 Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Romance, Drama
Run Time: 1 hour 32 minutes, Rated R Starring: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Will McCormack, Chris Messina Written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack Directed by Lee Toland Krieger (The Vicious Kind, December Ends) At first glance, Celeste and Jesse seem to be the perfect match. They compliment each other, make each other laugh and appear to be the best of friends. Then we learn that they are actually separated and will soon be getting a divorce. In the words of Tina Turner: What's love got to do with it?
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 Rating: 4 out of 5 starsSome movies, some scenes, are just impossible to get out of your head. Add Killer Joe to that list for me. It is a dark, creepy, insanely funny and violent film that definitely earns the NC-17 rating that it was tagged with. It's the kind of film that has you laughing at some pretty horrific stuff, stuff that shouldn't be funny but is in that twisted, Pulp Fictionsort of a way.
 Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Crime, Drama, Western
Run Time: 1 hour 55 minutes, Rated R Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan, Gary Oldman Lawless seems to have everything needed in order to be a successful western: An all-star cast, interesting characters and a tried-and-true basic premise. What it lacks is substance.  Open Road Films, 2012. 2 out of 5 starsStarring the real-life couple Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, Hit & Run is a little hit or miss. Dax Shepard also wrote and co-directed the film, and it is laced with some very natural flowing dialogue that gives it a unique independent tone. But most of the plot and action sequences border on the absurd.
Dax plays a guy named Charles Bronson…yep. He seems to just be a car-lovin’, laid-back dude who lives with his girlfriend played by Kristen Bell. In actuality, Charlie is a former getaway driver who is in witness protection – and it would be a major plot spoiler to go any further than that as to why he is in hiding.  Rating: 5 out of 5 starsGenre: Animation, Adventure, Horror, Comedy
Run Time: 1 hour 33 minutes, Rated PG Starring (Voices of): Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, John Goodman Written by Chris Butler (first-time screenwriter) Directed by Chris Butler (feature-film debut), Sam Fell (Flushed Away, The Tale of Despereaux) ParaNorman takes the idea of a boy who sees dead people, and expands it into a feature-length film. From Laika Entertainment - the animation studio behind Corpse Bride and Coraline - comes an inventive and surprisingly funny film about a misunderstood boy and his quest to save his town from a witch's curse. It is the first stop-motion movie to use a 3D color printer to create character faces.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama
Run Time: 1 hour 56 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Mike Epps, Tika Sumpter, Carmen Ejogo, Curtis Armstrong, Cee-Lo, Derek Luke, Omari Hardwick Directed by Salim Akil (Jumping the Broom) The late, great Whitney Houston appears and performs in Sparkle. That will be the lasting impact of this movie, despite a solid first-time acting gig by American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. The movie itself - a remake of the 1976 film starring Irene Cara - is a forgettable mess, with clunky dialogue and direction. But none of that really matters, nor should it. It's all about Whitney.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Fantasy
Run Time: 1 hour 44 minutes, Rated PG Starring: CJ Adams, Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Odeya Rush, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rosemarie DeWitt, David Morse, M. Emmet Walsh Written & Directed by Peter Hedges (Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life) The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a fantasy. It sounds weird to say, but the best fantasies are the ones that are firmly rooted in reality, right? We can suspend our belief in movies where aliens attack, or people can fly. But the scenes featuring regular folk must be something we can connect with.  Rating: 2 out of 5 starsGenre: Action, Adventure
Run Time: 2 hours 15 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Scott Glenn Directed by Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Duplicity) It's no wonder Matt Damon bailed on the Bourne franchise after now seeing what little is left of it. The Bourne Legacy is the 4th installment in the series, and the first one that doesn't star Matt Damon. His Jason Bourne character is mentioned a lot, and his mugshot is seen on TV broadcasts, but he isn't. I'd guess that Bourne or Damon wouldn't want their names attached to this mess.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsThe Campaign is probably ran a little more effectively than it should be. It is funny in that raunchy R-rated sort of way, and that's the main ingredient for any comedy: The ability to generate laughs. But as solely a comedy, The Campaign probably doesn't rank among the most memorable Will Ferrell films. Where it excels is as a social and political satire.
 Rating: 5 out of 5 starsGenre: Documentary
Run Time: 1 hour 26 minutes, Rated PG-13 Directed by Malik Bendjelloulear Talk about good things coming to those who wait. In the fascinating music documentary Searching for Sugar Man, the life and career of the Detroit-area singer/songwriter Rodriguez is examined. Never heard of Rodriguez? You are not alone, fellow Americans. His albums came out in the late 60s and early 70s in the era of protest rock, in a time that made industry legends out of folks like Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. To say he was a failure state-side is a huge understatement. But somehow, someway, Rodriguez found fame in South Africa during the time of apartheid where there was massive racial, social and civil unrest. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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