McFarland, USA (PG) **** Sports movies have one thing going for them: Done right, they can get away with plotting clichés that other films can’t. And this film is filled with almost every cliché in the sporting lexicon, but it’s…
Mike at the Movies
Mike at the Movies
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The Kingsman: The Secret Service (R) ***** Take the best of the Bond films, add some modern gimmicks, a very funny script, tricks and surprises, including a villainess with blade legs, spectacular stunts, fights and an ending that will literally…
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Mortdecai (R) *** You may or may not like this film, depending on how you react to British comedy done by Americans, how much you like silliness and how much tolerance you have for puns, sight gags, a plot that…
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Gone Girl (R) **** This one has been out for some time, but it is still getting much discussion so we include it this week. This is a film for adults but maybe not newly marrieds, since it portrays marriage…
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Unbroken (PG-13) ***** “Everyone in town wants you put away,” says a cop to Louis Zamperini, who is growing up in Torrance, California, as a delinquent, smoking, drinking, stealing and running away from most attempts to capture him. Zamperini’s brother…
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The Theory of Everything (PG-13) **** Everything you have heard about Eddie Redmayne’s performance in this film is correct. It is mind-blowing. Dr. Stephen Hawking’s story is so unlikely that it beggars belief to begin with, but this film and…
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Horrible Bosses 2 (R) **** Watching this movie gave me the same feelings I used to have watching Steve Carell and the cast of “The Office.” Everyone was so stupid, and that irritated me despite the fact that I was…
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St. Vincent (PG-13) ***** When a character delivers lines like “Lady of the Night—one of the more honest ways to make a living,” and, when asked why he always makes things more difficult, says, “It makes me more interesting,” and…
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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (R) ***** There are at least three magnificent performances in this film: Michael Keaton in the role of his life as Riggan, a former action hero in movies who is trying to make…
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The Judge (R) ***** Acting at its best is the art of one person becoming so like the character he is portraying that you forget there is an actor performing. A great film happens when a company of actors become…