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The Burning

It speaks to the strength of The Burning’s reputation among cult-film fans that what’s most memorable about the 1981 slasher is not that it was written by the Weinstein brothers, nor that it represents early appearances of the likes of Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. It’s that its Cropsy is just a damned good villain.
05/24/2013 | Comments 0

Dexter: The Seventh Season

There's no way to discuss the seventh and penultimate season of Showtime's hit Dexter without acknowledging how the previous year ended. Therefore, if you haven't finished the sixth season, stop reading now. You've got work to do.
05/21/2013 | Comments 0

Nightfall

As Simon Lam gets older, he gets better. The veteran actor has appeared in such in seminal HK action films of the 1990s as Once Upon a Time in China (opposite Jet Li) and Bullet in the Head (directed by John Woo); in the aughts, he graced audience and critical favorites Election and Ip Man.
05/20/2013 | Comments 0

Grand Duel

Lee Van Cleef enjoyed a secondary career in Italy cranking out spaghetti Westerns, with little regard to quality. However, 1972’s Grand Duel — aka The Big Showdown — is deserving of its Grand label. No wonder Quentin Tarantino borrowed its sweeping theme song by Luis Bacalov for Kill Bill; you'll recognize it in two notes.
05/20/2013 | Comments 0

The Last Stand

Early in The Last Stand, the small-town sheriff played by Arnold Schwarzenegger says, "It's my day off. Should be a quiet weekend." That's the new way of saying, "I've got one week to retirement," because it signals — with flashing neon and everything — that life is going to royally upend those plans.
05/17/2013 | Comments 0
Home · Articles · Movies · Drama · Gracie
Drama

Gracie


None June 7th, 2007

gracie

Reviewer's grade: B-

As underdog sports flicks go, "Gracie" is earnest, well-acted and occasionally rousing. Those are all commendable attributes, but they don't completely make up for the fact that it's an underdog sports flick, and therefore, subject to that genre's wheezy predictability. Still, the film is more heartfelt than most; that heart-on-the-sleeve aesthetic pushes it beyond its formulaic conventions.

 

Based on the real-life experiences of actress Elisabeth Shue (who co-produced the movie along with brother Andrew Shue, both of whom appear), "Gracie" stars Carly Schroeder as a 15-year-old tomboy old living in New Jersey circa 1978. After the tragic death of her brother, Gracie resolves she will follow his footsteps and play on the varsity soccer team, but her pursuit is met with derision by everyone, especially her stubborn dad.

 

Director Davis Guggenheim keeps the storytelling tight and the pace galloping, with Schroder and Mulroney outstanding as daughter and father. If only "Gracie" weren't built on a checklist of sports-picture clich

 
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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