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Man from Reno (2014)
The greatest mystery she's ever written. And it could be her last…
Filmmaker(s): Dave Boyle

A mystery outside of San Francisco brings together small-town sheriff Paul Del Moral, Japanese author Aki Akahori, and a traveler from Reno who soon disappears, leaving behind his suitcase and a trail of questions.

Shell Game Alas, I continue to find comments original posted to IMDB, deleted because of a complaint by an unseen adversary — and therefore lost. However, a re-viewing brings this later comment. Spoilers here. This is much like ‘Chinatown’ with some ‘Vertigo’ mixed in. Both noirs of...


Published September 20, 2024
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Love and Mercy (2014)
The Life, Love and Genius of Brian Wilson
Filmmaker(s): Bill Pohlad

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

The Sergeant’s Retreat The scriptwriter’s obligation is to sketch a world that has enough definition for us to inhabit and understand the influences on the characters within. The default is to make that world simple so we do the least work in engaging. That’s what they...


Published August 22, 2024
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Penn & Teller: Fool Us (2011- )
Up to their new tricks.

Illusionists Penn & Teller throw down the gauntlet to aspiring magicians to perform their most mystifying trick - and fool Penn and Teller. Penn & Teller have no prior knowledge of either the performers or the planned trick. They sit in the audience just like everyone else, watching every move the guest magicians make. If any illusionist fools the professionals, they win a five star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's world famous show at the Rio Hotel & Casino.

Game Changing I think I have seen most of the episodes of this, all out of order. There really is nothing like it in my experience. It is reality TV, while being stage performances. It has several different personalities as focus, but shifts to our focus...


Published August 21, 2024
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The Love Witch (2016)
She loved men... to death
Filmmaker(s): Anna Biller

A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, with deadly consequences.

Faces, Drapes This is much celebrated by the critics, most of whom I am sure never saw the referenced films when they were new. It rides a wave, I suppose of feminist films that can use ‘the gaze’ to their advantage. If you have not seen this,...


Published August 9, 2024
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Total Recall (2012)
What Is Real?

Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the police and joins forces with a rebel fighter to stop the evil Chancellor Cohaagen.

Women and Buildings I was distracted in the decade when this was made, so was not watching films at the pace I had before. In fact, I would likely have avoided it anyway based on the initial press. The recent watching was of the Director’s Cut....


Published July 29, 2024
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Despicable Me (2010)
Some call him bad. They call him dad.

Villainous Gru lives up to his reputation as a despicable, deplorable and downright unlikable guy when he hatches a plan to steal the moon from the sky. But he has a tough time staying on task after three orphans land in his care.

Foreground/Background I see that I did not write a comment on this when it came out. I have since had kids and rewatched it recently, and am impressed by a couple key decisions. The first is the quality of the animation and choices made in the story....


Published July 7, 2024
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The Expendables (2010)
Choose your weapon.
Filmmaker(s): Sylvester Stallone

Barney Ross leads a band of highly skilled mercenaries including knife enthusiast Lee Christmas, a martial arts expert Yin Yang, heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitionist Toll Road, and a loose-cannon sniper Gunner Jensen. When the group is commissioned by the mysterious Mr. Church to assassinate the dictator of a small South American island, Barney and Lee visit the remote locale to scout out their opposition and discover the true nature of the conflict engulfing the city.

Sliding Planes "Speedracer" and the "Transformer" movies, even the second "Charlie's Angels." These are silly or even bad films by the conventional measures. This is too. It is vapid, misogynistic and fundamentalist. I wouldn't recommend that anyone go unless they know themselves well enough. But like those other...


Published April 25, 2024
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Train to Busan (2016)
Life-or-death survival begins.
Filmmaker(s): Yeon Sang-ho

When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.

Ahead of schedule This is simply a hectic escape film, where all the attention is toward anticipating where the viewer thinks it is going and staying a half step ahead. I’d say it is remarkable in how well it succeeds; I cannot recall it ever being...


Published April 20, 2024
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Dinotrux (2015–2017)

Half dinosaur, half construction truck, full-on fun! Watch giant Ty Rux, his little buddy Revvit and the crew come face-to-face with evil D-Structs.

Inner Toys My kids have outgrown this by a few years; I suppose it takes that long to have the tendency fade to dismiss it as trivial. I actually have a rather high opinion of this now. These types of things have three layers. There’s the...


Published April 20, 2024
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Jojo Rabbit (2019)
It's definitely not a good time to be a Nazi
Filmmaker(s): Taika Waititi

A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

Multipurpose knives I think I would like to hang out with Taika. At any rate, I believe him to be a genuinely good man in a business fraught with otherwise. I actually like when a personal style is deeply reflected in a film or collection, and...


Published April 9, 2024
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