Not-So-Loveable “Losers” **

April 29, 2010 by

What's great about movies like "The Losers" is the lack of intelligence required to enjoy them.
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It Really IS “Kick-Ass” ****

April 21, 2010 by

Have you always wanted to be a superhero? Well, if you weren't already trained to be one by age 11, you might reconsider after seeing "Kick-Ass," the newest and hippest action-adventure flick of the s...
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A Perfect “Date” Flick ***

April 14, 2010 by

To bring down Titans, you need power, and this weekend, the laughs brought the heavy artillery.
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A Perfect “Bedtime” Story

April 8, 2010 by

Last week at Center Stage Theater, UCSB Theater & Dance Dept.'s Ellen K. Anderson unveiled her original play "Bedtime in Detroit" to Santa Barbara audiences. Debuting in New York a year ago, the scrip...
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A Perfect “Bedtime” Story

April 7, 2010 by

Last week at Center Stage Theater, UCSB Theater & Dance Dept.'s Ellen K. Anderson unveiled her original play "Bedtime in Detroit" to Santa Barbara audiences. Debuting in New York a year ago, the scrip...
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Smith Doesn’t Quite “Cop Out” ***

March 4, 2010 by

You may think that Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan make the worst pairing since Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro in "Showtime." Strangely, you would be wrong.
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This “Guy” Is Decent ** and 1/2

February 25, 2010 by

The job of a narrator is to take you on a journey. As a viewer, you have to trust that what you're being told on this journey is the truth. But what if it's not? That's the question that Julio DePietr...
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A Night With the Stars

February 18, 2010 by

While most actors would let a moderator get away with being a bore, Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious") -- who was receiving her Virtuosos Award at the Cinema Vanguards event Friday evening -- did just the o...
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Bullock Storms the Riviera

February 11, 2010 by

If Sandra Bullock had it her way, she'd be taking the 200-liter bottle of Chopin Potato Vodka at the door of Arlington Theatre last Friday night back home with her.
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The Ruins of “Rome” *

February 4, 2010 by

Oh, Veronica Mars, how far you have fallen. You went from a sarcastic, witty teen detective to a flat, broken slapstick humorist. "When in Rome" just happens to be your latest sad attempt at moving be...
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“Legion” = Unholy Failure * 1/2

January 28, 2010 by

The single redeeming value of "Legion" is that it only takes itself half seriously. Unfortunately, neither half really merits watching.
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“Eli” Doesn’t Rewrite the Book **

January 21, 2010 by

Walking into the theater, I wasn't sure what to expect of the Hughes Brothers' latest flick. Of course, that may be the curse of January film drudge more than anything else, but "The Book of Eli" was ...
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Love, Senior-Citizen Style ***

January 7, 2010 by

Filmed and set in our own Santa Barbara, Nancy Meyers' new romantic comedy, "It's Complicated," delivers the laughs and a hell of a view along with it.
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“Pirates” Is Captivating ****

November 19, 2009 by


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Ordinary “Men” ** (and 1/2)

November 12, 2009 by

Maybe it's the way the author of the novel, Jon Ronson, wanted it. Maybe it's the all-star cast with the less-than-stellar script from screenwriter Peter Straughan. Either way, Grant Heslov's "The Men...
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