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City of Galt will save almost $100,000 a year with new contracts
The city of Galt will save close to $100,000 annually by piggybacking on landscaping service contracts the Cosumnes Community Services Distric…
- posted: June 19
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Business
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Orchard Supply Hardware files for bankruptcy; fate of Lodi store unknown
The future of the Orchard Supply Hardware’s Lodi store is up in the air since the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Updated: June 17
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Older sister needs to get thoughts under control
Dear Straight Talk: I’m 17 with a 12-year-old brother who I love very much. I’ve always been a good big sister to him. We have to share a bedr…
- posted: June 14
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Changes will be expensive, heavy-handed and unproven
Actually, Common Core is short for "Common Core State Standards," or CCSS. The short version of the story is that CCSS is a federal program to…
- posted: June 19
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Cubs cruise past Cardinals
With a combination of strong hitting and solid pitching, the Lodi Sporting Goods Cubs 9-10 Cal Ripken baseball squad was clicking on all cylinders.
- posted: June 19
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Jason Wallis
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- Despite controversies, Tarantino’s ‘Django’ is a blast
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After an extended hiatus, it feels good to be back. I hope everyone had a festive and joyous holiday season, and may the new year bring good fortune and glad tidings to all.
- Posted: January 11, 2013 Comments (0)
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- ‘Life of Pi’ a rousing but self-important adventure tale
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This certainly has been a rough year for discriminating movie-goers. The generally lackluster nature of 2012’s cinematic offerings has become all the more apparent as I wade through the catalog of potentially worthwhile titles I missed earlier in the year, in preparation for my annual top 10 list (coming early next month). Haven’t seen anything too exciting thus far, but I haven’t lost hope yet.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, December 7, 2012 10:49 am. Updated: 10:54 am. Comments (0)
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- James Bond returns to redeem a problematic franchise
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Happy holidays to one and all! It’s getting to be the most wonderful time of the year, and one of the most wonderful things about it is the bevy of movie options that typically grace us during the last couple months of the year.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, November 16, 2012 7:28 am. Updated: 8:15 am. Comments (0)
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- Thrills and action abound in ‘Argo,’ ‘The Raid’
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It looks like things have improved significantly since we last spoke. There are plenty of reasonable options playing in local theaters (I have not yet seen “Seven Psychopaths,” “Sinister” or “Looper,” but I’m sure they’re all worthwhile in one way or another), and the good times should keep on rolling over the next few weeks with “Cloud Atlas,” “The Man with the Iron Fists” and, of course, “Skyfall.”
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, October 19, 2012 7:19 am. Updated: 8:46 am. Comments (1)
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- Some changes in this column, but no farewell
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You may have noted my inexplicable absence for the past couple weeks. I apologize for this disappearance, but the shameful fact is, I simply felt like I needed a break.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, September 28, 2012 7:32 am. Updated: 8:31 am. Comments (0)
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- High expectations yield mixed results in ‘V/H/S,’ ‘A Separation’
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It’s September, so as far as I’m concerned we are now in the midst of the holiday season. (Yes, I start celebrating a tad earlier than most, and I’m having to resist the urge to bust out the Christmas music before November.) For me, the first leg of this four-month celebration involves the viewing of as many horror movies as humanly possible — a valid goal year-round, to be sure, but particularly pertinent as we approach Halloween.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, September 7, 2012 7:30 am. Updated: 12:53 pm. Comments (1)
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- Got action? ‘Premium Rush’ is fast-paced and nerve-jangling
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We were in the weeds for most of the summer, and browsing the wide release schedule for the next couple months makes it clear that things are only going to get worse before they get any better. But this too shall pass, and before we know it we’ll all be basking in the sweet, comforting glow of the fall movie season, in the company of Steven Spielberg, P.T. Anderson, Ang Lee and James Bond. But rewards must be earned, and for the time being we’ve just gotta grind it out.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, August 31, 2012 7:36 am. Updated: 8:05 am. Comments (0)
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- All-star cast is burden in lackluster ‘Expendables 2’
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I’m not even sure what to say at this point, besides thank God summer’s over. It has been quite an ordeal, and I suppose it’s only fitting that that the season goes out on a grossly disappointing note involving a sub-par sequel. Now we’ve just got to contend with that uneasy transitional period between the summer and fall movie seasons, and we may actually have some good movies to talk about. I’m waiting with breath that is bated.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, August 24, 2012 8:43 am. Updated: 9:47 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘Legacy’ an appropriate continuation to Bourne saga
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As “The Expendables 2” rolls into theaters across the globe (look for the review next week), the 2012 summer movie comes to a close — and I honestly can’t remember ever being more depressed as a moviegoer.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, August 17, 2012 7:49 am. Updated: 8:50 am. Comments (0)
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- Male bonding film ‘Klown’ not for the easily offended
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Last week I offered a few brief thoughts on some cultural issues surrounding the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colo., and events that have taken place since then suggest that I failed to address one of the key questions surrounding this tragedy: Is it safe to go to the movies anymore?
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, August 10, 2012 8:01 am. Updated: 8:10 am. Comments (0)
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- Violent cinema isn’t to ‘blame’ for Colorado movie massacre
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You may have noted that last week’s review of “The Dark Knight Rises” lacked any mention of the tragedy in Aurora, Colo. This was not meant as a show of disrespect to the victims, but as recognition that regardless of its now-infamous status, Christopher Nolan’s concluding Batman film deserved to be discussed on its own merits, as a movie — not as the alleged trigger that set off a madman’s rampage.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, August 3, 2012 7:32 am. Updated: 2:32 pm. Comments (0)
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- ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is the best film of the summer
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This week’s review of “The Dark Knight Rises” comes a little later than I had initially hoped, but oh well — it’s never too late to spread good news. And I advise you to enjoy the good times while they last, because the rest of the summer looks pretty dicey.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, July 27, 2012 7:59 am. Updated: 10:49 am. | Tags: Christopher Nolan , Batman , Gotham City , Tom Hardy , The Dark Knight Rises , Bruce Wayne , Joseph Gordon-levitt , Heath Ledger , Harvey Dent , Christian Bale , Marion Cotillard , Selina Kyle , Anne Hathaway , Jason Wallis Comments (0)
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- ‘Ted’ deserving of unexpected blockbuster success
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I tried to see “The Dark Knight Rises” in time for this week’s column, but that turned out to be a fool’s errand. But never fear — we’ll be looking at the summer’s most anticipated release next time, which I suppose is just as well considering that many viewers will wait until the crowds thin out a bit to see it anyway.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, July 20, 2012 7:28 am. Updated: 9:23 am. Comments (0)
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- Nifty techniques not enough for new ‘Spider Man’
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I fancy myself a halfway intelligent person, but I always seem to make the most head-smackingly stupid mistakes. A “for instance” would be the fact that I didn’t realize the News-Sentinel had an early deadline for the Fourth of July holiday, and found myself prepping for a late screening of “Magic Mike” as I discovered that the Lodi Living section was getting ready to go to press. It seems my stupidity knows no bounds.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, July 13, 2012 7:49 am. Updated: 9:14 am. | Tags: Comics , Spider-man , Sam Raimi , The Amazing Spider-man , Marc Webb , Lizard , Andrew Garfield , Peter Parker , Gwen Stacy , Christopher Nolan , The Dark Knight , Seth Macfarlane , Steven Soderbergh , Emma Stone , Batman Comments (1)
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- Pixar comes through in the clutch — God bless ‘em
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I typically preface reviews of Pixar films with a disclaimer stating that, while I admire their consistently engaging and often groundbreaking work, I do not share the majority opinion that they are the end-all and be-all of contemporary animated entertainment.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, June 29, 2012 7:50 am. Updated: 8:31 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘Rock of Ages:’ Depressingly pointless
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It has occurred to me that I discuss my personal goings-on a bit less than my fellow News-Sentinel columnists do, but in the interest of partial disclosure, I must confess that life has gotten significantly more difficult for me in the past few months. I’ve started a new job that requires many long, grueling, thankless hours in an undesirable environment. The possibility of complete physical and mental collapse is now very real.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, June 22, 2012 7:31 am. Updated: 9:57 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘Prometheus’ gives philosophical approach to sci-fi
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So far, this has been the year of Every Bad Thing. International strife is intensified with each passing day. The world’s economies are teetering on the verge of collapse. No matter who U.S. voters elect as president, we all are completely screwed in one way or another. The list of horrible things that are occurring or await us is too ponderous to even attempt to enumerate, and that’s without even getting into the personal burdens that have been weighing on my mind, rendering me an insomniac. Yet the thing still troubling me most out of all this turmoil is the fact that it’s getting harder and harder to find a decent movie.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, June 15, 2012 8:11 am. Updated: 11:32 am. Comments (0)
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- Catching up on the tube, from ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Community’
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I just didn’t have the heart to take the plunge with “Snow White & the Huntsman,” although its impressive debut at the box office last weekend suggests that it has its share of admirers among the wretched, entertainment-starved masses.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, June 8, 2012 11:17 am. Updated: 11:23 am. Comments (1)
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- ‘Men in Black 3’ forgets the fun
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You ever get to the point where you’re tempted to swear off Hollywood studio pictures forever? I get there sometimes, but then I remember that, although it sounds terribly crass to say, the studio system is capable of producing great work — the best work, even, and I say that as an avid admirer of arthouse/foreign cinema.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, June 1, 2012 7:28 am. Updated: 9:01 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘Dictator’ gives us nothing to laugh about
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We’re still stuck in a bit of a rut, it seems, with the local multiplexes offering very few reasonable choices for discriminating moviegoers — unless, of course, your plan is to see “The Avengers” for the fifth or sixth time, which seems perfectly sensible given the options. “Men in Black 3,” opening this weekend and set for review next, may break the monotony, but I’m trying to further temper my already modest expectations.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, May 25, 2012 7:50 am. Updated: 9:28 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘Dark Shadows’: What the heck was the point?
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It seems that the light of summer has already begun to dim. The very worthwhile “The Avengers” continues to dominate the global box office, and will for some time, but the release schedule for the coming month or so is a tad worrisome.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, May 18, 2012 7:34 am. Updated: 8:47 am. Comments (0)
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- ‘The Avengers’ has coolness of its heros
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The summer movie season is now underway, ushered in by the record-smashing debut of the long-awaited “Avengers” movie — surely the first of many, considering the truly remarkable box office receipts this juggernaut has generated in a very short time.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, May 11, 2012 8:50 am. Updated: 10:21 am. Comments (0)
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- Stop-motion animation is refreshing change of pace
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This week, we venture even further into “The Cabin in the Woods” with an in-depth examination of the film’s deft deconstruction of gender-based archetypes. I kid, I kid ... as much as it would please me to spend the next many weeks harping on (thus far) the year’s best film, surely it is time to move on.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, May 4, 2012 7:32 am. Updated: 7:09 pm. Comments (0)
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- Going deeper into ‘The Cabin in the Woods’
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We’ve hit the two-week pre-summer doldrums I’ve been lamenting about lately, and frankly I think we both have better things to do with our time and efforts than read and write about “Think Like a Man” or “The Lucky One” or “The Three Stooges” or whatever other nonsense that opened last week. (However, in the interest of keeping reviews current and filling my quota of family titles, I will bow to pressure and take a look at “Pirates! Band of Misfits” next time. “The Avengers,” of course, will follow.)
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, April 27, 2012 7:36 am. Updated: 8:44 am. Comments (0)
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- If you don’t like horror, ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ will make you fall in love
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So … Turns out I was wrong about “The Cabin in the Woods.” How wrong? Put it this way: If I see a more entertaining and creative movie in the entirety of 2012, I will be very pleasantly surprised.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, April 20, 2012 7:36 am. Updated: 10:21 am. | Tags: Joss Whedon , Horror Film , The Cabin In The Woods , Jason Wallis , Movie Review Comments (0)
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- Nostalgic ‘American Reunion’ nothing but cash grab
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“American Reunion” this week. “The Cabin in the Woods” next week. Some manner of nonsense for a couple weeks after that. Summer can’t come soon enough.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, April 13, 2012 8:03 am. Updated: 1:44 pm. Comments (0)
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- ‘The Hunger Games:’ So what’s the point?
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I humbly apologize for my absence last week. An unfortunate occurrence in my personal life prevented me from making a trip to the theater, but things have calmed down and it’s back to the grind.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, April 6, 2012 9:02 am. Updated: 9:10 am. Comments (0)
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- A movie for those who feel like laughing hard
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We’re finally out of the post-winter doldrums and in the midst of the buildup to the summer movie season, and I must admit I’m pretty psyched. With any luck we have a handful of high-quality event movies to look forward to (on that note, check back next time for a look at “The Hunger Games”), and perhaps some of the “lesser” titles will provide some pleasant surprises. Take this week’s pick, which I was initially not even going to see until early reviews swayed my opinion just enough to give it a shot. Turns out it’s the best time I’ve had at the movies so far this year, and easily the most flat-out funny flick I’ve seen since last year’s “Horrible Bosses.” Go figure, huh?
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, March 23, 2012 8:07 am. Updated: 8:17 am. Comments (0)
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- From ‘Hunger Games’ to ‘4:44,’ summer film lineup is promising
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As we begin the countdown to the start of the summer movie season (which, as per tradition, actually begins well before summer), I offer a brief preview of the remaining spring titles.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, March 16, 2012 7:48 am. Updated: 9:40 am. Comments (0)
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- Danger, illegal party antics in fun ‘Project X’
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With awards season now well behind us, it is time to start looking ahead to the pre-summer releases (admittedly there aren’t many, since according to the Hollywood calendar summer starts in about six weeks).
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, March 9, 2012 8:10 am. Updated: 12:25 pm. | Tags: Project X , Movie Reviews , Jason Wallis Comments (0)
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- ‘Woman in Black’ is a crafted horror flick
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So … how ‘bout them Oscars? I was originally planning to do my usual Academy Awards response column this week, but really, what’s the point? I told you that the show would be awful and insulting, and lo and behold I was right — kinda.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, March 2, 2012 7:31 am. Updated: 8:55 am. Comments (0)
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- News-Sentinel film critic Jason Wallis names his top picks for Sunday’s Academy Awards
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I always try to get as excited as possible about the Academy Awards, that time-honored annual tradition in which Hollywood enrages the nation’s cinephiles by consistently displaying the most remarkable lack of good taste and common decency imaginable.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, February 24, 2012 7:41 am. Updated: 8:40 am. Comments (1)
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- Safe, boring plot in Denzel Washington’s ‘Safe House’
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As evidenced by this week‘s review, the quality of new wide releases appears to be dipping again — a definite disappointment, considering how strong the year started off.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, February 17, 2012 9:20 am. Updated: 11:14 am. | Tags: Denzel Washington , Safe House , Donald Knuth , Ryan Reynolds , Daniel Espinosa , Tony Scott , Central Intelligence Agency , Alonzo Harris , Jason Wallis , Movie Reviews Comments (0)
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- A deft mash-up of ‘found footage,’ superhero genres
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Quite unexpectedly, the first couple months of 2012 continue to offer some quality choices for discriminating movie-goers.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, February 10, 2012 7:47 am. Updated: 8:50 am. Comments (0)
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- Action movies inject life into a dull moviegoing month
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February typically serves as a dumping ground for weak studio films that offer an easy alternative to “mainstream” audiences who don’t see Oscar bait, but this year has brought some welcome surprises.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, February 3, 2012 7:30 am. Updated: 7:40 am. | Tags: Joe Carnahan , Liam Neeson , Steven Soderbergh , Roman Polanski , The Woman In Black , Kate Winslet , Gina Carano , Jason Wallis , Christoph Waltz , Jodie Foster , John C. Reilly , The Grey , Carnage , Haywire , Movie Reviews Comments (0)
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- The annual airing of Oscar grievances
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Technical complications at the “Haywire” screening I attempted to attend have left me without a film to review this week (we’ll catch up with that one next time, along with the Liam Neeson survival thriller “The Grey”). But this is just as well, I suppose, considering that the recent Oscar nominations have inspired more controversy than I’ve ever seen associated with the Academy Awards, and of course I have some choice thoughts about that.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, January 27, 2012 8:05 am. Updated: 9:44 am. | Tags: Academy Award , Oscar , Jason Wallis Comments (0)
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- Catching up with some likely Oscar nominees
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Typically, I spend the first six weeks or so of each new year playing catch-up with all the Oscar bait that was released around Christmas. But as it turns out this awards season didn’t produce as many true prestige pictures as expected, so starting next week we’ll be returning to new releases with a look at Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed action flick “Haywire,” followed by a review of the Liam Neeson vs. wolves survival thriller “The Grey” (I’ll also briefly return to the 2011 awards contenders with a piece on “The Artist,” if it ever opens in the Lodi-Stockton area).
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, January 20, 2012 7:37 am. Updated: 11:56 am. Comments (0)
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- Despite the hype, ‘Tinker, Tailor’ is old-fashioned snooze-fest
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Hope you all enjoyed my top 10 list last week, and gleaned some useful recommendations. This week I’ll take a very quick look at “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” which made my “most promising films I didn’t see” list but ended up being one of the most spirit-crushing disappointments of the year. I honestly don’t have much to say about such an empty film, so I suppose I might as well squeeze in my predictions for the Oscar nominations, set to be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at which point you will surely marvel at my peerless prognosticative abilities.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, January 13, 2012 7:43 am. Updated: 7:25 am. | Tags: Gary Oldman , Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , Jason Wallis , Movie Reviews Comments (3)
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- ‘Dragon Tattoo’ is Fincher’s antidote to holiday cheer
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Hope you all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the final hours of 2011. My holiday season has been quite relaxing indeed, with the exception of the screening blitz I’ve been embroiled in since I realized the first draft of my year-end top 10 list was woefully inadequate. I’m trying to cram in as many movies as I can before my list is due for publication next week, and the experience has been mind-reeling but, of course, invigorating in its own way.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, December 30, 2011 7:37 am. Updated: 9:13 am. | Tags: David Fincher , Rooney Mara , Stieg Larsson , The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo , Jason Wallis , Darren Aronofsky , Alfonso Cuaron , Werner Herzog , David Cronenberg , Daniel Craig , Quentin Tarantino , Errol Morris , Park Chan-wook , Hayao Miyazaki Comments (0)
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- The perfect gift for action fans — and a lump of coal
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It’s been a very hectic holiday season for me, and I have not fulfilled my role as movie guru nearly as thoroughly as I should have. This has more or less been the case for the majority of the year, actually, and consequently I find that there are a bevy of promising 2011 releases that I simply never got around to seeing (in my defense, the closest most of them ever played was San Francisco).
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, December 23, 2011 7:49 am. Updated: 10:45 am. Comments (0)
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- Quality holiday fare, but a step down for Alexander Payne
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I had promised reviews of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Sitter” this week, but those plans were altered by the fact that my online source for such matters had listed an incorrect wide release date for the former, and the nation’s critics and moviegoing public have convinced me that I should skip the latter. So we are left with “The Descendants,” now playing in general release after generating incredible word of mouth during its run on the art-house circuit. I found it to be consistently engaging yet slightly disappointing given the buzz, but your mileage may vary.
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Posted in Jason wallis on Friday, December 16, 2011 7:47 am. Updated: 1:58 pm. Comments (0)
Your News
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- Mormons helped in recent Tokay High School beautification
- Posted: June 12, 2013
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- Members of Liberty Oaks Pony Club place first in recent rally
- Posted: June 12, 2013
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- Masonic member honored for 50 years of service to fraternity
- Posted: June 12, 2013
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- Farm animal fun at the San Joaquin Fair
- Posted: June 19, 2013
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- Turlock Rivercats Take Minor League California District 73 TOC Championship
- Posted: June 18, 2013
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