A documentary about dancers auditioning for a musical about dancers auditioning for a musical. And it's magical and not only toe-tapping but improbably, overwhelmingly moving.
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by Bill Wine
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4/2/21
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Can a movie be any more pleasurable than this one? As the final credits roll, it will seem impossible.
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by Bill Wine
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3/26/21
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By the time “Sunshine Cleaning” gets to cleanup time, you realize that it's been an original and touching drama. Okay, dramedy. Dark dramedy.
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by Bill Wine
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3/19/21
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Be careful what you wish for. Who knows what they're spraying on that allegedly greener grass?
That's the lesson learned by the title character in the animated cautionary adventure, …
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by Bill Wine
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3/12/21
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Ah, Beltway politics: the political stimulus, the journalistic response, and the big-business muddying of the waters.
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by Bill Wine
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3/5/21
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‘I Love You, Man” is a smart and highly entertaining bromantic comedy. I liked it, man.
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by Bill Wine
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2/26/21
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“Oceans” (2010) is an ecological documentary, the English-language version of a French-Spanish-Swiss co-production narrated by Pierce Brosnan, that examines the watery two-thirds of our planet.
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by Bill Wine
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2/19/21
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A romantic-triangle drama in which Joaquin Phoenix stars as a troubled thirtysomething, heartbroken from a recent breakup, with bipolar disorder and suicidal tendencies, who suddenly finds himself juggling two new romances.
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2/12/21
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It's a "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essay with sprocket holes. And real insight.
It's a "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essay …
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by Bill Wine
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2/5/21
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“Phoebe in Wonderland” (2008) boasts three splendid performances by a trio of gifted actresses. And one of them is — that is, was — a 10-year-old.
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by Bill Wine
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1/28/21
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Each week, veteran film critic Bill Wine will look back at an important film that is worth watching, either for the first time or again.
Ah, seven-minute Saturday Night Live TV sketches adapted …
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by Bill Wine
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1/22/21
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How long does it take to walk down the aisle? In this case, half a decade. Or, as the old joke says, "Marriage is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, suffer-ing."
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by Bill Wine
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1/15/21
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What can brown do for the protagonist of “Cedar Rapids?” Well, let's put it this way: Not much, even though he lives in Brown Valley, works at BrownStar Insurance, and dresses almost exclusively in brown.
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By Bill Wine
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1/7/21
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A one-joke premise it may be. But the central joke in “Be Kind Rewind” (2008) has lots of funny variations. And I'm not just trying to be kind.
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By Bill Wine
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12/31/20
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Rarely if ever – just to understate the case by a country mile – have we needed a jolt of holiday spirit in the form of a feel-good Christmas movie.
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By Bill Wine
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12/24/20
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If pure nostalgia is not what you’re after, think of this oddity as “Mr. Peabody & Sherman’s Excellent Adventure.”
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By Bill Wine
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12/18/20
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Each week, veteran film critic Bill Wine will look back at an important film that is worth watching, either for the first time or again.
The universal desire of children to learn the details of …
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by Bill Wine
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12/11/20
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Set in contemporary New York City, it's a provocative and stylish romantic fantasy suspense thriller with a Big Brother theme. And if its “Inception”-like ambitions aren't quite realized in terms of originality and execution, it's nonetheless intellectually stimulating, emotionally enveloping, and thoroughly engrossing.
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by Bill Wine
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12/4/20
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Each week, veteran film critic Bill Wine will look back at an important film that is worth watching, either for the first time or again.
Quiet tastefulness. Low-keyed sensitivity. Dry wit. Elegant …
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by Bill Wine
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12/1/20
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Each week, veteran film critic Bill Wine will look back at an important film that is worth watching, either for the first time or again.
It should come as no surprise that a Rob Reiner-directed …
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by Bill Wine
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11/12/20
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