12 Years a Slave

It’s certain that some will find Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, the incredible true story of a free African-American musician from New York kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south circa 1841, too unflinching in its depiction of barbarism. But know this…

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Captain Phillips

Paul Greengrass’ tension epic Captain Philips is a slick and satisfying movie treatment of the 2009 hijacking of an American cargo ship off the coast of Africa, and the subsequent kidnapping of its titular commander at the hands of four, small-time Somali opportunists who…

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Gravity

We so often indulge in hyperbole about movies that when one comes along that truly merits such, simply saying it’s extraordinary doesn’t seem enough. But that’s the case with Alfonso Cuarón’s magnificent Gravity, a simple yet profound meditation on survival starring Sandra Bullock as…

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Rush

Rush is exactly that—a thrilling movie ride that steps on the pedal from the opening scene and speeds through a breakneck 123 minutes. Directed by Ron Howard with a dynamism and vigor absent from his respectably commercial previous films, here is a movie that…

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Prisoners

Prisoners is a child abduction drama with a crusading conviction all but gone from the modern Hollywood thriller.  I’m not sure that alone marks it for greatness as some recent Telluride notices were quick to coronate—but it is certainly a bluntly effective tool. Directed…

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Insidious: Chapter 2

James Wan inadvertently created some big shoes for himself to fill by directing this year’s instant classic ghost story, The Conjuring. One of the year’s nicest surprises, the super scary chiller—depicting a haunting and possession as a master class in elegant lighting, sound design…

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