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‘Tales of the Unusual’ taps into humanity’s greatest fears and flaws to teach valuable lessons

Tales of the Unusual is a webcomic series of strange and mysterious stories by Sungdae Oh in which terrible things happen to terrible people 95% of the time, and innocent people are caught in the crossfire the other 5% of the time. Either way, each thrilling tale has a moral at its twisted end.

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‘Run All Night’ is an enjoyable jog through familiar territory

Middle-aged men with a particular skillset have found their patron saint in Liam Neeson. Luckily, a distinctive visual style and some added character detailing keep Run All Night running smoother than most of its sluggish brethren. There’s certainly nothing new here, but this slick little film dispenses its thrills and kills with surprising effectiveness.

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The surprising ‘Focus’ is slick, clever fun

The best con artists let the rube have fun while they’re being hustled. The wonderful new scam-fest, Focus, has learned this lesson well. Of course, none of the scams hold up to later scrutiny, but they’re fun as hell when you’re in the thick of it. Like a simplified Mamet thriller hopped up on Out of Sight juice, Focus breezes by on the confident charm of Will Smith and a clever script that pays off each slight-of-hand with a masterful reveal. So far, this is easily the most entertaining Hollywood film of 2015.

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‘Blackhat’ is a cyber-thriller that makes Solitaire look exciting

Blackhat is a cyber-thriller that starts out boring and ends dumb. It’s almost unimaginable that a gifted director like Michael Mann, responsible for, arguably, the best crime-thriller of the last 30 years in Heat, could helm a film so utterly bereft of tension or drama. Not even his signature hyper-stylized aesthetic can disguise what a lackluster film this is. From the unimaginative script to the indifferent editing, Blackhat needs a complete overhaul to escape the basement of Mann’s distinguished filmography.

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‘The Imitation Game’ is a capable thriller, but fails to decode its hero

The Imitation Game Adapted by Graham Moore, from the book by Andrew Hodges Directed by Morten Tyldum UK | USA, 2014 Secrets are power.  Whether it’s an indecipherable code controlling the fate of millions or one man’s closeted sexuality, secrets can topple the mightiest of empires.  The Imitation Game follows Alan Turing’s race to break …

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‘Nightcrawler’ is a creepy and enigmatic thriller

Dan Gilroy’s latest, Nightcrawler, has a lot on its troubled mind. It intertwines our national obsessions with voyeurism and stardom into a sociopathic nightmare from which you can’t awaken. At its churning center is the mesmerizing performance of Jake Gyllenhaal, who charms you with his infectious intensity, even as he ruthlessly manipulates everyone and everything around him. As the blood flows and the crimes accumulate, Gilroy traps us behind the camera as his passive accomplices. Welcome to the world of the Nightcrawler. Showering after you leave is highly recommended.

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‘Julia’ is a twisted little treat

Julia Written & Directed by Matthew A. Brown USA, 2014 Not all movies have a grand message or thought-provoking theme.  Some movies are satisfied with being a beautiful orgy of sex and madness.  Matthew A. Brown’s debut film, Julia, is a stylized bloodletting that pushes the limits of good taste and tests your allegiance to …

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‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ is gravely misguided

There is a moment in the new thriller, A Walk Among the Tombstones, that you really feel things shifting into overdrive. The unstable elements in the film collide to raise expectations for the excitement to come. Unfortunately, that moment occurs about 90 minutes into the movie. The previous 90 minutes are consumed by Liam Neeson trying to solve a case we don’t care about while being distracted by a subplot we grow to despise. Predictable at every turn, this is a thrill-free zone that makes Non-Stop look like a masterpiece of suspense.

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‘The November Man’ is all filler and no killer

Back in February, it seemed almost unfathomable that 2014 could produce a more listless spy thriller than 3 Days to Kill. Oh, for a return to those bygone days of innocence. There’s a new kid on the block and he looks a lot like the guy who used to be James Bond. Based on a popular series of ‘80’s espionage novels, The November Man feels less like an adaptation and more like the outtakes from some mediocre made-for-television movie. It’s a Frankenstein creation of re-cycled plots and villains, pieced together with lethargic pacing and turgid action sequences. Where are the invisible cars when you need them?

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‘The Two Faces of January’ an undercooked take on an overlooked Patricia Highsmith novel

The Two Faces Of January Written and directed by Hossein Amini USA and UK, 2014 Anyone acquainted with Roman theology or a pub quiz will know that January is a Anglicisation of the Roman god Janus, the two-faced figurine  who stands at the cusp of the new year, simultaneously musing backward at recent lessons and …

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‘The Machine’ a striking sci-fi experience in spite of a glitchy script

The Machine Written and directed by Caradog W. James UK, 2013 Some maudlin producers must be kicking themselves given recent events, as the post-credits blurb of the new science-fiction future-shock film The Machine sets the context of a near-future Britain locked into a new cold war with China. Can’t we simply revert back to the 1980s-era Soviet …

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‘Kill Your Darlings’ is an attention-grabbing beat movement biopic

John Krokidas’ film debut Kill Your Darlings follows the turbulent University years of famed American beat writers Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), Lucien Carr (Dane DeHann) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Set in the early 1940s at Columbia University and on the streets of New York City, the film centers around the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) and the months that led up to it.

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FNC 2013: ‘L’inconnu du lac’ proves that sex on the beach can be deadly

There is a certain simplicity in Alain Guiraudie’s L’inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake) not seen in many films these days. However, that is not to say this is a simple film; it happens to run deep with emotion, stimulation, and humor. The story is set in what appears to be the early 1990s in the south of France, where local men gather around a crystalline lake to swim, sunbathe in the nude, and cruise. Starring Pierre Deladonchamps as Franck, a sensitive and curious young man; and Christophe Paou as Michel, a seductively dangerous stranger, the film is suspenseful, sexy, and smart, not to mention beautifully shot.

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31 Days of Horror (Werewolves): Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ 30 Year Anniversary

Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking dance routines and unique vocals have influenced generations of musicians, dancers and entertainers for decades. He was one of entertainment’s greatest icons, and like most gifted individuals he was always pushing boundaries, reinventing himself, and testing his limits. The New York Times once described him as one of the six most famous …

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MIFF 2012: “Shadow Dancer” moves beautifully to an all too familiar tune

Shadow Dancer Directed by James Marsh Written by Tom Bradby 2012, UK, Ireland There’s no real reason to believe that the artistry required in the making of a documentary is vastly different to that required in the making of a fictional narrative. Nonetheless it is always interesting to watch filmmakers transition from one to the …

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“Glee” Pays Tribute To “Thriller” For The Superbowl Episode

Fox recently announced that the hit-series Glee would produce a Superbowl themed broadcast before this years event. Since the announcement, speculation has been rampant regarding which song/artist the cast would pay tribute to. A Glee source confirms to EW exclusively that Glee will be tackling Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller for their post-Super Bowl episode…but with …

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