Current Reviews - Sobriety Test Movie Reviews

REVIEW: In the Rotten & Delicious American Hustle, Irving Rosenfeld Survives Ice Fishing in Atlantic City With the FBI Thanks to Sydney's London Banking Connections

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 12, 2013 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

American Hustle

Directed By: David O. Russell

Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Michael Peña, and Robert De Niro

Director David O. Russell has a way of making authentically American films that's undeniable. Just look at his two most recent films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. What could be more American than boxing or the Philadelphia Eagles? Russell's answer to that was apparently getting over on people. In his lat...
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REVIEW: Seeing The Great Beauty of Roma as a Vanishing Trick, Jep Gambardello, King of the High Life, Does Know Why He Never Wrote Another Novel

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 8, 2013 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza)

Directed By: Paolo Sorrentino

Starring: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, and Pamela Villoresi

It's been a week to remember. On Wednesday, President Obama gave a potent speech advocating for the poor that might just indicate the direction for the rest of his second term. On Thursday, we lost a giant of the twentieth century in former South African President Nelson Mandela, a fierce opponent of not just against apa...
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REVIEW: Out Of the Furnace – Although the Acting Is Compelling At Times, This Depressing Tale Has a Bad Ending

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, December 7, 2013 In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Out of the Furnace
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Scott Cooper

Starring: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana, and Sam Shepard

Merry Christmas movie lovers! We have hit the second best time of the year for movies. This week is a slow one as it does not contain any big budget releases. During a brief hiatus from blockbusters like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Frozen and the new Hobbit movie, Relativity Media released its dark drama, Out of t...
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REVIEW: For a New Truck & Compressor, Woody Grant Endures the Circling Vultures in Hawthorne on His Way to Lincoln, Nebraska for His Million Dollars

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 1, 2013 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Nebraska

Directed By: Alexander Payne

Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, and Bob Odenkirk

Bruce Dern was not a lock for the role of Woody Grant in Nebraska. Director Alexander Payne sought out several other talents prior to casting Dern in the role. He reportedly went after his About Schmidt star Jack Nicholson. Rumor has it that the notoriously picky screen legend turned him down. Payne also sought out actor Gene Hackman. The retired star called it a wrap after Wel...
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REVIEW: Black Nativity – Great Music, But This Langston Hughes’ Musical Is Thin On Substance

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, November 30, 2013 In : 0.09% Cocktails

Black Nativity
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Kasi Lemmons

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Nas, and Jacob Latimore

Black Nativity should have been the perfect storm for movie magic. It stars a heavy lineup of Oscar winning and nominated actors, including Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson and Angela Bassett. Black Nativity is set during the holiday season, it revolves around Christianity and family, and is based on a La...

REVIEW: At a Homefront With Meadows & Horse Trails, Ex-Narc Phil Broker & His Daughter Maddy Get Into a Feud With Meth Cook Gator

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 28, 2013 In : 0.09% Cocktails

Homefront

Directed By: Gary Fleder

Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, and Kate Bosworth

Jason Statham movies are always hit-or-miss for me. You certainly get good action sequences, but not much else. He's an action star, not an acclaimed actor. Recognizing this reality, I'm a little ambivalent about his latest thriller Homefront. He offers plenty of great fight sequences and amusing trash talking, but there's no depth to his character whatsoever. The sad thing is that Home...
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REVIEW: Frozen – For The First Time In Forever, A Disney Musical

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Thursday, November 28, 2013 In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Frozen
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Santino Fontana

"That's no blizzard, that's my sister!"
- Anna (Kristen Bell)

Disney has given us the best animated musicals: The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and so much more. However, in recent years, except for The Princess And The Frog, Disney’s animated musicals have been nonexistent. Clever computer animation a la Toy Story...

REVIEW: In Philomena, the Evil Nuns at Roscrea Abbey Ease Martin Sixsmith's Choice Between Russian History & Human Interest Stories

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Philomena

Directed By: Stephen Frears

Starring: Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

At the start of the Thanksgiving weekend, the last thing I thought I needed was a movie about some old lady trying to find her long-lost son. Even with Dame Judi Dench, Philomena sounded like a made-for-television movie you'd find on Lifetime or the Hallmark channel in the wee hours of the night. Nonetheless, I've now seen it, and I must admit that I was quite wrong. Stephen Frears's Philomena packs a surprising punch...
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REVIEW: All the Dumplings in the World Can't Help Spike Lee Answer the Fundamental Question About Evergreen Oldboy Joe Doucett

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 In : 0.09% Cocktails

Oldboy

Directed By: Spike Lee

Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Imperioli

We're seeing an interesting trend this month at the box office. Hollywood is in the mood to distribute English-language remakes of successful foreign films. Last weekend, Ken Scott gave us an Americanized version of his Canadian comedy Starbuck with Delivery Man. It's safe to say that this flick was horrendous. Now, this Thanksgiving week, we have a much bolder remak...
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REVIEW: Guardian Angel David Wozniak and His 533 Children Fail to Make the Delivery Man Any Different From Starbuck

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 23, 2013 In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Delivery Man

Directed By: Ken Scott

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders

Remakes are part of the film industry's DNA, but directors remaking their own original works is something entirely different. That's what's happening with this weekend's comedy vehicle Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn in which director Ken Scott is remaking his own Canadian comedy Starbuck. It's a bold move to say the least. The directors I can notably recall who decided to reimagine their own works ...
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