&#39;Ladder&#39; captures heroism
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Ladder 49&quot; is a solid, old-fashioned fire-fighting melodrama. It&#39;s a string of sentimental snapshots of a firefighter&#39;s life told in flashback as he and his crew fight for his life in a towering inferno where he has been trapped.
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Okay, a few days ago I wrote a review of the Diving Bell and the Butterfly saying it could be the best picture of 2007, but even so you might want to skip it because the truth it reveals might be something you don't want to look at. It's a fine picture, but a tough one. Another wonderful but tough picture is No Country for Old Men. It's one of those movies that leaves so much unresolved that you walk out of the theater not sure which foot goes in front of the other. On a second viewing it makes much more sense. The world isn't necessarily as crazy as it at first seemed. But there's a movie that is also incredibly well crafted, and gets better every time you think about it -- Juno. I didn't realize how much I liked it until I heard someone compare it to Little Miss Sunshine, a movie that I did not enjoy, unlike everyone else it seems. I loved Juno because it organizes its sweetness into love for one person, the star of the movie, Juno. But everyone, no matter how dorky or clueless (and some of the adults are truly dorky and clueless) shares the love. The movie has a wholeness, an unqualified goodness, you not only walk out of the theater in love with Juno and everyone else in the movie, but your heart is warmed for everyone, including yourself. It's that good.  All three remind how good movies can be. And there were some not-too-bad movies at the end of 2007, for example, Atonement, which some didn't like, but I did. 3:10 to Yuma is a well-crafted genre picture. Michael Clayton was a perfect showcase for the talents of George Clooney. Great acting and a simple story in The Savages.  Which one was the best? I'd hate to have to choose!
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A considerable  improvement over his messy 2002 gangster drama, &quot;Empire,&quot;  Franc. Reyes&#39; &quot;Illegal Tender&quot; is quite an entertaining genre  piece boasting a terrifically sinewy lead performance from  Wanda De Jesus.
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The game isn&#39;t for everyone because of its graphic violence and coarse language, but mature fans of this 32 million-unit-selling franchise who want to know if this sequel lives up to its hype, the answer is a resounding yes.
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The proliferation of action-adventure movies can be explained by our collective craving for heroes. They need not come from other planets or have super powers, for we have all-too-mortal creatures worthy of hero worship in our firefighters.
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To see something they have never seen before should be every moviegoer&#39;s greatest hope. It&#39;s one of the chief reasons why true movie buffs are constantly seeking out new kinds of films; it can be entertaining
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The animated fish story "Shark Tale" swamped the competition, opening as the top weekend movie with &#36;49.1 million and potentially breaking the record for best October debut. John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix's firefighting adventure "Ladder 49" premiered in second place with &#36;22.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
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Heroes arenÂt born with a golden spoon in their mouth. More often than not theyÂre people who struggle against all odds to make a place for themselves  in society.
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Â· Survivor plays down talk of heroism Â· Foreign secretary updates casualty figures
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A documentary and a fiction film about Joy Division return a mythic hero to life size.
4158
&quot;Surf&#39;s Up&quot; brings  audiences into the competitive world of surfing -- surfing  penguins, that is -- by using a documentary style.
284370
Brooke Ellison&#39;s true-life story would be extraordinary no matter who was telling it. Here it is in masterful hands. Christopher Reeve directed what would be his final completed project before his death.
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Part sci-fi, part  mystery and wholly unique, "Heroes" is one of TV's most  imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's  "Lost." Its mix of danger, humor, drama, romance and science  creates a unique and surprising flavor of programming. At the  same time, it fills scene after scene with characters that  wouldn't or couldn't easily fit into any other show.
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Ocean&#39;s Twelve brings together an ensemble cast of uncommon magnitude for the second time. This may be the sequel&#39;s greatest achievement.
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An invigorating, funny and  moving portrait of a Hollywood hero, the new documentary  &quot;Trumbo&quot; brings the blacklist to life from the inside --  focusing on what it was like to live in movie industry exile  and the wisdom gained in the aftermath for one particularly  fiery artist. Prospects on the documentary circuit are strong,  limited only by a subject that moviegoers might assume to be  more narrow than it is.
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Lately, I have been asked if there is anything really good playing at the movies. Now I have something to rave about -- a film called &quot;Hero.
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Hero, Zhang Yimou&#39;s Chinese martial arts epic, kept its hold on the top slot at the US box office after a slow Labor Day weekend.