble piece about a man and his family struggling to move beyond the long-ago death of his wife, Smart People deftly skewers the low EQ of some high IQ people.1

Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker are perfectly serviceable in not very likable roles. Good thing Thomas Haden C…

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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
The Sapphires
Great 66 Points 2012

Sweet soul music forms the soundtrack of this infectiously enjoyable Australian musical-comedy. Telling the truthy tale of four black girls from Down Under who performed American soul music for U.S. GIs and Marines in Vietnam, The Sapphires tickles, touches and torches in equal measure.

Bla…

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WikChip Video The Sapphires' smoking hot What A Man