Category: Reviews

“The Woman in Black” (1989 vs. 2012): a brief comparative review, with spoilers

“The Woman in Black” (1989 vs. 2012): a brief comparative review, with spoilers

| February 21, 2012 | Reply

My sweet wife and I went to see the new remake of “The Woman in Black”, starring Daniel Radcliffe. We had watched the original (made-for-British-TV) 1989 version when it first came out on video and at least one time since, but it had been many, many years since then. We thought the original was very […]

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“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — a brief review, with spoilers

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — a brief review, with spoilers

| February 17, 2012 | Reply

In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I’ve been a Nicolas Cage fan ever since “Raising Arizona”. It doesn’t mean that I like (or have even seen) all the films he’s done, but I do like some of his films (“Next”, “Knowing”) more than the general consensus. On the other hand, his […]

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“Battle Los Angeles”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

“Battle Los Angeles”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

| March 11, 2011 | Reply

My sweet wife Sandra is not a particular fan of SF films (though she’ll certainly watch or go see them with me), nor of war movies. Yet after we saw this movie today, she talked about how engrossed she was during the entire film. (I’ll note that she went with me to see “Skyline” last […]

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“The Book of Eli”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

“The Book of Eli”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

| January 16, 2010 | Reply

I didn’t have plans to go see “The Book of Eli”, even though the trailer made it look like “Fallout 3: The Movie” (I happen to be a big fan of “Fallout 3“). But then I read some early reviews that indicated that “Eli” might indeed be worth seeing, so my sweet wife Sandra and […]

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“Sherlock Holmes” / “Avatar”: a brief review

“Sherlock Holmes” / “Avatar”: a brief review

| December 25, 2009 | Reply

I saw “Avatar” (in 3-D) yesterday afternoon and saw “Sherlock Holmes” this afternoon. I’ll be going back to see “Sherlock Holmes” again, probably within a week; “Avatar” will have to wait for DVD, if then. “Avatar” is worth seeing once on the large screen, in 3-D, just for the sheer visual spectacle and technical brilliance. […]

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“Star Trek” (2009): a brief review (w/spoilers)

“Star Trek” (2009): a brief review (w/spoilers)

| May 8, 2009 | Reply

The original “Star Trek” series started on NBC the same month I started my freshman year at Grossmont High. It ran two and a half seasons before dying, but eventually spawned a long list of movies and four successive TV series (ST: The Next Generation, ST: Deep Space Nine, ST: Voyager, and Enterprise) — not […]

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<i>Atlas Shrugged</i>: a brief review w/spoilers

Atlas Shrugged: a brief review w/spoilers

| April 17, 2009 | 8 Replies

“Mr. Rearden,” said Francisco, his voice solemnly calm, “if you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling, but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater […]

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Christmas recommendation: “Scrooge” (1970)

Christmas recommendation: “Scrooge” (1970)

| December 6, 2008 | 1 Reply

This remains my favorite Christmas movie (yes, even over “A Christmas Story”). It is a musical version of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”, starring Albert Finney in the title role. I am not alone in my praise for this movie; note that of the 406(!) customer reviews for it at Amazon, 366 (90%) give it 5 […]

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“An American Carol”: a brief review w/spoilers

“An American Carol”: a brief review w/spoilers

| October 3, 2008 | 6 Replies

[UPDATED 2134 MDT: Uh, corrected David Zucker’s last name. Thanks, Kevin!] [UPDATED 1604 MDT: Got an Ace-o-lanche going on, with other links coming in — welcome all! Also made a few minor edits.] The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked. — Sir Thomas More I went into “An American Carol” with guarded […]

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“The Dark Knight”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

“The Dark Knight”: a brief review (w/spoilers)

| July 18, 2008 | 1 Reply

Actually, it’s hard to write much of a review without giving away key plot points, so this first part will be brief (and spoilers listed below). Truly an outstanding film. Not perfect (see the spoilers section), but every bit as tense, intelligent, and morally complex as the crime dramas that regularly get Oscar nominations. Put […]

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