Saturday movie review: Heart of a Dog

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I was offered the opportunity to review a film that's far out of my wheelhouse, that buzz word of late regarding one's area of interest or expertise. I may not be an expert, but it's typically independent dramas or black comedies that you'll find me reviewing and writing about here each Saturday.

heart of a dog film

I decided to stretch a bit, though, when offered a screener link for the documentary HEART OF A DOG, artist Laurie Anderson's personal...

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Saturday movie review: Goosebumps

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'Tis the season for spooky stories, and there's no scarier tales—for kids, that is—than R.L. Stine's spookfest "Goosebumps" series. The GOOSEBUMPS film, starring Jack Black as Stine himself, celebrates the scary as well as monsters galore, all unleashed from the pages of Goosebumps manuscripts.

GOOSEBUMPS movie poster 

The action/adventure/comedy GOOSEBUMPS, which opened in theaters yesterday, tells the tale of a teen named Zach (Dylan Minnette), who...

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Saturday movie review: The English Teacher

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Julianne Moore is quite an accomplished actress, as we all know, especially in the drama genre. She can also be pretty funny, though, which I realized after recently watching THE ENGLISH TEACHER.

Moore stars with Greg Kinnear, Nathan Lane, Michael Angarano, and Lilly Collins (plus some other familiar faces) in this 2013 comedy, which never hit my radar at the time it hit the theaters but I serendipitously stumbled upon it on Netflix Streaming.

The English Teacher movie

Linda Sinclair (Moore) is a forty-something English teacher who has, pretty much

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Saturday movie review (and giveaway!): Love & Mercy

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Most baby boomers grew up on the music of the Beach Boys. But few of us, I think, know the story behind singer-songwriter Brian Wilson other than that he took to his bed for several years at one point. The dramatic biography LOVE & MERCY delves into Wilson's genius, his madness, his years under the physical, financial and psychological control of a therapist, and his miraculous comeback to music—and life—thanks to a woman who never gave up on him and eventually became his second wife.

 Love & Mercy

LOVE & MERCY (which I received free for review) tells the story of two pivotal periods in the life of Brian Wilson (with full cooperation of Brian Wilson and...

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Saturday movie review: Match

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My husband and I have watched a fair share of movies based on stage plays in the past several months and have been continually disappointed. After we aborted watching about two-thirds of the way through one painfully slow story—with a lovely and talented cast that simply could not save the show—we agreed to steer clear of movies based on plays going forward.

I'm grateful I had no idea MATCH was based on a play before we started watching it. For had I known then refused to watch the film starring Patrick Stewart, Carla Gugino, and Matthew Lillard was originally a 2005 Broadway play written by Stephen Belber and starring Frank Langella, I would have missed out on a minimal yet powerful, thought-provoking, and memorable story.

MATCH movie

Belber wrote and directed the film based on his play about an aging former world-traveling ballet dancer, Tobias or "Tobi" (Patrick Stewart), who's retired from dance and...

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Saturday movie review: While We're Young

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If you're one of those people who, regardless of your age or stage of life, still feel like you're not quite one of the grown ups, that you're a youngster pretending to do and be what folks your age should be doing, then WHILE WE'RE YOUNG will resonate. I assure you I am one of those people, and I assure you the recent dramedy from writer/director Noah Baumbach hit home—and the heart—on multiple levels.

While We're Young comedy

Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts, both teetering on joining the 50+ club in real life play 40-something Josh and Cornelia, a...

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Saturday movie review: October Gale

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Most regular readers of my movie reviews likely realize I favor independent films. And actors who star in independent films.

Two of my favorite independent film actors—Patricia Clarkson and Tim Roth—star in this week's movie review film, OCTOBER GALE. The film also stars Scott Speedman, whom I've enjoyed watching grow as an actor since first seeing him in the TV series Felicity years ago.

October Gale

OCTOBER GALE is a romantic thriller seemingly designed for older movie watchers in the mood for...

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