Josh Tate
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No matter how hard I stare at my keyboard, I cannot escape the pull of the Oscars. The New Bev welcomes twice-nominated director Jason Reitman for its latest guestival. Since there's no official title for the program...
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There's nothing particularly great about Black Dynamite (it's no I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!), but it is a hell of a lot of fun. The normally dour Michael Jai White has a great time as the titular hero, and any movie featuring the fantastic Charlotte Stokely is worth a look. Remember when Gerard Butler was an intriguing actor on the rise -- around the time as Dear Frankie? Now it looks as if he's just...
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A trio of newcomers stormed the box-office this weekend, thoroughly knocking down the mighty Avatar from its lofty aerie. The rancid and cynical Valentine's Day led the pack with a well undeserved $52.4M. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Very Long Title pulled in a solid $31.1M to edge out the better-than-expected The Wolfman ($30.6M). After that it was the aforementioned Avatar ($22M | $659.6M) and the moronic Dear John ($15.3M | $53.1M). The second half...
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Sure the reviews haven't exactly been stellar, but I'm really looking forward to The Wolfman. Benicio + Tony + Emily + (most importantly) Rick Baker = my ass in the seat opening weekend! Thank God it is rated R for "bloody horror violence and gore." I'm sick and tired of these PG-13 horror flicks. Some might say that Valentine's Day is a cynical attempt to cash in on an all-star cast even though the underlying...
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This Valentine's Day, a dozen red roses may be out of the question, but a dozen dead schoolgirls is totally doable courtesy of The Red Riding Trilogy, unspooling in various installments at an exclusive Nuart engagement...
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We can all agree that the Coen Brothers are the finest filmmakers working in America right now, can't we? A Serious Man is further proof of their complete mastery of the medium. Aside from numerous other wonderful scenes, the bar mitzvah and the closing shot at the school are beyond brilliant. I watched The Time Traveler's Wife expecting a good, solid cry. Sadly, it did not deliver (though, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams were their...
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After seven weeks as King of the World, Avatar was knocked from its perch by the maudlin Dear John. The phony love story brought in an obscene $32.4M in its debut weekend to best the Pocahontas rip-off ($23.6M | $630M). From Paris With Love disappointed in its first frame ($8.1M) while Edge of Darkness collapsed in week two ($7M | $29M). The Tooth Fairy -- to America's eternal shame -- is holding up well ($6.5M...
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Ordinarily, the radiant, slightly goofy presence of Amanda Seyfried would have me rushing to the theater (as it will in the case of the randy Chloe), but the noxious presence of Channing Tatum will keep me away from the awful Dear John. Can someone please explain Nicholas Sparks to me? He's still writing? Really? I'm sure it will suck, but From Paris With Love looks like a hell of a lot a fun. Jonathan Rhys...
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While I still prefer the original theatrical version to Milos Forman's 2002 director's cut, it is still a slam-dunk buy on Blu-Ray today. For those who haven't seen any cut of Amadeus I highly encourage you to Netflix | Redbox | Piratebay it today! And, yes, this means you, Aerish! Zombieland wasn't anything great, but damn if it wasn't a fun time. And does it feature the best cameo ever? Everything about House of the...
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Look, Avatar is a fine movie. If I were ranking the best hundred movies of the year, it would certainly find a solid place in the top twenty-five purely based on its technical virtuousity. That said -- why are so many people flocking to the theater to see it? For the seventh God damned weekend in a row, it topped the box office taking in $30M ($594M) to easily bash Mel Gibson's Edge of...
Stories by Josh Tate
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