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12 Years a Slave, sure to be a heavy hitter when the 2014 Oscar nominations are announced, is a powerful and compelling adaptation of Solomon Northup's autobiographical account of the dozen years he spent as a slave on Louisiana plantations from 18...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-10-18
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Disturbing Images, Nudity, Sexual Content)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbander, Lupita Nyong'o, ...
Fast pacing and a high energy level can cover a lot of sins, and nowhere is that more evident that in 2 Guns. The storyline contains some ridiculous elements and the climax is more like a coalescence of chaos than a legitimate conclusion, but it so...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-08-02
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, ...
Note: Rules for the "Beat Berardinelli" contest will be announced in a few days, both in the forums and in ReelThoughts. The contest will be open starting at noon ET on Sunday, February 17. One of the things to remember about the Oscars is that ...
It's Superbowl Sunday, but I'm thinking about the Oscars (presumably because I can't generate much enthusiasm about either the 49ers or the Ravens). In recent years, I have become increasingly fascinated by the combined science/art of predicting ...
There are five categories in which I have minimal confidence in my predictions. These are the too-close-to-call races, where two films are so close that it could lean either way. With the locks, I believe there's a 95% probability those predictions ...
I have long since moved away from calling my Bottom 10 a "Worst of..." list. Considering how many truly awful films I have given myself the latitude to skip, it's almost unfair to those remaining to be singled out as the biggest cinematic offenders. ...
42 tells the (mostly) true tale of how Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) broke the Major League color barrier in 1947, becoming the first black player to appear in a Major League baseball game since 1884. Robinson's story is inspirational, and the...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-04-12
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, ...
Time travel stories are tricky things. Although there's no hard-and-fast way to develop one, consistency is a key. As a screenwriter, when you're dealing with things like reworking history and spinning off alternate universes, it's necessary to sti...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-11-01
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity)
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION/COMEDY
Director: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, ...
Admission is a serviceable, sporadically entertaining motion picture that has been aggressively developed for mainstream consumption. Infused with an almost relentless blandness, it's defined by soft comedy (a few laughs here and there), flaccid dr...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-03-22
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA
Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Wallace Shawn, ...
The sad truth about After Earth is that not only is it difficult to find things it does well, but there are numerous examples of outright incompetence dotting the landscape. Outside of some nice visuals, it's impossible to find a reason to recommen...
U.S. Release Date: 2013-05-31
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence)
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION/ADVENTURE
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith