Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Free Birds’ Review

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In the animated comedy, “Free Birds”, a pair of turkeys named Reggie and Jake (voiced by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson) travel back in time to the first Thanksgiving in 1621 so they can get their kind off the menu. When I first heard this concept, I thought it was unique, clever and had a […]
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’12 Years a Slave’ Review

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“12 Years a Slave” earned strong critical praise at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. It’s no surprise director Steve McQueen’s latest drama won 3 Oscars, including Best Picture of the Year, and deservedly so. This is a heartbreaking, moving and inspiring film that needs to be seen. Based […]
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‘Dallas Buyers Club’ Review

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Up until a few years ago, Matthew McConaughey was best known for starring in a series of bland, predictable romantic comedies. But thanks to critically acclaimed work in “The Lincoln Lawyer”, “Killer Joe”, “Bernie”, “Mud”, and even last year’s “Magic Mike”, McConaughey is establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s top dramatic actors. And, with the […]
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‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’ Review

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In “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”, star Johnny Knoxville doesn’t attempt daredevil stunts with his buds as he did on the TV show and in previous film installments (including 2010’s highly-successful “Jackass 3D”). Instead, Knoxville is “Bad Grandpa” – 86 year-old Irving Zisman. There’s a ridiculous and irrelevant plot, involving Irving having to take his 8-year-old […]
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‘The Fifth Estate’ Review

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2013 was a break-out year for actor Benedict Cumberbatch. As if his playing (you know who) in “Star Trek Into Darkness” wasn’t enough, he also had roles in Awards Season contenders “12 Years a Slave”, “August: Osage County”, and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”. And there was some early buzz surrounding Cumberbatch’s work as […]
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‘Enough Said’ Review

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The late James Gandolfini shines in the romantic comedy “Enough Said”, which is the next-to-last film of his outstanding career and one that belongs near the top of his acting credits. Gandolfini stars as Albert opposite Julia-Louis Dreyfus’s Eva. They are both divorced, middle-aged parents of daughters who will soon be heading off to college. […]
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‘Captain Phillips’ Review

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I’d probably seen the second trailer for “Captain Phillips” 50 times before the film’s release. That’s no exaggeration. Every scene, every line was engraved in my mind. It’s too bad the trailer gives away far too much, but that’s true of practically all of them. In the case of “Captain Phillips”, since it is based […]
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‘Gravity’ Review

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When I saw the first trailer for “Gravity”, I knew this was going to be one of the movie events of 2013: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts in trouble in space, along with some amazing visuals. And the film doesn’t disappoint. “Gravity” is a heart-pounding adventure, set in a unique location. Bullock’s Ryan […]
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‘Rush’ Review

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The tagline for “Rush” is “Everyone’s Driven by Something”. I was driven to see Ron Howard’s latest because of the very promising trailer (even though it gives away too much). “Rush” has a good cast, a well-respected director and an Oscar nominated screenwriter – Peter Morgan. And I was driven by something during the film: […]
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‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ Review

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In 2009, Sony Pictures Animation’s adaptation of the classic children’s story, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, was served-up to moviegoers, complete with an updated twist. Actually, it was a major overhaul. In fact, the only thing the popular book and the movie script had in common was the title. But the energetic food-fest about a young inventor with […]
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