City of Girls
10.0
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Book
From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things, a...
Past Crimes
7.0
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Book
When his estranged grandfather is shot and left for dead, an Army Ranger plunges into the criminal...
Every Witch Way But Wicked
7.7
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Book
Take twelve paranormal authors. Toss them together in one anthology. Add a dash of romance, a pinch...
Witches
Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends - Series 2
8.1
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TV Show
Documentaries by writer and presenter Louis Theroux which delve into the weirder fringes of American...
Cemetery Road
Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy returns with an electrifying...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Nightmare Alley (2021) in Movies
Dec 2, 2021
The eager Stanton is given advice and tools of the trade by his boss Clem (Willem Dafoe) as well as the mystic Zeena (Toni Collette) and Stanton eagerly wants to get ahead. While striking a friendship with fellow employee Molly (Rooney Mara); Stanton learns that Zeena’s older and alcoholic husband has a skill from a former act where he learns to read people and use verbal cues to appear to have the power of clairvoyance.
Eventually, Stanton seeks bigger opportunities and leaves with Molly for the city where they in time develop a successful act that offers them two shows a night at a fancy hotel and some of the finer things in life.
Unwilling to be content with what he has; Stanton becomes involved with a Psychologist named Lilith (Cate Blanchett) and uses her knowledge to set up higher-profile marks who will pay well for his supposed abilities and in doing so; sets a dangerous chain of events into motion.
The film is based on the 1946 book of the same name and an earlier 1947 film, and while it does an amazing job with the visuals and moody atmosphere of the era; it is a very long and slowly-paced film. The movie is over 2.5 hours long and comes across as overly long and self-indulgent as Director Guillermo del Toro could easily have shaved 30-45 minutes from the film and told the story without losing much.
The cast and performances are very good but a slow-paced and dour film is not an ideal way to spend 2.5 hours at the movies no matter how much it has going for it. The movie does have some good points but I think it will do much better on streaming and home video where audiences can pause and take a break.
If you are a fan of the Noir style of old; then this may be just what you are looking for, but I think it should have been so much more.
3.5 stars out of 5
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2)
8.0
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Book
A Betrayal… Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling...