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An American in Paris
’s wonderful, of course, but if I’m being honest the half hour ballet stapled to the end sends me to sleep every time. →
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Days of Future Past (Rogue Cut)
Worth checking out if you liked the theatrical version; the longer ‘Rogue’ cut feels richer & more complete. →
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Run All Night
An obvious knock-off of Road to Perdition set in modern Brooklyn. Solid stuff but very familiar. →
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Homicide
Typical Mamet film in which men shout at each other for 90 mins. Exploration of Jewish identity & conspiracy elevates things. →
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Youth
Slow, sleepy, funny and brilliant. →
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Phoenix
An outstanding, almost minimalist post-Holocaust character-based drama. Succinct and satisfying. →
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Pasolini
A biopic largely incomprehensible to me, not being a fan of that sort of arty, flatulent cinema. Nice sixties spectacles at least. →
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Perfect, timeless. →
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Time After Time
Probably the best H.G. Wells/Jack the Ripper time travel comedy romance drama I’ll see all year. →
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Odd Thomas
A fun, schlocky supernatural flick, felt comfortingly like Dylan Dog and Dead Like Me. →
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Far From Heaven
Avoided for years as I thought it was Cruise/Kidman film Far and Away. Turns out it wasn’t! Also turned out to be good! →
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Tokyo Godfathers
A funny, moving anime concerning an abandoned baby & three hobos. Could be a good Christmas movie staple for the future. →
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Spring
Tedious supernatural drama in which an immortal Italian woman is tempted to mortality by a banal American man with a crewcut. Avoid. →
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Creed
Outstanding Rocky franchise revival. Stallone on fine form, Michael B. Jordan even better. Great soundtrack, exciting camerawork. →
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Deep Cover
Enjoyable undercover-cop B-movie with strong cast, still a little routine. Jeff Goldblum takes cocaine, acts like Jeff Goldblum. →
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Reality
Enjoyable Italian oddity about a man who loses his mind after applying to be on Big Brother. Funnier than that sounds. →
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek has never been as fun as it is here. →
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
It’s fine, but awkwardly placed between two stronger films. Could have been reduced to a prologue. →
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Cutthroat Island
Despite Geena Davis pulling out all the stops, script & performances from rest of cast just aren’t here. Tolerable at best. →
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Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
My favourite Mission Impossible film not featuring the Channel Tunnel. Vertigo-inducing and not too much Simon Pegg. →