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BRETT MICHEL

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Were the World Mine

A clumsy, queer take on the Bard
High School Musical 3 not quite the gay romp you were hoping for?
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  December 03, 2008

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HFA celebrates Oshima

The HFA looks back at the bad boy of Japanese cinema
The HFA looks back at the bad boy of Japanese cinema
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  December 02, 2008

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Review: Four Christmases

Tests the audiences' tolerance of grim cheer
Rather than the typical snowstorm that strands characters in a Holiday-themed comedy, it's heavy cloud cover that keeps San Francisco couple Brad and Kate from catching their flight to Fiji.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  November 25, 2008

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Bored runs amuk in Saw V

Seeing Saw
As a film critic, I'm obliged to approach every film with an open mind.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  November 07, 2008

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Madagascar ain't no Wall-E

An uninspired sit-com packed with Hollywood stars
It’s a light entertainment that can cash in with election-weary audiences.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  November 05, 2008

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Overwrought Pride and Glory

Overwrought, derivative police procedural
Here comes director Gavin O’Connor ( Miracle ) to demonstrate that threatening a baby — especially with a hot iron — will never be acceptable.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 31, 2008

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Zack and Miri is enjoyably raunchy

Full of raunch and snappy dialogue
Kevin Smith’s ear for raunch is as piquant as ever, but he’s moved beyond his usual unconvincing leads to Judd Apatow regulars Rogen and Craig Robinson.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 28, 2008

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Max Payne comes up cold

Bloodless, PG-13-rated action noir
No longer the undercover DEA agent of the game, Max oversees NYPD “cold case” files. They don’t come much colder than this one.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 25, 2008

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Body of Lies

Another forgettable thriller
For a film dealing with Intelligence, Body of Lies has little enough of its own.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 16, 2008

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Eagle Eye

A credulity-be-damned plot
The trouble with Shia? He’s no Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, or Cary Grant.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 02, 2008

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Interview: Simon Pegg

Shaun of the Dead star on losing friends, alienating people, and wanking off to Gillian Anderson
Thirty-eight-year-old British actor Simon Pegg’s US star has been on the rise since his zombie-movie parody Shaun of the Dead shuffled into multiplexes back in 2004.  
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  October 01, 2008

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Review: My Best Friend's Girl (2008)

Predictability ensues. Hilarity doesn’t.
How many awful films must audiences sit through before producers realize that Dane Cook is not a romantic lead?
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 24, 2008

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Review: The Lucky Ones (2008)

A contrived film about the war in Iraq
A roller-coaster ride toward spurious patriotism; a road trip transporting unlucky viewers from hoo-rah to ho-hum.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 24, 2008

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Towelhead

A grosteque and unbelievable adaptation
Towelhead is the type of tripe that poses as enlightenment in “important” Oscar winners like Crash and American Beauty .
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 17, 2008

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Righteous Kill

A predictable, tedious thriller
It’s been nearly a decade since Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were choosing roles based on quality rather than cash.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 17, 2008

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The Women

A Botoxed ode to Saks Fifth Avenue
Rewritten, directed, and produced by Diane English in a flat style that betrays both her TV roots and her status as a first-time director.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 09, 2008

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Disaster Movie

Devoid of laughs or recognizable actors
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (the hacks behind Date Movie and Epic Movie ) unleashed their second witless rehash of pop culture references this year.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 03, 2008

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Devil at the Gate

Giving voice to Red Heroine
The ensemble has spent the better part of a decade composing and performing soundtracks for silent films, creating their own brand of musical alchemy.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  September 05, 2008

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars

A stiffly-animated, money-grabbing afterthought
It is Star Wars , but it's also an ad for an upcoming video game and an animated TV series debuting in October.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  August 20, 2008

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Henry Poole Is Here

An unbelievable climax that will test your faith
Hopeless Henry Poole (Luke Wilson), suffering from one of those terminal, nameless movie diseases.
By: BRETT MICHEL  |  August 13, 2008
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