Category: Review
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On ‘The Watermelon Woman’
Notes on Cheryl Dunye’s personal, inventive drama.
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The Cutthroat Thrills of ‘Murder by Contract’
‘Murder by Contract’ is a lean, no-nonsense movie.
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That Most Important Thing
On ‘Cane River’ and ‘Shirley.’
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The Indelible Paranoia of ‘The Parallax View’
The storyline is so rife with close calls and contrived developments that I ultimately enjoyed ‘The Parallax View’ not as I would, say, ‘All the President’s Men,’ which was as mistrustful as it was plausible-feeling. It’s more like fretful, intelligently designed pulp fiction.
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Everyone is on Their A-Game in ‘Some Like It Hot’
The movie, aside from 1953’s ‘Niagara,’ is also the one, I think, which best showcases Monroe’s preternatural relationship with the camera.
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‘The Daytrippers’: High Stress on the Road
Is Eliza being cheated on? In ‘The Daytrippers,’ a great quasi-road comedy movie from Greg Mottola, the question, posed at the beginning of the film, will be answered at the end of a long, messy day.
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‘Internal Affairs’ Becomes a Total Blur
‘Internal Affairs’ at first appears poised to be a refreshing anomaly in the cop-thriller genre — a movie just as much interested in offering pulpy fun as criticism.
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‘The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years’ Improves Upon Its Predecessor
On Penelope Spheeris’ follow-up to her groundbreaking 1981 documentary.
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‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ Isn’t What You Think It’ll Be
‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ throws cold water on the logical insanity so often inherent to rom-com plots.
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Florence Pugh is a Knockout in ‘Lady Macbeth’
Decades from now, Pugh’s work in ‘Lady Macbeth’ might garner a sort of ‘legendary starring debut’ status.
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‘Commando’ is a Fun Star Vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger
This is paint-by-numbers action at its best: it knows what its viewers expect of it and delivers.
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‘Personal Best’ Takes the Sports Movie to New Heights
‘Personal Best’ accomplishes many things and well, but among the most impressive of its achievements is that is also functions, almost off-handedly, as a paean to the undersung and the could-have-beens.
Peterson Reviews 