Dann Gire
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Improvise! That's how 'Are You There God?' director elicited natural performances from film's young actorsApr 28, 2023 6:00 am - For almost half a century, novelist Judy Blume had a single word for filmmakers interested in creating a movie from her iconic 1970 book "Are You There God? It's Me, Mar...
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Sisterly devotion meets a multitude of movie references in boldly deranged, multi-pop-cultural 'Polite Society'Apr 27, 2023 6:00 am - “Polite Society” - ★ ★ ★ ½ It seems like such a tiny thing, a simple bump in the road, yet it demonstrates the dedication to detail that writer/director Nida Manzoor br...
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Rachel McAdams blossoms in Blume's controversial story of pre-adolescent angst, struggleApr 27, 2023 6:00 am - “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.” - ★ ★ ★ ½ One scene in this movie caused me to shed a tear or two, and it happened when Rachel McAdams, playing Barbara Simon, t...
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Low 'Rise': Fifth 'Evil Dead' film a disappointingly derivative drama-traumaApr 20, 2023 6:00 am - “Evil Dead Rise” - ★ ★ This review has not been written for hard-core horror fans who've been waiting with bated (and baited) breath for a modernized, gory-fied update ...
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Game-inspired fantasy adventure 'Honor Among Thieves' hides a few treasures amid long running timeMar 30, 2023 6:00 am - “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” - ★ ★ ½ The major thief in “Dungeons && Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” turns out to be none other than the charmingly British H...
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'Wick' a slick pic: Over-stuffed action sequel a success of excessMar 23, 2023 6:00 am - “John Wick: Chapter 4” - ★ ★ ★ What we get in the fourth John Wick action thriller resembles an elaborate microcosm of the entire James Bond film franchise neatly captur...
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Light laughs, dark drama don't mix well in awkward 'Moving On'Mar 16, 2023 6:00 am - “Moving On” - ★ ★ This slightly cringey, comically tone-deaf movie doesn't quite qualify as a black comedy. More like a gray-beigey one that falls far short of its inte...
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Who will win? Film critic Dann Gire makes his Oscars picks, from sure bets to up-for-grabsMar 08, 2023 2:00 pm - Predicting this year's Academy Awards winners might appear to be as easy as blasting womp rats on Tatooine with a T-16 Skyhopper. So who will win big on Sunday night? I ...
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Star Michael B. Jordan directs his first film, the feisty but flawed 'Creed III'Mar 02, 2023 4:45 am - “Creed III” - ★ ★ ½ Already a champion movie star and A-list actor, Michael B. Jordan demonstrates great promise as a director with “Creed III,” his feisty but flawed fr...
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Clever, engaging documentary a cinematic Bond marketFeb 16, 2023 5:00 am - “The Other Fellow” - ★ ★ ★ This title, as most ardent James Bond fans know, comes from a historical moment in 1969's “On Her Majesty's Secret Service” when one-time 007...