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CIA

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent movie review: Cage, staged

Thu, Apr 21, 2022
4 comments

Amusing but instantly forgettable, fueled by a self-congratulatory smugness and self-reference. The best bits are the sincere stuff: a scene-stealing Pedro Pascal and a sweetly vulnerable Nic(k) Cage.

| 4 Comments

The Old Guard movie review: saving the world, one century at a time

Thu, Jul 09, 2020
4 comments

There’s plenty of bruising action, but this fantastic slice of comic-book pulp emphasizes the humanity of its immortal heroes. Gina Prince-Bythewood elevates the familiar with emotional authenticity.

| 4 Comments

My Spy movie review: and you can keep him, little girl

Thu, Jun 25, 2020
3 comments

A “family” comedy about nuclear terrorism, the incompetent CIA agent on the case, and his 9-year-old sidekick. Desperately unfunny, thoroughly misjudged. We are in the worst and the dumbest timeline.

| 3 Comments

The Rhythm Section movie review: out of tune

Wed, Jan 29, 2020
7 comments

Poor Blake Lively does her de-glammed best in this poor Xerox of much better Turn The Urchin Into A Spy thrillers. But there isn’t a single human interaction in this hamfisted movie that rings true.

| 7 Comments

Mile 22 movie review: unfortunately no one can be told what any of it means

Thu, Sep 20, 2018
30 comments

Welcome to the first action movie of the Trump era, wherein civil liberties are a distant fantasy and “no man left behind” has been forgotten, yet this is all “a higher form of patriotism.”

| 30 Comments

Mission: Impossible – Fallout movie review: here we go again

Tue, Jul 24, 2018
20 comments

Masterful. I had so much fun with this, often laughing out loud in relief when the tension of a breathless action scene finally broke. So why am I feeling a bit meh about it?

| 20 Comments

Red Sparrow movie review: undercovers agent

Thu, Mar 01, 2018
34 comments

Ballerina turned whore-spy? This is like a cheap porn scenario, and the Hollywood gloss makes it worse. Risible yet tedious, yet another movie by men that thinks it’s critiquing misogyny yet is indistinguishable from it.

| 34 Comments

American Made movie review: they’re quite bad fellas, in fact

Mon, Sep 25, 2017
4 comments

Style and humor galore, and a hugely entertaining performance from Tom Cruise. But should a true story of immense governmental corruption be quite this fun?

| 4 Comments

American Assassin movie review: we’ve CIAn it all before

Sun, Sep 17, 2017
6 comments

It’s tormented hotheads all around with a hero and villain who are almost indistinguishable and same-old spy stuff racing to a seen-it, been-there ticking-clock finale.

| 6 Comments

Atomic Blonde movie review: bland ambition

Fri, Aug 11, 2017
33 comments

The living, breathing, bleeding life of the breathtaking fight scenes cannot overcome confusingly twisty spy intrigue and multiple male gazes on the story.

| 33 Comments
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