Showing Tag: " love" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Loving Reminds Us That Caroline County Virginia Was Not Always for Lovers

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 24, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Loving





Directed By: Jeff Nichols

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, and Marton Csokas

"I miss him.  He took care of me."
-Mildred Jeter Loving

With Donald Trump busy building his Injustice League of racists, sexists, and other deplorables that will comprise his cabinet, I was in need of a reminder that two million people more said no to the politics of hate than those who foolishly said yes.  Loving presented that very opportunity.  The film centers on the developmen...

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REVIEW: In the Old Fashioned 5 to 7, Writer Brian Bloom & His Perfect Love The Mermaid Arielle Swing from the Heels

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 26, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
5 to 7





Directed By: Victor Levin

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Bérénice Marlohe, Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Lambert Wilson, and Olivia Thirlby

"I will hold your heart more tenderly than my own."
-Valery & Arielle (Lambert Wilson & Bérénice Marlohe)

I've noted this on several occasions before, but the best films often help me to either broaden or reassess my perspective on this big blue world in which we live.  I've rarely said this about films tackling matters of the heart, however.  All that bei...
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REVIEW: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Offers Moviegoers Anything But A Rocky Mountain Steed

Posted by James Brown on Monday, April 20, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2





Directed By: Andy Fickman

Starring: Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Daniella Alonso, David Henrie, Raini Rodriguez, Loni Love, and Geovanni Gopradi

I've been starting to think that I've been getting softer as a movie critic.  I've been giving fewer wasted ratings.  I've not had any recent urges to walk out of movies.  To take the cake, I can't even remember the last time I wrote an angry movie review.  All of these thoughts came to a screeching halt this weekend when I saw Pa...
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REVIEW: The Longest Ride – Romance, Art And The Toughest Sport On Dirt

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Longest Ride
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  George Tillman, Jr.

Starring: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin, Alan Alda, Melissa Benoist, and Lolita Davidovich

Nicholas Sparks is well known for romance novels that can be easily converted into date night movies.  The films based on Sparks’ bestselling novels always find an audience.  With dreamy leading men and sweeping love stories, Sparks wins over audiences despite the predictability of his tales.  The Longest Ride i...
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REVIEW: Beyond the Lights, Noni Jean's Black Bird Is Freed At Last From Her Musical Cage By Officer Hero Kaz Nicol Despite His Fear of Flying

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 23, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Beyond the Lights





Directed By: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, Nate Parker, Danny Glover, and Machine Gun Kelly

You all are familiar with my less than positive sentiments on the state of the music industry today.  It's all about sex appeal, club playability, and the bottom line.  It's not about the music anymore.  It's not about showmanship.  It's not about the artistry.  Because of this, the industry is a shell of its former self.  While I could elaborate on the ...
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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: 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: That Awkward Moment "The So" Is Exactly What These Boys Need to Fill Their Rosters, Plus Some Ice Cream & A 40 Oz. Malt Liquor

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 24, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
That Awkward Moment





Directed By: Tom Gormican

Starring: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, and Jessica Lucas

Many, including myself, have said in recent years that the romantic comedy is dead.  I have to retract my statement.  I'm more likely today to argue that it's an endangered species.  The sappy, formulaic rom com is indeed dead.  However, fresh takes on the genre do pop into movie theaters every now and then.  For 2013, that fresh take was Enough Sai...
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REVIEW: In Her, Operating System 1 Samantha Learns to Love Letter Writer Theodore Twombly

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 26, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Her





Directed By: Spike Jonze

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johannson, Chris Pratt, and Kristen Wiig

Man falls in love with his personal assistant.  Stranger things have happened in human history.  When that personal assistant is digital and can take no physical form whatsoever, things get a little more interesting.  This is exactly the situation with which we're presented in Spike Jonze's Her.  With the advent of Siri and other technologies in recent y...
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REVIEW: Don Jon Loses Himself in the Hilarious Moment When Deciding Between One-Sided Internet Porn & Real Sex with Barbara Sugarman

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 28, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Don Jon





Directed By: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Rob Brown, Glenn Headly, and Brie Larson

Over the last couple of decades, the Internet has revolutionized the way we do things.  It's changed the way we communicate, the way we shop, and even the way that some of us satisfy ourselves.  Yes, the Internet has made porn more widely available and has helped meet many men's needs when the women in their lives apparently aren't doi...
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REVIEW: Even With Bootlegging, Boozing, & Partying, Old Sport Jay Gatsby Lacks Valor Extraordinaire and Any Hope Whatsoever

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 10, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
The Great Gatsby





Directed By: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan, and Elizabeth Debicki

Baz Luhrmann's "modern" take on the classic American novel The Great Gatsby was originally set to be released on Christmas day last year.  This would have landed the film in direct competition with the likes of Les Miserables and Django Unchained, which were also released on the same day.  To make matters worse, L...
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REVIEW: To the Wonder Does Nothing to Awaken the Love, That Divine Presence Within Us

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 14, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
To the Wonder





Directed By: Terrence Malick

Starring: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem

Two years ago, I went to bat for Terrence Malick's Tree of Life.  It was an artsy movie without a lot of dialogue.  At the same time, however, it was a beautiful, impactful statement about life, the universe, and parenthood.  In Malick's latest movie To the Wonder, he's moved onto smaller themes, namely love and faith.  Once again, he creates a film with sparse dialogue that tries ...
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REVIEW: Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor – If You’ve Seen The Trailer, You’ve Seen The Movie

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 30, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 

Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor
SoberFilmChick


Directed by: Tyler Perry

Starring:  Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross, Robbie Jones, Kim Kardashian, Brandy Norwood, and Vanessa Williams

When I first saw the movie trailer for Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor, I thought it revealed too much about the film’s plot.  From the movie preview alone, I could see that the lead character is a woman who is tired of being ignored by her husband. She is tempted by a rich exe...


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REVIEW: Safe Haven – An Incredibly Long Tale Involving Domestic Violence And Rediscovering Love Set In The Familiar Town Of Southport, North Carolina

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, February 18, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Safe Haven
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom

Starring:  Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, David Lyons, Cobie Smulders, Mimi Kirkland, Noah Lomax

Happy belated Valentine’s Day movie-lovers!  On cue, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks’ novel has hit theaters for those looking for a romantic date movie.  Sparks has brought us such films as The Notebook, Message In A Bottle, Dear John, etc.  Except for The Notebook, which was a phenomenal film, he is generally renowned for somewhat sappy...


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REVIEW: Anna Karenina's Impure Love Doesn't Get the Job Done. What a Sin!

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 17, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Anna Karenina





Directed By: Joe Wright

Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfayden, Emily Watson, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander

"Romantic love will be the last delusion of the old order."
-Nikolai Levin (David Wilmot)

With the possible exception of Moonrise Kingdom, Anna Karenina has been the most heavily marketed indie flick this year.  Over the course of 2012, I have seen more advertisements for this tale of love than I care to remem...
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REVIEW: Katie and Hunter Drop the Ball in Paranormal Activity 4

Posted by James Brown on Friday, October 19, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Paranormal Activity 4





Directed By: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

Starring: Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, and Alexondra Lee

I normally start out a review on a crappy horror movie by throwing around some wisecracks about Hollywood's obsession with terrible scary movies that are often tantamount to torture porn.  I've got something a little different to talk about today, Hollywood's recent obsession with kids in horror movies.  La...


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