Dann Gire
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'Incredibly hyper' Crystal Lake native loves casting movies, TVJul 12, 2016 5:00 am - Growing up in Crystal Lake, Brittani Smith knew what she wanted to do with her life. Become a casting director. You know, the person who finds the right actors and match...
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Bryan Cranston makes fact-based 'Infiltrator' workJul 11, 2016 11:00 pm - Bryan Cranston breaks good in "The Infiltrator." So good that his complex, in-the-moment portrait of real-life undercover drug agent Robert Mazur compensates for the def...
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'Pets' peeve: Engaging kids film glorifies bullyingJul 07, 2016 5:45 am - The moral compass of the people behind the animated "The Secret Life of Pets" needs a serious tuneup. This cartoonish series of action vignettes glorifies bullying and t...
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'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' a joyously humanistic adventure filmJul 07, 2016 5:45 am - Every narrative thread in Taika Waititi's joyously humanistic, sweetly endearing New Zealand adventure leads to one seemingly minor gesture, a simple hug. But in this gl...
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'Dog Lover' - cheesy drama or propaganda?Jul 07, 2016 5:30 am - So this is how idealism dies. Not with thunderous applause as liberty did in "Revenge of the Sith," but with a court case, destroyed lives, a betrayed cause and a young ...
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'Aliens,' 'Dark Horse' screenings set for suburbsJul 07, 2016 5:30 am - A horse doc with heart Sometimes, it's healthy and necessary to have our faith in fellow humans reaffirmed, just as Louise Osmond's veddy British documentary "Dark Horse...
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Uproariously raunchy, funny 'Mike and Dave' don't know when to say whenJul 06, 2016 11:00 am - In the gross, R-rated bromantic comedy "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," the jokes are rude, crude, lewd and nude. When they hit our collective funny bone, they hit ha...
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How luck, grit and a Texas highway launched Fremd grad Christina Moore's Hollywood careerJul 05, 2016 5:00 am - Oh, sure. It could happen that a struggling young actress from the Northwest suburbs moves to Hollywood and instantly gets offered all sorts of TV and movie jobs. "But I...
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'Swiss Army Man' filmmakers on humor's 'lowest common denominator'Jul 01, 2016 5:00 am - This could be the gassiest week of the millennium where the movies are concerned. Take Steven Spielberg's "The BFG." One of its major scenes, certainly the funniest, dep...
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''Purge' the urge to ignore scary political horror filmJun 30, 2016 5:30 am - Can a scarifying, ugly and depraved political horror tale be a guilty pleasure if I experience no guilt enjoying its riotously exploitative B-movie influences and tactic...