CLARK: A GONZOMENTARY PART 1
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  Year Released: 2010 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 104 minutes |
Have a party, get drunk (or whatever) and just put this thing on loop. It’ll be just as much fun if you don’t know what’s going on as if you watch it and take notes (equally not knowing what’s going on). Again, it’s a fun clusterfuck; the idea of a “gonzomentary” truly realized…
Posted on December 30, 2012 by Mark Bell
GRANTED
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 88 minutes |
Anthony Vescio’s “Granted” is a technically proficient feature film with engaging performances. The premise is an interesting one, and the exploration of grief and loss a universal subject we can all relate to at some point or another…
Posted on December 30, 2012 by Mark Bell
UNDOCUMENTED EXECUTIVE
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Year Released: 2013 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 90 minutes |
Is there a message in there about immigration reform or big businesses screwing people over? In the sense that elements exist within the framework of the film, sure, but it isn’t a particularly politicized film. It’s just a comedy about mistaken identity that hits all the notes it’s supposed to hit…
Posted on December 29, 2012 by Mark Bell
PROMISED LAND
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 110 minutes |
If you see only one film this year by a handsome actor from Bahston, make it “Argo”…
Posted on December 28, 2012 by Jessica Baxter
LES MISÉRABLES (2012)
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 160 minutes |
All told, I dreamed a dream of a much better movie than this…
Posted on December 28, 2012 by Phil Hall
THE ARRIVAL
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 16 minutes |
The idea and execution is funny, but the story makes Louise seem just bored rather than a hopeless woman desperate for money…
Posted on December 27, 2012 by Chase Whale
BARBARA
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 105 minutes |
“Barbara” offers us historically motivated immorality offset by some heartfelt sensitivity, a side order of depression, and finishes off with some ennobling hope. It’s definitely one of the best foreign films of the year.
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Elias Savada
LOVE AT A CERTAIN AGE
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 92 minutes |
I for one never imagined that dancing would be such an important aspect of senior life, and now when I see folks at senior centers cutting a rug, my mind is going to wander to whether or not there is some elderly pick-up artist working his or her magic on the dance floor in front of me…
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mark Bell
HOUSE OF CARDS
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 115 minutes |
Since the film involves quite a bit of fighting, it’s worth noting that the onscreen battles range from incredible to surprisingly weak. Some of the hand-to-hand combat is handled with wonderful fight choreography, but then you’ll run into a sequence where everything looks a little off…
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mark Bell
BRAZIL: CRITERION COLLECTION (BLU-RAY)
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 142 minutes |
This two-disc Blu-ray release of “Brazil” ports over pretty much everything from the old three-DVD set (except, puzzlingly enough, some text materials and images) and offers a nice video upgrade to boot. Another classic film given first-class treatment by Criterion…
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Brad Cook
BLACK BISCUIT
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 127 minutes |
What “Black Biscuit” really seems to be is a collection of things filmed over the years that the filmmaker compiled, loosely edited together and then called a “movie”…
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Chase Whale
WEST OF MEMPHIS
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  Year Released: 2011 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 150 minutes |
IN LIMITED RELEASE! I can’t pretend to be some impartial reviewer capable of objective thought about all of this. I’ve followed the West Memphis Three story, and felt strongly of their innocence, for a while…
Posted on December 25, 2012 by Mark Bell
DJANGO UNCHAINED
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 165 minutes |
“Django Unchained” is an epic film with a simple and straightforward story that is as entertaining as they come; for all the hyper-explosive and bloody bullet hits, the film shines in its more quieter moments, where an actor like Christoph Waltz can excel in his charm or Samuel L. Jackson can ooze with ill-intent…
Posted on December 25, 2012 by Mark Bell
LES MISÉRABLES (2012)
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 157 minutes minutes |
It’s pretty hard to ignore Hugh Jackman when his tractor-beam eyes are pulling you straight into the abyss of his nostrils…
Posted on December 25, 2012 by Jessica Baxter
THE POINT (DVD)
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 75 minutes |
The film’s message about tolerance and self-affirmation should find an audience with today’s youngsters.
Posted on December 24, 2012 by Phil Hall