Tripwyre
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| 64 T5 |  |
The World's Fastest Indian (2005) - 16 Oct 2008
"Predictably formulaic, and sometimes annoyingly saccharine. The movie has two major strengths that propel it into watchable territory: a great lead performance from Anthony Hopkins, and some of the most exciting racing footage put to film. Other than that it's a lot of Bumbling Old Fool Makes Good, with sides of People Coming Together to Help Each Other, and Foreigner Struggles With American Culture. Blah. Hopkins is just that good though, and the races are even better."
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| 75 T7 |  |
Crank (2006) - 16 Aug 2009
"A huge surprise. I rolled my eyes at the very idea of the film, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the hell out of it. Like their drugged-up hero, Neveldine & Taylor are on a mission and they will not roll over and die until it's done. That mission is to save the Big Dumb Actioner, a genre that has lost its way in the age of Michael Bay. The only good action these days comes from serious sources like the Bourne films, but these guys are doing their damnedest to correct that. A fine debut."
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| 87 T9 |  |
American Splendor (2003) - 19 Mar 2008
"Seemlessly blends animated versions of Pekar's strips with interviews from the man himself, all integrated into the film starring Giamatti and Davis. Directors Berman and Pulcini have made a creative and unique work like nothing you've ever seen. It works as a documentary, a bio-pic, and a tragicomedy. Giamatti shows us Pekar as a man self-aware -- he knows his life is absurd, and he strikes a half-grin before saying things, the cogs in his head already working them into Splendor's next issue."
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| 13 T1 |  |
Stealth (2005) - 19 Sep 2008 |
| 7 T1 |  |
Evan Almighty (2007) - 18 Mar 2008
"Painful. Another Daily Show alumnus shows up as the news anchor in this one: Ed Helms. According to IMDb, his character's name was apparently Ed Carson. I'm now waiting on Ed Almighty to round out the trilogy. In the spirit of this sequel, it will be about a man who leaves the news after 30 seconds to become an astronaut who talks with God. There will be talks of actually sending Helms and Freeman into space (for the sake of realism), and the movie should cost more than $500 million to make. [Read Full Review]"
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| 92 T10 |  |
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) - 17 Nov 2008
"Stylistically, the most influential film of this decade. Liman's Bourne was good entertainment, but Greengrass brings a strong sense of morality to his sequels that elevate them from solid action flicks to excellent films. It takes guts to end a balls-out action movie with a quiet apology, and the Moscow chase preceding it is one of the best ever put to film. The shakycam works, as Greengrass knows how to do it right, adding urgency and danger without losing track of what's actually happening."
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| 91 T10 |  |
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - 19 May 2009
""Let me tell you about my ship." There is so much to love about this movie. On top of the typical Anderson quirks and dry wit, we have a GREAT cast, Henry Selick providing stop-motion sealife, Seu Jorge rocking Bowie in Portuguese, and an end-credits sequence lifted straight out of Buckaroo Banzai (complete with Jeff Goldblum!). It's about daddy issues of course, but at its heart it is a loving ode to the adventure of filmmaking. Anderson's funniest, and I tear up at the finale every time."
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| 16 T1 |  |
Next (2007) - 22 Sep 2008
"Nicolas Cage and his hair star in their hairiest adventure since OH MY GOD LOOK AT HIS HAIR. The cheat "twist" ending is completely unsatisfying, and Tamahori ruins yet another movie with his plastic visual style. I have to wonder what contractual requirements forced Moore into this, because Philip K. Dick must be rolling in his grave. Next!"
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| 86 T9 |  |
Black Dynamite (2009) - 01 Aug 2011
""But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs to the community!" A master-work of satire, Black Dynamite does an excellent job of purposefully making mistakes while still having them seem like honest gaffs. This takes skill. As a send-up of blaxploitation films, the movie doesn't just spoof the genre, it's also a stand-out example of it. For as funny a film this is -- and it's the most quotable comedy in years -- you really believe that Black Dynamite is one truly bad-ass mothafucka. DY-NO-MITE! DY-NO-MITE!"
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| 60 T5 |  |
Smokin' Aces (2007) - 25 Apr 2008
"Piven and Common steal the movie out from under the colourful, over-the-top stylish comic book action. It can be fun, but it Lucky Number Slevin's itself by taking its absurd premise waaaay too seriously, and believing its heavily-foreshadowed and utterly ridiculous switch ending to be a real surprise. It's not. Like Slevin, the movie shows all of its cards, but expects us to be shocked and amazed when it plays them. The problem is that they're shitty cards. Good poker face though."
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