James Patterson – Movie Reviews – D
MOVIE REVIEWS – D’S
Daddy’s Home
Pick of the Week
As Hollywood’s bad boys have kids of their own—everything changes—and they start making movies with both humor (broad) and compassion. A-
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Dan in Real Life
Pick of the Week
This movie is a good test as to whether or not you’re an [censored]. It’s a generally kindhearted mostly funny film, and if you can’t find something to like about it, well then, you’re likely an [censored]. Steve Carell is officially forgiven for Evan Almighty.
Danny Collins
I will watch anything with Al Pacino in it. He and Annette Bening have terrific chemistry here. It’s also nice to see a more restrained Bobby Cannavale. B
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The Dark Knight
For me, this is the best movie ever made from a comic book series or graphic novel. Except it’s about half an hour too long.
The script is terrific (for two hours). Heath Ledger is great–which is sad. But why make it two hours and forty minutes long?
Maybe the studio guys wanted to make sure that the family restaurant crowd, folks who want more bang for their buck, were satiated. Or maybe it’s just that some writers have diarrhea of the pen.
Like me, and this review.
The Dark Knight Rises
We’re all caught between the greedy mob at the top and the greedy mob at the bottom. What to do, what to do? How ’bout whiling away three hours with the mostly satisfying conclusion of the latest Batman reboot. It’s not my place to get into the tragedy in Colorado except to offer my prayers.
The Dark Tower
Now maybe Stephen King knows how I felt when I saw the third Alex Cross movie. My condolences. Ironically, I wanted Idris Elba to play Alex Cross. C
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Date Night
Date Night is (like Bounty Hunter) a real mixed blessing. The comedy parts with Steve Carell and Tina Fey are funny and sometimes endearing. The crime story isn’t particularly funny and it isn’t suspenseful at all. The problem, I guess, is it’s hard to get writers and directors who can do comedy and crime at the same time.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Pick of the Week
What I admire the most about this film is that, this late in the franchise, somebody dug deep and created the best of the group. The story is good, but the costuming and special effects are amazing.
Daybreakers
Starts out as a really, really promising sci-fi flick but the visual interest is lost in the second half of the story and the flick can’t decide whether it should be an entertainment or something a hair more serious (it should have stuck to being an entertainment).
Deadpool
Lively, funny, bloody. Politically incorrect at all times. Seems to me that the Marvel franchise has become America’s very self-referential, all-family sitcom. B-
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Deadpool 2
I liked DP1. DP2, not so much. Maybe because the lampooning of comic book movies didn’t seem as fresh or original this time. Or maybe because the gratuitous violence overwhelmed the humor. At any rate, at the end of the movie (Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!) I kept thinking, “please let Deadpool really be dead, please let Deadpool really be dead!” C+
Dear White People
Smart writer-director lashing out forward, backward, sideways, up, and down. Can’t say that I blame him. Not sure it will do any good. B
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Defiance
Pick of the Week
You probably only know Daniel Craig in the James Bond movies, but he’s even better in Defiance, and best of all in a small British movie called Layer Cake. This is a dramatic well-told story that deserved a better fate at the box office.
Deliver Us from Evil
We’ve heard this story before—but the film had very good direction and performances.
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Delivery Man
Not enough funny, too much schmaltzy.
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Der Baader Meinhof Complex
First Woodstock, now Baader Meinhoff—ah, the late 60’s and 70’s! Scary folks, those German ideologues.
Despicable Me
To make things simple and easy—this is a fun flick for kids and their parents. What’s maybe a little more interesting is how Hollywood is now making heroes out of bad guys while they demonize just about everybody else—from the police to the military, and even dads. My 12-year-old asked why dads seem to be such idiots in every cartoon series on TV. From personal experience, Jack of course knows that all dads are not idiots. At any rate, a cute movie, but the direction of our entertainment continues to fascinate me.
Despicable Me 2
Pick of the Week
Just about the funniest movie of the summer, and irrefutable evidence that, if we could eliminate most of the live action directors, actors, and studio execs from movies, the world would be a funnier place. It would be a world with no Lone Rangers, no White House Downs, no R.I.P.Ds.; a world where Lindsay Lohan would find true love; a world where Adam Sandler would be an animated character under the close supervision of talented writers.
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
I like Jeff Kinney’s books, but this movie can’t touch Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. Not even close. I’m biased of course. C
Dirty Grandpa
How dare they do this to Robert De Niro. How dare they! C-
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District 9
Wow—GREAT MARKETING! Plus, the story is unique and different, which will usually get the critics on your side. Plus, there’s a message: it’s just wrong to trample all over the rights of those who are different than you, even if they’re aliens. Unfortunately, the tramplers in the real world don’t really care, and the rest of us already have that message. Anyway, I was a little bored and occasionally grossed out, but I liked that somebody tried something new.
Disturbia
Pick of the Week
Has a good script, good actors and good direction. It’s one of the more enjoyable movies I’ve watched in a while, although it is unnecessarily goofy at times. There are a lot of those scenes where you’re screaming at the hero/heroine “Don’t go into that house!”
Divergent
Not as much fun as Hunger Games (at least for me) but a whole lot better than the lame trailer promised. Shailene Woodley is a pretty talented actress, but she’s not an action heroine.
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The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Sorry to say this just wasn’t very good. I feel sorry for Veronica Roth. Weak script and weak direction (and the real tragedy here is the cast is excellent). C-
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Doctor Strange
Kudos to Marvel for trying new things. Guardians of the Galaxy was comedic—and now Doctor Strange has a spiritual side. It also has Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, and some “borrowed” visual panache from Inception. B+
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Don Jon
This feels like a story that comes out of the insight that you would expect a 17-year-old to have when they realize there’s a difference between love and lust. So if that seems powerful to you than this is movie for you. Interesting side note—when I bought my ticket, the woman at the counter said that a lot of people had complained that movie was too gross.
Don’t Breathe
Pick of the Week
Top-notch horror. Puts you on the edge of your seat, but doesn’t make you uncomfortable and fearful that you’re really going to throw up or have a heart attack. A-
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Don’t Think Twice
If you’re interested in the lives and tribulations of comedians—this one’s for you. B
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Dope
Nice cast—a little bit too all over the lot for me. B-
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The Double Hour
Subtitles. This is a very engaging, twisty story, but it uses one trick that’s absolutely verboten in the thriller business. Still, it’s worth seeing, if you can find it.
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Draft Day
Kevin Costner in a movie about sports is always a pretty good idea—and that’s what Draft Day is—pretty good.
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Dreamgirls
A lot of people loved the play and the movie but, unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them. The problem here, for me, is I just don’t care for the music. If you think about it, the idea of taking the original very black rhythm & blues sound and making it “white” shouldn’t produce particularly terrific songs. Ironically, it did just that for Motown-but not, in my opinion, for Dream Girls.
The Duchess
What a set of eyes on that Keira Knightley. Nice costumes and manor houses, too. The story should have been more emotional on screen.
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The Duff
Solid high school comedy with a good cast. I felt it needed a funnier script and sharper direction. B-
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Dunkirk
The battle scenes are strong; the rescue story is strong; but I didn’t really care about any of the characters. B
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