Due Date
Nov05

Due Date

Forgive Its Name: It’s Not that Bad Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galafianakis Written by Robert Patrick The road trip movie. There’s probably a section for this genre in video rental stores at this point. Covers with daffy characters flushed with tepid smiles or puffed up hair, often with clothes in a disarray and some sort of vehicle in the background. I think everyone has a repressed desire to have a string of disastrous...

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Get Him to the Greek
Jun04

Get Him to the Greek

Almost Almost Famous? Starring: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill By Colleen Dillon Jonah Hill always has the coolest adventures. I especially envied him in Superbad; going to college parties and smuggling out alcohol in laundry detergent containers wasn’t exactly the type of experience I had in high school. The next logical step in this epic progression takes him from partying with co-eds to partying with rock stars. Well, one rock star in...

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The Road
Nov25

The Road

Into the Darkness Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee By Colleen Dillon Something about the Dark Ages creeps me out. There’s a lot to be afraid of: wars, plague, famine, infections, contaminations – pretty much anything relating to the very obvious mortality rates of the time. But even more terrifying to me was the bleakness of life then. Despite all the progress humanity had made up to that point, the Dark Ages were a...

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Emilio
Jun12

Emilio

Coming to America Starring: Walter Perez, Danny Martinez By Colleen Dillon Months after its intended release date, Emilio is finally coming out. I can only assume that this delay is a result of the lackluster reviews the film received from critics who attended the initial screenings. It seems that most reviewers had some strong perceptual sway upon leaving the theater and held no bars when expressing their distaste for this movie. The...

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Adventureland
Apr03

Adventureland

Land of the Lost Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart By Colleen Dillon Something about the approach of summertime evokes a sense of youth, of bittersweet memories, and of close but fleeting friendships. Take this nostalgia up one more level by giving these feelings a late 1980s backdrop, and you have the movie Adventureland. Originally advertised as a comedy, the film is closer to a modern coming-of-age story, more tender and...

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I Love You, Man
Mar20

I Love You, Man

Buddy Comedy Pulls Through (Mostly) Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel By Colleen Dillon I was really looking forward to I Love You, Man upon seeing the initial trailer. I liked last year’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which also stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segal, and I expected the duo to deliver another hilarious comedy. Somehow, though, the movie didn’t turn out to be quite as funny as I had hoped. The storyline is fairly simple: Peter...

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Wendy and Lucy
Jan23

Wendy and Lucy

Girl’s Best Friend Can’t Make Her Rich Starring: Michelle Williams By Colleen Dillon Wendy and Lucy was getting a fair amount of buzz a few months back at film festivals and even got a mention in O Magazine. Perhaps this attention led to a tendency to look for more in the movie than was actually there because, while Wendy and Lucy is a sweet movie dealing with the strains of poverty and the companionship between a girl and...

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Doubt
Dec20

Doubt

Veil of Suspicion Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams By Colleen Dillon It seems that in life, the vast majority of all regret arises from decisions made without absolute certainty. Actions taken – or not taken – because we didn’t have all the evidence, or couldn’t properly interpret the evidence we did have, can plague us for lifetimes. Doubt, a film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning...

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Changeling
Nov03

Changeling

Eastwood’s Sweeping Drama Goes for Gold Starring: Angelina Jolie, J. Michael Straczynski By Colleen Dillon Since I saw Changeling, over a week ago, I have been really unmotivated to write this review. I feel guilty because I like Clint Eastwood for some reason that allows me to appreciate his talent despite his stiff, John Wayne-type one-trick-pony acting. He is an icon from an era where, now, most other actors of his status are...

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Appaloosa
Oct07

Appaloosa

A Distracting Western Dust Up By Colleen Dillon Watching Appaloosa, I was pleased to find that my expectations for the movie were being adequately met. After last year’s 3:10 to Yuma, I felt a spark of excitement at the thought that the Western genre was being revived. There, in James Mangold’s masterpiece, was the perfect formula for bringing modern viewers into the gritty stories of the Old West. And Appaloosa, too,...

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