Theater/Film Reviews
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True Grit
In a holiday season when sex, violence and vulgarity are the overpowering images in most new movies, “True Grit” stands apart, its 19th-century language and a certain primness of attitude giving one almost the feeling of being at a Sunday School theatrical. Once again, Joel and Ethan Coen have shown their genius and their originality.
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Cirque Dreams Holidaze
The circus is back in town, and for kids of all ages (including mine), it's still a lot of fun. Cirque Dreams Holidaze opened an eight-day run at the Fox last night, and was crisp, professional and entertaining, very good if not great, and providing an excellent opportunity for a family outing at the holiday
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The Fighter
There is no more cliche-ridden style of movie than those about boxing and boxers. From John Garfield in the ’30s to Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Mark Wahlberg, with dozens of others through the decades, the pattern of the stories is pretty much alike. It’s what happens out of the ring and between the
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I Love You, Phillip Morris
It does not appear to be real man-on-man sex, but there's a great deal of the carefully photographed variety in "I Love You Phillip Morris," which opens here today. Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor are the participants, and they certainly are acting as f they are having a very good time. Away from the sex
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Tamara Drewe
Despite the promise in the idea, and the fact that Stephen Frears is directing, “Tamara Drewe” is only a small step short of boredom. We’re surrounded by a pretentious, bed-hopping, ego-ridden group of writers and would-be writers, all scorching the sheets, but fortunately, Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie are on hand to save the day.
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Leaving
We're all familiar with the old line, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Men can do equally well in the fury department, as amply demonstrated in "Leaving," by Yvan Attel, as Samuel, when his wife gets involved with another man. The French import opens here today. The movie opens with a midnight gunshot,
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Tron: Legacy
All right, all you guys, gals and geeks. This one's for you, because it didn't do very much for me. The Walt Disney folks waited nearly 30 years to produce a sequel to "Tron," so "Tron: Legacy" should have benefited from 30 years of technical advancement. Sorry, it's a clunky script that forces clunky acting,
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Ruby
Every now and then, one brushes against the flow of history. It isn’t a meeting, or any sort of real contact, but more like getting out of someone’s way at the supermarket, or holding a door in a movie theater. I’ve had several, and the Webster Film Series’ showing of “Ruby,” a film of “speculative
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The Tourist
I’m a great fan of caper movies. Give me a plot with a lot of twists and turns, a bunch of red herrings, witty dialogue and credible disguises, and I’m happy as a kid with a new electric train. I can excuse plot flaws, acting flaws and things like that. Throw in a beautiful woman
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Tiny Furniture
Lena Dunham is a young woman who obviously talked her mother and sister into this, and while the results are mixed, sometimes fascinating and sometimes boring, we learn a lot about these three women in "Tiny Furniture," which opens here today. Dunham wrote, directed and stars in the rudimentary, often erratic tale; her younger sister,