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the filmmakers wisely decided to let crocodile hunter steve irwin do what he does best , and fashion a story around him .
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a winning and wildly fascinating work .
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we do get the distinct impression that this franchise is drawing to a close .
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worth catching for griffiths' warm and winning central performance .
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the tone errs on the shrill side , tempered by a soft southern gentility that speaks of beauty , grace and a closet full of skeletons .
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an interesting psychological game of cat-and-mouse , three-dimensional characters and believable performances all add up to a satisfying crime drama .
1pos
a meatier deeper beginning and/or ending would have easily tipped this film into the " a " range , as is , it's a very very strong " b+ . " i love the robust middle of this picture .
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the power of shanghai ghetto , a documentary by dana janklowicz-mann and amir mann , rests in the voices of men and women , now in their 70s , who lived there in the 1940s .
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maintains your interest until the end and even leaves you with a few lingering animated thoughts .
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there is a beautiful , aching sadness to it all . paul cox needed to show it . it is up to you to decide if you need to see it .
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if divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood suffers from a ploddingly melodramatic structure , it comes to life in the performances .
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if you ignore the cliches and concentrate on city by the sea's interpersonal drama , it ain't half-bad .
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alternates between deadpan comedy and heartbreaking loneliness and isn't afraid to provoke introspection in both its characters and its audience .
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there aren't too many films that can be as simultaneously funny , offbeat and heartwarming ( without a thick shmear of the goo , at least ) , but " elling " manages to do all three quite well , making it one of the year's most enjoyable releases .
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reign of fire is hardly the most original fantasy film ever made -- beyond road warrior , it owes enormous debts to aliens and every previous dragon drama -- but that barely makes it any less entertaining .
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an earnest , roughshod document , it serves as a workable primer for the region's recent history , and would make a terrific 10th-grade learning tool .
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samuel beckett applied to the iranian voting process .
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the bard as black comedy -- willie would have loved it .
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another trumpet blast that there may be a new mexican cinema a-bornin' .
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' . . . the film's considered approach to its subject matter is too calm and thoughtful for agitprop , and the thinness of its characterizations makes it a failure as straight drama . '
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tadpole may be one of the most appealing movies ever made about an otherwise appalling , and downright creepy , subject -- a teenage boy in love with his stepmother .
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this is a story that zings all the way through with originality , humour and pathos .
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as underwater ghost stories go , below casts its spooky net out into the atlantic ocean and spits it back , grizzled and charred , somewhere northwest of the bermuda triangle .
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it is a challenging film , if not always a narratively cohesive one .
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trapped won't score points for political correctness , but it may cause parents a few sleepless hours -- a sign of its effectiveness .
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a rock-solid gangster movie with a fair amount of suspense , intriguing characters and bizarre bank robberies , plus a heavy dose of father-and-son dynamics .
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it's incredible the number of stories the holocaust has generated . just when you think that every possible angle has been exhausted by documentarians , another new film emerges with yet another remarkable yet shockingly little-known perspective .
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as they used to say in the 1950s sci-fi movies , signs is a tribute to shyamalan's gifts , which are such that we'll keep watching the skies for his next project .
1pos
there's no conversion effort , much of the writing is genuinely witty and both stars are appealing enough to probably have a good shot at a hollywood career , if they want one .
1pos
like a skillful fisher , the director uses the last act to reel in the audience since its poignancy hooks us completely .
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a film with contemporary political resonance illustrated by a winning family story .
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kids five and up will be delighted with the fast , funny , and even touching story . parents may even find that it goes by quickly , because it has some of the funniest jokes of any movie this year , including those intended for adults .
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an unsettling , memorable cinematic experience that does its predecessors proud .
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maid in manhattan might not look so appealing on third or fourth viewing down the road . . . but as a high concept vehicle for two bright stars of the moment who can rise to fans' lofty expectations , the movie passes inspection .
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much of all about lily chou-chou is mesmerizing : some of its plaintiveness could make you weep .
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ferrara's strongest and most touching movie of recent years .
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spielberg's first real masterpiece , it deserved all the hearts it won -- and wins still , 20 years later .
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the screenwriters dig themselves in deeper every time they toss logic and science into what is essentially a " dungeons and dragons " fantasy with modern military weaponry . . .
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more than simply a portrait of early extreme sports , this peek into the 1970s skateboard revolution is a skateboard film as social anthropology . . .
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what i saw , i enjoyed .
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good-naturedly cornball sequel .
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the level of acting elevates the material above pat inspirational status and gives it a sturdiness and solidity that we've long associated with washington the actor .
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a deft , delightful mix of sulky teen drama and overcoming-obstacles sports-movie triumph .
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daringly perceptive , taut , piercing and feisty , biggie and tupac is undeniably subversive and involving in its bold presentation .
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delivers more than its fair share of saucy hilarity .
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a fairly enjoyable mixture of longest yard . . . and the 1999 guy ritchie caper lock stock and two smoking barrels .
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happily , some things are immune to the folly of changing taste and attitude . for proof of that on the cinematic front , look no further than this 20th anniversary edition of the film that spielberg calls , retrospectively , his most personal work yet .
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hugely entertaining from start to finish , featuring a fall from grace that still leaves shockwaves , it will gratify anyone who has ever suspected hollywood of being overrun by corrupt and hedonistic weasels .
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it's not like having a real film of nijinsky , but at least it's better than that eponymous 1980 biopic that used soap in the places where the mysteries lingered .
1pos
it's probably worth catching solely on its visual merits . if only it had the story to match .
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like other great documentaries . . . this goes after one truth ( the ford administration's complicity in tearing 'orphans' from their mothers ) and stumbles upon others even more compelling .
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. . . only bond can save us from the latest eccentric , super-wealthy megalomaniac bent on world domination and destruction .
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the first half bursts with a goofy energy previous disney films only used for a few minutes here and there .
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it's quite diverting nonsense .
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an old-fashioned scary movie , one that relies on lingering terror punctuated by sudden shocks and not constant bloodshed punctuated by flying guts .
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for all the wit and hoopla , festival in cannes offers rare insight into the structure of relationships .
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what makes how i killed my father compelling , besides its terrific performances , is fontaine's willingness to wander into the dark areas of parent-child relationships without flinching .
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renner ? s face is chillingly unemotive , yet he communicates a great deal in his performance . see it for his performance if nothing else .
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. . . the kind of entertainment that parents love to have their kids see .
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it's a fine , focused piece of work that reopens an interesting controversy and never succumbs to sensationalism .
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its engaging simplicity is driven by appealing leads .
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swimming is above all about a young woman's face , and by casting an actress whose face projects that woman's doubts and yearnings , it succeeds .
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a respectable venture on its own terms , lacking the broader vision that has seen certain trek films . . . cross over to a more mainstream audience .
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it's weird , wonderful , and not necessarily for kids .
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an elegant film with often surprising twists and an intermingling of naiveté and sophistication .
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blessed with two fine , nuanced lead performances .
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while this has the making of melodrama , the filmmaker cuts against this natural grain , producing a work that's more interested in asking questions than in answering them .
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as a girl-meets-girl romantic comedy , kissing jessica steinis quirky , charming and often hilarious . yet it's not quite the genre-busting film it's been hyped to be because it plays everything too safe .
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you don't need to know your ice-t's from your cool-j's to realize that as far as these shootings are concerned , something is rotten in the state of california .
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turturro is fabulously funny and over the top as a 'very sneaky' butler who excels in the art of impossible disappearing/reappearing acts
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meant for star wars fans . it is there to give them a good time .
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from a deceptively simple premise , this deeply moving french drama develops a startling story that works both as a detailed personal portrait and as a rather frightening examination of modern times .
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simply and eloquently articulates the tangled feelings of particular new yorkers deeply touched by an unprecedented tragedy .
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provides a very moving and revelatory footnote to the holocaust .
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terrific performances , great to look at , and funny . a little uneven to be the cat's meow , but it's good enough to be the purr .
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it's a compelling and horrifying story , and the laramie project is worthwhile for reminding us that this sort of thing does , in fact , still happen in america .
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i like it . there is a freedom to watching stunts that are this crude , this fast-paced and this insane .
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that rare documentary that incorporates so much of human experience -- drama , conflict , tears and surprise -- that it transcends the normal divisions between fiction and nonfiction film .
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that rare movie that works on any number of levels -- as a film of magic and whimsy for children , a heartfelt romance for teenagers and a compelling argument about death , both pro and con , for adults .
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it's both degrading and strangely liberating to see people working so hard at leading lives of sexy intrigue , only to be revealed by the dispassionate gantz brothers as ordinary , pasty lumpen .
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a sharp and quick documentary that is funny and pithy , while illuminating an era of theatrical comedy that , while past , really isn't .
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the script is smart , not cloying .
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the film does a solid job of slowly , steadily building up to the climactic burst of violence .
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fred schepisi's tale of four englishmen facing the prospect of their own mortality views youthful affluence not as a lost ideal but a starting point .
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the directive to protect the code at all costs also begins to blur as the importance of the man and the code merge
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overall , cletis tout is a winning comedy that excites the imagination and tickles the funny bone .
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easily one of the best and most exciting movies of the year .
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the script manages the rare trick of seeming at once both refreshingly different and reassuringly familiar .
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an engaging , formulaic sports drama that carries a charge of genuine excitement .
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insomnia is one of the year's best films and pacino gives one of his most daring , and complicated , performances .
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like vardalos and corbett , who play their roles with vibrant charm , the film , directed by joel zwick , is heartfelt and hilarious in ways you can't fake .
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i don't know if frailty will turn bill paxton into an a-list director , but he can rest contentedly with the knowledge that he's made at least one damn fine horror movie .
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despite its flaws . . . belinsky is still able to create an engaging story that keeps you guessing at almost every turn .
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each punch seen through prison bars , the fights become not so much a struggle of man vs . man as brother-man vs . the man .
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the evocative imagery and gentle , lapping rhythms of this film are infectious -- it gets under our skin and draws us in long before the plot kicks into gear .
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like the best of godard's movies . . . it is visually ravishing , penetrating , impenetrable .
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horns and halos benefits from serendipity but also reminds us of our own responsibility to question what is told as the truth .
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oddly compelling .
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[has] an immediacy and an intimacy that sucks you in and dares you not to believe it's all true .
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it treats ana's journey with honesty that is tragically rare in the depiction of young women in film .
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