Out of the Furnace is just one of the movies where Woody Harrelson is scary as hell. It’s hard to believe that this intimidating man got his start as the dimwitted bartender Woody in Cheers. Then again, …
Retrospectives
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Retrospectives
Puttin’ on the Risks: ‘The Lucky Texan’ Was a Bold Film
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleA lot of people get bored watching old films. They complain that they just don’t have the daring stunts and visuals of today’s films. While that can be true of many older films, The Lucky …
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Retrospectives
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Beautifully Balances Realism With Comedy
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleWhile Mrs. Doubtfire isn’t in my mother’s top ten favorite movies, she has always loved this movie. She tells me that she loves that Daniel (Robin Williams) and Miranda (Sally Field) don’t get back together in the …
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The Sting reminds me of Ocean’s Eleven. Surely, The Sting was a major influence on Soderbergh’s caper. It has the same cool guy vibes and deception that make it so exciting. Not only do our main characters trick …
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It’s been two years since DMX (AKA Earl Simmons) died, but his legacy lives on. In addition to some of the most hardcore rap songs, he also acted in several movies and TV shows. Surprisingly, …
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I hate the ocean with a passion. I can’t swim and so it terrifies me to be on or anywhere near a body of water that I can’t save myself from. The biggest body of …
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Retrospectives
‘Shattered Glass’ and the Shattered Career of Hayden Christensen
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleAfter acting in Star Wars, Hayden Christensen never really broke out of that mold. Outside of the space adventures, most people would be hard-pressed to name another Hayden Christensen movie. May I present to you Shattered Glass, an example …
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Rumble Fish is based on the S.E. Hinton novel of the same name. Like S.E. Hinton’s other novel The Outsiders, it also focuses on young men in gangs and the relationships they build at a pivotal time in …
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A super-cop is resurrected to fight a growing threat in a futuristic society. Here’s the question: am I talking about Demolition Man or Robocop? Trick question: I’m talking about both of them today. Both are ridiculously fun …
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Pieces is a gory, ridiculous horror movie from 1983. We don’t really get to know any of the characters well enough to care about them. The plot is all over the place. However, the kills and …
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It’s hard not to sympathize with Hugh Jackman’s character in Prisoners. He’s a devoted father who just lost his young daughter. There’s no trace of her anywhere and the one suspect in custody isn’t talking. It’s enough …
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Retrospectives
Watching ‘Rounders’ as Someone with Very Little Poker Experience
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleRounders is about a poker genius, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), on a mission to regain the money he lost to Russian gangster, Teddy “KGB” (John Malkovich). The games are all about subtlety and attention to detail. …
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Retrospectives
‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’: A Clumsy Attempt at Storytelling
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleAin’t Them Bodies Saints tries hard to be a good historical crime drama, but falls flat trying to hit all the right plot points. It had romance, tension, forbidden love, crime, guns, and an attractive young couple …
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You’ll never feel more confused about a hero than you will about the Stranger of High Plains Drifter. He’s a vile man who rapes women, kills men, and sneers at everyone he sees. He’d be the villain …
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The Fugitive is a phenomenal action film starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. It follows Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford), who has been falsely accused of murdering his wife. After escaping from prison in a freak …
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Retrospectives
The New and Improved ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was supposedly so bad that Sean Connery retired after making it. After watching it, I can’t blame him. It’s a ridiculous adventure with no real stakes and it was over before …
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For a film made in 1943, For Whom the Bell Tolls is relatively progressive in how it treats its film characters. However, the sexism of the time period still leaks into the story. Even though our main …
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28 Days Later shows the zombie apocalypse is all about survival. You need to have food, shelter, and weapons. You also need painkillers, sedatives/sleeping pills, food you don’t have to cook, and gasoline, among other …
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The Great Escape is based on the 1950 novel of the same name, which is based on true events. Of course, every historical movie based on a true story takes its creative liberties for cinematic …
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George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez have a lot of movies in the running for hottest ever made, but Out of Sight beats them all. Never has a movie been sexier. The cast is extremely attractive — everyone …
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Only God Forgives reminds me of a teenager who gets really into poetry and thinks they’re really deep but in reality are the most annoying person to be around. Nicolas Winding Refn was really going for …
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The Room and I I’m no stranger to Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. Like many people, I first became aware of its existence when caught in the orbit of The Disaster Artist in 2017. This was the first …
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Hud stars Paul Newman as the drunken, bawdy son of a cattle rancher. His nephew, Lonnie (Brandon deWilde), learns a lot about what kind of man he wants to be and doesn’t want to be from …
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Retrospectives
The Best Tribute to Action Movies Ever: ‘Last Action Hero’
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleLast Action Hero is a movie within a movie. Our main character, Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien), is a big action movie fan and sees all the new Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger) films that come out. He …
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Retrospectives
‘Valley Girl’ Features the Amazing, Invisible Nicolas Cage
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleAs much as the internet tries to convince me that Nicolas Cage is a good actor in an ironic way, his filmography shows his true talent. Valley Girl was an early indicator of the kind of exciting …
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If you didn’t know before you sat down to watch Fear and Desire, you would probably never guess that it was a Stanley Kubrick film. It doesn’t have the same trademarks that some of his later films …
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Retrospectives
Weaving a Complex if Imperfect Web of Crime and Family Bonds in ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’
by Kali Tuttleby Kali TuttleDerek Cianfrance weaves an intricate tale with The Place Beyond the Pines. The story follows how the crime of one person can ring throughout a family through generations. Luke (Ryan Gosling) commits a crime that Avery (Bradley …
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Child actors have to hit a high bar for me to laud their performance. I find that a lot of performances from young actors tend to disappoint me because they haven’t yet found their voice …
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Alfred Hitchcock is one of, if not the greatest, directors of all time. He really hit his stride in the late 1950s and early 1960s, churning out hits like Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and The Birds. However, even …
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I first read The Outsiders when I was about nine years old in elementary school. Ever since then, it has been one of my favorite books. Soon after reading it for the first time, I watched the …