Reviews
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‘Snowden’ Toronto Review: Oliver Stone Plays It Aesthetically Safe
Toronto 2016: Stone names the right (and left) names in this biopic of the whistle-blower, but his storytelling style lacks punch
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‘American Pastoral’ Toronto Review: Ewan McGregor Travels to Philip Roth Country, and Fits Right In
Toronto 2016: Roth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a tough nut to crack for the screen, but first-time director McGregor gets a lot of things right
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‘The Disappointments Room’ Review: Kate Beckinsale Horror Vehicle Earns Its Title
Unable to merge a mental deterioration chiller and a haunted house fright flick, DJ Caruso’s zipless, inane thriller serves no purpose
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Robert Abele -
‘When the Bough Breaks’ Review: Hide the Pets, It’s Another ‘Fatal Attraction’ Ripoff
Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall battle sexy schemer Jaz Sinclair in a movie that only needs commercial breaks to be a Lifetime Original
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Dan Callahan -
‘Quarry’ Reviews: Critics Are Mixed on Cinemax’s Reluctant Hitman Drama
Logan Marshall-Green stars as a troubled Vietnam vet who is lured into more battles once he comes home
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‘Magnificent 7’ Review Roundup: A Western That ‘Delivers with a Bang’
Critics rave that although Fuqua’s remake doesn’t blow its predecessors out of the water, it’s still a “rock-solid” film that leaves many wanting to see it again
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‘London Road’ Review: True-Crime Musical Overstays Its Welcome
Olivia Colman stars (and Tom Hardy has a cameo) in this movie that sets eyewitness transcripts to music, a clever idea that can’t sustain an entire feature
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‘The Wild Life’ Review: Robinson Crusoe Tale Shipwrecks on Bad Writing
Competent animation isn’t enough of a draw for this laugh-free talking-animal adventure that will bore and dismay kids and adults alike
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Claudia Puig -
‘The Magnificent Seven’ Toronto Review: Denzel and Company Aim and Miss in Western Remake
Toronto 2016: A bizarrely subdued Washington and blandly feisty Chris Pratt lead a diverse pack of gunslingers in Antoine Fuqua’s semi-stylish but mostly disappointing update of the 1960 classic
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Robert Abele -
‘Ithaca’ Review: Meg Ryan’s Directorial Debut Disappoints
This latest adaptation of William Saroyan’s “The Human Comedy” lacks depth and sincerity
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Claudia Puig -
Critics and Viewers Love ‘Atlanta’ on FX: ‘One of the Best New Shows on Television’
Donald Glover’s new show earns acclaim from both fans and critics
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‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Review: Renee Zellweger Delivers
Sequel introduces a new addition with a mystery dad
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Jason Solomons -
‘The Young Pope’ Venice Review: Jude Law Does the Vatican Rag
The first two chapters of the Paolo Sorrentino miniseries seem uncomfortably perched between satire and nighttime soap
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‘Una’ Telluride Review: Rooney Mara Molestation Drama Undercuts Its Own Impact
In this adaptation of the stage play “Blackbird,” director Benedict Andrews keeps the audience at a distance, and drives a chemistry-killing wedge between Mara and Ben Mendelsohn
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Dan Callahan -
‘The Ivory Game’ Telluride Review: Urgent Documentary About Elephant Killing Is a Roar for Action
An extinction crisis for one of earth’s mightiest creatures, fed by an illegal trade in ivory, is made vividly clear in an advocacy documentary that moves like an espionage thriller
By
Robert Abele