Leigh Paatsch Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Leigh Paatsch

Leigh Paatsch

Agrees with the Tomatometer 76% of the time.

Publications:: Courier Mail (Australia) , Daily Telegraph , Daily Telegraph (Australia) , Herald Sun (Australia) , New York Post

Total Reviews:: 337

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 337

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
2.5/5	60%	Any Questions for Ben? ()	" I sense that others who similarly fell hard for the soulful sincerity of The Castle and The Dish will feel a little quizzical about the comparative slickness of Any Questions for Ben?" — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Feb 10, 2012
2/5	57%	Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (in 3D) (2012)	" For the most part, the sludgy re-processing of the original leaves everything looking as if it was lensed through a wet, worn sock. Only one sequence -- the epic pod race on the planet Tatooine -- goes close to making any worthwhile use of the 3D format" — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Feb 9, 2012
1/5	50%	A Few Best Men ()	" The set-up is simple enough at best. The execution is simple-minded at worst." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Feb 7, 2012
3.5/4	53%	Albert Nobbs (2012)	" This ripping period drama is led with distinction by Glenn Close in an unorthodox part she has been developing for three decades." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Jan 5, 2012
3.5/5	90%	Attack the Block (2011)	" When the going gets tough. Attack the Block hangs as tough as any modern thriller should." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Dec 1, 2011
	37%	Restless (2011)	" Gus Van Sant staggers back and forth across that line like a drunk with a busted stopwatch." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Dec 1, 2011
1.5/5	3%	Jack and Jill (2011)	" How will future generations judge us for the huge box-office love we've shown Adam Sandler over the years? " — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Dec 1, 2011
3/5	71%	Burning Man ()	" The resounding positive of Burning Man is the first-class performance of Goode in the lead role, which truly leaves a lasting mark whenever the film takes its biggest risks." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 17, 2011
4/5	100%	The Tall Man ()	" A fascinating work which will provoke much debate for some considerable time to come." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 17, 2011
	25%	Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)	" OK, Twilight fans! Come and get it! Your second-last instalment in the saga is being served just the way you like it: drab to the eye, bland on the palate, and room-temperature at all times." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 16, 2011
3.5/5	——	Fastest ()	" The lasting worth of Fastest is its forensic analysis of the many nuts, bolts and spanners-in-the-works of a typical MotoGP season." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 10, 2011
2/5	50%	Fighting Fear ()	" If you can wait until Fighting Fear hits DVD or TV -- it would have fared better as a one-hour TV special -- you won't be missing much." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 10, 2011
2/5	78%	Santa's Apprentice (L'apprenti Pere Noel) ()	" Cheap, cheerful and utterly forgettable C-grade cartoon." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 9, 2011
3.5/5	68%	Our Idiot Brother (2011)	" While no one would hail Our Idiot Brother as the most accessible movie comedy of 2011, it is definitely the one most comfortable in its skin." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 3, 2011
1/5	17%	I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)	" This sappy, crappy and condescending chick flick has been slapped together for those wishing to bask in the cinematic afterglow of the ever-radiant Sarah Jessica Parker." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 3, 2011
3.5/5	47%	Anonymous (2011)	" Though Anonymous is historical hogwash of the highest order, it is never less than highly entertaining." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Nov 3, 2011
4/5	100%	Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard ()	" An amazing documentary about the late Australian musician Rowland S. Howard." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 27, 2011
3/5	37%	In Time (2011)	" After teasing us with big statements about immortality and how we all waste so much precious time, it is disappointing to see Niccol's ideas shrink to nothing but gunfights and car chases." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 27, 2011
3.5/5	89%	George Harrison: Living In The Material World ()	" Though the film will resonate more with Beatles tragics ahead of the general public, Scorsese mounts a powerfully persuasive argument for a reassessment of Harrison as a musical force in his own right." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 20, 2011
4/5	93%	Midnight in Paris (2011)	" His assembly of a beautiful montage of Parisian scenery that precedes the opening credits sets the unique tone Allen chases to perfection." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 20, 2011
2/5	25%	The Three Musketeers (2011)	" Though all the right names, places and times are present and correct according to the ancient blueprint dictated by author Alexandre Dumas, the simple swashbuckling vibe of the original tale is rarely captured." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 20, 2011
3.5/5	67%	Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)	" The big-money scares definitely pay their way, but so too do the many smaller, subtler janglings of the nerves." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 20, 2011
3/5	84%	Contagion (2011)	" While Contagion would never be classified as entertaining or enlightening, it does make an impact." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 20, 2011
2/5	31%	The Cup ()	" The Cup has certainly been released at the right time to cash in on Spring Racing Carnival fever. But not all paying punters will be pleased with the final dividend returned." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 13, 2011
3/5	36%	The Thing (2011)	" Aside from the fine anchoring work taken on by Winstead and Edgerton, the standout aspect of The Thing is its wide array of forcefully frightening special effects." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 13, 2011
3.5/5	59%	Real Steel (2011)	" Real Steel should not work on any level, but it succeeds on many, thanks to its appealing, unpretentious and deceptively involving approach to its tale." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 6, 2011
2/5	80%	The Hunter (2012)	" What is intended as haunting and unworldly comes off as stilted and phony. Only the evocative cinematography of Robert Humphreys gives any hint as to what may have been." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 6, 2011
3/5	83%	Caught Inside (2012)	" So when Caught Inside finally descends into an expected them-versus-him free-for-all in the final act, it is Oxenbould's wickedly wonky way with an improvised line that keeps the whole thing fresh." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 6, 2011
3/5	70%	Footloose (2011)	" The glue subtly holding everything together for Footloose is the intelligent and atmospheric direction of Craig Brewer, best known for his superb handling of the cult classic Hustle and Flow." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Oct 6, 2011
4/5	98%	Project Nim (2011)	" A bizarre, captivating and somewhat sad new documentary." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 29, 2011
3/5	78%	Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)	" In a world goofily guffawing at the likes of Horrible Bosses, The Change-Up, Johnny English Reborn and Bad Teacher, an un-stupid movie such as Crazy, Stupid, Love is conspicuously going against the flow." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 29, 2011
3/5	73%	The Whistleblower (2011)	" While the facts of the case demand this film can do no more than administer one big booster shot of buzz-kill, it is Bolkovac's ferocious will to right so many wrongs (expertly channelled by Weisz) that keeps you glued to the screen." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 29, 2011
	73%	The Whistleblower (2011)	" While the facts of the case demand this film can do no more than administer one big booster shot of buzz-kill, it is Bolkovac's ferocious will to right so many wrongs (expertly channelled by Weisz) that keeps you glued to the screen." — Daily Telegraph (Australia) Posted Sep 28, 2011
1/5	4%	Abduction (2011)	" The electricity of the Twilight phenomenon may have zapped Taylor Lautner to super-stardom, but it ain't gonna keep him there. Sadly, it is already apparent the 19-year-old shall never learn to act in his, yours or any other lifetime." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 22, 2011
2/5	23%	Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (2011)	" Now then, what of the movie? Well, it stands a better chance of getting up your nose than crummy old AromaScope, that's for sure." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 22, 2011
2.5/5	37%	Monte Carlo (2011)	" The film's tween-age target demographic will be perfectly content with what they see here. " — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 22, 2011
4/5	96%	Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)	" There is nothing gimmicky about Herzog's use of 3D in Cave of Forgotten Dreams. The depth of field afforded by the 3D format gives the viewer an uncanny spatial awareness of the site." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 22, 2011
1/5	38%	Johnny English Reborn (2011)	" Moderately funny if you still laugh at people walking into stuff, falling off stuff, and having their private parts inadvertently collide with stuff. Chillingly unfunny if you don't." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 15, 2011
2.5/5	68%	The Eye of the Storm (2012)	" Like the central figure in this ambitious adaptation of the celebrated Patrick White novel, The Eye of the Storm coughs a little, splutters a lot and then finally passes away." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 15, 2011
3.5/5	80%	God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (2011)	" The result of two long years spent with the heavy metal godfather, this compelling and well-constructed documentary lures the real Ozzy out of his cartoon shell." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 15, 2011
2.5/5	23%	The Smurfs (2011)	" It is something of a relief that this energetic kids flick is partially better than it had any right to be." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 15, 2011
3/5	90%	Face to Face ()	" With the ensemble cast all instinctively attuned to Williamson's clever contrasting of the realities on the factory floor with the delusions of head office, Face to Face stares down doubters with pure intent." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 8, 2011
4.5/5	87%	Submarine (2011)	" A uniquely strange, yet totally accessible comic sensibility, fused by a brilliant script to a brace of pitch-perfect performances seals the deal." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 8, 2011
2/5	14%	Zookeeper (2011)	" Just who will be amused by James mugging and hugging his way into the heart of a good woman (Rosario Dawson? In your dreams, Kevin!) is a question that simply cannot be answered." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 8, 2011
3/5	81%	Life in a Day (2011)	" Not all of this stuff will totally grip you with its urgency or relevance, but not a second of it (yes, even that fellow contemplating his laundry list) will wear out its welcome." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 2, 2011
1.5/5	78%	Chalet Girl (2011)	" Chalet Girl is a pedestrian affair that limply modernises the Cinderella fairytale for fun and profit." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 2, 2011
2.5/5	60%	Final Destination 5 (2011)	" As sick and sorry as some of the outcomes prove to be in FD5, there can be no denying there is often some wild imagination and genuine inspiration in play." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 2, 2011
1/5	36%	One Day (2011)	" The most desperate, cloying weepie seen in many a long time." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 2, 2011
3.5/5	76%	The Help (2011)	" Superbly cast and effectively scripted, The Help has been designed to forge a direct connection with the viewer on an emotional level." — Herald Sun (Australia) Posted Sep 2, 2011

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