Tag: Movie Reviews
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The Fate of the Furious (’17 review)
3 outta 5 The Fate of the Furious offers more of the vehicular mayhem and crunchy action that the series has been known for. The film is knowingly dopey, which is key because if it took itself too seriously it wouldn’t work. The spectacle in the later installments of the series has gotten so huge…
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Furious 7 (’15 review)
4 outta 5 Spanning seven official installments, two short films of minimal quality, an upcoming ride, and an unofficial prequel (Better Luck Tomorrow, really good flick) when the Fast and the Furious franchise is strung together it becomes a multiple character saga with cars, gals in short-shorts, growling, product placement, Vin Diesel saying the word…
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Fast Five (’11 review)
2 outta 5 There’s nothing inherently wrong about being a pure action exercise, and most action movies like Fast Five open strong and deliver a big finish, but there’s still very long stretches to fill. Aside from those two sequences most of the action is more loud than exciting. Add to it the characters are…
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Peter Pan & Wendy
3 outta 5 The remake train for Disney animated classics keeps diligently chugging along, with the latest one being Peter Pan & Wendy. There are some interesting changes to the Walt Disney 1950’s film, and in other moments it recreates certain bits exactly. Why does Disney feel the need to remake every one of its…
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Finding Neverland (’04 review)
4 outta 5 Finding Neverland reaffirms belief in the power of imagination and reminds everyone of what it feels like to soar in a land of make-believe once again. This is the story of playwright J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) and how he created the world of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. The smart thing about…
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
5 outta 5 After two movies (and a couple of guest-starring efforts in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films) the superhero space heroes return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. This is an emotional finale for the Guardians crew, with awesome stylistic flourishes courtesy of writer and director James Gunn. It’s a bit darker than…
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (’17 review)
4 outta 5 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an energetic and enjoyably wild return to the outer space heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It doesn’t quite have the lazerbeam plot focus on the original; Vol. 2, like many sequels, it tends to amble with sub-plots, but it comes together for a cohesive,…
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Guardians of the Galaxy (’14 review)
4 outta 5 Even though Guardians of the Galaxy has the Marvel label, it’s not a superhero film. If the Marvel adaptations are to endure they need to branch out, so each of the “Phase 2” Marvel movies have dabbled in genre swapping. Now Guardians almost entirely disbands superhero tropes for an outer-space fantasy action…
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Quasi
2 outta 5 Quasi, the latest film from comedy troupe Broken Lizard (Super Troopers), is not exactly consistently hilarious. Or even providing a solid amount of laughs. It is, however, admirably dopey, and intermittently amusing. It does owe a bit to Monty Python’s Holy Grail where there’s bursts of comedic violence in a Medieval setting,…
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Ghost Rider (’07 review)
3 out of 5 Since all of the mainstream Marvel properties like X-Men, Spider-Man and Hulk have been snagged up, film studios are really reaching into the dregs of Marvel’s back catalogue of superheroes to make new films. Hence, Ghost Rider starring Nicholas Cage. As a bona-fide comic book geek, and even a card-carrying Marvel…
BigAl Reviews 