Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review

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It all comes down to this. After more than a decade, and 21 prior films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (partially) closes its doors with “Avengers: Endgame”. Like most respected critics, I will be following the protocol of Disney, Marvel, the cast and directors Joe & Anthony Russo: #DontSpoilTheEndgame. I’m not going to give away core […]
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‘Breakthrough’ Review

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“Breakthrough” is based on an incredible true story. In January 2015, 14-year-old middle school student John Smith was playing with some friends on a frozen lake in his hometown of Saint Charles, Missouri, when he fell through the ice. Firefighters rescued him after he was underwater for more than 15 minutes. John was first taken […]
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‘Hellboy’ Review

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I’ve been to “Hellboy” and back — to let you know that this reboot is one of the worst films of 2019.  Guillermo del Toro’s 2004 and 2008 “Hellboy” movies were beloved by critics and fans. But two minutes into director Neil Marshall’s take the Dark Horse comic, you’ll realize it’s your money that you […]
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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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‘Little Woods’ Review

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“Little Woods” debuted a year ago at the Tribeca Film Festival. NEON, which acquired the distribution rights, is finally releasing the indie drama. The film is set in Little Woods, North Dakota, a town where newcomers in the oil business are enjoying the benefits of the fracking boom, but many of the locals are still […]
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‘Amazing Grace’ Review

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In January 1972, Aretha Franklin, already a multi-Grammy, #1 hits pop superstar, decided, with her next album, she would go back to her roots. She joined forces with longtime friend/mentor/producer, Reverend James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir on the gospel album “Amazing Grace”. The songs were recorded, over two nights, at the New […]
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‘The Best of Enemies’ Review

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Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” stunned audiences with an untold, incredible true story set amidst the racial tensions of 1970s America involving the Ku Klux Klan. Less than a year later comes “The Best of Enemies”, a softer, but just as surprising, real-life story about 70s race relations and the KKK. Sam Rockwell won an Oscar for […]
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‘Dumbo’ Review

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls: You’ve seen quirky Tim Burton movies. You’ve probably seen wacky Tim Burton movies. You may have even seen a great Tim Burton movie. But you’ve probably never seen a strange Tim Burton movie… quite like “Dumbo”. Yes, strange is a word frequently used to describe Burton movies. But there […]
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‘Long Shot’ Review

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As one character points out in the trailer (though the line didn’t make it into the movie), “Long Shot” is essentially a role reversal of “Pretty Woman”. Seth Rogen is Julia Roberts, and Charlize Theron is Richard Gere. That rom-com premise, with a modern political backdrop, had plenty of potential. But while Rogen and Theron […]
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‘Shazam!’ Review

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I’ll begin my “Shazam!” review the same way I began my “Aquaman” review just three months ago: With the exception of “Wonder Woman”, DC continues to be unable to do the superhero genre “justice”. This time, however, they’ve taken things up a notch. Not only is “Shazam!” poorly made on a number of levels—it’s also […]
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