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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
30550 |
| Total Ratings: |
245733 |
| Total Reviews: |
27526 |
![[155754061 Hits]](/cgi-bin/gd.cgi?155754061)
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| TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT |
"It Only Feels Like 13 Hours"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Although this news will probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has taken even a cursory look at my reviews of the various entries in the “Transformers” saga, I must state for the record that I would just as soon lower my dangling bits into a blender than sit through “Transformers: The Last Knight” again in this lifetime. That said, there is one circumstance in which I would cheerfully and happily purchase the Blu-ray of the film when it hits stores and that would be if it took a page from the home video release of the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” remake and included video of the actors gathered around for the first table read of the screenplay. This, I hasten to add, is not because I want an opportunity to savor the sparkling dialogue on display—of which the most profound statement may be Merlin (yes, Merlin) remarking “God, I’m sozzled”—but because I am curious to see how the actors reacted to the jumbo helping of word salad masquerading as a script that they were charged with making sense of and bringing to life. Did someone like Mark Wahlberg or John Turturro or the celebrated Sir Anthony “Freejack” Hopkins at any point stop the proceedings to ask if any of what they were reading made a lick of sense to anyone or did they simply shut up those thoughts and think instead of the buckets of money that they were presumably given to appear in it? My guess is that such footage will never appear on the Blu-ray but if anyone has access to such a thing and can leak it, it would be most appreciative—not only would it be an invaluable guide to how much silliness a star is willing to swallow in the name of a big paycheck but it would almost certainly prove to be more entertaining—or at least quieter—than the film itself." (more)
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| WARRIORS OF THE DAWN |
"Good enough not to have to call for substitutes."
Jay Seaver says... "The story at the center of this film is not bad - a frightened crown prince trying to stay ahead of a Japanese invasion has only a squadron of mercenaries to support him. All must come to recognize a greater purpose, and it turns out that the prince is, in his way, serving the same purpose. It's a solid enough base that basic competence will make it enjoyable enough, although it would be really nice if it had a bit more to offer." (more)
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| 47 METERS DOWN |
"Shark Weak."
Jay Seaver says... "There are times when it feels like "47 Meters Down" was patched together as best it could be around the days when certain resources were available. Like, the pitch was good and the filmmakers really thought they'd have the script in better order by the time they had the use of the tank needed to shoot it, and then maybe they could cover the gaps with visual effects, or when re-recording the dialogue, but they never had everything they needed, and as a result, they're never able to build enough up around the gem of a decent idea to make a particularly good picture. It likely didn't actually happen that way, but if not, things are worse, and the bits that seem bent out of shape to cover something else are just poorly done." (more)
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| CARS 3 |
"The Third Time Isn't Quite The Charm"
Peter Sobczynski says... "“Cars 3” is easily the best installment of the insanely popular Pixar film franchise centered around a universe in which automobiles and other vehicles evidently became sentient, rose up and slaughtered all human beings and have taken over the world for themselves. This is largely because, unlike the previous entries, this one actually makes an attempt to include the kind of thoughtful and serious-minded themes that have always been present in the very best Pixar films. That said, proclaiming “Cars 3” to be the best of the “Cars” films says more about the general lousiness of its predecessors than it does about its own accomplishments because even though it is somewhat more ambitious than the previous installments, it still doesn’t come close to reaching the accomplishments of such stone-cold Pixar classics as “Ratatouille,” “Up” and “Inside Out” and still feels more like an extended toy commercial than anything else." (more)
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| IT COMES AT NIGHT |
"Good enough that the missed opportunities hurt."
Jay Seaver says... "This is an impeccably-constructed and presented film, and with a genre-heavy couple of months ahead of me, I shall be actively avoiding seeing things much like it. There's a rot at the base of this sort of post-plague horror that I gave a hard time abiding, an embrace of being paranoid about your neighbors and culling the sick that I'm growing weary of at this point in time." (more)
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| DEALT |
"Richard Turner is not one to play the hand he's dealt at all."
Jay Seaver says... "SCREENED AT INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON 2017: "Dealt" is a frequently-delightful documentary on Richard Turner, an intriguing and entertaining man at the top of his corner of the magic business despite a major handicap to work around. It's a nifty little story that, in addition to featuring some really astounding close-up magic, manages to take a few nifty narrative turns. Indeed, it arguably wouldn't have been half the movie it is if Turner didn't change between the beginning and the end." (more)
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| WONDER WOMAN (2017) |
"Bigger than just a movie."
Rob Gonsalves says... "Towards the middle of 'Wonder Woman,' when the central heroine Diana of Themyscira (Gal Gadot) is running through the no-man’s-land (ha) of a battlefield and deflecting hundreds of German bullets, either you recognize the subtextual power of this image or you find it a typical bit of superhero-movie action." (more)
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| CITY OF GHOSTS (2017) |
"Shining a light on those shining a light."
Jay Seaver says... "SCREENED AT INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON 2017: A solid documentary centered on the founders of the blog "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently", "City of Ghosts" gives a brief introduction to the city in question, allows the citizen journalists to tell their own story, and, while allowing the subjects to be even-tempered, friendly people, never lets up is disdain for Daesh. It will not fully educate one on the causes and effects of what is happening in Syria, but it presents a human face to a crisis that can often seem abstract from the other side of the world." (more)
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'YOUR REALITY, SIR, IS LIES AND BALDERDASH AND I'M DELIGHTED TO SAY THAT I HAVE NO GRASP OF IT WHATSOEVER.'
- Baron Munchausen, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
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