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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
27591 |
| Total Ratings: |
245204 |
| Total Reviews: |
26550 |
![[132407311 Hits]](/cgi-bin/gd.cgi?132407311)
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| PADDINGTON |
"*Insert 'grin and bear it' or other variation of tired joke here*"
Charles Tatum says... "Based on the series of children's books by Michael Bond, "Paddington" is an unexpected delight for all ages." (more)
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| STRANGE MAGIC |
"No buried gem, but not quite the debacle I'd feared."
Jay Seaver says... "I wanted "Strange Magic" to be good (and dreaded it being otherwise) a bit more than most movies. It will, after all, likely be the last screen credit for George Lucas other than "based upon 'Star Wars' created by", and no matter how much his legacy has soured for many, it would be nice to see him retire on something good. It's directed by Gary Rydstrom, who has done a lot of great sound work and directed two animated shorts for Pixar. Plus, I've got an eight-year-old niece who loves fairies. It mostly winds up a mess, but I'll take that over hating it." (more)
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| MORTDECAI |
"Mystery of the stolen wit."
Jay Seaver says... "It is easy to blame Johnny Depp for all that is wrong with "Mortdecai" - he's a producer, he's been front and center in the terribly unfunny coming attraction that has played before seemingly every movie over the last few months, and, to be frank, he has squandered a lot of audience goodwill on performances with more mannered quirk than genuine charm over the past decade or so. It's not all on him, though; while he doesn't help, he hurts less than you might expect. And who knows - maybe his input actually contributed to the moments when you can see the pieces of a potentially great movie." (more)
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| APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR |
"It does its own thing."
Rob Gonsalves says... "The debut feature by writer/director Desiree Akhavan, "Appropriate Behavior" has been compared to Lena Dunham’s HBO series "Girls."" (more)
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| BOY NEXT DOOR, THE |
"Less Than Enough"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Ever since the previews for the new Jennifer Lopez thriller "The Boy Next Door" began running a couple of months ago, astute moviegoers have been anticipating a Bad Movie of mammoth proportions. Between the risible premise, laughable dialogue and the sight of a once-major movie star reduced to appearing in trash that they wouldn't have even considered doing a few years earlier--all of which managed to be conveyed within the confines of a two-minute trailer--here was a film that was already inspiring more laughs than most actual comedies of recent vintage long before it even hit theaters. Now that it has arrived, the question on the minds of most observers is not "Is it any good?"--the virtual impossibility of that scenario being a forgone conclusion--as much as it is "Is it as bad as it looks?" Well, yes and no. "Yes" because it is an awesomely idiotic would-be erotic thriller that is neither erotic nor thrilling and which contains more bad laughs than any film to come along since "Left Behind." "No" because for as trashy as it is, it too often seems to be pulling its punches instead of simply embracing its trashy premise wholeheartedly. There are movies out there where subtlety, restraint and quiet dignity can add immeasurably to the proceedings and believe me, "The Boy Next Door" is most certainly not one of them." (more)
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| MR. TURNER |
"A fitting portrait of an artist known for seascapes."
Jay Seaver says... "This is Mike Leigh's third historical biography, which is somewhat surprising considering what a loosely outlined style he is famous for using - improvisation and recreation do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. And yet, somehow, this winds up an excellent way to get to know Joseph Mallard William "Billy" Turner, more so than any particular narrative might." (more)
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| BLACKHAT |
"Mann hacks into the void."
Brett Gallman says... "“Blackhat” is a film that demands to be considered exclusively in terms of its director. It’s such a Michael Mann Movie that you wonder if the 71-year-old filmmaker is even concerned with appealing to an audience; mostly, it feels like he’s conversing with himself to figure out how his usual thematic and aesthetic preoccupations work within the theater of a globe-hopping cyber-warfare movie. The result is Mann’s “Quantum of Solace:” a film that’s vast and intimate all at once as it contemplates connections amidst a hail of gunfire and car bombs." (more)
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| 20 ONCE AGAIN (AKA MISS GRANNY) |
"Near-Miss Granny"
Jay Seaver says... "When I said I'd be interested in seeing a remake of Korean comedy "Miss Granny" when I saw it at the Fantasia Festival last August, I didn't realize that one was already shooting in China. It's no shock - I still expect an English-language version sooner or later - although it would have been nice if it had cleaned up the ending or come up with some clever ideas to make up for what it inevitably loses in translation." (more)
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'WHAT ABOUT IT, PRETZEL MAN, WHAT'S YOUR STORY?'
- Hockney, Usual Suspects
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