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On paper, the story of Robert Durst makes for fascinating drama, even though it's missing an ending and several parts of the middle. When someone is writing a nonfiction book or making a documentary, such things have limited importance. But when ...

All the Real Girls is an anti-Hollywood romance; a tonic for all those weary of the usual cinematic overglamorization of love. Anchored deep in the bowels of reality, this movie proves that love can be just as affecting and effectively realized wh...

As a history lesson, Amazing Grace is okay. It stays reasonably true to the established record with minimal embellishment. However, as motion picture, the film is lacking in several key areas. The presentation is choppy, with lengthy sections dev...

If you’re more interested in visual razzamatazz than little things like character development or interaction, Ambulance may be your movie. If you prefer sweeping, hyperkinetic camera movements and spastic editing to a coherent narrative, Amb...

American Assassin is as generic an espionage thriller as you’re likely to find. Leaving no cliché unturned and offering a roster of predictable “twists” and unsurprising “surprises”, the production seems more like it was assembled f...

It opens with images of a late-night poker game: cards, chips, sweaty palms, concerned faces, and a woman's fingernails. Then, as night turns to day, the camera moves into the streets of New York, and, with the first bit of dialogue, we know we'v...

Over the years, the “Rip Van Winkle” concept (inspired by the central conceit of the Washington Irving 1819 short story) has been used by a number of films. The idea – a person hibernating for a number of years and waking up to a vastly ...

Quentin Tarantino didn't originate the method of blending extreme violence with dark comedy but his early films (especially Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction) popularized it for today's generation. Since the early 1990s, many directors have att...

Films can be tremendous vehicles for escapism - paths to freeing oneself from worldly concerns and considerations. They can also be a means of getting in touch with essential elements of humanity such as love, sacrifice, and mortality. Those three ...

Angel Baby, a tale of love, loss, and mental illness from Michael Rymer, swept through the 1995 Australian Film Awards, winning seven, including best picture, best director, best actor (John Lynch), and best actress (Jacqueline McKenzie). Howe...