Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Beirut’ Review

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Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Tony Gilroy is no stranger to crafting stories surrounding espionage, spies, agencies, double-crossing and deal-making with money and lives on the line. His resume includes the first four “Bourne” films, “Michael Clayton”, “State of Play” and “Duplicity”. “Beirut” is familiar and comfortable territory for Gilroy, who’s written a complex, intertwined and […]
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‘Red Sparrow’ Review

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“Red Sparrow” is being marketed as a sexy spy thriller in which Jennifer Lawrence shows a lot of skin. The truth is – while Lawrence is naked in a few scenes, not only is this misguided and often vile film NOT sexy, but it doesn’t contain a single thrill. In a time when Hollywood is […]
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‘Game Night’ Review

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“Hollywood Game Night”, which debuted in 2013, is the fun NBC competition show, hosted by the always entertaining Jane Lynch. “Game Night”, the new Hollywood comedy, is neither fun nor entertaining. The minute you buy a ticket to this misguided misadventure, you’ve already lost. Husband and wife Max and Annie (they met years ago at […]
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‘Annihilation’ Review

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“Annihilation” is writer/director Alex Garland’s follow-up to 2015’s fascinating, visionary Oscar-winning drama “Ex Machina”. This time he adapts Book One of the popular sci-fi Southern Reach Trilogy, creating the most riveting and thought-provoking film of the year so far. Natalie Portman is excellent as Lena, a biologist and Johns Hopkins professor who specializes in cell […]
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‘Hostiles’ Review

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Scott Cooper continues to be one of the most fascinating, under-the-radar directors working today. Following his moving music drama “Crazy Heart” (which earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar), the gritty “Out of the Furnace” (with Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson) and “Black Mass” (starring Johnny Depp as gangster Whitey Bulger) Cooper now takes-on a genre that’s […]
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’12 Strong’ Review

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At one point in “12 Strong”, Michael Shannon’s character says, “It’s a hell of a thing we do. How do you leave your family and go to war?” It’s an honest, but simplistic line – and that kind of sums up this well-intentioned but all too familiar film. “12 Strong” tells the true, declassified story […]
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‘All the Money in the World’ Review

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“All the Money in the World” is based on the true story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, the teen grandson of the richest man in the world, J. Paul Getty. The kidnappers (Italian radicals) initially ask for $17 million, but Getty, who lives in his elaborate London mansion, refuses to pay […]
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‘The Leisure Seeker’ Review

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“The Leisure Seeker” is based on a 2009 novel and stars two of cinema’s most respected actors, Donald Sutherland (who just received an honorary Oscar) and Helen Mirren (who has earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in this film). It’s being marketed as a comedy, but that’s false advertising. This is actually one […]
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‘Phantom Thread’ Review

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Three-time Best Actor Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has said “Phantom Thread” will be his final film. If that’s true, this is quite a way to go out. His performance as ’50s London fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock isn’t as monumental as his Abraham Lincoln portrayal in 2012’s “Lincoln”. But once again, Day-Lewis immerses himself completely into […]
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‘The Shape of Water’ Review

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“The Shape of Water” is director Guillermo del Toro’s latest visionary… Well, I wanted to end that sentence with the word masterpiece. I can’t say I’m disappointed by this film. In fact, I genuinely enjoyed it. The acting is strong, the look is stunning, and the musical choices are smart. I just wasn’t blown out […]
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