COMPLETE UNKNOWN film review

– By Cate Marquis – Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon explore the risks and rewards of shifting identities in COMPLETE UNKNOWN   A woman (Rachel Weisz) who keeps re-inventing herself – as an ER nurse, a free-spirit in Seattle, a magician’s assistant in China – turns up at a birthday party with Clyde (Michael Chernus)…

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HAPPY LABOR DAY! Movies to celebrate unions and workers

Happy Labor Day! Labor Day celebrates working people and the labor unions that brought working people the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour day, overtime pay, work-place safety, paid holidays and vacations, and a host of other protections and benefits. To honor those hard-working people and organized labor, here is a list (in no particular order)…

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MORGAN film review

– By Cate Marquis – MORGAN promises high-tech thrills but delivers only old-fashioned cheesy horror   In the sci-fi thriller MORGAN, Kate Mara plays a corporate troubleshooter, Lee Weathers, who is sent to investigate what is going on at a research facility working on an bio-engineering project after a terrible accident. The project, which centers…

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THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX film review

– By Cate Marquis – THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX strives for mystery but is just a confusing mess   The fantasy drama THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX is a mystery about an accident-prone young boy, Louis Drax (Aiden Longworth) who has survived a series of near-fatal accidents, eight of them. The last…

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EQUITY film review by Mark Glass

– By Mark Glass – Tepid drama about Wall Street machinations offers gender novelty, but little else 2 out of 5 stars (R)   Most of us think that Wall Street, especially at the highest levels, is populated mainly by overly-privileged jerks…or worse; or MUCH worse. That sentiment grew exponentially after the financial disaster they…

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SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU film review

– By Cate Marquis – SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU is sweet, romantic tale of Obamas’ first date Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars   SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU is about the day-long first date of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. The story takes place in Chicago in 1989, when she was a junior…

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EQUITY film review by Cate Marquis

– By Cate Marquis – EQUITY is ambitious film about women on Wall Street but not fully successful entertainment Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars   EQUITY is a film about Wall Street but not the usual kind. For one thing, it is about women working on Wall Street. The film is also not…

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HANDS OF STONE film review

– By Cate Marquis – HANDS OF STONE spotlights boxer Roberto Duran and ‘No Mas’ fight   HANDS OF STONE is a biopic about boxer Roberto Duran, who rose from poverty in Panama and under the guidance of legendary trainer Ray Arcel, won and then lost the championship to Sugar Ray Leonard, in an infamous…

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BEN-HUR film review

– By Cate Marquis – New 3D BEN-HUR is no classic Rating: 2 out of 5 stars   The movies have long been fascinated by “Ben-Hur,” Lew Wallace’s 1880 bestselling novel – two silent versions, a 1907 short one and a spectacular 1925 feature film, and the familiar 1959 Technicolor classic with Charlton Heston. This…

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KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS film review

– By Cate Marquis – KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is lovely, dream-like adventure sure to charm little ones   Younger audiences, say under 8, will be entranced by the story in KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, a tale about a Japanese boy with special powers who goes on an adventure that reveals the mysteries…

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