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4/5
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Pretty Red Dress
(2022)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Edwards and her team aren’t afraid of contradictions; in fact, confusion is what Pretty Red Dress feeds on.
Posted Jun 16, 2023
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Grand Hotel
(1932)
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Ernest Betts
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Grand Hotel, from many points of view, is a masterpiece of melodrama. It is not one film, but several, and it is certainly one of the most brilliant talkies which Hollywood has yet sent us.
Posted Jun 13, 2023
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4/5
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Chevalier
(2022)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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As a portrait of a thrillingly toxic friendship, Chevalier hits all the right notes.
Posted Jun 07, 2023
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2/5
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Under-tens hooked on the Hasbro toys that inspired this whole series, will be intoxicated by Mirage, but for parents and/or guardians this will still be a harrowingly dull and disjointed experience, with the plot making less sense by the second.
Posted Jun 07, 2023
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3/5
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Flamin' Hot
(2023)
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Abha Shah
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The upbeat tone and Richard’s relationship with Judy, a shouty, determined woman who fiercely champions her husband, stops the whole thing from being too (sorry) cheesy.
Posted Jun 07, 2023
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4/5
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The Flash
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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This is one of the best superhero movies of the 21st century so far. Just sit back and enjoy the flashes of greatness.
Posted Jun 06, 2023
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Patriot Games
(1992)
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Alexander Walker
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Patriot Games, a tale of terrorism in our times that hits the target with more impact than most of its kind, has the formula ingredients.
Posted Jun 06, 2023
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5/5
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Reality
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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... An art-house experiment that wants to attract all kinds of viewers, not just the usual (liberal) suspects.
Posted Jun 01, 2023
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4/5
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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It’s a mind-breaking work of staggering genius. Go big or go home.
Posted Jun 01, 2023
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3/5
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The Old Oak
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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Despite the film’s failings, it still tugs on the heartstrings – just a little too forcibly for my taste.
Posted May 31, 2023
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2/5
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Elemental
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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For all Elemental’s many charms, this nonsensical film simply doesn’t cut the mustard.
Posted May 28, 2023
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2/5
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Hypnotic
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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As it is, even with the short running time, there are plenty of opportunities to notice the lack of spark between Affleck and Braga, the grating bombast of the soundtrack and the paltry special effects.
Posted May 26, 2023
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The Color Purple
(1985)
|
Alexander Walker
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It hits all the right places in the heart for all the wrong reasons.
Posted May 25, 2023
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2/5
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Strange Way of Life
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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With a little more substance to match the superficial loveliness, this could have been a great half-hour.
Posted May 23, 2023
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2/5
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Firebrand
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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Aïnouz has assembled a fine supporting cast but they are given little chance to shine.
Posted May 23, 2023
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3/5
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May December
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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As in a hall of mirrors, we are never sure that what is being reflected back at us is real, and in the end we don’t really care.
Posted May 23, 2023
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5/5
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The Zone of Interest
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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If the subject weren’t so ghastly, this would be a film to love.
Posted May 23, 2023
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4/5
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Asteroid City
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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Though it seems as light as a soufflé, this is more substantial fare than Anderson has been dishing out recently. It merits second, and possibly third, helpings.
Posted May 23, 2023
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4/5
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The Little Mermaid
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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The Little Mermaid is popping candy for the soul.
Posted May 22, 2023
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5/5
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Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Killers of the Flower Moon suggests film-makers should keep on keeping on. I’d even put my cowboy boot on the line and declare this one of the best Westerns ever made and almost certainly the best film of 2023 so far.
Posted May 20, 2023
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3/5
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(2023)
|
Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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There are some genuinely moving scenes as we see this fantastic character finally getting ready to hang up his hat for the last time. Thanks, Indy, it's been quite a ride.
Posted May 19, 2023
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An American Tail
(1986)
|
Alexander Walker
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An American Tail is more than a cartoon, though one of the most enjoyable that kids have been offered in years. It's also an animated parable of melting-pot America.
Posted May 18, 2023
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3/5
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Fast X
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Against all the odds, the ridiculously expensive Fast X is both a bloated swizz and a cheeky triumph.
Posted May 18, 2023
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2/5
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Jeanne du Barry
(2023)
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Jo-Ann Titmarsh
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Maïwenn's Jeanne du Barry is both glamorous and French, but is it dire, as Cannes tradition dictates? Well, no it isn't, but it isn't very good either.
Posted May 16, 2023
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Fiddler on the Roof
(1971)
|
Alexander Walker
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Director Norman Jewison's set-piece dance numbers bring it exuberantly to larger-than-life size.
Posted May 16, 2023
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Heavenly Creatures
(1994)
|
Alexander Walker
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Jackson creates this exhilarating private world with stylistic boldness that either works for you -- as it did on me -- or not at all.
Posted May 16, 2023
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Yentl
(1983)
|
Alexander Walker
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Maybe it was hoped that a spoonful of schmaltz would make Isaac Bashevis Singer's bitter and even pessimistic story go down a sentimental treat. Perhaps it will for some; but it stuck in my throat.
Posted May 12, 2023
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4/5
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Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Essentially, the monologues are great, but it’s the back and forth (including the banter between Fox and his delightfully unglossy family) that makes Still unmissable.
Posted May 12, 2023
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4/5
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Book Club: The Next Chapter
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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This film is undeniably codswallop. It’s also massively diverting.
Posted May 12, 2023
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Crossing Delancey
(1988)
|
Alexander Walker
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I found much of it oppressive and wished Ms Silver would cross town not just Delancey for her next picture.
Posted May 09, 2023
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The Great Muppet Caper
(1981)
|
Alexander Walker
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I am always amazed at how the Muppets blend into the human world. Never has this been better done.
Posted May 03, 2023
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Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981)
|
Alexander Walker
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To tell the truth, there is so much that it might grow a little wearisome were it not for the playful complicity it cunningly establishes with us filmgoers.
Posted May 03, 2023
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3/5
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Peter Pan & Wendy
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Smarter and way more magical than Spielberg’s Hook, P. J. Hogan’s Peter Pan or Joe Wright’s Pan, this version, when it gets off the ground, soars.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
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5/5
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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... The last instalment of James Gunn’s ribald and outrageously tender MCU series is all about the difficulty of being understood.
Posted Apr 28, 2023
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4/5
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Seize the chance to meet Margaret, a magnificently impatient heroine in a movie that will thoroughly reward you for going with the flow.
Posted Apr 20, 2023
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2/5
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The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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If blind loyalty is your thing, you’ll be entranced. More cynical viewers may find themselves thinking: what a right royal fuss about nothing.
Posted Apr 20, 2023
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4/5
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Evil Dead Rise
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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This scary movie, as well as being fantastically violent and jolting, is profoundly amusing and full of soul.
Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1984)
|
Alexander Walker
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Where Raiders of the Lost Ark had a heroine in Karen [Allen] who behaved like a woman of spirit, this adventure takes us back to a view of woman-kind as shapely dummies, calculating gold-diggers and generally obstacles who get in a man’s way.
Posted Apr 18, 2023
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5/5
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Lyra
(2022)
|
Anthony France
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This documentary about murdered journalist Lyra McKee is so sad. It comes from nowhere to rip out your soul.
Posted Apr 17, 2023
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3/5
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Air
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Once you’ve made peace with those really narrow parameters, what you see on screen – ie virtually nothing of Jordan himself – kind of works.
Posted Apr 17, 2023
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3/5
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Renfield
(2023)
|
Charlotte O'Sullivan
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Basically, when this film isn’t trying to have a plot, it’s bloody delightful.
Posted Apr 14, 2023
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3/5
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
(2008)
|
Charlotte O'Sullivan
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This is a fun watch: an antiques roadshow that, when it can be bothered, makes time fly.
Posted Apr 12, 2023
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5/5
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Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now
(2023)
|
Jonathan Kanengoni
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Capaldi has never been one to shy away from his emotions in his songs, but his openness in this raw and unflinching documentary is a step beyond that, both brave and inspiring.
Posted Mar 31, 2023
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4/5
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
(2023)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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The film’s tone keeps changing, skipping from light to dark to kinky. Which feels right, as opposed to jarring, because the central characters have proper emotional hinterlands...
Posted Mar 31, 2023
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4/5
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God's Creatures
(2022)
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Charlotte O'Sullivan
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[Mescal] and Watson are screen icons and we shouldn’t need reminding that while he’s in his prime, so is she.
Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1989)
|
Alexander Walker
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Ford and Connery are its heartbeat. They keep the blood pumping round veins of inventiveness that might have varicosed in less loving hands than Steven Spielberg’s. They make it a joy to keep up with the Joneses.
Posted Mar 28, 2023
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Evil Dead 2
(1987)
|
Alexander Walker
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Worse (slightly) than looking at a film like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2 must be appearing in it.
Posted Mar 28, 2023
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3/5
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A Good Person
(2023)
|
Charlotte O'Sullivan
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You’re not seeing Pugh and Freeman at full strength. Still, even in this half-hopeless effort, they’re as good as it gets.
Posted Mar 24, 2023
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4/5
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John Wick: Chapter 4
(2023)
|
Charlotte O'Sullivan
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The rapport between Reeves and the supporting cast is insane.
Posted Mar 24, 2023
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The Black Pirate
(1926)
|
Walter C. Mycroft
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A very jolly film -- and for the first time I found myself thrilled by a colour picture too: often the screen pictures were beautiful.
Posted Mar 22, 2023
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