Category: Movie News
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‘Senior Year’ Review: An Overstuffed but Amiable Comedy Trip Back to High School
Spare parts of high school comedies from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Mean Girls” and beyond have been torn asunder, then sewn back together to create “Senior Year.” In other words, this vehicle for producer-star Rebel Wilson isn’t organic even as a genre homage; its Frankensteinian assemblage always feels more imitative than inspired. Nonetheless, if…
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‘The Essex Serpent’ Review: Claire Danes & Tom Hiddleston Are Superb In An Somewhat Underwhelming Gothic Drama
Period dramas have long been a beloved genre of film and television, consistently indulging audiences in enthralling plots while fulfilling our deepest desires of escapism through lavish costumes and satisfying (yet sometimes frustrating) romances that keep you hooked. Costume dramas don’t seem to be going out of style any time soon, with the popularity of…
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The Essex Serpent Review: A Beast-Hunt Gives Way To A Gorgeous, Eerie Gothic Romance
The Essex Serpent looms over the foggy, water-locked town at the center of the new Apple TV+ series of the same name. Nevermind that the residents of the Victorian-era community rarely if ever see the sea creature: it haunts them like a devil, often seeming to kill or capture their vulnerable residents in the night.…
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Chris Evans ‘Aggressively’ Went Anti-Captain America for ‘Gray Man’: Character Is a ‘Trainwreck’
Chris Evans may have stowed away Captain America’s shield, but his ties to the MCU are still in full force.The “Avengers” star couldn’t help but compare the upcoming Netflix espionage thriller “The Gray Man” to other Joe and Anthony Russo productions, namely the MCU installments. Except this time, instead of playing an iconic Marvel hero,…
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There Has Never Been A Bad Spock Actor
In a world driven almost exclusively by a cycle of regenerating IP, you’re bound to see your favorite franchise reboot itself at least once in your lifetime. Such is the case with “Star Trek,” which has effectively resurrected its “Original Series” characters twice: in J.J. Abrams’ alternate reality-set “Trek” films, and in the shows “Star…
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‘The Last Victim’ Review: A Languid Neo-Noir Partly Redeemed by Ali Larter’s Strong Performance
While staring glassy-eyed at interminably long stretches of “The Last Victim,” I was reminded of a ‘60s variety show sketch I viewed during my adolescence. The premise of the skit: Producers of some returning fall shows were told at the last minute that their series had been expanded from 30 to 60 minutes, and they…
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‘I told Jackie Chan, your loss, my bro!’: how Everything Everywhere gave Michelle Yeoh the role of a lifetime
The action superstar shines in a new multiverse comedy. She talks about her high-risk, low-budget Hong Kong days, why you can be a superhero in your 60s – and whether she could kick James Bond’s buttIt was the butt-plug fight sequence that finally broke her, says Michelle Yeoh. Best not to spoil the surprise any…
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‘Firestarter’ Review: They’re Remaking This? Zac Efron Stars in a Stephen King Rehash That Does Not Burn Brightly
In the ’70s and early ’80s, the era that defined him, Stephen King came up with a whole lot of horror-story metaphors for anger. There was Carrie, the angry telekinetic nerd-turned-pranked-prom-demon, and Christine the angry car, and Cujo the angry dog, and the novel that was the greatest of King’s rage mythologies — “The Shining,”…
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‘Senior Year’ Review: Rebel Wilson’s ‘Never Been Kissed’ Knockoff Trades on Cheap Nostalgia
It stands to reason that Stephanie Conway, the Aussie outcast at the center of Alex Hardcastle’s “Senior Year” would have seen “Never Been Kissed.” Released in 1999 — almost exactly when Hardcastle’s film starts — Drew Barrymore’s high school rom-com followed a well-meaning, dorky kid as she embarks on a do-over after a humiliating teen…
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AMC Is Developing An Alan Wake TV Series, So Stock Up On Batteries
The video game adaptation box has been opened, and it will not be closed! Now that movies based on video games are hot again (think “Uncharted” versus anything Uwe Boll has made), it feels like every network and production company is chomping at the bit to release its own.AMC has no interest in missing out…