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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
18018 |
| Total Ratings: |
216229 |
| Total Reviews: |
21900 |
![[57088281 Hits]](/cgi-bin/gd.cgi?57088281)
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| VALKYRIE |
"A fine blend of idealism and hubris."
Jay Seaver says... ""Valkyrie" is a thriller where the result is never in doubt except for the details - and even with those, it's made clear that there won't be much room for escape or leniency should the plot fail. This means the film has to work harder, not just in terms of building the tension, but giving us other things to think about." (more)
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| GRAN TORINO |
"Clint is the movie. There's really not much else."
Rob Gonsalves says... "It’s funny how nobody really seems to be in "Gran Torino" except Clint Eastwood." (more)
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| SPIRIT, THE |
"A potential guilty pleasure."
Jay Seaver says... "When I first saw trailers for "The Spirit", and compared them to what I've seen of the comics, I figured that the biggest potential problem with the movie would be that Will Eisner's creation (which had a fine revival by Darwyn Cooke a couple years ago) was somewhat whimsical despite its noir elements, and Frank Miller doesn't do whimsical. Upon seeing it, I stand corrected: Frank Miller does do whimsical, but his idea of what fits in that category is rather different than Eisner's - and, likely, that of most other people." (more)
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| REVOLUTIONARY ROAD |
"A cinematic adaptation that sadly doesn't offer anything new."
Mel Valentin says... "Nine years after guiding "American Beauty" to multiple Academy Awards, including one for best directing, Sam Mendes ("Jarhead," "The Road to Perdition") returns to suburbia or rather returns to suburban alienation as his subject, through an adaptation by Justin Haythe of Richard Yates’ debut novel written in 1961, a scathing, unrelenting critique of suburban conformity, consumerism, and rigid gender roles through the experiences of a young couple struggling with all three simultaneously. A case study in ordinary lives lived in quiet (and not-so-quiet) desperation, "Revolutionary Road" reunites Kate Winslet (Mendes’ wife) and Leonardo DiCaprio eleven years after their star-making turns as Alice and Jack in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning historical romance, "Titanic."" (more)
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| DONKEY PUNCH |
"Same old same old."
Rob Gonsalves says... "The most effective part of the self-consciously 'edgy' "Donkey Punch" is the soundtrack. A blend of techno remixes and a foreboding score by François-Eudes Chanfrault, it's unsettling. The music seems to emerge from a muffled place of oblivious madness, where drugs are taken on a yacht at sea, bodies are for pleasure and pain, and anything can and does happen. The tone is pounding yet ethereally spooky." (more)
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| DOUBT |
"Clash of the titans."
Rob Gonsalves says... "Typically, a movie only gets awards for editing if it’s action-packed or a thriller — something show-offy. Among other things, "Doubt" reminded me of the virtues of clean, unobtrusive editing that keeps a drama ticking along like a Rolex." (more)
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| AZUR AND ASMAR |
"2009 Gets Off To An Animated Start"
Peter Sobczynski says... "For fans of animated film, 2008 was anything but a banner year for the art form. Oh sure, the brilliant “WALL*E” was a masterpiece that managed entertain audiences of all ages while challenging what ambitious filmmakers like the people at Pixar could achieve within the parameters of the format. However, once you remove both that film and maybe “Waltz with Bashir” (a work that I do admire aesthetically although I have serious reservations about it on other levels) from the equation, the rest of the crop consisted either of noisy mediocrities like “Kung Fu Panda” or “Madagascar 2” (after viewing the latter, my mother turned to me and asked “Do kids actually like movies like that?”) or outright disasters like “Fly Me to the Moon” or “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” (I won’t even stoop to making a “Delgo” joke.) That said, 2009 already looks as though it will be much more promising for animation buffs. Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” looks enormously promising. The trailer for the upcoming Pixar film “UP” contains more genuine entertainment value than most of the films with which it is playing. Most notably, the year is already kicking off with a great example of the format, “Azur & Asmar,” a multicultural masterwork that is sure to delight viewers of all ages--provided, that is, that they ever get a chance to see it." (more)
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| REVOLUTIONARY ROAD |
"Alas, The Wheelers Don't Match The Drapers"
Peter Sobczynski says... "If you were to create a machine that could instantly assemble a movie designed solely to earn a ton of Oscar nominations, the end result would probably look a lot like “Revolutionary Road,” the new film from director Sam Mendes After all, it is a high-toned drama with a serious literary pedigree (it is based on the acclaimed 1961 novel by Richard Yates), it has been brought to the screen by a highly regarded filmmaker and it reunites two of the most gifted and charismatic actors working together for the first time since their previous on-screen teaming 11 years earlier went on to sweep the Oscars and become the most popular film ever made. The trouble is that for the most part, it feels as if it was made by a machine--all of the elements have been impeccably assembled but it lacks the grubbiness and heat of real life that it so desperately needs. The end result is a beautiful-looking but essentially lifeless work that would seem more at home on a mantelpiece than on a movie screen." (more)
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THE 10 BEST FILMS OF 2008
by Brian Orndorf |
| "Death defying professional wrestlers, an elderly baby, low-fi film worship, Bono, vampire love, botched abortions, pencil magic tricks, exposed penises, KISS worship, and perhaps the most polarizing sequel of the year. These are the 10 best films of 2008." (more) |
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THE 10 WORST FILMS OF 2008
by Brian Orndorf |
| "The curse of Friedberg and Seltzer, buffalo soldiers, 2012 VHS tapes, Paris Hilton, the horrors of a recycling factory, the death of film parody, Conservative desperation, Larry the Cable Guy, and skateboarding blues.
These are the 10 worst films of 2008." (more) |
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DVD REVIEWS FOR 1/2: RETURN OF THE M.I.A'S
by Peter Sobczynski |
| "Once again, the column kicks off the new year by turning away from the big new releases (the few that emerged were covered in last week's column) in order to take a look at 10 films that have yet to hit DVD in the U.S.A." (more) |
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'I'M NOT A MAGICIAN, I'M JUST AN OLD COUNTRY DOCTOR.'
- Bones McCoy, Star Trek
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