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Oliver Stone, bless ‘im, still believes in red-meat cinema. The proof is in “Savages,” a hard-R crime drama that never treats the audience as juvenile. One of the points Stone goes after with his countercultural summer movie is the fatuity of big-screen hero myths. ==I — PC==

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CalMatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media.