Movies

‘Gravity’ a high-tech piece of minimalist filmmaking (Movie review)

Starting with its nearly 20-minute uncut opening shot of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock floating in space making repairs on a scientific satellite, the entire

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Hair, fashions shine in ‘American Hustle,’ and it’s a decent yarn, too (Movie review)

“American Hustle” starts by showing Christian Bale’s combover — understatedly termed “elaborate” by Amy Adams. It’s a perfect lead-in for a movie about a con-man and

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John’s top 10 movies of 2013

These were my 10 favorite movies of 2013: 1. “The Way Way Back” — The title could refer to filmmakers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash looking back

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‘Drinking Buddies’ delves into the emotional mechanics of love (Movie review)

“Drinking Buddies” is proof that a movie can be enjoyable to watch even if it fails to make a resonant thematic point. It realistically shows how

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Villeneuve’s ‘Prisoners’ is one of the year’s best thrillers (Movie review)

I held off for a while on seeing “Prisoners” because the previews seemed to give away the whole movie: 1) Girls kidnapped, 2) dad (Hugh Jackman) tortures

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‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Ewoks: The Battle for Endor’ (1985) a heartfelt improvement on the original (Movie review)

Whenever someone brings up the topic of sequels that are better than the original, I always mention “Ewoks: The Battle for Endor” (1985). One, because most likely

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‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure’ (1984) is an Endor travelogue (Movie review)

The six episodic “Star Wars” films, adhering to George Lucas’ philosophy of putting story first and not getting too showy about the artistry, don’t wallow

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Lifeguards in crisis in ‘The Lifeguard,’ ‘To Do List’

Do you ever have that dream where you’re back working your first job? The Kristen Bell movie “The Lifeguard,” now on DVD, explores that surreal idea in-depth.

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WikiLeaks drama ‘The Fifth Estate’ not quite as great as the ideas in it (Movie review)

“The Fifth Estate” is the liberty-themed movie I was most looking forward to this year. But while it is too loaded with important ideas to dismiss

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‘Elysium’ a great-looking, compelling sci-fi film — but it has more questions than answers (Movie review)

Like his 2009 sci-fi classic “District 9,” “Elysium” has the distinct dystopian touch of writer-director Neill Blomkamp: Slums surrounded by desert wastelands, futuristic weapons and gadgets encrusted

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