Showing Tag: " con" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Tackling Enfield in The Conjuring 2, Ed & Lorraine Warren Face Off With the Crooked Man Bill Wilkins & Demon Valak

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 11, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Conjuring 2





Directed By: James Wan

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente, Benjamin Haigh, and Maria Doyle Kennedy

We all could use a good scare right about now.  After taking a break from the genre with the action spectacle Furious 7 last year, James Wan is back with the follow-up to his 2013 hit The Conjuring. As fate would have it, I've found one of the rare horror movies of 2016 I don't loathe.  I'm not putting The Conjurin...

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REVIEW: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – Greek Don’t Crack, Well, Maybe A Little

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, April 2, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  Kirk Jones

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, and Elena Kampouris

In 2002, Nia Vardalos took the summer box office by storm with her romantic hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  Despite having a budget of just $5 million, the film grossed over $368 million worldwide and was a surprise phenomenon.   Now, fourteen years later, Vardalos hopes to recreate the magic with My Big Fat Gre...

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REVIEW: Hail Tyrant Macbeth, AKA Michael Fassbender in the Next Great Shakespeare Adaptation

Posted by James Brown on Monday, December 21, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Macbeth





Directed By: Justin Kurzel

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine, Sean Harris, Jack Reynor, Elizabeth Debicki, and David Thewlis

Here we are again with yet another Shakespearean adaptation at the box office. The fun thing about reviewing these films is that the narrative hardly ever factors into my review.  It's all about the execution and the overarching creative vision driving each big screen take on the famed playwright’s theatrical works (if he wrote them)...

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REVIEW: Entourage – Vince And The Boys Should Have Stayed On The Small Screen

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, June 7, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Entourage
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  Doug Ellin

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Adrien Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ronda Rousey

Entertainment Weekly Radio held a town hall with the Entourage cast on SiriusXm.  During the broadcast, the cast was asked why they decided to turn their hit HBO series into a movie.  One of the cast members responded that once they saw how much money the Sex and the City movie made, the Entourage crew decided they could make t...
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REVIEW: With the IRA on the Hunt in Belfast in '71, British Soldier Gary Hook Finds Himself in a Confused Situation & Has One Bloody, Brutal Night

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, March 22, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
'71





Directed By: Yann Demange

Starring: Jack O'Connell, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Sam Reid, Charlie Murphy, Paul Anderson, and Paul Popplewell

I must admit that I've been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to the cinematic landscape as of late.  In the interest of full disclosure, there's nothing that's quite motivating me to make my way to my local theater.  The next movie on my radar is Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will not arrive until May.  While many would argue that this predisposes m...
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REVIEW: With Comedic Pride, Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners (L.G.S.M.)

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, October 12, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Pride





Directed By: Matthew Warchus

Starring: Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Ben Schnetzer, and George MacKay

I don't normally talk about LGBT rights, but it's been an eventful week on the gay marriage front.  I am not a proponent of homosexuality.  However, I am a proponent of people having the free will to do whatever they believe as long as it does no harm to others.  The Supreme Court I typically love to hate surprised me and, for all intents and purposes, legaliz...
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REVIEW: For a Soul, Annabelle Higgins Blandly Introduces Mia Gordon to Her Satanic Cult the Disciples of Ram with Nursery Music

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 4, 2014, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Annabelle





Directed By: John R. Leonetti

Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, and Alfre Woodard

The last movie I saw about a doll was A Haunted House 2.  Though the atrocious spoof was much earlier in the year, my bitterness lingers on today.  With the notion of Marlon Wayans shamelessly sexing a doll named Abigail in the back of my mind, it's needless to say a horror movie about the doll on which Abigail is based is the last thing I want to see on the big screen.  As it stands...
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REVIEW: In Dolphin Tale 2, Clearwater's Rescue, Rehab, & Release Philosophy Isn't Perfect for Dolphins Hope and Winter

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 13, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Dolphin Tale 2





Directed By: Charles Martin Smith

Starring: Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and Morgan Freeman

I'm no adoring fan of the Dolphin Tale franchise, but the rescue, rehab, and release principle by which the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) operates is something Hollywood should consider as part of its own strategy.  It may help with the weak year studios have had at the North American box office.  CMA rescues injured animals, rehab...

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REVIEW: In the War of Words and Pictures, the Love Between Honors English Teacher Jack Marcus & Honors Art Instructor Dina Delsanto Wins

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 7, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Words and Pictures





Directed By: Fred Schepisi

Starring: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Amy Brenneman, and Keegan Connor Tracy

Movie critics can be so snarky and judgmental.  I know I'm saying this in the strangest of places — a movie review — but sometimes my fellow critics just hate a film to hate it.  As I was wrapping up my review of this weekend's Words and Pictures, I took a look at Rotten Tomatoes and saw that a film that I actually quite enjoyed sits at a lowly 40%.  I saw comments ess...
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REVIEW: Unlucky S.O.B. Dom Hemingway, a Man With No Options, Suddenly Has All the Options in the World When the Pendulum of Luck Swings His Way

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 13, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Dom Hemingway





Directed By: Richard Shepard

Starring: Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Demián Bichir, Emilia Clarke, Kerry Condon, Jumayn Hunter, and Mãdãlina Diana Ghenea

"Oh.  I'll tell you who I am.  I'm the f*cker who'll tear your nose off with my teeth.  I'm the f*cker who will gut you with a dull cheese knife and sing Gilbert and Sullivan while I do it.  I'm the f*cker who'll dump your dead body in a freezing cold lake and watch you sink to the bottom like so much shit.  I am that f*cker.  Th...
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REVIEW: Despite the Wicked Tubul-cain, Noah & Fallen Angels Known as the Watchers Brace for Some Watery Climate Change from the Creator

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 29, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Noah





Directed By: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, and Anthony Hopkins

In my reviews of Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac films, I wrote at length about how more socially conservative moviegoers bashed the film without having seen it.  In the case of Darren Aronofsky's Noah, the studio enabled this portion of the moviegoing public to take some shots at the movie long before it arrived in theaters.  Holding test scree...
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REVIEW: In the City of Justice, Everything Is Connected by Starlight Except the Winter's Tale of Peter Lake & Beverly Penn

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 15, 2014, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Winter's Tale





Directed By: Akiva Goldsman

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe, Eva Marie Saint, Will Smith, and William Hurt

We've got no originality at the box office this Valentine's Day weekend.  Three of the movies arriving in theaters are remakes of films from the 80s.  While I certainly don't mind the new RoboCop, three remakes in the same weekend is a bit much.  However, that's not enough for Hollywood.  There's another film arriving in theater...
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REVIEW: Best Man Down – Lumpy’s Secret Life Is Uncovered In This Comedy Drama

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, January 26, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Best Man Down
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Ted Koland

Starring: Justin Long, Jess Weixler, Tyler Labine, Addison Timlin, Shelley Long, and Frances O’Connor

Happy belated New Year movie lovers!  I am delighted to return to the movie review scene after a brief holiday hiatus.  My first review of 2014 is Justin Long’s indie flick Best Man Down.  Although billed as a dark comedy, this uneven film is at times touching, but never humorous.

Scott (Long) and Kristin (Jess Weixler) are having the time o...
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REVIEW: In the Rotten & Delicious American Hustle, Irving Rosenfeld Survives Ice Fishing in Atlantic City With the FBI Thanks to Sydney's London Banking Connections

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 12, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
American Hustle





Directed By: David O. Russell

Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Michael Peña, and Robert De Niro

Director David O. Russell has a way of making authentically American films that's undeniable.  Just look at his two most recent films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook.  What could be more American than boxing or the Philadelphia Eagles?  Russell's answer to that was apparently getting over on people.  In his lat...
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REVIEW: The World’s End – The King And His Pals Tackle The Glorious Golden Mile Pub Crawl In This Ridiculously Fun Sci-Fi Comedy

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, August 25, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
The World's End
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Edgar Wright

Starring:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine, Rosamund Pike, and Pierce Brosnan

The World’s End is upon us, and I could not be more delighted.  As a huge fan of 2004’s Shaun of the Dead and 2007’s Hot Fuzz, I was incredibly excited when I discovered that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright had teamed together once again for a final film in their Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy.   The films are not connected...
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REVIEW: In The Conjuring, Demonologist & Clairvoyant Ed & Lorraine Warren Endure Infestation, Oppression, & Possession With Witch Bathsheba

Posted by James Brown on Friday, July 19, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Conjuring





Directed By: James Wan

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Mackenzie Foy, and Joey King

The slate of horror movies at the box office has actually impressed me this year.  There's largely been a step away from the outright torture porn that’s dominated the genre in recent years and a step toward what perhaps may be the next generation of horror films.  With Evil Dead earlier this spring and Carrie later in the fall, remakes sadly aren't going anywh...
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REVIEW: With Vacuum Cleaners Partying, Erica Ash Ghettoizing Black Swan, and Morgan Freeman Narrating, Scary Movie 5 is Just Plain Weird

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 13, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Scary Movie 5





Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee

Starring: Ashley Tisdale, Simon Rex, Erica Ash, Molly Shannon, Heather Locklear, J.P. Manoux, Jerry O'Connell, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, and Morgan Freeman

How many times have you gone to an R-rated film and been appalled to see parents bringing their kids to the theater?  I've honestly lost count at this point.  Whether it be some violent, bloody horror flick or the latest rude and crude comedy, we've all sadly been there.  It's needless to say that...
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REVIEW: At the Beecham House Annual Gala, the Quartet Brings Down the House with Verdi's Rigoletto

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 26, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Quartet





Directed By: Dustin Hoffman

Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon, and Sheridan Smith

"Old age is for sissies."
-Cecily "Cissy" Robson (Pauline Collins)

It's no secret that we have an aging population in the US.  The baby boomers are dragging our population into old age.  Consequently, we're starting to see more and more movies about the elderly at the box office.  In the last year, we've had films such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hote...
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REVIEW: What Sex is This Carrot Cheyenne? This Must Be the Place Doesn't Even Know

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 11, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

This Must Be the Place





Directed By: Paolo Sorrentino

Starring: Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, and Harry Dean Stanton

"Something's not quite right here.  I don't know what, but something."
-Cheyenne (Sean Penn)

That quote perfectly captures my mindset after seeing the trailer for Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be the Place.  I doubt anyone is genuinely interested in watching a road trip movie on some middle-aged rocker in retirement.  Who really wants to se...


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REVIEW: Brave — Solid, But Not Courageous Enough

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, June 23, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Brave
SoberFilmChick




Directed By: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and John Ratzenberger

Brave was not exactly what I expected.  From the movie’s trailer, I thought the film would follow the path of animated films like Mulan where the female protagonist bucks tradition and takes on a role or activities that are usually reserved for men.  While Brave does have some of those elem...
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REVIEW: Puppet Masters Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon Bring Blood and Brutality to Reality TV with The Cabin in the Woods

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 14, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Cabin in the Woods





Directed By: Drew Goddard

Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford

It's Friday the 13th, and I'm here to talk about a newly released horror flick.  There is a catch though.  It doesn't involve the undead, machete-wielding menace Jason Voorhees.  I'm talking about the new horror movie The Cabin in the Woods by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon.  While this new horror flick does pay homage to Ja...
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REVIEW: Contraband Is Not the Good Stuff We've Gotten Used to These Past Few Weeks

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 13, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Contraband





Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and Giovanni Ribisi

As a moviegoer, January is always the hardest time of the year. Having just finished the awards season, we now have to put up with the crap that Hollywood wouldn't put out at any other point in the year because it simply isn't good enough.  We're starting out this January with a little star power in Contraband.  With Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale, you can't go wrong, in theor...
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REVIEW: Like Bella, I Have Nightmares. Last Night, I Dreamt About Twilight

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 19, 2011, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1





Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner

I always try to see the best in movies, but sometimes films are just so crappy that they're downright nightmarish.  In my first official review of a Twilight film, I wanted to give a decent review.  I wanted to be nice and not piss off those diehard Twilight fans, but the temptation to trash this crappy film is just too great.  The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part...
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