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Glory is, without question, one of the best movies ever made about the American Civil War (a.k.a. "The War Between the States"). The reason isn't just the way in which Kevin Jarre's script illuminates a frequent oversight of history books, nor is ...

The concept of a movie being “so bad it’s entertaining” is often employed as a way of disparaging a film that doesn’t work in the way the director planned. It’s a valid description but the word to focus on is entertainin...

If one was to judge The Goldfinch on the basis of John Crowley’s motion picture adaptation, confusion would be understandable about why the novel is so beloved and acclaimed. Even given ideal circumstances, Donna Tartt’s book, which relies...

The Good Dinosaur, although an adequate family film, lacks qualities that have made many of Pixar’s previous productions classics. Less a major animated effort than a late-autumn “filler”, the movie offers enough to enthrall childre...

The Good German, Steven Soderbergh's film noir homage, is nearly perfect when it comes to style and tone, but it concentrates so single-mindedly on the mechanics of the narrative that it loses sight of its characters. The movie meticulously steps ...

The desire for familiarity in movies can lead to sequels and re-makes, but that doesn't always have to be the case. It can also mean the use of storyline everyone sitting in the theater knows. A Good Year is a respectable retelling of the "back to ...

Gracie is a by-the-numbers sports drama about a young girl who defies the odds to succeed in an all-male arena. It's the kind of thing that might make for a compelling after school special, but is hardly what one expects to spend $10 for at a mult...

It's one thing to tell people about the wounds in the fabric of this country that the Civil Rights movement attempted to repair; it's another thing to show them. Unfortunately, too many films made about racism during the first two-thirds of the 20...

The Great Raid seeks to be the kind of epic war film that was popular during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. And, unlike many recent entries in the genre, it does not seek to take a revisionist look at war. The central premise is promising: a factua...

A serious Oscar contender at a time when issues of racial interaction hold a prominent spot in the daily news cycle, Green Book is an Odd Couple­-structured motion picture with a strong overlay of social conscience. Although limited in how gr...