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History of the World

‘History of the World: Part I’ (1981) is a rough lesson

“History of the World: Part I” (1981) tries to be a laugh-laden history lesson, but it turns out to be more of a lesson in

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Mummy Returns

‘The Mummy Returns’ (2001) … but maybe it shouldn’t have

After the surprisingly good Universal Monsters remake “The Mummy” (1999), “The Mummy Returns” (2001) isn’t wildly different in any particular area, yet it stands as

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Dracula Dead and Loving It

‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It’ (1995) takes Brooks back to Transylvania

In his 2004 commentary track for 1974’s “Young Frankenstein,” Mel Brooks notes that it’s his best pure film – in the sense that it’s not

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Mummy 1999

‘Mummy’ (1999) puts impressive wrap on 20th century Universal Monster flicks

1999 was such a loaded year for movies that “The Mummy” seemed like a middle-of-the-road entry among tentpole films, one last May appetizer – and

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Robin Hood Men in Tights

‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ (1993) a tight parody – with an English accent

“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993) was one of my regular rewatches as a kid, vastly more so than “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991),

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Badlands

‘Badlands’ lands as another good novel from Preston & Child

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s “Badlands” (June, hardcover) is comfortingly familiar: a New Mexico badlands setting, a weird mystery, and anthropologist Nora Kelly and young

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In Cold Blood movie

‘In Cold Blood’ gets colder for Brooks’ 1967 film adaptation

The wrongness of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” (1966) immediately turns into the wrongness of writer-director Richard Brooks’ “In Cold Blood” (1967). And this is

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Eden

‘Eden’ can’t quite match the story’s real-world intrigue

In digging up a fascinating slice of history in “Eden,” director Ron Howard comments on the utterly predictable qualities of humans that are still very

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In Cold Blood

Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’ (1966) is a book I could read again

In the great 2000 “Once and Again” episode “Booklovers,” Lily is disturbed to learn that both her boyfriend Rick and her ex-husband Jake find “In

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Keeper of Enchanted Rooms

‘Keeper of Enchanted Rooms’ (2022) and the dreariness of coziness

The cover of “Keeper of Enchanted Rooms” (2022) features a soft, inviting drawing of the house where the magical events take place, and the book

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