Dann Gire
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'Cursed' an atmospheric horror tale with teethFeb 17, 2022 5:00 am - “The Cursed” - ★ ★ ★ I hesitate to label Sean Ellis' gothic thriller as a “werewolf movie,” simply because the term connotes a host of cliches and cheap, exploitative v...
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Game-based 'Uncharted' bites the dust - and cobwebs - in passionless, generic 'Raiders' knock-offFeb 17, 2022 4:00 am - “Uncharted” - ★ ½ Take Indiana Jones' first adventure, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” strip away the clever dialogue, remove the richly drawn characterizations, disregard s...
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Music and chemistry take on corny contrivances in crazy rom-com 'Marry Me'Feb 10, 2022 10:00 am - “Marry Me” - ★ ★ ½ In this modern romance beaming with Instagram visuals and multiplatformed media, stars Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson share an undeniable chemistry, ...
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Spurned lovers plot nutty revenge in risky, frisky 'I Want You Back'Feb 10, 2022 5:00 am - “I Want You Back” - ★ ★ ★ Just when we need a snappy, funny relationship movie that playfully stretches the boundaries of traditional rom-coms, Amazon Prime Video gives...
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Top 10 movies: Film critic Dann Gire offers his favorites from 2021Jan 02, 2022 6:33 am - In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted critics just as much as it has film production and movie theaters. In my case, I have tried to avoid all theatrical press scr...
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Bradley Cooper taps his dark side in Guillermo del Toro's deliciously dark 'Nightmare Alley'Dec 16, 2021 5:00 am - “Nightmare Alley” - ★ ★ ★ ★ If you took a sleazy, exploitative E.C. Comics tale, made it into a motion picture with top acting talent and A-list production design ...
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Steven Spielberg's first musical a bold, fresh, spectacular take on the 1961 classic 'West Side Story'Dec 06, 2021 3:30 pm - “West Side Story” - ★ ★ ★ ★ The master has remastered a masterpiece! No movie could be a greater gamble for filmmaker Steven Spielberg than his joyously bold and revisio...
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Disney's 'Encanto' an explosively colorful, Mirandized musical family fantasyNov 23, 2021 2:00 pm - “Encanto” - ★ ★ ★ ½ Walt Disney's explosively colorful, Mirandized-musical family fantasy “Encanto” would appear to be an ideal follow-up to the studio's megahit girl-po...
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Nostalgia trumps originality in ghost-flustered 'Afterlife'Nov 18, 2021 5:00 am - “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” - ★ ★ ½ Eleven years ago at the Hollywood Blvd. in Woodridge, I asked Dan Aykroyd when we could expect to see the next, highly anticipated...
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Pluck of the Irish: Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast' an insightful, delightful domestic dramaNov 11, 2021 5:00 am - “Belfast” - ★ ★ ★ ★ Writer/director Kenneth Branagh's most jubilantly personal movie yet, “Belfast,” begins as a classic horror film and ends where a classic immigrants...