Josh Bell
Story Archive
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Screen
Film review: 'Self/less'
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 Director Tarsem Singh brought uncommon visual flair to past work but the look of Self/less is bland and anonymous.
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A&E
TV review: 'The Jim Gaffigan Show' is familiar and inoffensive
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 It has the safe, middle-of-the-road quality of most CBS sitcoms, which makes it just right for TV Land’s mild reinvention.
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Music
Album review: Little Boots' 'Working Girl'
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 Little Boots mixes cheeky, clever lyrics with danceable beats and memorable hooks.
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Film
The Lift-Off Film Festival makes a bumpy local landing
Thursday, July 2, 2015 The film festival also has editions around the globe, from London and Liverpool and Tokyo and LA.
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Film
He'll be back: Roles we want to see Arnold Schwarzenegger revisit
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 Who doesn’t want to hear Arnie scream “It’s not a tumor!” again?
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Film
'Terminator Genisys' looks to the future by rewriting the past
Tuesday, June 30, 2015 The flick often feels like a glorified piece of fan fiction, playing around in the margins of a great movie.
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Film
'Magic Mike XXL' is a dreadful sequel
Tuesday, June 30, 2015 XXL has about as much dramatic complexity as Thunder From Down Under, turning Magic Mike into a franchise that shamelessly caters to fans who crave only a parade of beefcake.
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A&E
Kacey Musgraves stays true to herself on 'Pageant Material'
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The country star opens her second album with a double entendre-filled ode to smoking pot.
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Film
A look at Samuel Jackson's thriving B-movie career
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Beyond Snakes on a Plane.
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television
Cat-astrophe: 'Zoo' is plodding and monotonous
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Cheesy animal attacks and a tiresome conspiracy storyline.
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television
'Scream' goes from classic movie to underwhelming TV series
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Scream is a generic thriller with more pretty faces than creative ideas.
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Entertainment
Five highlights from the Amazing Las Vegas Comic-Con
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Cosplay version of Family Feud, a make-shift alter for weddings and Ninjabot!
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Music
Home Cookin’ and other vintage Vegas bands team up for a night
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Corner Stone, Left Standing, Happy Campers and others play Fremont Country Club.
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Screen
Taking stock of HBO’s high-profile new Sunday shows
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 True Detective's second season, Ballers and The Brink all debut Sunday night.
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Film
'Dope' is an exuberant teen comedy-drama
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Think Adventures in Babysitting meets Boyz N the Hood.
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Screen
British import 'Poldark' looks good but isn’t engaging enough
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 It's a huge hit in the U.K., and PBS is hoping for the same in America.
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Film
'Jurassic World' inserts dinosaurs into generic blockbuster action
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 It doesn't help that special effects that were groundbreaking in 1993 are now commonplace.
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Film
'Saint Laurent' is fashionably empty
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 The film does little to indicate why Yves Saint Laurent was such an artistic genius.
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Film
Blythe Danner ages gracefully in 'I’ll See You in My Dreams'
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 Don't worry, this dramedy about an aimless retiree doesn’t spend time wallowing in misery.
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television
The TV version of 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' loses the spark
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 For all its flash, it’s missing an essential ingredient—magic.
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Film
Film review: Melissa McCarthy springs into action in 'Spy'
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 McCarthy delivers the laughs, with Jason Statham mocking his own tough-guy image to hilarious effect.
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Screen
'Love & Mercy' captures the essence of Beach Boy Brian Wilson
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Wilson was and is a musical genius and a fragile man, and Love & Mercy presents both of those sides as real and human.
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Screen
The Wachowskis’ 'Sense8' is a sci-fi bore
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Is anyone still waiting for the Wachowskis to retake their “visionaries” label?
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Film
Cameron Crowe’s 'Aloha' is a mess from start to finish
Thursday, May 28, 2015 There’s a charming movie somewhere there, but it’s buried deep under this wreck of conflicting tones and storylines.
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A&E
Film review: The Rock battles earthquakes in 'San Andreas'
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 California is nearly destroyed by earthquakes, but the human spirit always prevails in the cheesiest way possible.
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Music
Faith No More return strong on 'Sol Invictus'
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 The band has definitely risen again with its first album in 18 years.
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A&E
Film review: 'The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window ...'
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 It's a huge hit in its native Sweden, but comedy often has trouble translating.
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television
Charles Manson drama 'Aquarius' is a ’60s caricature
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 Like Netflix, NBC is making all 13 episodes of the show available online after the premiere.
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Film
The ‘Poltergeist’ remake is a forgettable ghost story
Friday, May 22, 2015 The brisk pacing is the sole improvement over the meandering, overlong original.
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Film
Biopic 'Grace of Monaco' goes from Cannes to Lifetime
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Nicole Kidman stars as the titular American actress-turned-princess in the flick, which airs on Lifetime this week.
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Film
With the new 'Poltergeist' opening, four horror remakes that got it right
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Remember The Fly?
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Film
Film review: 'Tomorrowland' is an amusement-park ride to nowhere
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 The flick is more interested in telling the audience about the importance of fun than in actually having any.
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Film
Film review: 'Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem'
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Focusing on a divorce, the entire movie takes place in an Israeli courtroom and the waiting area just outside.
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Music
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s mini-residency played to a small but appreciative crowd
Friday, May 15, 2015 A weird night: More costume changes than Lady Gaga, video interludes and an audience ready for some polka.
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Film
Mysterious drama 'Wayward Pines' eventually loses its way
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 All the creepy set pieces and engaging performances are no match for the increasingly absurd exposition.
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Film
Film review: 'Slow West'
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 Most of the Western, available on Video on Demand this weekend, is a quiet, discursive journey with flashes of dry humor.
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Film
'Pitch Perfect 2' offers diminishing returns
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 The freshness of the original has been replaced by a dutiful retread. And "Cups" will again be in your head for weeks.
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Film
Mad Max is back in the intense, satisfying ‘Fury Road’
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 The latest installment is a marvel of action choreography, even if the crashes and explosions get a little repetitive after a while.
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television
‘Grace and Frankie’ is an old sitcom in a new package
Friday, May 8, 2015 The new Netflix show combines a superficially progressive premise with some creaky sitcom construction.
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Film
Film review: ‘Welcome to Me’
Thursday, May 7, 2015 It’s like a cross between “Weird Al” Yankovic’s UHF and a Lifetime movie.
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Screen
Tragedy outweighs horror in ‘Maggie’
Thursday, May 7, 2015 This is a different kind of zombie film ... one with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Screen
Arrest this movie: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is criminally unfunny
Thursday, May 7, 2015 It's never a good sign when the funniest parts of a comedy
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Film
Cobain as he was: ‘Montage of Heck’ is an uncomfortably comprehensive documentary
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Thorough, sympathetic and often heartbreaking.
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A&E
At the theater, burger dogs instead of popcorn?
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Brave new meats and weird mashups steal the snack show at CinemaCon.
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Film
The Marvel superheroes have another supersized adventure in ‘Age of Ultron’
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 The latest Avengers film can be a little unwieldy, but when it works, it works really well.
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A&E
Comic Con: Wizard World looks like a force for geek good
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Plenty of cosplay at Wizard World Las Vegas
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Music
Sturgill Simpson delivers a stellar show in between Coachella and Stagecoach
Monday, April 27, 2015 He seemed happy to let the music speak for itself, and for those audience members who were willing to listen, it spoke loud and clear.
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Film
2015 Summer Movie Preview!
Thursday, April 23, 2015 A bank-robbing Zach Galifianakis, superheroes galore and the return of that swearing teddy bear.
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Film
Immortal bore: ‘The Age of Adaline’ is dull and predictable
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The plot is dull and predictable, especially in its turgid second half.
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Film
‘The Water Diviner’ is a war story that bogs down in tugging heartstrings
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The movie ends with a dedication to all the soldiers whose bodies were never recovered after the war, but the story doesn’t carry the same historical weight.