Arts & Entertainment

Movie Reviews: The Waiting Room and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Find movie reviews and movie times for theaters in Creve Coeur, Olivette, Ladue and St. Louis, MO.

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The Waiting Room

  • Run time: 81 mins.
  • Rated: Not rated

Mark Glass, Patch blogger: *** Anyone who claims the United States’ healthcare system is OK probably has employer-paid insurance, and a primary-care doc on speed dial. Unfortunately, millions have less-to-no coverage and, therefore, little access to needed services. For an appalling number of our compatriots, emergency rooms are their only recourse, leading to huge crowds and long waits in those facilities. This matter-of-fact documentary chronicles one long shift in an Oakland, CA, ER, showing what it’s like to cope with the demand for both patients and staff. Full Review

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

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Mark Glass, Patch blogger: Steve Carell stars in this almost-funny-enough comedy as a headlining Las Vegas magician who has lost his way. We see how he and his partner (Steve Buscemi) bonded as nerdy children in 1982, glomming onto magic tricks as their own Zenlike path to enlightenment... or at least to the end of being ostracized and bullied by the other kids. Fast-forward to the present. They’ve been doing the same glitzy, hokey act for over a decade, earning fame, fortune and their own theater attached to a major casino. But that youthful capacity for awe has dissipated for Carell’s Wonderstone, turning him into a smug, jaded jerk. The plot basically follows the format of one of his best movies, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, as a guy at the top of his overpaid niche in the entertainment world loses it all from undeserved vanity, bottoms out, and must learn to be a better person if he ever hopes to rise from the ashes of his self-destruction. Despite a wealth of comedic assets (Jim Carrey as a Criss Angel Mindfreak-esque rival; Alan Arkin as a Yodalike mentor figure, and the eminently-spoofable milieu of Vegas’ schmaltzy slice of Showbiz, much of the film is surprisingly flat. Full Review

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Oz the Great and Powerful

Mark Glass, Patch blogger: **½ This overlong prequel to the classic Wizard of Oz offers much to admire, but more to regret. Its new screenplay gives us the backstory on how the Wizard wound up there before Dorothy blew into town for her famous adventure. With the resources of the Disney empire and Sam Raimi at the helm, one might expect another fantasy for the ages. One would be severely disappointed. James Franco stars as Oz, a cheesy magician in a seedy little traveling carnival in 1905 Kansas. He has no scruples about conning the rubes, or trying to seduce the local lovelies. While fleeing from an irate husband in a hot air balloon, a tornado swoops him up to the not-so-merry old land of Oz, where he’s believed to be the wizard of prophesy to free the kingdom from the clutches of an evil witch. As in the original, the Kansas setup is filmed in black & white, creating a stunning contrast when he reaches the colorful splendor of the main action. Full Review

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Previous Movie Reviews: 

  • The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Oz the Great and Powerful
  • Emperor and Jack the Giant Slayer


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