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 | | 19. School of Rock (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition) | | | Starring: Joan Cusack Sarah Silverman Director: Richard Linklater | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/22/2006 |  | The School of Rock- DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 11/28/2008 7:33 PM | |
A collaboration between indie auteur director Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused) and taboo-pushing screenwriter Mike White (The Good Girl) shouldn’t feel so mainstream. But that’s exactly how The School of Rock plays. Content with the art house cred and critical praise they’ve each acquired, Linklater and White hitch their wagons to leading man Jack Black in a bid for wider acceptance, though their blas overture receives a passing grade when it had the potential to move to the head of the class. read the full review | |
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 | | 27. Freedom Writers (Fullscreen) | | | Starring: Imelda Staunton Scott Glenn | | Format: DVD Release Date: 1/27/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 | | Freedom Writers - DVD By: Norm Schrager - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 4/6/2007 6:34 PM | |
It's always satisfying when a movie defies an obvious formula and delivers something better. Freedom Writers is the first such surprise of 2007, a genuinely touching entry in a genre that often wallows in cliché: a motivational teacher inspiring a group of troubled kids. The list in this category is long, and the quality broad, ranging from To Sir, with Love (Sidney Poitier straightens up hooligans) to Sunset Park (Rhea Perlman coaches hoops!). Instead of sliding into pitfalls of predictability, writer Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, Beloved), who also directs, relies on straight, unforced dialogue delivered by a fine cast. read the full review | |
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 | | 28. Happy-Go-Lucky | | | Starring: Sally Hawkins Director: Mike Leigh | | Format: DVD Release Date: 3/10/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 | | Happy-Go-Lucky - DVD Review By: Kevin Gustafson - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 3/24/2009 9:30 PM | | It’s rare that I watch a movie and have it affect my mood the next day. But after seeing Happy-Go-Lucky, I felt encouraged to behave more like Poppy Cross, the film’s main character. She’s always laughing and keeping bad days in perspective. She sounds like a bomb about to explode, right? Nope. Poppy charmed the heck out of me and I found her hilariously perplexing. Happy-Go-Lucky is a series of peeks into the life of Poppy (Sally Hawkins), a kooky 30-year-old first grade teacher who lives in a North London apartment with her long-time best friend and fellow teacher Zoe (Alexis Zegerman). read the full review | |
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 | | 42. Hamlet 2 | | | Starring: Catherine Keener Steve Coogan Director: Andrew Fleming | | Format: DVD Release Date: 4/14/2009 | | Hamlet 2 - DVD Review By: Chris Cabin - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 12/12/2008 4:33 PM | |
Andrew Fleming's Hamlet 2, a hot potato at this year's Sundance Film Festival which was purchased by Focus Features, takes nothing seriously and that should be taken both literally and pervasively. The humor has an illimitable ardor for defecating on political correctness but it has a similar indifference toward any sort of continuity in filmmaking, storytelling, or style. Written by Fleming and Pam Brady, the film brandishes the sort of overtly offensive, partisan political taunting gags and guffaws that one might find on Comedy Central's South Park, the show Ms. Brady writes for regularly. read the full review | |
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