Recent reviews

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  Oblivion 2013

  ★★★ Watched 19 Apr 2013

  Kosinski yet again has made a stunning visual and auditory experience that doesn't quite come together narratively. Much like in Prometheus Iceland makes for a marvelous desolate landscape. M83's pulsating score is heavy-handed, but very effective.

  The film's sci-fi "what ifs?" provide enough ambiguity to provoke thought, but the films epilogue squashes any emotional significance gained in the story's climax and resolution. As far as Cruise's sci-fi filmography, this entry falls somewhere between the high of Minority Report and the low of War of the Worlds.

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  Oz the Great and Powerful 2013

  ★★★ Watched 16 Mar 2013

  Effects, production design, framing, = yes

  3D = surprisingly yes

  Story, pacing = no

  Franco = no, horribly miscast here

  Worth a trip to the theater for the 3D, but overall a mediocre film

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  Zero Dark Thirty 2012

  ★★★★ Watched 11 Jan 2013

  Unfair to compare to the superior Hurt Locker. The focus on the torture scenes also seems largely unfounded, and takes focus away from the tight narrative. Chastain gives a incredibly solid performance, impressive due to its lack of showy scenes. The raid scene was very well paced.

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  Silver Linings Playbook 2012

  ★★★★ Watched 30 Jan 2013

  David O'Russell may be tough to work with, but he can sure coax some dynamite performances from his actors. The film follows the romantic comedy model tightly, but gets away with it because the leads who are "Meant to be together" are so uncomfortable to watch. The mental issues are painted with broad strokes, but not over-the-top. Cooper is the real surprise, proving he can handle a decent role. Lawrence deserves the Oscar, and widens her acting range. DeNiro's performance seems greater only because he's been phoning in his roles for so long.