Dann Gire
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Humans battle future aliens in Amazon Prime's escapist 'Tomorrow War'Jul 01, 2021 6:00 am - “The Tomorrow War” - ★ ★ ★ This old-fashioned popcorn summer thriller with alien invaders and time-traveling heroes more than fills the bill for wild escapist fun....
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Lin-Manuel Miranda musical soars to new 'Heights' in film adaptationJun 09, 2021 1:00 am - “In the Heights” - ★ ★ ★ ½ On Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda's rapt, Tony Award-winning soap-operatic musical “In the Heights” could never achieve the level of sheer jubil...
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'Conjuring' horror sequel haunted by stiff script and lack of suspenseJun 04, 2021 6:00 am - “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” - ★ ★ You have to admire the consistency of the horror sequel “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” It takes a consist...
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Krasinski's 'Quiet Place' sequel chills as suspense-filled survival dramaMay 27, 2021 6:00 am - “A Quiet Place Part II” - ★ ★ ★ ½ No way could writer/director/star John Krasinski have knowingly created his horror sequel “A Quiet Place Part II” as a perfect allego...
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'Undergods' a bold, bleak apocalyptic drama filled with loathsome charactersMay 06, 2021 6:00 am - “Undergods” - ★ ★ Spanish-born writer/director Chino Moya hails from the worlds of music videos and TV commercials, and his bold, bleak, dystopian vision “Undergo...
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'Mortal Kombat' wages grim, vapid battle in film adaptationApr 23, 2021 6:00 am - “Mortal Kombat” - ★ ½ If you base a feature film on a violent video game in which fighters pull out their opponents' hearts and rip the spines out of their bodies, the l...
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Dann Gire traverses the year's 'Nomadland' in search of Oscar winnersApr 22, 2021 6:00 am - Part of me secretly hopes I am wrong about my predictions for the 93rd Academy Awards. Predicting many of the winners seems way too easy. Surely, a dark horse upset or a...
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Spectacular smackdowns salvage ridiculous 'Godzilla vs. Kong' remakeMar 30, 2021 11:00 am - “Godzilla vs. Kong” - ★ ★ ½ I am guessing that if viewers watch “Godzilla vs. Kong” on HBO Max instead of at theaters, many might be tempted to fast-forward throug...
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Naperville's Bob Odenkirk wasted in repugnant, ultra-violent 'Nobody'Mar 25, 2021 6:00 am - “Nobody” - ★ ½ Only time will determine if Ilya Naishuller's middle-aged, white male rage fantasy “Nobody” does for Bob Odenkirk what “Die Hard” did for a pudgy, l...
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Glen Ellyn native Amy Carlson stellar in derivative, demonic horror taleMar 11, 2021 5:00 am - “Know Fear” - ★ ½ We all know the devil is in the details, right? In the horror tale “Know Fear,” apparently a demon is. And he likes to mess them up. “Know Fear” ...