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‘Criminal’ can’t be saved by a game Kevin Costner

Criminal Written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg Directed by Ariel Vromen U.K., U.S., 2016 Should you browse through the A-list caliber of the cast and decide to give Criminal a chance, don’t. A film where CIA agents swap minds with violent sociopaths seems like it should be a fun surprise like 2014’s Lucy, but …

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What Hollywood Should Learn From Deadpool

Essentially, Fox has nothing to lose by playing it safe, but apparently they don’t have much to lose by backing the ugly underdog, either. The best case scenario? The improbable success of Deadpool gives Fox a mandate to make superhero media weirder, smarter, and more subversive. Worst case: we get another Avengers clone with more sex and blood. Both scenarios make Fox a boatload of box-office money, so why not get a little weird?

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Box Office Sabermetrics: ‘Deadpool’ and Steroids

  In 1996, relatively alright Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Brady Anderson had a career year, posting off-the-chart offensive numbers from out of nowhere. Previously hitting around .240 on a good day, and a home run high of 21 in 1992, he put up a .297/.396/1.034 line, 50 home runs, 110 RBIs, 37 doubles, 117 runs and …

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To Better Know an Anti-Hero: Deadpool

Deadpool’s road to super-stardom, from a 90s-riffic Liefeld character to movie star and perennial bestseller is an odd, almost-unprecedented one. Without a doubt the most successful (in terms of revenue-generation, multi-media exposure and overall popularity) solo Marvel character introduced after Wolverine, Deadpool was born amidst the dying gasps of New Mutants, a series that was being put to pasture in order to transform it into X-Force, a move intended to placate superstar artist Rob Liefeld by giving him a brand new series in which he could cut loose in EXTREME 90s fashion.

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The Odd Couples: Three Strange Ryan Reynolds Pairings

With the new film Woman in Gold out this past weekend, it’s a wonder to think what factors casting agents take into account, especially when pairing a revered British actress with a (some would say) mediocre snarky comedic actor. Obviously Reynolds has lately been taking roles that require more dramatic skills than comedic ones. However, …

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‘The Voices’ will make talking to your pets feel so wrong

Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) spends his days working the nine-to-five shift at his new job at the Milton Bathtub Factory. Jerry is chipper to the point that he may turn some people off, but he never stops trying to make friends. Friends are something that Jerry could use because the only other conversation he has is with his dog Bosco and his cat Mr. Whiskers. Things are looking up though, Jerry has been tasked with planning the company picnic and he’s asked a girl (Gemma Arterton) out on a date. Jerry is so excited to share the news he rushes home to tell his pets about Fiona. Oddly enough, both Bosco and Mr. Whiskers start talking back.

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Week in Review: Chris Pratt could join ‘Magnificent Seven’ remake

As if Chris Pratt doesn’t have enough giant tentpole films to deal with as he rockets his way to the A-list, the Guardians of the Galaxy star is now in talks to star in an actual Western, as opposed to a Western with dinosaurs or talking raccoons. Pratt is set to join a remake of …

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Film4 Frightfest Preview

This bank holiday weekend, Empire Leicester Square is once again haunted by the annual Film4 Frightfest. Five days, three screens and a few dozen premieres, debuts, sequels and rereleases – there should be plenty to keep horror aficionados safe from the holiday sunshine. It all kicks off with Thursday night’s premiere of The Dead 2: …

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‘R.I.P.D.’ is even less lively than its characters

It’s said that Hollywood is always trying to make the thing which was a hit last year. In the case of R.I.P.D., it simply took Universal ten years to get the movie done. The project must have been pitched shortly after the release of Peter Lenkov’s 2001 comic book with the log line “Men in Black with ghosts instead of aliens”, but it spent some time in development hell and was finally released last weekend more out of pity than hope for success.

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‘Turbo’ an unmemorable rehash of Pixar films like ‘Ratatouille’

One of the most exciting, complex, and fully realized animated films of the last 20 years is Ratatouille, Pixar’s creative champion to date. The film presents its audience with a patently insane concept—a rat who wants to cook, and become a master of haute cuisine in Paris—and manages to ground every action, every reaction, and every consequence in reality. Not just the reality of the movie, but the reality of the world; when the kitchen staff at Gusteau’s is shown that the gawky young man who took their restaurant by storm is actually controlled, like a marionette, by this sharp, intelligent rat, all but one quit, because what other action would be appropriate?

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How Smokin’ Aces attempted to subvert action movies…and failed

In early 2006, there was released a superb teaser trailer for what looked like a chaotic, testosterone fuelled action film of insane sensibility. Opening with classical music and title cards revealing that this movie was from “the makers of” Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually, the brief spot promptly nuked the …

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R.I.P.D. partners gun blasts with bursts of cliché

R.I.P.D. Writer: Peter M. Lenkov Pencils: Lucas Marangon Inks: Randy Emberlin Colours: Dave Nestelle Letters: Steve Dutro Cover: Dave Wilkins Publisher: Dark Horse The Rest in Peace Department works for the good of God himself to ensure demons and other such creatures sneaking across into the earthly realm are dealt a gruesome execution. No questions …

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‘The Croods’ a decent, if forgettable DreamWorks Animation entry

The Croods Directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders Written by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco USA, 2013 The Croods is unmistakably a DreamWorks Animation film, something fitting with their recent output. The company has been churning out decent, if unmemorable animated films when not delivering pop-culture-heavy Shrek-like stories. And this new movie, about a …

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‘The Croods’ is by-the-numbers blandness with only a few fleeting charms

The Croods Written and directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk De Micco USA, 2013 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon is arguably Dreamworks Animation’s creative high point to date, and was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the team behind Lilo & Stitch, one of the best hand-drawn animations from Disney since their 90s …

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Can a Justice League movie be as successful as The Avengers?

Marvel Films are sitting pretty at the moment.  Their co-productions, dating back from 1998 with Blade to The Amazing Spiderman, the current reincarnation of the web-slinging hero, have dominated box-offices worldwide and reintroduced comic book superheroes to a new generation. In June 2012, Warner Bros. announced their intention to release a film based on DC Comics’ premier superhero …

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