Sony Pictures Classics Rated R for strong language including some sexual references. Running time: 106 minutes. Three stars out of four. “Whiplash” puts us in the deliciously uncomfortable position of rooting for the shared success of two characters who are unlikable individually and toxic together. It’s one of the most...
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Reviews
What the Flick?! — Whiplash
“Whiplash” is at once thrilling and horrifying. The story of a talented young jazz drummer and his cruelly sadistic mentor features powerful performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons and editing so intricate and masterful, it feels like jazz itself. (Like, seriously, it should win every possible editing award there...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — The Judge
This courtroom drama feels like an overlong, overstuffed adaptation of a John Grisham airport paperback from the mid-1990s. It is clearly the work of a comedy director (David Dobkin) trying desperately to do something more substantive. But it has a few moments that earn their demands to be taken seriously,...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Gone Girl
Matt, Bibbs and I all went a little nuts for “Gone Girl.” This is our sans-spoiler review, so we tried to rave sufficiently about the film without giving too much away. But a spoilertastic edition follows, so be sure to watch that, too — but only once you’ve seen the...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Jimi: All Is By My Side
The makers of the new musical drama about Jimi Hendrix, “Jimi: All Is By My side” took a potential obstacle — the Hendrix estate’s refusal to grant access to any of his music — and turned it into an opportunity. Writer-director John Ridley’s film focuses on the year before Hendrix...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — The Equalizer
Denzel Washington plays a man with a very particular set of skills. But “The Equalizer” is more intriguing as he slowly reveals those skills. By the third act, he’s just blowing things up and walking away from them without looking back. We all liked this, to a point....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Jimi: All Is By My Side
This is a Jimi Hendrix biography without any Jimi Hendrix music in it. That would sound like a problem, but writer-director John Ridley actually has taken an innovative approach to a famous life. I liked this movie a lot. Alonso was not so impressed....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Space Station 76
This may look like a wacky spoof of 1970s sci-fi — something along the lines of “Airplane!” or “Spaceballs” — but Jack Plotnick’s beautifully designed comedy-drama actually has a lot more on its mind. It’s “The Ice Storm,” in space. We all really liked it....
Read moreThis Is Where I Leave You
Warner Bros. Pictures Rated R for language, sexual content and some drug use. Running time: 103 minutes. One and a half stars out of four. Mawkish, self-satisfied and false, “This Is Where I Leave You” strenuously attempts to wring poignancy from its familial clashes and catharsis. More often, it’s cringe-inducing....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Skeleton Twins
Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig have tremendous chemistry as estranged siblings fumbling to reconnect after a decade apart. It’s an unusual dramatic film for them both — although there’s a great deal of twisted laughs in the mix — and the “Saturday Night Live” alumni rise to the challenge spectacularly....
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