‘American Sniper’: Shooting blanks

HollywoodandFine.com The two most disappointing films of the season should have been two of the most gripping: “Unbroken” (also opening on Christmas) and Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” Eastwood’s second misfire of the year (after the deadly “Jersey Boys”). The film is based on the memoir by former SEAL sniper Chris …

The week in film: ‘Third Person,’ ‘Jersey Boys’ and more

HollywoodandFine.com Paul Haggis’ “Third Person” may be the year’s most misunderstood film. It’s also one of the most intriguing. A jigsaw puzzle of characters and plots, it might remind some at first of “Crash,” Haggis’ Oscar-winning multiple-character drama. But “Third Person” has a different agenda. Initially, we see three different …

‘Trouble with the Curve,’ reviewed by Marshall Fine

HollywoodandFine.com Think of “Trouble with the Curve” as the anti-“Moneyball”: a movie that dismisses Billy Bean and Bill James’ data-centric approach to quantifying baseball talent, in favor of old-fashioned gut instinct. It’s also a clichéd and sentimental dramedy, in which the comedy is wan and the drama telegraphs itself like …

‘Outrage,’ reviewed by Marshall Fine

HollywoodandFine.com Takeshi Kitano has always been a rule-breaker so it’s no surprise that “Outrage,” his latest gangster film, should foil expectations. A good part of that has to do with Kitano himself. Cast as a yakuza underboss in a violent, almost Shakespearean tale of double-dealing underworld power struggles, Kitano lets …

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