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wolf-of-wall-street-poster02This is my favorite film of the year, perhaps it is the best film of the year. It moved by faster than any film I saw half its length this year, and I wouldn't have minded if it was thirty minutes longer. It was that good. The story was always interesting, the directing masterful, and the acting fantastic. The film is full of energy and ingenuity and is as unapologetic for being as over the top as its main characters. Scorsese has made a masterpiece of a film. It has comedy, drama, and characters so bad they're good. Bravo.

4.5 Stars (out of 5)

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166053I would have liked it more without any of the voice-work. It works as a playful, educational, and well animated dinosaur film if not for the cheesy, poorly acted, and jammed on-top-of dialogue. Granted, children might not want to sit through 90 minutes with no talking, but even taking a Milo and Otis approach with a narrator doing all the voices would have worked better, especially given the characters' mouths never move anyway. I'm a huge fan of the original Walking with Dinosaurs specials and saw the live-action stage show when it came to town, but even I can see that this is unfortunately a film trying so hard to please everyone, that it ends up not pleasing anyone.

Kudos to the filmmakers for using the most up-to-date theories on dinosaur behavior! Was cool to see Tyrannosaurids hunting in a pack/family unit. Dinos like that are almost always shown as lone hunters. Was impressed to see a primitive bird as a main character. The inclusion of early mammals in each act of the film and their role during the time period was nice to see as well. And even choosing Arctic dinosaurs as the subject helps set the film apart from others. It successfully showcases lesser known species while breaking away from the specific Jurassic Park/King Kong dinosaur imagery we're all too used to seeing from Hollywood.

I'm hoping a dialogue free version will exist in a special edition Bluray someday, as that would be an incredible film worth watching again and again.

3 Stars (out of 5)

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Saving Mr. Banks, plakatWhile this is a fun and often times moving film, I worry it is exactly the sort of thing P.L. Travers would have frowned upon, turning her personal story into a fanciful caricature for commercial gain. I'll admit I smiled and laughed, and even cried while watching, and it was well-worth a watch, but during the end credits they play actual audio recordings of Mrs. Travers making her "crazy" demands back in the writing room, and it all made me feel a little dirty. It's as if the filmmakers are trying to say, see, we're not even making this stuff up! And we the audience are meant to laugh at how ridicules she was being. Laugh at a real woman trying to do her best to keep her legacy from being mocked by future generations. The irony is not lost on me.

All in all though the film does help remind us all the joy the Mary Poppins film has brought to many people over the last half-century, including myself. If it happens to sell more Mary Poppins Blurays in the process for Disney, then I suppose it's a win-win for everyone. And it might even mean another Oscar for the deserving and always entertaining Emma Thompson.

3 Stars (out of 5)

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Anchorman2_PosterHere's one of those situations where the characters themselves are far greater than the very vehicles they originate from. This movie is long, awful, and sometimes flat-out painful. Yet for some reason we'll keep coming back for more. I'll admit I laughed my ass off during two sequences in particular, but then sat in uncomfortable silence for the other 110 minutes. One star for each of those scenes, but nothing else.

2 Stars (out of 5)

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american-hustle-posterI was really looking forward to this film but it didn't live up to my high expectations. The acting was top-notch, most notably from Amy Adams, who blew me away scene after scene. The film was shot well and looked great, but everything fell flat, felt long, and offered nothing really special or fun. I love David O. Russell's last film Silver Linings Playbook, and while I still think he's a director at the top of his game, I didn't enjoy this one much at all.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)

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Frozen-movie-posterFinally a Disney animated feature that's a true musical again! The songs were well-written, beautifully performed, and spaced out evenly throughout the film. Bravo to Disney for remembering what made the films of the Disney Renaissance special. Frozen has a complicated and somewhat less conventional plot for a Disney film, especially for one with princesses. Building on the themes of individuality in Tangled and Brave, Frozen is much less about romance with a handsome prince to solve all your problems and more about staying true to yourself as the real way to true happiness. Plus, don't ever take advice from trolls.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

This film looks tremendously better than Disney's recent works. Tangled, Bolt, and even Wreck it Ralph don't come close to the richly textured world of Frozen. Also, it's rare to see a widescreen format animated film, but it really added an epic feel to everything and the 3D was used tastefully bringing the rich backgrounds to life. In other words, now that Pixar is waning it looks like Disney is ready to pick up the slack. As long as someone fires their trailer cutting staff!

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The_Hunger_Games_Catching_Fire_Movie_PosterWhile I could definitely tell the budget was higher this time and the director seemed more competent I wouldn't say the film is any better than the first. It suffers from being the middle story of a trilogy. As it goes on you realize this is all just a long set-up for the next film(s). Jennifer Lawrence is good, as always, but there isn't much for her to show off her range except for a few short emotional outbursts. Regardless of these films' somewhat lackluster feel I'm still very interested in the story and cannot wait for the next one so they're doing something right. At least they got rid of the obnoxious shaky camera work this time.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

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thor the dark world posterIf only DC could learn from the Marvel movies. Here is a fun superhero movie that knows you don't have to be dark, serious, and three hours long to be good. This is a colorful fun romp of a film that does a good job of not taking itself too serious. Unlike the first Thor this one manages to balance the comedy and more serious moments more seamlessly. I really enjoy the Marvel movies but I never see the same one twice. With new ones coming out twice a year there's not enough time to re-visit the old ones on Bluray.

I'm not a fan of the TV show though. You have to draw the line somewhere.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

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in_a_world_xlgA well-written, interesting and fun indie film with a hilarious cast. Lake Bell's performance is amazing, and she also wrote and directed the film. The story focuses on a hidden side of the movie business, the voice-over industry, a topic I happen to find fascinating. All of the characters, and there are a few, are well fleshed out and performed brilliantly by the cast. I appreciate how everything feels so believable, or at least effortless, even though this is such a quirky and funny movie all the way through. I left the theater with a big smile on my face.

4 Stars (out of 5)