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42 Up is the latest, and perhaps final, installment in Michael Apted's long-running Up series. When the filmmaker began this project in 1964, he came armed with a simple concept: interview 14 British children, all age seven, representing a wide ra...

“Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” This Jesuit motto became the driving force behind The Up Series, a nine-volume (thus far) documentary that has spanned fifty-six years. Begun in 1964 under the direction of P...

The summer of bad sequels finally has an entry that can boast being noticeably better than its immediate predecessor: American Wedding. The third entry into the American Pie series, this movie is a vast improvement over the tired and uninspired Am...

One of the longest films of the fall (both in terms of title length and running length) is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It seems every bit as long or longer than its 160 minutes. Parts of the movie are brilliant in a ...

Celeste and Jesse Forever wants to be marketed as an "anti-romantic comedy," but, despite its somewhat unconventional storyline, it's very much about what draws people together into relationships and what pulls them apart. It explores the reality o...

In the terrorist-busting business, perception is more important than reality. That’s the thesis of Christopher Morris’ blistering black comedy, The Day Shall Come, and he delivers the message with the subtlety of a jackhammer. The most dis...

The creative and financial successes of two franchises - Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings - have changed the way in which fantasy is viewed by movie-goers. Once a genre pigeonholed as fit only for Dungeons & Dragons nerds, fantasy has gone m...

There's a prescription for making an effective dark comedy: the film must generate equal parts discomfort and laughter. The Ex offers plenty of the former but precious little of the latter. The movie is populated by dislikeable individuals doing ...

Since its 2011 release, the film Goon has become something of a cult phenomenon, especially among Canadian hockey fans. (Is that term redundant?) This status likely explains the existence of a sequel. Called Goon: Last of the Enforcers, it con...