Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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‘Patriots Day’ Review

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Less than three months after the release of their collaboration on the disaster aboard the “Deepwater Horizon”, director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg’s depiction of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing – “Patriots Day” – is set to hit theaters. While not the emotional gut-wrencher I was expecting, this is a quality manhunt/investigation drama that […]
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‘The Comedian’ Review

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At 73, Robert De Niro is showing no signs of slowing down. Recently he’s had some big highs (“Silver Linings Playbook”, “The Intern”) and tremendous lows (“Dirty Grandpa”), and some notable work in between (“Hands of Stone”, “Joy”, “Grudge Match”, “The Family”). Now comes “The Comedian” – a rare movie that, following the end credits, […]
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‘Miss Sloane’ Review

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From “The Help” and “The Tree of Life” to “Zero Dark Thirty” and “A Most Violent Year”, Jessica Chastain has consistently delivered fiery performances. You can add her latest effort in “Miss Sloane” to that list. Chastain dominates every scene she’s in (which is most of them) as a fast-talking, win at all cost, DC political […]
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‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk’ Review

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Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” and Kathryn Bigelow’s double-header of “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty” all all examined the effects of the brutality, intensity and devastation of war on the modern American soldier (and Mel Gibson also did it masterfully in the recent “Hacksaw Ridge”). In “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”, two-time Oscar-winning Best […]
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‘Hacksaw Ridge’ Review

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Say what you will about Mel Gibson – the guy can really tell a story on screen. “Hacksaw Ridge” is the first film Gibson has directed in a decade. As an actor, all of his recent comeback projects, including roles in “Edge of Darkness”, “The Beaver” and “The Expendables 3”, have been major failures. But […]
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‘Jackie’ Review

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Natalie Portman doesn’t just play Jacqueline Kennedy in the biopic “Jackie”, she embodies her. The film is centered on the actions of the former First Lady on the days immediately following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963 in Dallas. With such a specific focus, I had similar concerns […]
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‘The Accountant’ Review

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“The Accountant” is one of the most unique films I’ve seen this year. In describing the “genre-bending thriller”, director Gavin O’Connor (“Warrior”) told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s such an odd movie, man.” One of the integral lines of dialogue featured in the trailer and the film is when a supporting character says “Different scares people.” But […]
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‘Kevin Hart: What Now?’ Review

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On Sunday night, August 30, 2015, Kevin Hart performed in front of 53,000 people at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, becoming the first comedian to ever play and sell out an NFL stadium. And that night, Universal Pictures filmed the show for Hart’s third big screen concert movie. I was there, on the field, in about […]
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‘The Birth of a Nation’ Review

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“The Birth of a Nation” enters theaters with a great deal of baggage. The historical drama was screened at Sundance in January to rave reviews and purchased by Fox Searchlight for a record-breaking $17.5 million. The studio hoped to have another Best Picture winner on their hands, just three years after “12 Years a Slave” […]
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‘The Girl on the Train’ Review

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“The Girl on the Train” is not a follow-up to 2014’s “Gone Girl”, as the titles might lead you to believe. And the comparisons don’t end there: both films are based on popular novels. Both stories are disappearance/possible murder mysteries featuring a female at the center of the action (with both actresses giving showcase performances). […]
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