On Making Movies, the cinematic quality of these sometimes silly but generally engaging story songs is consistently overwhelmed by its own score, a soundtrack of thundering drums, cascading piano, perpetual-motion grooves, and the clipped lead guitar lines of frontman Mark Knopfler. On "Skateaway," that sound is so engaging and catchy that it makes up for the song's slight lyric (about a girl who roller-skates in traffic), but when Knopfler provides tales that are up to the fanfare, this album is a thing of real beauty. "Romeo and Juliet" is especially strong, since it combines all the pomp with a sweet declaration of love that's downright humble. --David Cantwell
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