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NBC’s new Event Series, ‘La Brea,’ is stuck in the pits

Cool concepts aren’t enough anymore. “La Brea,” which premiered Tuesday on NBC, has a pretty good one: A sinkhole opens at the titular tar pits

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‘Congo’ (1995) taps into old-fashioned adventure

After “Jurassic Park” (1993), Hollywood wanted to get back into the Michael Crichton business. The first big-budget sci-fi title after that, the long in-development “Congo”

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‘Speed Racer’ (2008) a downshift for Wachowskis

After the “Matrix” trilogy and one of my favorite movies ever, “V for Vendetta,” the Wachowskis take the cinematic equivalent of a vacation with “Speed

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‘Runaway’ (1984) offers future paths-not-taken

Writer-director Michael Crichton and star Tom Selleck perhaps felt silly when “Runaway” (1984) came out on the heels of “The Terminator” and immediately felt dated.

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‘Cloud Atlas’ (2012) has epic rebellious streak

On a kick of Wachowski movies, I notice their running theme of systems or rulers oppressing common or poor folk. That’s again the case in

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‘The Suicide Squad’ is Gunn’s latest pop-art masterpiece

If the “Suicide Squad” franchise keeps going, I suppose we’ll get cringeworthy titles like “Suicide 3” and “Squad 4” and “SS5.” But I hope it

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Harbour, Pugh steal the show from ‘Black Widow’

After far too long a wait, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s big-screen diversity push finally gets to its solo movie about the lone female Avenger, “Black

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‘Timeline’ (1999) exists much more in past than future

Surprising for a science fiction author, Michael Crichton wrote about the past (“The Great Train Robbery,” “Eaters of the Dead,” “Pirate Latitudes,” “Dragon Teeth”) a

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‘Last Airbender’ (2010) takes wind out of Night’s sails

“The Sixth Sense” (1999) and the films in its immediate wake are crisply written to the point where even if you don’t buy into every

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Donner’s ‘Timeline’ (2003) clashes with Crichton’s

Two late-20th century icons’ paths cross in “Timeline” (2003), director Richard Donner’s film based on Michael Crichton’s 1999 novel. The screenplay is faithful enough to

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