Dann Gire
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'She Said' a fact-based journalism drama with a distinctive, strong feminine voiceNov 16, 2022 10:00 pm - “She Said” - ★ ★ ★ ★ Maria Schrader's “She Said” belongs among the top three fact-based journalism movies showcasing investigative reporters, but with a significant dif...
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Lack of fun, exaggerated visual effects ding the drama in anxiously awaited 'Black Panther' sequelNov 07, 2022 10:00 pm - “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” - ★ ★ The anxiously awaited sequel to 2018's critical and box-office hit “Black Panther” provides a textbook example of what happens whe...
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Fact-inspired abortion drama 'Call Jane' well-acted but dramatically inertOct 27, 2022 6:00 am - “Call Jane” - ★ ★ ½ Maybe, just maybe, operating an illegal, secret, underground abortion ring in 1968 Chicagoland might have been just as routine and dramatically iner...
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Mega star power of Clooney and Roberts brightens formulaic 'Ticket to Paradise'Oct 20, 2022 6:00 am - “Ticket to Paradise” - ★ ★ ½ If your idea of a good time at the movies only requires that two charismatic veteran stars trade passive-belligerent barbs for an hour, go ...
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All-star cast succumbs to convoluted story in muddled screwball comic thriller 'Amsterdam'Oct 05, 2022 6:00 am - “Amsterdam” - ★ ★ A meandering, muddled mixture of manic movie manipulations, David O. Russell's ambitious “Amsterdam” refuses to find its film footing until Robert De N...
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Derivative, jump-scary horror tale not much to 'Smile' aboutSep 29, 2022 10:00 am - “Smile” - ★ ★ Normally, a starless, derivative, overly long, jump-scare-saturated horror movie like “Smile” would be sent directly to streaming on a digital platform a...
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Eye-popping social thriller 'Don't Worry Darling' has everything going for it - except a compelling screenplaySep 22, 2022 6:00 am - “Don't Worry Darling” - ★ ★ Let's be charitable to Olivia Wilde's ambitious, carefully crafted (and already critically skewered) second directorial project, the enigmat...
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Viola Davis' Oscar-worthy performance royally rules ambitious, sanitized crowd-pleaser 'Woman King'Sep 15, 2022 6:00 am - “The Woman King” - ★ ★ ½ Let's first acknowledge that actress Viola Davis rocks the planet in any movie she makes. She pumps her dramatic characters with humanity, creat...
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Wonky 'Honk': Excellent performances by Hall, Brown lighten middling satire on disgraced megachurch televangelistsSep 01, 2022 6:00 am - “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.” - ★ ★ ★ Can there possibly be an easier target for a savage satirical comedy than sexually disgraced megachurch televangelists? “The E...
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A vengeful lion eradicates humans in the delightfully cheesy, derivative thriller 'Beast'Aug 18, 2022 11:00 am - “Beast” - ★ ★ ½ What? You missed Stephen King's 1983 movie “Cujo” with a rabid St. Bernard menacing a parent and child trapped in a car? And you forgot the scary kitche...