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Rounders (1998)::rating::4
I n his review, Roger Ebert compared Rounders to Rocky, and it's certainly apropos:  Over the course of the film, poker player Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) gets demolished in a high-stakes game, staggers away in humiliation, and slowly hones his talent for one last shot at the title.  At the same time, Rounders also sent my mind to Bull Durham,…
March 15, 20220Comments
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Licorice Pizza (2021)::rating::5
L icorice Pizza is an eccentric, shapeless masterpiece.  It follows Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), a precocious, entrepreneurial teenager, as he hustles his way through the San Fernando Valley, circa 1973.  As Gary bounces from one quirky, cockeyed ambition to the next, the plot bounces with him, like a balloon on a string.  The only through line…
March 10, 20220Comments
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Summer of Soul (2021)::rating::4.5
T he Harlem Cultural Festival was a massive musical happening, spread over six weeks of 1969's sweltering summer.  Tens of thousands concert-goers crammed into Harlem's Mount Morris Park to hear an all-star lineup of Black musicians, but they ended up with even more than that:  This marked a socio-political crossroads, when Black music took on…
March 7, 20220Comments
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The Batman (2022)::rating::3.5
M att Reeves' The Batman is a sweeping, three-hour elegy on just how miserable it is to be Batman.  For much of the film, Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight looks on the verge of a nervous breakdown:  Black eye makeup streaks his dour face; strands of unkempt hair drape downward in all directions, as if Bruce Wayne just…
March 4, 20220Comments
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Encanto (2021)::rating::4.5
A s a parent to a toddler, I can now assess the landscape of children's movies with a much higher degree of confidence.  My verdict:  From a story standpoint, most animated fare is designed to be disposable at best, and shamelessly lazy at worst.  The savvier filmmakers will distract you with millions of colors over…
February 24, 20220Comments

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