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The Man from UNCLE:
Not a big box office hit, and a film that struggled a little in finding its target audience, this spy thriller based on the TV series from 1964 to 1968 with Cold War overtones, starts slowly, and gets better as it moves along. It’s an origins movie that demonstrates just how Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) and Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) first met, and eventually became partners in the spy game. Having enjoyed the TV series a great deal, I had trouble with the new actors, but more importantly, their characteristics, which did not seem to square with the originals. Once I got past that, I found that the film settled into a pretty good Cold War spy story – not sure though, that the weak box office results will make anyone go for a sequel. Rated 14A.
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We Are Your Friends:
Speaking of box office disappointments, this one was more a disaster than anything else. Zac Efron is Cole, a young guy who hangs out with his friends by day, and dreams about making it in the big-time world of entertainment as a DJ. Sounds pretty simple, until the love triangle comes into play. James (Wes Bentley) is an experienced DJ who decides he will mentor Cole, show him the ropes. Looks fine until Cole seems to take up with James’ girlfriend Sophie (Emily Ratajkowsi). The relationship is under wraps, James doesn’t know anything about it … but he will! What’s wrong with this movie is that it really doesn’t go anywhere, it’s difficult to like any of the main characters, and the payoff is not so good. But for Zac Efron fans, none of that will matter. Rated18A.
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Jimmy’s Hall:
If you would like to try something that is NOT a Hollywood movie, you may find this Irish offering very cool, very different. It’s Ireland in the 1930s, the Depression, a fascist-leaning local government, and of course, the Church. All of these things conspired to send Jimmy (Barry Ward) into exile in the US for a decade, because he had operated a dance hall, and just like the story in Footloose, we know that dancing leads to all kinds of bad things. Now Jimmy is back, and he wants to get The Hall up and running again – not just for dancing, but for meeting, for networking (although that wasn’t even a word yet) and for planning the future. That’s when the local leadership tries once again to put a stop to it all. Rated 14A.
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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013):
It's "living food" that threatens the world to this animated sequel to the 2009 movie which had all manner of food bombarding the world from the skies - giant meatballs, huge potatoes - until the machine that had run amok had been stopped. Now our hero Flint goes to work for a big corporation and tries to make amends ... until he learns that his machine is still out there and is being used to create such living food as shrimpanzees, living pickles, and ravenously hungry taco-diles. It's his job to stop the madness and save the world. Features the voices of Bill Hader, Will Forte, and Neil Patrick Harris. Rated PG.
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EASY RIDER (1969):
The late Dennis Hopper co-wrote (along with Peter Fonda) and starred in what is surely the classic road picture as two guys hit the roads of American on their choppers. Watch for a supporting role by music producer Phil Spector.
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