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SPOTLIGHT Director: Tom McCarthy Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Adams, Brian D’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, John Slattery, Billy Crudup It seems to be commonly thought that journalism is not what it used to be. Instead of simply covering the story, there’s a bias thrown in or you expect a certain political angle depending on what channel news you are watching. When you actually stick to the facts and let them speak for themselves, it can in turn be effective and powerful. Director Tom McCarthy takes that approach with the dynamic and moving Spotlight. In July 2001, the Boston Globe received a new editor whenRead More →

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AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Director: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Bettany Hulk, smash! And boy, does he ever in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The sequel to the biggest superhero movie of all time naturally has to be bigger than the first film. Expectations are sky high for writer/director Joss Whedon to bring back that magic and fun of the first one without suffering from sequel-itis. From the very first frame, we are catching our Avengers in the middle of an attack on a HydraRead More →

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AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Director: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, James Spader, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen Is it May 1st yet? Fans are dying to feast their eyes on the latest Avengers movie. The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps getting better with their Phase II movies, and I can just assume that Avengers: Age of Ultron will be the cream of the crop. All of our favorite characters are back plus the addition of siblings Scarlet Witch (Olsen) and Quicksilver (Taylor-Johnson). Plus, Emmy winner James Spader joins the cast as the voiceRead More →

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FOXCATCHER Director: Bennett Miller Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall When you think about casting a wealthy, bizarre, and mentally disturbed wrestling coach, I don’t think Steve Carell’s name is at the top of the list. Leave it to director Bennett Miller to take on that challenge of putting Carell is a role completely different than anything we have seen from him before. He plays John du Pont, a member of the du Pont family, one of America’s wealthiest families. He was a noted ornithologist, author, and had a passion for wrestling. He took an interest inRead More →

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A ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR BENNETT MILLER           On November 5, 2014, I had the opportunity to take part in a roundtable interview with Academy Award nominated director, Bennett Miller. His previous films, Capote and Moneyball both received critical acclaim, and I would not be surprised if his latest film, Foxcatcher, follows in their footsteps by garnering multiple Oscar nominations. The film is based on the bizarre true story of millionaire philanthropist John du Pont (Steve Carell) who invites gold medal wrestlers Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) to his lavish estate to train for the 1988Read More →

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BEGIN AGAIN Director: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener, James Corden, Mos Def, Cee Lo Green I always enjoy a good movie inspired by music or when the music ends up being a driving factor of the story. It adds another dimension to the emotional arch I go through as a moviegoer. Greta (Knightley) is that kind of bashful singer/songwriter that writes great music and wants to be a performer but can’t muster up that “throw caution to the wind” type attitude needed to perform at an open mic night. Her buddy Steve (Corden) drags her up onstageRead More →

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TWIN CITIES LIVE July 9, 2014         We’ve got two movies inspired by music with Begin Again and A Hard Day’s Night and my favorite film of the year so far, Life Itself. 1. Life Itself, starring: Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert, Martin Scorsese 2. Begin Again, starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightly, Adam Levine 3. A Hard Day’s Night, starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr Here’s the video: Video courtesy of Twin Cities Live/KSTP You can find all of my past segments HERE. As always, thank you so much for watching and your continual support. I truly appreciate it!Read More →

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THANKS FOR SHARING (2013) Director: Stuart Blumberg Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins, Joely Richardson, Josh Gad, Alecia Moore, Patrick Fugit, Carol Kane There are many films and stories out there about alcoholics and drug addicts. You do not see too many regarding sex addiction. Even one of the characters questions if that is even a “thing” or not. Adam (Ruffalo) is celebrating another milestone in his sex addiction support group. He seems fully aware of his triggers and is pretty strong at being committed to his recovery. His sponsor/mentor and fellow addict Mike (Robbins) is there to celebrate with him. Mike’s past addictionRead More →

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NOW YOU SEE ME Director: Louis Leterrier Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Mélanie Laurent Magic comes in a variety of forms each appealing to a different kind of crowd. J. Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg) is your fast-talking brainiac who performs your standard set of card tricks. Merritt McKinley (Harrelson) pulls out unsuspecting people from a crowd and gets them to divulge life secrets as a mentalist. Jack Wilder (Franco) makes his living by doing sleight of hand tricks. He may end off ripping people off and stealing their money in the process. Henley Leeves (Fisher) pullsRead More →

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MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS Director: Joss Whedon Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr.,Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston Going into Marvel’s The Avengers you know you are in for one wild ride. It feels like one big party with all your best friends. A magical blue cube called The Tesseract is being housed in a research facility. It contains an energy source of unknown power as well as a portal to another universe. After the cube starts giving off extra activity, Nick Fury (Jackson) is flown in to assess the situation. He is the head of the Strategic HomelandRead More →