Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘War Machine’ Review

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“War Machine” is based on the 2010 book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Story of America’s War in Afghanistan by the late Michael Hastings. It focused on U.S. Army General Stanley A. McChrystal, who led U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 2009-’10. Hastings spent a few days with the very outspoken McChrystal and his team […]
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‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ Review

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Director Guy Ritchie has a very distinctive style. His movies, including a duo of “Sherlock Holmes” films, “RocknRolla” and most recently “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (which wasn’t a big moneymaker, though a sequel is currently being written), are filled with slow-motion action sequences, extreme close-ups, dialogue scenes that invariably include both flashbacks and flash forwards, […]
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‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Review

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The Guardians of the Galaxy are back. Following the mega-success of the August 2014 debut, Marvel launched plans for a sequel to serve as the lift-off of the 2017 Summer Movie Season. But like The Avengers with “Age of Ultron”, “Guardians” can’t hit the high notes a second time, due to a less than compelling story […]
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‘Gifted’ Review

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“Gifted” is an indie drama about a child genius. Often movies like this are based on true stories. This one is not, and yet the screenplay, though the term suggests otherwise, is far from “original”. Chris Evans plays Frank. He’s a freelance small engine mechanic who repairs boats in a small Florida town. But his […]
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‘The Boss Baby’ Review

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DreamWorks Animation’s first effort of 2017 is “The Boss Baby”, generously adapted from Marla Frazee’s 2010 picture book about a baby with a briefcase who randomly shows-up to the house of a husband and wife. The concept is certainly out-there, and could’ve been taken in a load of directions. My main question going in was […]
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‘The Belko Experiment’ Review

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James Gunn, the creative mind behind Vol. 1 and the upcoming Vol. 2 of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” saga, has written a psychological horror/thriller that mixes originality with familiarity. “The Belko Experiment” pulls you in with an interesting premise that could have gone in a variety of directions, but, ultimately, the film leaves you […]
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‘Kong: Skull Island’ Review

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I was only 7 when the 2005 “King Kong” came out, and the massive Kong image on the posters, lobby displays and magazine covers shook me a bit. In fact, to this day, whenever I see a picture of that Kong,  I still get a little bit of a jolt. A dozen years later, Kong is […]
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‘Live By Night’ Review

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Ben Affleck’s directorial follow-up to 2012’s Best Picture, “Argo”, is a 1920s gangster action crime romance thriller drama, and while obviously ambitious, “Live By Night” plays-out in straightforward, uninspired fashion. The biggest mistake Affleck made was casting himself in the lead role. Affleck was perfectly acceptable as the lead in both “Argo” and “The Accountant” because […]
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’20th Century Women’ Review

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Four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening stars in this dysfunctional family indie. “20th Century Women” is writer/director Mike Mills’ follow-up to 2010’s “Beginners”, the film that earned Christopher Plummer a (honorary) Best Supporting Actor award from nearly every association on the planet. From the little bit I’d seen and read about “20th Century Women”, I […]
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‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Review

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Last December, Disney and LucasFilm revived the “Star Wars” saga with the solid, but highly overrated “The Force Awakens”. More installments and spinoffs were greenly during Episode VII’s production, kicking off with “Rogue One” – an original story set in the middle of the timeline. The concept is, no surprise, very basic: Oscar nominee Felicity […]
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