Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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The 10 Worst Movies of 2015

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The Worst of the Worst of 2015 come in three varieties – Action Movies, Comedies and…Action Comedies: 1. “GET HARD” In theory, the pairing of Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart was brilliant. But a lackluster script combined with ad-libbing that provides NO LAUGHS equals a really unpleasant experience. 2. “AMERICAN ULTRA” Tries way too hard […]
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The 10 Best Movies of 2015

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This year’s 10 Best list includes three beautiful romances, a pair of indie dramas, a comedy, a sports spinoff, an animated adventure, a powerful documentary and one of the most unique and bold films I’ve ever seen. 1. “YOUTH” This drama, from “The Great Beauty” director Paolo Sorrentino, features a stellar cast led by Michael […]
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2015’s Picture Perfect Pairings

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Some movies go together like popcorn and butter. Here are the best Double Feature mash-up combos of 2015: 1. “Spotlight” & “Truth” – The gritty inner-workings of investigative journalism 2. “Creed” & “Southpaw” – Pound-for-pound boxing dramas 3. “99 Homes” & “The Big Short” – Before, during and after the 2009 stock market/real estate crash […]
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10 Years a Critic

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I am approaching the end of my 10th year as a film critic. The goal here is to sum-up a decade of (as it’s stated on my website) movie news, reviews and views. I could go through lots of movie industry statistics and break down the quality of films by genre, but that would be […]
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The Comic Actor of the Decade

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One of the first films I ever reviewed was the animated adaptation of “Curious George”, starring Will Ferrell as the voice of The Man in the Yellow Hat. One of the last films I will be reviewing in my first 10 years as a film critic is “Daddy’s Home”, with Ferrell re-teaming with his “Other […]
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The Finest Final Scenes of 2015

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Endings can make or break a movie. 2015 featured 10 final scenes ranging from memorable and funny to genuinely emotional and completely unexpected. (SPOILER-FREE – I PROMISE!): 1. “THE PEANUTS MOVIE” – Like the entire CGI feature adaptation of the beloved comic strip and holiday specials, the last scene is sweet, heartwarming and surprisingly moving. […]
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The Critics’ Choices

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Here are my thoughts on this year’s movie category nominees for The 21st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards: BIGGEST SNUBS: Each of the acting categories has six nominees, but four Hollywood heavyweights still weren’t able to secure slots. Will Smith is not up for Best Actor for his performance in “Concussion”, though I think he still […]
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The Golden Globes Embrace the Golden Years

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My thoughts on the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Movie Nominations: No one can ever accuse the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of ageism. With nominations for Jane Fonda (77), Lily Tomlin (76), Al Pacino (75), Helen Mirren (70), Maggie Smith (80), even Sylvester Stallone (69), the HFPA definitely went “Old School” this year. Unfortunately, with […]
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10 Biggest Surprises with SAG Awards Nominations

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Today’s SAG Awards nominations announcement was filled with more surprises than any I can remember. Here are the biggest stunners, snubs and pleasant surprises: 1 – Sylvester Stallone, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Jason Segel, Tom Hardy all left-out of the Actor in Supporting Role category. 2 – Every year one unexpected film seems to emerge […]
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“Big Short” Writer on “Risky” Dramedy

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Charles Randolph is the co-writer of Paramount’s new financial crisis dramedy “The Big Short”, based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling book on the 2007 big banks subprime mortgage scandal, which led to the stock market crash and the Recession/housing market collapse. Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt lead the all-star cast. I recently […]
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