Movie Reviews
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- 'Animal Kingdom,' 4.5 stars
'Animal Kingdom' -- Writer and director David Michod's film about a low-grade crime family in Melbourne is terrific, with great performances from Jacki Weaver as the matriarch of the clan and Ben Mendelsohn as its quiet, deadly leader. A nephew named J (James Frecheville) is brought into the fold. Can he resist? (R - 113 minutes) P, V.
- 'The Tillman Story,' 4.5 stars
'The Tillman Story' -- Director Amir Bar-Lev's film about Pat Tillman, who walked away from a pro football career to enlist in the Army after 9/11, only to be killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, is maddening, infuriating and moving. Tillman's family fought through government misinformation and cover-ups to get at what really happened - the true nature of which still eludes them. (R - 94 minutes) P.
- 'Machete,' 3.5 stars
'Machete' -- Robert Rodriguez's film about the title character (Danny Trejo), a former federale who becomes caught up in a murky political plot, is insanely over-the-top, and insanely entertaining. The too-obvious points about immigration are balanced by the director's obvious love of making movies. Fun but not for the faint of heart. (R - 105 minutes) N, P, S, V.
- 'Going the Distance,' 2.5 stars
'Going the Distance' -- Confused romantic comedy about a couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) trying to make a long-distance relationship work. The film has some pleasing give-and-take moments between the two stars, but then it switches gears and goes for crude gross-out humor. The finished product ends up all over the place. (R - 102 minutes) P, N, S.
- 'The American,' 3.5 stars
'The American' -- Director Anton Corbijn slows things down in a film about an assassin, played by George Clooney in low-wattage mode, hiding out in Italy, whose life as a loner on the run develops emotional complications. With Clooney, it's an interesting project. Without him, it would simply be boring. (R - 105 minutes) S, V.
- 'The Nature of Existence,' 4 stars
'The Nature of Existence' -- Roger Nygard travels the planet searching for an answer to what might always remain unanswerable. If it's the journey, not the destination, that counts, then Nygard may already have found part of what he's looking for as ''The Nature of Existence'' is a timely, thought-provoking trip. (Not rated - 94 minutes).
- 'Mao's Last Dancer,' 3 stars
''Mao's Last Dancer'' -- Story of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin makes middlebrow mush out of the overcoming-the-obstacles formula plot as it tells the story of how he came to America and the Houston Ballet in the 1980s, and learns that Chairman Mao lied to him about the decadent West. (PG - 117 minutes).
- 'The Last Exorcism,' 3.5 stars
'The Last Exorcism' -- Daniel Stamm's film is intelligent, funny and scary - right up until the end, when it becomes stupid. Patrick Fabian is really good as a charlatan preacher showing a documentary team what a sham exorcisms are; Ashley Bell is even better as the girl who might really be possessed. (PG-13 - 87 minutes) P, S.
- 'Takers,' 2.5 stars
There's a shootout in ''Takers'' that reaches far beyond the movie's generic heist picture storyline and generic one-note performances. It's set in a hotel suite, and it is a symphony of shotgun shells, a tarantella of Tech 9s - bullets spitting, furniture exploding in clouds of padding, stuffing and splinters.
- 'Best Worst Movie,' 4 stars
'Best Worst Movie' Michael Stephenson, who appeared as a child in ''Troll 2,'' one of the worst movies ever, directs this sweet, good-natured and poignant documentary about the making of the film and its rise as a cult hit. (Not rated - 93 minutes.)