Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘The Smurfs 2’ Review

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“The Smurfs” was a surprise box office hit back in 2011. Just two short years later, the lovable little blue creatures are facing-off against the evil wizard Gargamel once again in “The Smurfs 2”, which is even Smurfier than the original. Appropriately, Narrator Smurf begins the film, voicing-over a clever pop-up book sequence. He reminds […]
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‘Turbo’ Review

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When it came out this summer “Turbo” drew obvious comparisons to “Cars”, Disney/Pixar’s animated film about auto racing. But this clever DreamWorks creation can stand-out on its own, thanks to a simple, but sincere script which contains a whole lot of heart. Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is a snail with a dream: He wants […]
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‘Despicable Me 2’ Review

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No recent film can better be defined as “short, sweet, and to the point” than the animated sequel “Despicable Me 2”. The 2010 original was a pleasant surprise, as we were introduced to supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) whose evil ways were changed forever by three orphan girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes. And the […]
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‘Epic’ Review

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“Epic” is the latest animated feature from Blue Sky Studios – the makers of the hugely successful “Ice Age” series. It’s directed by the studio’s co-founder Chris Wedge and is loosely based on the children’s book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce. All the elements were in place for this […]
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‘The Croods’ Review

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“The Croods” is DreamWorks Animation’s first film of 2013 (they followed with “Turbo” 4-months later). It’s directed by Kirk DeMicco (“Space Chimps”) and two-time Oscar nominee Chris Sanders (“How to Train Your Dragon”, “Lilo & Stitch”). While “The Croods” isn’t as funny or charming as any of those films, it is visually stunning and has […]
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‘Oz: The Great and Powerful’ Review

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Somewhere…Over the Rainbow…a Disney executive thought it’d be a good idea to re-vamp one of the most popular stories of all-time. The 1939 movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, is a classic. So why mess with something so memorable and so good? Sam Raimi (director of the original “Spider-Man” trilogy) helms this prequel to the film […]
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‘Escape from Planet Earth’ Review

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“Escape from Planet Earth” was the first animated film of 2013. And it will be remembered as one of the year’s worst – if it’s remembered at all. Brendan Fraser leads the all-star voice cast as Scorch. He’s a hot-shot, bright blue superhero alien from Planet Baab who loves attention. However, his brother Gary (Rob […]
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‘Parental Guidance’ Review

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“Parental Guidance” is a shockingly bad family comedy starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. Crystal’s Artie was a longtime minor league baseball announcer who just got fired because he’s not contemporary. Midler’s Diane is a former weather girl who used to sing some of her forecasts. Gee, I’d love to have lived in the cities […]
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‘Delhi Safari’ Review

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It’s not easy for a smaller studio to break into the world of big-budget animated films. Many have tried – most have failed. The latest attempt comes, not from Hollywood, but Bollywood! “Delhi Safari” is the first feature-length 3D animated film produced in India. The original version starred the voices of major Bollywood stars. The […]
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‘Life of Pi’ Review

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Fresh-off it’s 4 wins at this year’s Oscars – including a 2nd Best Director statue for Ang Lee – “Life of Pi” hits store shelves/PPV. In a year of great films, including “Argo”, “Lincoln”, “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Les Miserables”, I’m still stunned that this took home more Oscars than any 2012 release. Based on […]
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