You Should See This
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1.
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Imagine Me and You |
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A perfectly balanced romance that goes wrong but where nobody's a villain. |
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2.
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Stranger Than Fiction |
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Another romance with great balance. Great use of music. |
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3.
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Little Miss Sunshine |
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This comedy got funnier and funnier, with some great dramatic moments. Arkin is excellent. |
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4.
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Cars |
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Great story, dialogue, humor, visuals, and music. Lots of fun. |
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5.
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The Prestige |
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Magic, science, rivalry - this is a good adventure drama. |
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6.
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Hard Candy |
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A clever plot is bolstered by Ellen Page's arresting performance, especially how she delivers the great dialogue. |
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7.
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Conversations With Other Women |
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The unusual split-screen approach works well for this bittersweet romance. |
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8.
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Brick |
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More than any other movie this year, the director's style and noir tone is front and center. |
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9.
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The Lives of Others |
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A fascinating look at Cold War East Germany and a subtle portayal of loneliness. |
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10.
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Thank You for Smoking |
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A darkly funny drama with some great dialogue and characters. |
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11.
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United 93 |
Worth a Look
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12.
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The Break-Up |
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Totally mismarketed as a comedy, this is better as a drama. |
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13.
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Borat |
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At times the funniest movie of the year, Cohen's idea is brilliant but the execution suffers from the Pamela storyline. |
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14.
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Mission: Impossible III |
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The best action movie of the year, Cruise gives an intense performance. |
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15.
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The Blood Diamond |
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Better than expected, like a combo of Proof of Life and The Constant Gardener. |
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16.
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Deliver Us From Evil |
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17.
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An Inconvenient Truth |
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18.
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Little Children |
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Great use of narration. |
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19.
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The History Boys |
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The dialogue is very rich. I was expecting something upbeat, but it's more bittersweet. Better in its genre than Dead Poets Society I think. |
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20.
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The Science of Sleep |
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21.
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Dave Chappelle's Block Party |
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22.
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Art School Confidential |
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23.
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Babel |
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Effectively painful to watch. |
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24.
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Notes on a Scandal |
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The music is almost too much. |
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25.
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Deja Vu |
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Putting the science aside, this is an engaging time-travel thriller. |
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26.
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The Departed |
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The acting is good but the editing is problematic. |
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27.
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The Devil Wears Prada |
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28.
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Over the Hedge |
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29.
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The Queen |
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Sheen is excellent as Blair. Without him, this would have been made-for-cable material. |
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30.
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You, Me and Dupree |
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A surprise, this becomes really watchable about 40 minutes in. |
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31.
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Children of Men |
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It started too fast for me to connect to Owen's character. |
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32.
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The Descent |
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33.
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The Last King of Scotland |
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34.
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Pan's Labyrinth |
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Not enough of the dream world as I expected from trailers. |
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35.
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Letters from Iwo Jima |
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Better than Flags of Our Fathers, I think it might have been even stronger without the voiceover. The score is a touch too overtly angsty. |
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36.
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The Lake House |
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37.
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Rocky Balboa |
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Though the ending fizzles, Stallone did a great job reviving this series. The speeches are better than the boxing. |
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38.
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Night at the Museum |
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Light fun, but not was good as what Spielberg might have done with it. |
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39.
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Accepted |
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40.
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The Heart of the Game |
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What a great basketball comeback story, and the best part is that it's true. |
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41.
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The Good Shepherd |
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Long, but interesting history of the CIA and an examination on subtle corruption. 2007's Breach is a quicker version of a similar tale. |
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42.
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Lonesome Jim |
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43.
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Who Killed the Electric Car? |
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Who doesn't want to buy an EV-1 after seeing this documentary? |
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44.
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Half Nelson |
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Gosling is great, but the movie runs out of steam by the end. |
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45.
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Our Brand Is Crisis |
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46.
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Arthur and the Invisibles |
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This is a decent adventure, but I found Mia Farrow annoying and the editing too fast. |
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47.
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Volver |
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48.
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Jet Li's Fearless |
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The drama is mostly better than the fight sequences. |
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49.
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The Last Kiss |
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50.
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The Proposition |
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51.
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District B-13 |
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52.
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Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing |
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A great story, if lacking in full selections of the music that got them there. |
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53.
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Eight Below |
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A good family drama, but almost too intensely bittersweet for kids. |
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54.
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Curse of the Golden Flower |
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Some of the richest cinematography and costumes you'll see in years. |
If You've Got Time To Kill
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55.
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Goal! The Dream Begins |
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56.
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Infamous |
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This was a little more fun than "Capote" |
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57.
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Twelve and Holding |
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58.
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The Protector |
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The fight sequences - including some amazingly long takes - are good but the story is lousy. Ong Bak is better. |
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59.
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Invincible |
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Wahlberg is good but his character lacks the ambition needed for a good underdog story. |
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60.
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Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos |
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61.
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How to Eat Fried Worms |
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62.
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A Good Year |
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63.
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V for Vendetta |
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64.
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Lucky Number Slevin |
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65.
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Dreamgirls |
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Is this a musical or a movie about music? |
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66.
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Akeelah and the Bee |
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Searching for Bobby Fischer is still the genre standard. |
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67.
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Hostel |
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68.
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Friends With Money |
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69.
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Sleeping Dogs Lie |
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70.
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The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift |
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The music selections are really good. |
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71.
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Copying Beethoven |
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The dual-conducting sequence of his 9th is beautiful, but the rest is average. Interesting how hair and extra weight makes Harris look so different. |
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72.
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Sherrybaby |
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Maggie Gyllenhaal is better than the movie. |
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73.
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Flushed Away |
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74.
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The Death of Mr. Lazarescu |
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75.
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This Film Is Not Yet Rated |
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76.
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Glory Road |
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77.
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World Trade Center |
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78.
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Wordplay |
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79.
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The Good German |
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Comparisons to Casablanca are unavoidable, meaning this will strike some as an intersting homage and others as an uninspired knockoff. |
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80.
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Venus |
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Good dialogue bolsters O'Toole's performance as a borderline-creepy horndog, given a long leash because he's O'Toole. Space Cowboys seems a more appropriate treatment of aging. |
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81.
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The Ant Bully |
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82.
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Monster House |
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Fantastic animation and camera work. I couldn't get into the story on this one that much though. |
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83.
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Candy |
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84.
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Somersault |
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85.
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The Holiday |
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This movie rivals Under The Tuscan Sun as the ultimate chick vacation fantasy. Too perfect, but watchable. |
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86.
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Superman Returns |
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Superman should be bright and optimistic. Leave the dark and creepy to Batman. |
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87.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest |
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A big (long and dull) disappointment from the first movie. |
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88.
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Poseidon |
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It's no Titanic, but I thought Kurt Russell was good in this, especially his last scene. |
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89.
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Mini's First Time |
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90.
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The OH in Ohio |
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An amusing premise that stumbles with weak music but picks up at the end. |
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91.
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School for Scoundrels |
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92.
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Clerks II |
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Really funny in parts, but not consistently so. |
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93.
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Slither |
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94.
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Apocalypto |
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95.
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The Lost City |
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96.
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Keeping Mum |
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97.
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The Da Vinci Code |
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Too earnest and yet too unmoving at the same time. |
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98.
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Kinky Boots |
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Amusing but not daring enough given the subject's potential. |
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99.
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All the King's Men |
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100.
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Click |
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101.
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Loverboy |
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102.
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Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story |
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103.
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Casino Royale |
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This was one of the bigger letdowns in comparison to its good trailer this year. |
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104.
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Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World |
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105.
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Unknown White Male |
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106.
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London |
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107.
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Idlewild |
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Good cinematography but the movie drags and the music doesn't help. |
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108.
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John Tucker Must Die |
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109.
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Clean |
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110.
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Nanny McPhee |
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111.
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The Pursuit of Happyness |
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112.
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Hollywoodland |
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113.
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Annapolis |
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114.
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X-Men: The Last Stand |
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Everybody just looks old and tired. |
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115.
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Flags of Our Fathers |
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116.
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Trust the Man |
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Not unwatchable, just unremarkable. I saw it for Gyllenhaal and Crudup. |
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117.
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The Guardian |
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118.
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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby |
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For fans of Ferrell, while I think others will be bored. |
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119.
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Winter Passing |
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120.
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The Painted Veil |
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Fans of this genre will probably accept the movie, but I found the history/medical story of more interest than the angsty love story. |
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121.
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Tristan and Isolde |
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122.
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National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj |
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I wouldn't be surprised if Kal Penn gets big things in the future. I hope we see more of Holly Davidson. |
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123.
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She's the Man |
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124.
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On a Clear Day |
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125.
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Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker |
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Teens and preteens might find this adventure interesting, but it doesn't have enough thrill for adults. Interesting Condi Rice takeoff. |
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126.
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Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus |
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The connection between Kidman and Downey Jr. feels real, but the movie drags and Downey's demeanor is overly quiet and delicate. |
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127.
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Eragon |
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I thought Dragonheart was silly, and it's better than Eragon. |
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128.
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Man of the Year |
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The points are all there, but Laura Linney's subplot of election fraud becomes too dark for what should have been a fun film like The Distinguished Gentleman |
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129.
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Flyboys |
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Cliche adventure. I actually rested my eyes for a bit. |
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130.
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A Good Woman |
Not Worth Your Time
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131.
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The Notorious Bettie Page |
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132.
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American Dreamz |
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The explosive ending made me laugh. |
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133.
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The Wild |
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I think the photorealism sucked the approachability out of this one. |
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134.
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Inside Man |
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Not enough lines or actual face time for Owen, and the music drags the slow story down. |
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135.
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The Great New Wonderful |
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136.
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Ice Age: The Meltdown |
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137.
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Miami Vice |
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A couple of gun battles make this long long movie worth sitting through. |
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138.
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Down in the Valley |
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139.
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The Night Listener |
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Toni Collette is highly creepy in her role. |
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140.
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American Gun |
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141.
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Stick It |
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142.
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Last Holiday |
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143.
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A Prairie Home Companion |
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144.
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Running With Scissors |
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Great cinematography, but the tone is a major bummer. |
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145.
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Step Up |
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146.
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Beerfest |
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147.
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The Illusionist |
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148.
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Grandma's Boy |
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149.
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My Super Ex-Girlfriend |
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150.
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Factotum |
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I was bored. It felt to forced. Adaptation is the far better choice. |
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151.
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The Pink Panther |
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152.
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The King |
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153.
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C.S.A.: Confederate States of America |
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Interesting what-if but the execution isn't very imaginative. |
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154.
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Harsh Times |
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155.
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For Your Consideration |
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I get the idea, but these actors just get on my nerves too much to enjoy it. |
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156.
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A Scanner Darkly |
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157.
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A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints |
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158.
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Happy Feet |
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This turned into an uneasy, surreal mix of pointless cute and grim reality. |
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159.
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Find Me Guilty |
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160.
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The Quiet |
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They should have been able to do more with the premise. |
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161.
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Running Scared |
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162.
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Strangers With Candy |
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163.
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Haven |
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164.
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Little Fish |
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165.
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Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School |
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166.
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Ask the Dust |
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167.
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The Big Question |
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168.
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Catch a Fire |
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169.
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Underworld: Evolution |
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170.
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Firewall |
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171.
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Scary Movie 4 |
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172.
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Employee of the Month |
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173.
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Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny |
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Even on fast forward I couldn't find anything fun about this movie. |
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174.
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The Marine |
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Lots of noise but it's a fairly silly action movie. |
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175.
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Freedomland |
What the Crap?
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176.
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Open Season |
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Lifeless. I can't imagine it would hold the attention of kid viewers either. |
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177.
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Let's Go to Prison |
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178.
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Failure to Launch |
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179.
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Marie Antoinette |
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Pretty, but absolutely pointless. Sofia, what gives? |
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180.
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The Black Dahlia |
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The movie with the biggest disparity between trailer (great) and movie (lousy) this year. |
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181.
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The Sentinel |
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182.
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Snakes on a Plane |
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183.
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Bubble |
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184.
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Scoop |
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185.
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The Fountain |
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Too philosophically ambitious, too mystic, too disconnected. Some of the cinematography is really beautiful while parts are shot with overly aggressive angles. A headscratcher. |
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186.
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Idiocracy |
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Just plain stupid. |
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187.
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The Benchwarmers |
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188.
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An American Haunting |
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The poltergeist slapfest had me laughing. |
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189.
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16 Blocks |
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190.
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Fast Food Nation |
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No narrative connective thread. |
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191.
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Date Movie |
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192.
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Pulse |
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The most boring horror movie in a while |
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193.
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Crank |
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All noise, and even Amy Smart is uninteresting. |
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194.
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Nacho Libre |
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195.
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Little Man |
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The one positive thing I can say is at least this had character arcs. |
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196.
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Lady in the Water |
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197.
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Basic Instinct 2 |
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198.
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Ultraviolet |
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Like a bad video game. A disappointment compared to the very good Equilibrium. |
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199.
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BloodRayne |
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200.
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The Wicker Man |
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Painfully bad to watch initially, in memory it becomes so bad it's funny. |
STILL NEED TO SEE:
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201.
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Days of Glory |