Lights Camera Jackson

Reviews, News, and Views from Jackson Murphy

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‘Ready Player One’ Review

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Sorry to disappoint all the haters – including everyone who plastered the internet with phony marketing posters – but “Ready Player One” is a very good movie. Just three months after the release of “The Post”, the best movie of last year (in my opinion) director Steven Spielberg gives us an early “Best of” contender […]
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‘The Post’ Review

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It’s almost unfair. Hanks, Streep, Spielberg, Williams all together on the same film? Arguably, these four make-up the Mount Rushmore of modern cinema. Well, here’s the good news for fans and the bad news for every other movie competing this Awards Season: “The Post” is even better than the sum of its parts. It’s 1971. […]
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‘Wonder’ Review

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There’s at least one movie a year that comes out of nowhere and just speaks to me. Last year it was “Sing Street” – a joyous, deep look at growing-up and finding yourself. This year that honor belongs to “Wonder” – a family dramedy whose subtle power is nothing short of remarkable. Based on the […]
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‘I, Tonya’ Review

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“I, Tonya” made a big splash at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, instantly skyrocketing stars Margot Robbie and Allison Janney to the top of the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards season races. And boy, do they deserve to be there. This is the second recent movie based on an event that […]
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‘Step’ Review

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At first glance, “Step” seems to be a typical documentary. There have been so many films (both fictional and real-life) about a team preparing for a major competition – a group of underdogs looking to pull-off the major upset against all odds. And while that may be the basic framework of “Step”, trust me, you’ve […]
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‘La La Land’ Review

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J.K. Simmons called his “Whiplash” writer/director, Damien Chazelle, “The Boy Wonder”, during his Best Supporting Actor Awards Season run two years ago. Just as he did with that intense indie, the now 31-year-old Chazelle showcases his incredible talent for visually captivating storytelling with the dazzling, “La La Land”. This musical romance was originally set for a […]
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‘Christine’ Review

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Rarely does a movie make me cry. On the few occasions it’s happened, it was at the end of the film. “Christine” not only brought me to tears during the climax, but on two other occasions earlier in the movie, as I watched Rebecca Hall give a painfully resonant and hauntingly brilliant performance as 1970s […]
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‘The Little Prince’ Review

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“The Little Prince”, a co-American/French animated feature based on the classic 1943 children’s book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, proves that animation remains one of the most powerful forms of cinematic storytelling. Directed by Mark Osborne (“Kung Fu Panda”) and featuring a stellar, star-studded voice cast, this is a magical gem. Paramount was originally on track […]
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‘Me Before You’ Review

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Not since Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook” has there been such a winning silver screen romance as Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin in “Me Before You”. Author Jojo Moyes adapts her own 2012 novel, crafting a relationship story that’s packed with emotion. In a recent interview, Moyes said she wouldn’t be […]
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‘Youth’ Review

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Italian director Paolo Sorrentino won an Oscar two years ago in the Best Foreign-Language category for “The Great Beauty”, a phrase that also applies to his latest film, the unforgettable “Youth”. Unlike anything I’ve seen (and likely will see) this year, “Youth” is bold, unique, powerful and deeply moving – the same words I used […]
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