Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Missing Link’ Review

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“Coraline”, “ParaNorman”, “The Boxtrolls” and “Kubo and the Two Strings” all raised the bar when it comes to the medium of stop-motion animation. Each challenged storytelling conventions. Each took visual risks that paid off. And they all held firm against the temptation to please audiences of all ages. Unfortunately, Laika Animation’s fifth feature, “Missing Link”, […]
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‘Us’ Review

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Jordan Peele spent years crafting “Get Out”. In his 2018 Best Original Screenplay Oscars speech, he remarked that, “I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible.” But once you’ve made a hit movie, now comes the real hard part: the studio (in this case Universal) wants you to quickly […]
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‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Review

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“Alita: Battle Angel”, from director Robert Rodriguez and co-writer/producer James Cameron, was originally set to be released last July as a potential summer blockbuster. Then FOX shuffled their schedule and pushed it to December, hoping for a holiday hit. But then the studio got greedy with the whole “Once Upon a Deadpool” thing (which didn’t […]
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‘The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’ Review

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Considering the amazingly effective (live-action) revelation at the end of “The LEGO Movie”, it was going to be tough to construct a sequel that proved the spirit, energy and innocence of the original. I just didn’t think it would be this hard. Safe to say, not everything is awesome with “The LEGO Movie 2: The […]
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‘Vice’ Review

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Adam McKay went from making goofy comedies to winning an Oscar for co-writing 2015’s financial crisis dramedy “The Big Short”. McKay collaborated on that script with Charles Randolph. But he went solo on the screenplay for his latest film,”Vice”, while also directing. And it shows. In short, “Vice” is much more of an ‘Adam McKay […]
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‘Stan & Ollie’ Review

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Laurel & Hardy… a comedy duo whose heyday was the 1930s and 40s. That’s over 75 years ago. To be brutally honest, not many people who would truly appreciate a movie about the final years of Laurel & Hardy are still alive to see it. That’s one of the biggest challenges facing “Stan & Ollie”. […]
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‘The Front Runner’ Review

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“The Front Runner” stars Hugh Jackman as former Presidential candidate and scandal-marred political figure, Gary Hart. It’s the first non-musical, dramatic role of Jackman’s post-Wolverine career. Jackman does get one six-second shouting moment that will forever be used on his highlight reel. But an uneven script and superficial treatment of the subject matter hold the […]
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‘Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch’ Review

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You’ve made me a mean one, Mr. Grinch. The book is iconic. The holiday special is a classic. We all know this story by heart. And it makes ours grow three sizes this time of year. Illumination Entertainment, the makers of “Despicable Me”, took a major risk in making a feature-length, CGI animated version of […]
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‘Life Itself’ Review

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The relationship drama “Life Itself” comes from writer/director Dan Fogelman, the creator of NBC’s emotionally-charged relationship drama “This Is Us”. That hit show focusses on a diverse, complex family and their even more diverse and complex storylines that all connect and intertwine in very particular ways. In promoting “Life Itself”, Fogelman has stated that this […]
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‘Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot’ Review

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Gus Van Sant’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” is an off-beat biopic of John Callahan, the lifelong alcoholic who was confined to a wheelchair following a drunken car crash and then become a popular, edgy cartoonist for the New Yorker and other publications. Joaquin Phoenix, one of the most versatile actors of our […]
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