Author: catemarquis

ATOMIC BLONDE film review (Mark Glass)

  – By Mark Glass – There’s a guy named David Leitch who’s been a stunt man on over 80 action flicks; shared directing duties on a slew of others including JOHN WICK, JURASSIC WORLD, two Ninja Turtle films, and other major horror, sci-fi and comedy fare; even more noteworthy, he’s been given the helm…

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MAMMA MIA musical theater review

MAMMA MIA! gives long-running tour a fine send off at Fox – By Cate Marquis –   The spandex and ABBA’s ’70s pop songs take the stage one more time for Mamma Mia’s farewell tour, at the Fox Theater, July 28 – 30. The hit musical has been touring for 15 years, and even has…

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THE HERO film review

– By Cate Marquis – Sometimes one role can define an actor’s career. Sam Elliott plays such an actor in late life, facing his own mortality and coming to grips with his life and career, in the sometimes funny, sometimes touching drama THE HERO. THE HERO is an intimate personal drama that draws on universal…

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THE BEGUILED film review

– By Cate Marquis – Sophia Coppola’s atmospheric period thriller THE BEGUILED is a re-make of a 1971 psycho-sexual thriller starring Clint Eastwood. Coppola re-frames the Civil War story from a woman’s viewpoint, where a wounded Union soldier is taken in by a house full of Southern women and girls at a young ladies’ boarding…

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BABY DRIVER film review – by Mark Glass

Don’t judge this slam-bang action flick by its title. “Baby” (Ansel Elgort) is a kid who looks like he’s barely legal behind the wheel, but handles getaway cars like The Transporter series’ Jason Statham’s adolescent clone. The opening chase scene rivals anything Statham or Vin Diesel’s Fast & Furious franchise has served up to their…

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BABY DRIVER film review – by Cate Marquis

Writer/director Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD) delivers the kind of summer movie you hope for – action-packed, light, with a bit of humor – in BABY DRIVER. Car chases and a non-stop jukebox music soundtrack help drive this highly entertaining flick, which shares its title with a Simon and Garfunkel song. This delightful summer…

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BEATRIZ AT DINNER film review – by Mark Glass

I confess to being predisposed to admire films in which an actress who rose to stardom largely on her beauty dives into a role that seriously downplays, if not obscures, the looks that made her famous. The most stunning conversion along those lines was Charlize Theron’s adopted dumpiness for her Oscar-winning role in Monster.  Before…

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THE MUMMY film review

– By Mark Glass – RATING: 1 out of 5 stars (PG-13)   SPOILER ALERT – This review contains plenty, but the film makers deserve them! Reasons not to watch this turkey: 1- Sofia Boutella, who was mesmerizing as the springblade-legged assassin in KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, is completely wasted in this drab role, despite…

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MEGAN LEAVEY film review

– By Cate Marquis – MEGAN LEAVEY is a true story-based drama about young woman whose close bond with a dog changes both of their lives. Although the young woman is a Marine serving in Iraq and the dog is her bomb-sniffing teammate, this really is a touching dog story rather than a war story….

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PAST LIFE – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival – film review

Tuesday, June 6 at 1 PM at Plaza Frontenac Cinema   – By Cate Marquis –   Two sisters uncover their father’s secret past in the true story-based Israeli mystery PAST LIFE, one of the films playing as part of the annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival. The Israeli film, in Hebrew, English German and…

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