Behind The Curtain

Concise Reviews for Movie Addicts Who Don't Have Time to Waste

Take a Peek Behind the Curtain

Occasional reviews, reflections, and rants about movies good, bad, and ugly

Recent Reviews

Still of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in ‘Spy Game’ (2001)

Spy Game (2001)

Robert Redford keeps you – and his colleagues – guessing as he races to save protégé Brad Pitt

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Full Review
Still of Josh Harnett and Ariel Donoghue in ‘Trap’ (2024)

Trap (2024)

Josh Harnett is the only reason to see Trap, for a closing shot that evokes Norman Bates in that Hitchcock classic

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Featured Posts

Still of Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Judy Garland, and Jack Haley in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)

Off to See the Wizard – Again, and Again and …

Why did a childhood enchantment became an adult obsession?

A Reflection
Still of George Peppard in ‘How the West Was Won’

The Moment I Fell in Love with Movies

‘How the West Was Won’ sparked a life-long obsession

A Reflection

More Reviews

Still of Amy Adams in ‘The Woman in the Window’ (2021)

The Woman in the Window (2021)

Let this be a lesson to filmmakers trying to emulate a masterwork like ‘Rear Window’: Less is more

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Still of Stephanie Hsu, Michele Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan in ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2022)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Buckle up. Michele Yeoh is perfectly cast as the reluctant hero at the chaotic center of countless parallel lives

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Still of Adam Driver in ‘Megalopolis’ (2024)

Megalopolis (2024)

Even if this isn’t your type of movie, see it anyway. You want to be able to say: I was there when it happened

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Full Review
Still of Don Johnson and Aaron Pierre in ‘Rebel Ridge’ (2024)

Rebel Ridge (2024)

Jeremy Saulnier proves you can deliver a white-knuckle experience without the overworked gunplay and gore

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Still of Lee Jae-in and Jo Woo-jin in ‘Hard Hit’ (2021)

Hard Hit (2021)

Jo Woo-jin is terrific as the desperate father whose one wrong move could be the end of him and his kids

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Still of Helen Mirren, Sasha Luss, and Luke Evans in ‘Anna’ (2019)

Anna (2019)

Sasha Luss executes with intensity and grace in a fast-paced tale that’s more absorbing than expected

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Still of Lee Byung-hun and Ha Jung-woo in ‘Ashfall’ (2019)

Ashfall (2019)

This disaster extravaganza has the right dose of everything: special effects, high stakes, heroics, betrayal, comedy

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Full Review
Still of Mary-Louise Parker, Bruce Willis, and John Malkovich in ‘RED 2’ (2013)

RED 2 (2013)

The RED team (well, most) are back in action, but Mary-Louise Parker once again delivers the chuckles

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Still of John Malkovich, Bruce Willis, and Mary-Louise Parker in ‘RED’ (2010)

RED (2010)

Mary-Louise Parker outshines a dozen other stars in this most watchable espionage-turned-caper tale

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Still of Yum Jung-ah and Hwang Jung-min in ‘Mission: Cross’ (2024)

Mission: Cross (2024)

Yum Jung-ah is terrific as the wise-cracking police woman investigating fraudsters … and maybe her husband

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Still of Daisy Ridley in ‘Young Woman and the Sea’ (2024)

Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

Daisy Ridley is inspiring and buoyant in this biopic of the first woman to swim the English Channel

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Still of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell in ‘Twisters’ (2024)

Twisters (2024)

Twisters revolves around personalities, making it more substantial, but less exciting, than Twister

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