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This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-rmurray847 Recent reviews written by member rmurray847 en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_488293109380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - FULL DISCLOSURE:  I wrote this review back when the film first came out.  I recognize it thus seems as though Allen hasn't made any movies SINCE this one.  But rather than re-write it all, I hope you'll indulge me.It's been... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488293109380 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:00:10 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488293109380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488287276676?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - WHIP IT is a great example of how perfect casting and an infectious enthusiasm can overcome a many problems in a film.  In the case of Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, those problems are primarily an exceedingly predictable plot and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488287276676 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:09:46 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488287276676?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_488057048708?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - Off and on for YEARS, I would hear about the film THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC.  While I am an avid movie fan and enjoy ALL kinds of films, I don’t truly consider myself a film “scholar” and I always put the movie on my “see it... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~488057048708 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:10:57 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_488057048708?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486745280132?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - The essential premise behind SURROGATES is interesting, although perhaps not entirely original.  It is the not-too-distant future, but 98% of the human population is living through a surrogate.  These robots do everything for you, AS you. ... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486745280132 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:36:20 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486745280132?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486631050884?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - I was very fortunate to be able to see TULPAN at a small movie theatre (rather than DVD) so that I could enjoy it with a few dozen other folks.  But it will play just as well on a wide-screen TV (the bigger the better, though)…because it is... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486631050884 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:36:22 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486631050884?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485754113668?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - While it isn’t exactly an all-time classic, or even likely to be on a lot of “10 Best of the Year” lists, THE INFORMANT is a delightfully offbeat treat that showcases a truly award-worthy performance from Matt Damon. THE INFORMANT,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485754113668 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:58:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485754113668?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485640343172?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - JENNIFER'S BODY isn't a bad movie, exactly...but I'm not certain that it serves much of a purpose. It's a horror movie that wants to be funny and knowing (like SCREAM) and it's also a teen-comedy that wants to be a horror film. The result is a movie that... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485640343172 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:49:17 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485640343172?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485073653380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - HANDMADE NATION examines a “trend” in American life that I didn’t really understand existed (nor am I convinced it is a “trend”).  It’s a documentary about folks who make their (often modest) livings as creators,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485073653380 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:16:38 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485073653380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_483549941380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - There are a few scenes in TAKING WOODSTOCK that are marvels of logistics.  Director Ang Lee is a master craftsperson, and he manages to make this relatively humble film cross the line from seeming to be an ambitious “indie” right into... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~483549941380 Wed, 2 Sep 2009 18:28:00 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_483549941380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_483516649092?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - SITA SINGS THE BLUES is a marvel of imagination and ingenuity. An animated film that has very low production values, yet every frame drips with inspiration. The term "labor of love" is thrown around a great deal...but when you see this film (and if you... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~483516649092 Wed, 2 Sep 2009 12:47:26 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_483516649092?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_482577256068?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - THE LEMON TREE is a quiet, gentle film that tries to tackle a big subject in a fairly small manner. This Israeli film (in fact, it was co-funded by the Israeli film council) wants to illustrate the frustrating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~482577256068 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:58:49 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_482577256068?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_482434715268?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - One of the great pleasures of Quentin Tarantino movies is the wonderfully inventive casting that he employs.  In PULP FICTION, he revived the career of John Travolta, made Samuel Jackson a star, pushed Bruce Willis into another echelon and even... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~482434715268 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:12:48 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_482434715268?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_481585499780?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - Meryl Streep is amazing.  I know this is hardly a revelation to anyone…but just when you think you appreciate Streep at the right level…she pulls off a performance like the one she gives in JULIE & JULIA.  Don’t get me... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~481585499780 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:34:53 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_481585499780?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_481560596100?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - DISTRICT 9 works spectacularly well.  There, I thought I’d just sum it all up right at the beginning.  You can stop reading now.  It’s simply one of the very few movies of this year (which has not so far been a great year for... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~481560596100 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:06:39 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_481560596100?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_480880463492?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - (500) DAYS OF SUMMER is a cute movie with two very likeable stars.  Its narrator tells us at the beginning, “this is NOT a love story,” but it is at the very least a story of romance.  We meet Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greeting... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~480880463492 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:57:55 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_480880463492?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_480586403460?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - I had not seen UNFORGIVEN for nearly a decade when I popped in my HD DVD the other night. I'm not sure what made me decide to view it, but I'm very glad I did. Despite all the other "revisionist" Westerns that have come since the time Eastwood's... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~480586403460 Sun, 9 Aug 2009 12:01:43 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_480586403460?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_479947820676?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - FUNNY PEOPLE is no 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN or KNOCKED UP.  The key thing to know about that:  it isn’t trying to be.  Some have called FUNNY PEOPLE a failure because it fails to live up to the sheer comedic bliss those two movies... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~479947820676 Mon, 3 Aug 2009 19:02:21 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_479947820676?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_479234920068?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - Something I didn’t know before:  the intermittent windshield wiper is a marvel of engineering.  I always took it for granted, and thought it was a pretty simple idea.  But in the ‘50s, all the major American car manufacturers... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~479234920068 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:12:14 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_479234920068?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_479109877380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - There’s something wrong with Esther! In the great tradition of movies from THE BAD SEED to THE RING, ORPHAN gives us a terrifyingly dangerous child named Esther…an orphan from Russia adopted by a loving American family…who soon... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~479109877380 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:12:43 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_479109877380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_479087070852?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - If THE HURT LOCKER wanted to be a movie with a political agenda or message, it failed for me.  And that’s a very, VERY good thing!  While I have not seen every single “Iraq-themed” movie made, I’ve seen enough and read... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~479087070852 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:56:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_479087070852?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478646931076?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - I remember in 1978 hearing on the news that Bob Crane had been murdered.  I was about 14 at the time, and I was a little bummed, because I occasionally watched reruns of HOGAN’S HEROES (although it was never a real favorite of mine). ... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478646931076 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:05:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478646931076?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478379740804?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - I’m a sucker for “serial killer” movies.  I’m always on the search for the new SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, the new MANHUNTER, even the new SEVEN.  But I am so often disappointed!  Sometimes the movie fails to generate... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478379740804 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:17:31 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478379740804?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478258105988?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - Let me be very clear right from the start:  I hated Jodi Picoult’s bestselling novel MY SISTER’S KEEPER.  It suffered from two things.  One, Picoult is one of those writer’s who loves to bounce around from narrator to... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478258105988 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:53:22 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478258105988?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_477354561156?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - Almost no Woody Allen movie is without some good laughs and worthwhile observations.  Also, his movies always feature some interesting casting and usually some delightful locations and great music. The degree of success of his films these days... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~477354561156 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:34:28 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_477354561156?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_476499447428?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author rmurray847 - It’s hard to overstate how disappointed I was in PUBLIC ENEMIES.  Almost every aspect of the film was a letdown.  You’ve got folks like Johnny Depp and Michael Mann on board, and yet the result is long, sloppy and worst of all,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~476499447428 Mon, 6 Jul 2009 19:08:51 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_476499447428?linkin_id=8003929