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THE
GREY (R)
1/2
"Once
more into the fray...live and die on this day."
By
Craig J. Koban
Joe
Carnahan’s THE GREY is a cold, brutally desolate,
mercilessly intense, and viscously efficient outdoor survival
thriller that preys upon viewers’ worst nightmares: being
stuck out in the middle of nowhere where you'll die in one of
two ways (1) due to exposure to the harsh and unforgiving
elements or (2) even worse, due to animals hunting you
down and devouring you...
Posted February 8,
2012
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MAN
ON A LEDGE (PG-13)
 1/2
Film critic on the fence
By
Craig J. Koban
The
very specifically titled MAN ON A LEDGE is a new
thriller that’s a P.W.P. effort, or a film that contains a premise-without-payoff.
It has a decent cast, economical and straightforward
direction, and is legitimately taut, suspenseful and
intriguing for about its first sixty or so minutes.
It also has a compelling narrative hook...
Posted February 8,
2012
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CHRONICLE
(PG-13)
1/2
"Dude,
is so cold up here!"
By
Craig J. Koban
Every
once in a blue moon there are films that manage to break
through the lethargy of the genre they’re occupying and are
able to subvert its increasingly stale and repetitive
conventions. Josh
Trank’s – making a stellar directorial debut - CHRONICLE
is just one of those diamond-in-the-rough efforts...
Posted February 8,
2012
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EXTREMELY
LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
(PG-13)
1/2
Extremely
contrived and incredibly exploitative
By
Craig J. Koban
With
the possible exception of the loathsome REMEMBER ME, there has
arguably been no other drama that has used the events of
September 11, 2001 as shamefully, artificially, and
exploitatively as EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE.
The dread and terror of that fateful day in history
continues to resonate for millions of people all over the
world...
Posted February 1,
2012
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MY
WEEK WITH MARILYN (PG-13)

When
an American screen starlet meets British acting royalty
By
Craig J. Koban
MY WEEK WITH
MARILYN concerns two past heavyweights of the movie world (Sir
Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe) and how these pair of
hopelessly incompatible actors managed to work together on the
1957 film THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL. At
its most compelling, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN represents a clash
of performance styles...
Posted February 1,
2012
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TINKER
TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (PG-13)
1/2
The
anti-James Bond spy-espionage thriller
By
Craig J. Koban
TINKER
TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is an espionage thriller that, unlike so
many other examples of the genre, is not at all concerned with
mindless action and ostentatious pyrotechnics.
There is not much in the way of fisticuffs, gun
battles, car or foot chases, and other customary accoutrements
of the spy film to be found here...
Posted February 1,
2012
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RED
TAILS (PG-13)
 1/2
"My
God! Those pilots are African!"
By
Craig J. Koban
The
George Lucas financed and produced (and apparently ghost
co-directed) RED TAILS is history as told through the pages of
a 70-year-old comic book.
There is no doubt that the flannel-shirted one’s
production – his first since 1994 that does not have STAR
WARS or INDIANA JONES in its title – contains his lifelong
admiration for its subject...
Posted January 24,
2012
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HAYWIRE
(R)
1/2
All
men - regardless of size or might - should fear Gina Carano!
By
Craig J. Koban
It
has been said that Steven Soderbergh wishes to take a long
sabbatical from film directing, largely because he has become
disinterested and uninspired by the profession.
His most recent film, the pandemic thriller CONTAGION,
revealed that he still had much to offer when it comes to
subverting genre expectations with his avant garde
flourishes, but now comes HAYWIRE...
Posted January 24,
2012
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UNDERWORLD:
AWAKENING
(R)
1/2
Selene
versus lycans versus mankind makes for a most tedious three-way
Craig J. Koban
UNDERWORLD:
AWAKENING - the fourth film in the werewolf versus vampire
horror series – is so mercilessly dead on arrival that
feelings of depression swept over me within just a few scant
minutes of watching it. The
film will most likely be considered required viewing for
devotees of the franchise, but as for the rest of us
non-UNDERWORLD fundamentalists...
Posted January 24,
2012
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After
much delay, CrAiGeR
finally reveals ten reasons why you should have rushed
to your local cinema in 2011.
Posted January
16, 2012
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CONTRABAND
(PG-13)
 
Smuggling
away narrative logic and common sense
By
Craig J. Koban
There are
actually three definitions of ‘contraband’:
1. Goods that are
illegal to possess or trade.
2. The name of a
new action/thriller remake of a 2009 Icelandic film REYKIJAVIK
ROTTERDAM.
3. The name of a
new Mark Wahlberg-starring film where he goes through his
obligatory performance motions in a story that yet again
retreads one of the oldest movie formulas in the books...
Posted January 16,
2012
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THE
IRON LADY (PG-13)
 
Not
a compellingly ironclad biopic
By
Craig J. Koban
THE IRON LADY
is proof positive that an extraordinarily skilled and
bravura lead performance can be wasted by an ill-focused
screenplay that lacks any sort of compelling angle.
Here’s an overly
stylized biopic about one of the 20th Century’s most
prominent, powerful, and controversial female politicians that
regretfully has very little – if anything – to actually
say about this woman...
Posted January 16,
2012
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A
DANGEROUS METHOD (R)
1/2
A
Cronenberg/Merchant-Ivory psychoanalytic sandwich
By
Craig J. Koban
David
Cronenberg's endlessly captivating A DANGEROUS METHOD provides
a portal into the past and gives viewers an intimate glimpse
into the two preeminent psychiatric minds of the last 100-plus
years. Mixing
dramatic speculation and historical fact, Cronenberg
collaborates with Oscar winning screenwriter Christopher
Hampton...
Posted January 16,
2012
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WAR
HORSE (PG-13)
 1/2
The
horrors of the Great War through the eyes of a very lucky animal
By
Craig J. Koban
Steven
Spielberg’s WAR HORSE tells a story of youthful friendship
that’s not too unlike his E.T.- THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL,
only this time it involves a young man and his beloved steed.
Like Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, WAR HORSE tells
a story of the brutality of war, but this time around he
delves into the Great War instead of World War II...
Posted January 5,
2012
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MELANCHOLIA
(R)
Lars
von Trier's haunting and majestically rendered apocalypse
By
Craig J. Koban
Lars
von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA has one of the great introductory scenes of the
movies; it contains images of
uncommon and transfixing power. It
opens with the chillingly beautiful musical cues from Wagner’s TRISTAN
AND ISOLDE and then shows a montage of disturbing apocalyptic visions done
with achingly slow moving, but almost lyrically stunning photography...
Posted January 5,
2012
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CrAiGeR
finally unleashes ten reasons why none of you should
have lined up at a movie theater ticket booth in 2011.
Posted January
2, 2012
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WE
BOUGHT A ZOO (PG)
 
I
didn't totally buy this movie
By
Craig J. Koban
Cameron Crowe’s WE BOUGHT A ZOO is a sweet and pleasing
film experience. It certainly
does not lack heart or compassion in the right places. Yet,
the real problem with Crowe’s first feature film in six years (if you exclude
his Pearl Jam documentary) is that, despite its inherent warmth and
humanity, it just didn't feel dramatically genuine throughout...
Posted January 2,
2012
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THE
DARKEST HOUR
(PG-13)
1/2
A
lights out affair when it comes to generating scares or
tension
By
Craig J. Koban
THE
DARKEST HOUR is an alien invasion sci-fi thriller that can’t
seem to do anything correctly with its fairly novel premise.
Worse yet, the film manages to take proven actors like
Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby and saddle them with
horrendously one-note characters to play and even more inanely
wooden dialogue to utter for 90 minutes...
Posted January 2,
2012
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THE
ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
(PG-13)
 1/2
Great
snakes! Herge's classic comic is channeled through the
uncanny valley.
By
Craig J. Koban
On
paper – and to quote its full and official title – THE
ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: SECRET OF THE UNICORN has it all.
We have Steven
Spielberg as director, Peter Jackson as Producer, Weta Digital
providing the computer animation, John Williams lending his
hands for its musical score, and, most crucially...
Posted December
28,
2011
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MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL
(PG-13)

An
'impossibly' exhilarating and action packed sequel
By
Craig J. Koban
The
job of the film critic is to report on what they have seen and how well an
individual film accomplished its prescribed aims.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL - as far as action-thrillers
go - is a rare breed for how it
genuinely astounds us as a non-stop, adrenaline-induced, and feverously
gripping genre picture...
Posted December
28,
2011
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THE
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
(R)

A
slick, well crafted, but somewhat flawed 'feel-bad movie of
the season'
By
Craig J. Koban
The
original 2009 Swedish THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO -
directed by Niels Arden Oplev and based on the novel by the
late author and journalist Stieg Larsson – was one of the
most effective and memorable crime noir thrillers of its year.
It was evocatively stylish, impeccably acted, contained
a fascinating murder mystery, and, most crucially, it
introduced filmgoers to the unforgettable Lisbeth Salander...
Posted December
28,
2011
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SHERLOCK
HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS
(PG-13)
 1/2
Shadowy
and ponderous plotting is afoot here, Watson!
By
Craig J. Koban
SHERLOCK
HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is paradoxically an accomplished and
an unsatisfying sequel.
The film has a broader and more epic feel than its
predecessor and has an even stronger set of production values
(it takes great pains to recreate not only Victorian London,
but also Paris and Switzerland).
It contains a villain that is far more diabolically
ambitious...
Posted December
28,
2011
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YOUNG
ADULT (R)

"I
think I may be an alcoholic."
By
Craig J. Koban
Mavis
Gary was once one of those prototypical prom-queen high school
girls that apparently had everything going for her when she
was a teenager. She
was attractive, popular, and seemed destined to go far in
adulthood. What
Jason Reitman’s YOUNG ADULT ostensibly hones in on is how
this once promising young girl never managed to attain the
type of notoriety that everyone pinned on her...
Posted December
28,
2011
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THE
TRIP (no
MPAA rating)
1/2
A
comedy about food, travel, friendship, and dueling Michael
Caine impersonations
By
Craig J. Koban
Michael
Winterbottom’s THE TRIP is one of the most hilarious movies
that I have ever seen involving two characters that, for the
most part, do very little throughout the story.
Just how little,
you may ask? Well,
its two main stars pretty much drive, eat, and talk (a lot of
the latter) during the film’s 107 minute running time...
Posted December
28,
2011
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r a i g e r ' s c i n e m a c o r n e r . c
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r a i g J. K o b a n
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