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Short Redhead Reel Reviews date from 1986 to present. This main page lists the five most recent film reviews. To view a complete list of all films reviewed this month, see Previous Reviews on the right. |
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 |
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Creature Was Stirring, A |
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R 2023 |
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[Opens Dec. 8 in theaters and available Dec. 12 on various VOD platforms.] When sibling strangers (Scout Taylor-Compton and Connor Paolo) break in to the home of a protective, overwrought, crazy nurse (Chrissy Metz) at Christmastime to seek shelter from a dangerous, wind-swept blizzard in Damien LeVeck's creepy, suspenseful, tension-filled, confusing, somber, dark, violent, unpredictable, 100-minute horror thriller, they soon discover that her seizure-prone teenage daughter (Annalise Basso) suffers from a sinister, mysterious condition that turns her into a menacing monster (George Schichtle) unless experimental drugs and methadone injections can keep the creature under control.
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Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story |
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NR 2023 |
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[Opens Dec. 8 in theaters and available on various VOD platforms.] Don Scardino's poignant, factually inspired, semi-fiction, humorous, well-written, satirical, realistic, well-acted, star-studded (Tess Harper, Morgan Fairchild, Jack McGee, John Rubinstein, Bernie Kopell, Sam McMurray, Don Scardino, Ash Sroka, Mindy Sterling, and Stuart Pankin), 93-minute, 2021 romantic comedy punctuated with one-liners and impersonations in which jaded, sarcastic, self-reliant, reserved, movie actress Mariette Hartley goes on a couple of dates with two losers (Peter Onorati and Peter MacNicol) from an online dating app and then meets tenacious, short, witty, Jewish voice actor Jerry Sroka at a bird store in Los Angeles and initially ignores his flirtations, but eventually they begin a tumultuous relationship with ups and downs; geared toward baby boomers.
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Our Son |
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R 2023 |
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[Opens Dec. 8 in theaters and available Dec. 15 on various VOD platforms.] When a workaholic, ambitious book publisher (Luke Evans), who gets support from his parents (Kate Burton and Michael Countryman) and sister Alex (Emily Donahoe), in New York City learns that his unhappy, lonely, wannabe artist, stay-at-home husband (Billy Porter), who is close to his mother (Phylicia Rashad), of 13 years is having an affair with another man (William DeMeritt) and has filed for divorce in Bill Oliver's poignant, award-winning, moving, well-acted, realistic, bittersweet, down-to-earth, 104-minute film reminiscent of Kramer vs. Kramer, tensions escalate and struggles ensue as the bickering couple fight over custody of their 8-year-old son (Christopher Woodley).
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Poor Things |
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R 2023 |
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[Opens Dec. 8 in theaters.] Awesome cinematography, sets, and costumes dominate Yorgos Lanthimos' visually stunning, entertaining, award-winning, original, bizarre, well-written, creative, superbly acted, risqué, wit-punctuated, thought-provoking, 141-minute metaphysical satire in which a free-spirited Victorian woman (Emma Stone) is brought back to life by an unconventional, disfigured, Dr. Frankensteinish scientist (Willem Dafoe), who implanted an infant brain into her body, after committing suicide in London and while craving freedom in all aspects of her life, she runs off to Europe with a smarmy, silver-tongue, rakish lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) despite being engaged to a smitten medical student (Ramy Youssef), and eventually her life comes full circle.
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Patriocracy |
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NR 2023 |
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[Available Nov. 17 on various digital platforms.] Josh Goodman narrates Brian Malone's re-release of the engaging, informative, eye-opening, primarily nonpartisan, insightful, controversial, 86-minute, 2011 documentary that focuses on the polarization and dysfunction in Washington along with potential solutions to fix the issues and consists of commentary by National Public Radio political commentator Ken Rudin, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer, former senator Alan Simpson, reporter Eleanor Clift, Brookings Institute senior fellow William Galston, author and political MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan, Georgetown University government professor Dr. Stephen J. Wayne, senators (such as Kent Conrad, Mike Crapo, Mark Udall, and Mark Warner), representatives (such as Jason Altmire, Rob Andrews, William Cassidy, Jason Chaffetz, Jim Cooper, Gabrielle Giffords, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jared Polis, Paul Ryan, Gwen Moore, and Todd Young), Roll Call Client Relationships VP Arnie Thomas, First Amendment Center Executive Director Gene Policinski, former representatives (such as Mickey Edwards, Newt Gingrich, Bob Inglis, and Bart Stupak), radio & TV journalism chairman Kent Collins, Daschle Group president and CEO Nathan Daschle, and Democratic strategist Kiki McLean.
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See the Full List of Reviews from December |
©2023 by Wendy Schadewald
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