Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Leap!’ Review

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Often, while I’m watching a film that isn’t going so well, I can’t help but root for things to get better. I felt that way during most of “Leap!”, the French-Canadian animated film originally released last year under the title “Ballerina”. The Weinstein Co. is distributing the English-language version in the U.S. which includes, not only […]
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‘Step’ Review

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At first glance, “Step” seems to be a typical documentary. There have been so many films (both fictional and real-life) about a team preparing for a major competition – a group of underdogs looking to pull-off the major upset against all odds. And while that may be the basic framework of “Step”, trust me, you’ve […]
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‘Mune: Guardian of the Moon’ Review

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“Mune: Guardian of the Moon” was released in France in 2015 and earned both the Young People’s Jury Award at the TIFF Kids International Festival and Best Film at the Tokyo Anime Awards. Last year, GKIDS gave “Mune” a qualifying US release for Academy Awards consideration. It was one of a record 27 animated films […]
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‘The Emoji Movie’ Review

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Animated movies have explored the origins, lives and adventures of Smurfs, Trolls, LEGOs and toys of all kinds. Now Sony Pictures Animation pulls back the curtain (or, really, the wallpaper) on the tiny little characters who live in our cell phones. In July 2015, Sony won the bidding war with Paramount and WB for the […]
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‘Despicable Me 3’ Review

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In the opening scene of “Despicable Me 3”, animation studio Illumination Entertainment takes a quick stab at rival Pixar with a blatant and brilliant gag involving the Minions. Both animation giants have released threequels to wildly popular franchises this month. Pixar took a more serious approach with “Cars 3”, while Illumination’s “DM3” is as upbeat […]
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‘Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie’ Review

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Until very recently I thought “The LEGO Movie” and its spinoff “The LEGO Batman Movie” were the most frenetic animated movies I’d ever seen. But a certain superhero origin story, based on books that grade school kids have cherished for two decades, now assumes that title. “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” is extremely fast-paced, wild, […]
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‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’ Review

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The Smurfs are back…again. Sony re-vitalized the beloved little blue creatures with a CGI/live-action hybrid in 2011, followed by a just-as-entertaining, but not as financially successful, 2013 sequel. Now comes an all-CG reboot – “Smurfs: The Lost Village”. It begins, interestingly, with a trip down memory lane: Papa Smurf (Mandy Patinkin, taking-over the voice work […]
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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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‘Beauty and the Beast’ Review

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Gosh it disturbs me to see this, Gaston – such a beautiful film go to waste. My favorite movie has now been remade – and I’m going to share my dis-TAAASTE. Disney’s new live-action “Beauty and the Beast” is based directly on their 1991 animated classic – which I’m always proud to tell anyone and everyone who asks […]
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‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Review

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Move over Christopher Nolan (and yeah, I know I’m gonna get blasted for that) – the saga of the Caped Crusader has soared to new heights with this relentlessly faced-paced and intentionally “Dark” spinoff to 2014’s fantastical, and fantastic, “The LEGO Movie”. The opening shot of “The LEGO Batman Movie” is a black screen. Why? […]
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