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FlickFilosopher.com

film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Nope movie review: are we not entertained?

Fri, Aug 26, 2022
5 comments

There are delicious popcorn-movie vibes and horrors galore, both funny-suspenseful and stone-cold bone-chilling. But most intriguing is the twistiness of how the movie grapples with its own existence.

| 5 Comments

The Post movie review: printing truth to power

Fri, Dec 29, 2017
2 comments

Crackles with life and energy, depicting a grand adventure in journalism from almost half a century ago with vigor, suspense, and an urgent relevance for today.

| 2 Comments

Midnight Special movie review: let the children use it

Fri, Apr 08, 2016
5 comments

Intensely gripping drama full of smart, thoughtful, personal twists on some familiar sci-fi ideas. Hums with the hope that a better world is within reach.

| 5 Comments

Godzilla movie review: sympathy for Gojira

Mon, May 12, 2014
248 comments

Elegantly updates the King of All Monsters for the 21st century… but Hollywood’s tedious myopia means the movie as a whole isn’t quite so beautiful.

| 248 Comments

question of the day: Who is the “great American filmmaker”?

Fri, Sep 14, 2012
no comments yet

Steven Spielberg might be my choice…

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question of the day: What is so genuinely special about ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ and ‘Back to the Future’?

Fri, Sep 16, 2011
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Tim Walker at The Independent made me cry yesterday, for reminding me how the movies of my childhood made me fall in love with movies, and for suggesting that such movies may never come again…

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Super 8 movie review: all about Steve

Thu, Jun 16, 2011
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Is it weird that the overwhelming feeling I’m left with after Super 8 is one of a nostalgic melancholy?

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (retro trailer)

Sun, Jun 12, 2011
no comments yet

I can’t wait to see Super 8, J.J. Abrams’ tribute to Steven Spielberg. For now, I have to make do with some actual Spielberg…

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Saturday cute: faux retro novel covers for classic movies

Sat, Dec 04, 2010
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Artist spacesick — whose work I’ve highlighted before — has created a series of faux retro covers for novels that don’t exist for movies that do….

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November 6: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings

Sat, Nov 07, 2009
no comments yet

We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but you’re gonna be busy staring at a big button, arguing with yourself about whether or not to push it. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you … more…

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