Oscars

‘Pieces of April’ (2003) a harsh, sweet tear-jerker

A near-perfect movie about an imperfect family, “Pieces of April” (2003) could serve as a template for how to make a low-budget film. Writer-director Peter Hedges,

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‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ a gripping history lesson

I’m not a huge connoisseur of courtroom dramas about wrongfully accused defendants, similar to why I don’t like war movies. I already know war is

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Anya Taylor-Joy’s ‘Emma’ is beautiful but uneven

I’m not the target audience for “Emma,” but given how good Anya Taylor-Joy is in everything – most recently, TV’s “The Queen’s Gambit” – I figured

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Cohen still comedy king in ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’

Fourteen years after the original “Borat,” there’s still no one who does this brand of comedy as well as Sacha Baron Cohen and his team.

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‘True Lies’ (1994) proves Cameron can do comedy

Writer-director James Cameron shows he can do comedy – and Arnold Schwarzenegger adds another notch to his laugh belt – in “True Lies” (1994). Cameron’s

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‘The Abyss’ (1989) a timeless underwater odyssey

“The Abyss” (1989) rarely tops rankings of James Cameron’s films, but that’s because the guy also helmed “Aliens,” “Titanic” and the first two “Terminators.” It’s

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‘The Martian’ (2015) one of century’s elite hard SF films

The story of “The Martian’s” publication is as good as the book itself, maybe even better. Computer programmer and amateur author Andy Weir published it

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‘Spectre’ (2015) an overblown Bond-Blofeld battle

With “No Time to Die” coming out in November, I’m looking back at the eight modern-era James Bond films from the perspective of a newcomer,

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‘Skyfall’ (2012) an elite example of action, intrigue

With “No Time to Die” coming out in November, I’m looking back at the eight modern-era James Bond films from the perspective of a newcomer,

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‘Back to the Future Part II’ (1989) unfortunately drops the comedy

“Back to the Future Part II” (1989) is a master class in plotting, as Bob Gale tells the latest adventure of time-traveler Marty McFly (Michael

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