When it works, it's fun, but The Heat could have been better.
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As always, the end of every year in cinema is backloaded with the Oscar hopefuls, and this year is no different with more movies than I can list (but can partially preview here). Once again, with this being the halfway point, I will cut the traditional "10 Best" list in half with a first half five.
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This Is the End goes all out with reckless abandon to shock and entertain and makes zero apologies to the audience. I will admit and stand equal with the other movie critics out there giving This Is the End positive reviews on the observation that, jokes aside, it's all a stinging commentary to the celebrity scene and a cleverly deliberate mocking of blockbuster movies. It has those things going for it.
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All of the creativity and humor of Monsters University is going to go blazing over their heads. In crowded auditorium of families and kids, us adults laughed way more than the kids. That shouldn't happen.
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World War Z isn't perfect, far from it, but the movie is very enjoyable escapism. It does enough to put butts in seats and, for two hours, probably makes you as mindlessly entertained as the movie's zombies are mindlessly wired for human consumption.
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The Kings of Summer, while solid summer counter-programming against the big ticket blockbusters, just isn't on the level of last year's outstanding pair of summer coming-of-age movies.
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Man of Steel delivers on its massive hype, promise, and, most importantly, potential in every possible way. For as challenging and different of directions the creators has taken this iconic character, their choices worked while still retaining every bit of this hero's essence. The unified goal to change the way we are presented Superman and give us something we've never seen before was a phenomenal success. They've done that and then some. This version of Superman is going to be talked about, dissected, and remembered for a long time.
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Here with Before Midnight, Linklater's greater vision to show this couple's realistic flaws matches the greater responsibility the characters now have as parents in their forties. The world they all occupy has gotten heavier with the years, just as our own would. One must wonder if these three artists have something up their sleeve for their fifties and beyond.
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Fast and Furious 6 wholeheartedly succeeds and, despite many spoiler cats being already out of the bag for the coming seventh film next summer, it still surprises with more than enough seat-belt tightening action and twists. Go ahead and let the old farts call it dumb and redundant. They clearly don't know what fun is nowadays. Fast and Furious 6 is perfect summer entertainment.
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Well, it took a second try, but The Hangover Part III actually attempted the rule of a good sequel by expanding the story and raising the stakes. Because this is the finale, there are still plenty of nods and connections to the first two films, but Todd Phillips did attempt some new shenanigans. The trouble is I'm not sure if it was a direction that worked.
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In the end, this isn't just a good sequel. It's a great sequel. Right when you think one story angle can't get more exciting, a new ingredient or wrinkle is thrown in to make the tension and enjoyment that much greater. With a breathless sense of action that builds cliffhanger on top of cliffhanger, Star Trek Into Darkness fires on all cylinders to deliver arguably one of the best summer blockbusters we've ever seen.
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The film's cool and soothing central romance really won me over and I think it will win all of you over too. My initial skepticism level was very high, and not all from the usual book-to-movie debate. It's not often that a movie proves me wrong. The Great Gatsby sure did.
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