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Holiday Treat: Rise of the Guardians
I do enjoy the concept of the TV show Once Upon A Time, which expands the personalities and back-story’s of fairytale and legendary characters. This season even goes so far as to have Snow White and Sir Lancelot be old friends and Mulan is quite familiar with Rumpelstiltskin. What I don’t like about “Once” is simple – it’s poorly written. The plots never really grab you or make very good use of these fabled, beloved heroes, heroines, villains and creatures. Going into Rise of the Guardians I expected to feel pretty much the same, as this story brings together Santa Claus/North (Alec Baldwin), The Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), The Sandman…
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The Art of Presentation: Anna Karenina
As the theater darkened, I thought – I can’t wait to be swept up in a romantic, dramatic, grand scale period piece. And then Anna Karenina began with lighthearted hustle and bustle both on and behind a theater stage. The underlying music had comedic tones, the whole thing was choreographed as if it were the opening to a high stepping, rousing musical theater piece. WTF! What does any of this have to do with what I’ve known of Leo Tolstoy’s immortal classic “Anna Karenina”? Tom Stoppard’s screenplay holds no poetry. It’s deliberately streamlined. Certainly not written for anyone looking to get caught up in romantic, elegant dialogue or narration. Director…
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ARGO (Ben Affleck)
by James Bradford, Guest Critic (and boyfried 🙂 Ben Affleck has proven to me that he is a true talent, and that talent, lies behind the camera. Gone Baby Gone ranks among one of the top child abduction movies. Not only did it keep you guessing; but the gritty, questionable protagonist, played with amazing truth by Amy Ryan, gave the movie remarkable originality. The Town brought heart to the heist movie franchise. With super great chase scenes and that authentic Boston flavor. And now Argo successfully manages to keep us glued to a plot in which we already know the outcome. The Hollywood element to this film is not only…
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PITCH PERFECT
Beca (Kendrick) is into music. She carries around a laptop with a state-of-the-art sound mixing board and serious big-ass headphones. Her father is faculty at Barden University, the two aren't close, as Beca hasn't forgiven him for divorcing her mother and remarrying; yet sensibly, she does agree to attend the school and get a free education. But after a lackluster first couple of weeks, Beca is ready to follow her dream of going to LA...
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Garnish: The Odd Life of Timothy Green
If you’ve seen the trailers for The Odd Life of Timothy Green, you know the deal – cute, simple Midwest couple (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton) are told to give up on having a child, as one or both of them is incapable of procreating progeny. Despondent, they decide it’s best to lay the matter to rest; but first, one last night where they wallow in the fantasy, writing down on scraps of paper what their nearly perfect off-spring would be like if they had been lucky enough to conceive. Papers go in box, box gets buried in garden. Thunder, lightening, wind, rain and leaves produce magical child from buried…
