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HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
Animated spooker for Halloween
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LOOPER
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a time-traveling assassin
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WON’T BACK DOWN
Two women fighting school district issues.
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1. THE AVENGERS:
This one has been long-awaited. Where else could you see Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and The Black Widow (Scarlett Johannssen) all in the same movie? The story revolves around Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who wants to rule the earth, and the team of superheroes who think, “no, not right now.” Great special effects, a strong storyline, and lots and lots of clashes of he titans. Samuel L. Jackson is Nick Fury, and Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts. Great action, superb performance. Rated 14A.
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2. SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE:
There was a ‘50s TV series with this title, and despite the black-and-white, low-tech adventures of Tim Kelly and Tubo Smith, it surpassed this direct-to-DVD effort by a wide margin. Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Colm Meaney, and Vingh Rhames all ought to know better … but a gig is a gig, and a buck is a buck. Shot in Ukraine, the premise revolves around thrill-seekers who pay big money to be inserted into an action-adventure scenario … only this time it’s for real, and the outcome is … bloody! Rated 18A.
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3. THE SAMARITAN:
Samuel L. Jackson stars in this action-thriller as a con artist who emerges from 20 years in prison, deciding to go straight. They all say that, of course, and it isn’t long before his past is knocking on the door and he has to make some difficult choices. Jackson does a great job here, on a small budget in a smaller film, but it’s big enough to get your heart-rate up. It was shot in large part in Toronto, and has two Vancouverites in the cast, Debra Kara Unger and Gil Bellows. Rated R.
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SUPERMAN (1978):
The late Christopher Reeves is terrific in this role, but the original casting had … Sylvester Stallone as the Man of Steel. Marlon Brando nixed Stallone, as he had casting approval.
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TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Clint Eastwood at his crusty best as an old baseball scout
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DREDD 3D
Karl Urban takes over from Stallone in this remake of the 1995 sci-fi original
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END OF WATCH
Violent, but most interesting uniform cop story.
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THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
Exceptional horror-thriller with Jennifer Lawrence.
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