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Bledel tries to go against type in ‘Violet & Daisy’ (2011)

When she’s not playing Rory Gilmore, Alexis Bledel usually plays variations on Rory Gilmore. So a fan might wonder “What if she played against type?”

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Allen sticks around London for a sugar-free ‘Scoop’ (2006)

After making “Match Point” (2005), one of his elite dramas, Woody Allen stuck around London for another year to make “Scoop” (2006), again with Scarlett

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Crichton turns rejected screenplay into TV hit ‘ER’ (1994)

Michael Crichton only wrote one episode of “ER,” the very first one in 1994. But among all his works of fiction, it’s the biggest window

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Christie dives into romantic minds in ‘The Hollow’ (1946)

In “The Hollow” (1946, also known as “Murder After Hours”), Agatha Christie achieves what she couldn’t quite pull off in “Sparkling Cyanide” one year earlier.

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Paquin’s ‘Darkness’ (2002) an artistic mood piece

“Darkness” (2002, but released in 2004) might’ve been a victim of bad timing. It’s not a widely respected or even remembered film. But a decade

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‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2’ (2008) a lush sequel

The quartet reunites for “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (2008), and looked at through the lens of time, it’s a treasure to have

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‘Irrational Man’ (2015) held back by the ‘rational’ world

“Irrational Man” (2015) could be watched in a double-bill with “Joker” (2019). Both feature Joaquin Phoenix as a man who looks at the world through

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‘Grave Descend’ (1970) flirts with high-seas thrills

“Grave Descend” (1970), the seventh of Michael Crichton’s eight John Lange novels, is a tricky one to rate. I read it in two sittings, partly

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Murder mystery almost an afterthought on ‘American Rust’

Just when I think TV is safe for happy shows again, “American Rust” (Sundays, Showtime) comes along and pulls me back into the grim and

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Wan’s ‘Malignant’ delivers weird – and creepy – science

“Malignant” (theaters and HBO Max) promises “a new vision of horror,” and while I scoffed the first time I heard that, the film lives up

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