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Out in Theaters: ‘IN THE HEART OF THE SEA’

Chris Hemsworth was a rare find for Thor because he seems like a man beamed out of another dimension. The lacy lexicon of Marvel’s quasi-Shakespearean tragedy boasts Hemsworth’s Australian-cum-Nobleman accent, one with an ethereally hard-to-place, far, far away quality to it. When Hemsworth is smashed down to Earth and asked to perform New England for Ron Howard’s not-quite-Moby-Dick Moby Dick story he musters a punishing take on a Nantucket accent that turns the r’s in ah’s (that is when he remembers he’s supposed to be mussing up his voice at all.) Read More

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THE LEFTOVERS Season 2 Finale “I Live Here Now” Review

Was Meg’s (Liv Tyler) plan as spectacular as she probably imagines? The absence of a bomb wasn’t the aggressive release we were expecting … But was it effective? As much of a symbolic target as the bridge is, the action wouldn’t have been aligned with the Guilty Remnant’s ethos. Why destroy a symbol when you could destroy the entire belief system? The Guilty Remnants gained access, so the whole thing was staged as a diversion. Nihilism incarnate has infiltrated a gated spiritual enclave manifested by burning tires, a drunk chick in stocks quaffing cheap Mexican beer, and a lonely dude in the tower of Jarden overlooking the general anarchy. Not to mention, Meg and Evie snidely singing Miracle’s anthem in front of Kevin (Justin Theroux) and the bloody hole in his stomach. Symbolically, Megan has attained her intended martyrdom, and a new antithesis has moved in. Yet the finale fades out to promise. But what does Kevin’s reintegration with his family speak to what The Leftover’s is trying to say? Read More

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Blu-Ray Review: ‘ANT-MAN’

Synopsis: “Forced out of his own company by former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) recruits the talents of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a master thief just released from prison. Lang becomes Ant-Man, trained by Pym and armed with a suit that allows him to shrink in size, possess superhuman strength and control an army of ants. The miniature hero must use his new skills to prevent Cross, also known as Yellowjacket, from perfecting the same technology and using it as a weapon for evil.” Read More

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Out in Theaters: ‘JOY’

Through most of David O. Russell’s latest film, Joy Mangano is a hot mess. So too is the movie recounting her admittedly impressive story. O. Russell’s mop drama, which tells of the meteoric rise of an enterprising, low-income single mom, reprises the director’s almost voyeuristic fascination with lower-class dysfunctional families. This narrative thread was accomplished to great effect with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook (don’t forget the wide-eyed Tiffany lived in a makeshift hodunk studio in the later) and, if Joy is any indication, this recurring thematic motif has run itself dry as menopause with O. Russell. The once-great director, known for culling Academy Award worthy performances one after another, is left floundering with little but the awesome starring power of Jennifer Lawrence to revive this spark-less, cluttered trainwreck of soapy family melodrama. Read More

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Out in Theaters: ‘THE REVENANT’

Not since Jim Caviezel hitched himself to a cross and got struck by lightning playing JC himself has an actor suffered so mightily for his craft. Enter Leonardo DiCaprio, the heir to Mel Gibson’s “they killed my family, I will have my revenge” throne. In The Revenant, DiCaprio plays a guide for a fur-trading company who survives a savage Indian assault, is brutally mauled by a mama grizzly, finds himself  stitched up like the Necronomicon, left for dead and buried alive all before dragging his ass across a frigid tundra hot on vengeance’s trail. Read More

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Sundance Announces Full Competition Line Up for 2016 Fest

With the 2016 Sundance International Film Festival right around the corner, the Sundance Institute has revealed all its in-competition films including selections from their U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition and their featured NEXT competition for emerging filmmakers. Have a look through the list to find standouts in a year that looks surprisingly slim on them. Read More

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THE LEFTOVERS Season 2 Episode 9 “Ten Thirteen” Review

Evie hiding out in a silver airstream trailer still doesn’t explain the empty lake. Unless, Meg’s Guilty Remnant faction possesses state of the art geotechnology. Even if, it’s still easier to plan the demolition of a bridge—eliminating a symbolic path to righteousness or bridge to eternal life. Ten Thirteen is a well-cued turn of events and much-needed stage time for the nihilistic saints, which so far have motivated only turncoats and provided a reason to get all the main characters into Texas. The GR’s staging Evie’s disappearance reinforces their agenda “reminding” society of life’s absurdity that trying to connect Evie’s departure to the missing water is a futile rational exercise once they expose her. Read More

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Holiday 2015 Film Preview – 10 December Films We Positively Cannot Wait For

Sleigh bells be damned. All we want for Christmas is movies! With cold weather driving us indoors and holidays meaning family time galore – which in turns means escape from family time galore – the movie theater becomes a quiet solace in which to bask in the creativity of other people. We’re cut through the stacks of Holiday offerings to give you the 10 December films we positively cannot wait for. Amongst them are big (and we mean big) blockbusters, a few little indie flicks, an adult stop-motion drama, new films from Alejandro González Iñárritu, David O. Russell and Quentin Tarantino and even a holiday horror for the scary movie fans. And of course, Star Wars. If all of them are as good as we’re hoping, it’ll be a Christmas miracle.

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Out in Theaters: ‘THE GOOD DINOSAUR’

Semi-charmed The Good Dinosaur is slight Pixar but nonetheless a small triumph of wonder and good-nature. Its lack of the distinct creativity that so often characterizes Pixar’s products is overshadowed by a big heart and a resplendent aesthetic palette. Even though the narrative is admittedly quaint, thinly plotted and largely derivative (The Good Dinosaur is essentially a mild repackaging of The Lion King), the overwhelming sense of goodness emanating from the center of Pixar’s 16th feature film had it strike poignant blows at my admittedly exposed softer spots. As Pixar is known to do. Read More

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First ‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR’ Trailer Pits Iron Man Against The Cap and Bucky

Marvel has enjoyed an uncharted rise in popularity since setting things off with Iron Man in 2008. Seven years and 12 films later and their success has changed the landscape of film franchises. World building is now a common phrase around Hollywood boardrooms with more and more properties attempting to hop on the bandwagon that propelled The Avengers to becoming the third (now fourth to Jurassic World) highest grossing film of all time. But as other studios are rushing to assemble their superteams, Marvel is set to break theirs down with Captain America: Civil WarRead More