As it is, Greg is Jack’s son-in-law. They appear to get along, but one of those comedy misunderstandings occurs and soon they are mistrusting each other again. Spoiler alert: They work it out by the movie’s conclusion. So you get rid of all the other characters and have these two guys move into an apartment […]
Doug Bentin
Posted inArts & Culture
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
During the opening scenes of “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” Oliver Stone’s stand-alone sequel to his 1987 hit “Wall Street,” you may have the feeling you’re not to going to understand a word of it. That’s because the characters combine the jargon of Wall Street with the rat-a-tat speech patterns of native New Yorkers. But […]
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‘The Killer Inside Me’ returns to Oklahoma as an on-demand movie carried by an effectively sadistic Casey Affleck
In John Carpenter’s short film “Cigarette Burns,” a movie critic points out that we have an implied agreement with filmmakers: We will sit in the dark under their control, and they will remember that and not go too far. Director Michael Winterbottom (“A Mighty Heart”) has been accused of deal-breaking in “The Killer Inside Me” […]
Posted inMusic
An action-packed franchise film with all the right parts, ‘Predators’ works for the most part
If it’s not the best formula ever devised for suspense films, it surely must be in the top three: A group of strangers are gathered together for an unknown reason and then are killed off one at a time by an invisible presence. They figure out what they have in common ” in this case, […]
Posted inMusic
Amateur musicians vie for a title in ‘They Came to Play,’ a documentary that explores competition
“They Came to Play” is a sly title. The movie isn’t about sports, as is implied. Rather, it’s about people with a competitive spirit that, while not duplicating that of the big-time athlete, suggests it. Alex Rotaru’s documentary follows the lives of several contestants in the Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, hosted by […]
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A classic comic strip brought to life, ‘Marmaduke’ is one lame Great Dane that should be put down
So I’m sitting there, no child to guide me, watching “Marmaduke” and thinking that the picture will satisfy its demographic ” a group I won’t define, because you know who you are and I don’t want to upset you so much that you can’t color within the lines anymore. And then something happened, and my […]
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Pity the fool who doesn’t love the ‘A-Team’ remake, replete with explosions and dead extras
You don’t exactly have to hold a doctorate in advanced maturity to enjoy “The A-Team.” There’s a big difference in what entertains the kid and what entertains the kid still living in the adult, and this falls into the latter category. Of course, you know by now that the picture was inspired by the 1983-87 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Splice
Now, that’s not to say the film is all somber contemplation of the themes on which it touches. Yes, the two lead scientists in the story violate ethics and the law, and end up creating a monster daughter, but the company they work for is Nucleic Exchange Research Development. Look again at those initials: N.E.R.D. […]
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Nothing can keep ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ from repetitive action and self-seriousness
Let’s get the least significant thing about “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” out of the way first: Is it OK to cast Brit and American actors in the roles of Persians? Yes. It’s called “acting.” But is Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brothers“) good as Dastan, a former street urchin who has been adopted by King […]
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A housebroken monster wrestles with complacency in ‘Shrek Forever After,’ a tale for kids and adults
I could write three reviews of “Shrek Forever After“: one about the animated movie for kids, one about the subtext, and one about the even deeper, more subversive sub-subtext, but the Gazette would never go for it, so I’ll mash all three up together. What’s on the surface is the fourth ” and, they tell […]