Critics » Patrick Z. McGavin » Fresh
Patrick Z. McGavin

Patrick Z. McGavin

Agrees with the Tomatometer 69% of the time.

Publications:
Chicago Reader , Chicago Tribune , EmanuelLevy.Com , Hollywood Reporter , Screen International
Total Reviews:
62

Best Reviewed Films

Showing 1 - 50 of 61
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Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
4/4 91% Le Fond de l'air est rouge (A Grin Without a Cat) (The Base of the Air Is Red) (1977) " This is a movie about the world at war with itself, and the result is riveting, sublime and unforgettable." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Sep 26, 2002
3.5/4 81% Goodbye First Love (2012) " The autobiographical third feature from French director Mia Hansen-Løve limns the ecstasy and tumult of youthful, sometimes self-destructive passion." — Boston Phoenix
Posted May 10, 2012
3.5/4 90% In Darkness (2012) " Working with the superb cinematographer Jolanta Dylewska, Holland draws on the restricted light and vertiginous space to achieve immersive, tactile imagery that is appalling and unforgettable." — Boston Phoenix
Posted Mar 8, 2012
3.5/4 87% Miss Bala (2012) " Sigman's tremulous, vivid performance anchors the movie. It's a knockout." — Boston Phoenix
Posted Jan 24, 2012
3.5/4 94% Manito (2003) " Captures in unadorned style the energy and emotions binding a Dominican family in Manhattan's Washington Heights section." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Jun 12, 2003
3.5/4 80% Japón (2003) " It is the work of a remarkable new talent." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 17, 2003
3.5/4 74% His Secret Life (Le Fate ignoranti) (2001) " A boisterous, occasionally deft but also finally strained and uneven work." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 14, 2002
3.5/4 77% Quitting (2002) " Daring and beautifully made." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 14, 2002
3.5/4 88% Devdas (2002) " It does what the movies were meant to do: move, dance and swirl in the popular imagination." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Jul 25, 2002
—— Babar - King Of The Elephants (1999) " The composition and imagery are workmanlike at best, but the score is jaunty and witty and the middle section is breezy fun" — Chicago Reader
Posted Jan 29, 2010
89% Moon (2009) " A frequently engrossing science fiction story given a particular tension and seriousness by its moral inquiry into what it means to be fully human and alive." — Screen International
Posted Dec 16, 2009
94% Sugar (2008) " In a word, Sugar is extraordinary." — Screen International
Posted Dec 16, 2009
100% Afghan Star (2009) " Not a radical act of film-making and visually, it is far from an inspired piece of work - but it's a great example of a film where the strong content rules supreme." — Screen International
Posted Jun 23, 2009
79% A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2008) " The minor key and quietly observational work is not earth-shattering or particularly urgent, though it enables a talented filmmaker to work through personal ideas about assimilation and family conflict in an open, smart and gracious way." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
50% Assassination of a High School President (2008) " Brett Simon's Assassination of a High School President is a small and pleasant surprise." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
66% The Escapist (2008) " Wyatt and his superb cast pull it together in the movie's boldly-imagined final act that justifies the movie's sometimes elusive form and turns it into something a cut above the rest." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
92% Bloody Sunday (2002) " Greengrass sacrifices character and plot to a chilling impressionistic stylization." — Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 11, 2008
99% Bus 174 (Ônibus 174) (2003) " Padilha allows neither easy answers nor ironic commentary, producing on both sides of the conflict a world of inconsolable grief." — Chicago Reader
Posted May 8, 2007
3/4 65% Kaubôi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door) (2003) " This is magnetic, beautiful stuff." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 3, 2003
3/4 52% Down and Out With the Dolls (2003) " The movie belongs to the women, and they perform with attitude and power." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 20, 2003
3/4 89% Comment j'ai tué mon père (My Father and I) (2001) " Cold, nervy and memorable." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 21, 2002
3/4 67% Interview With the Assassin (2002) " Consummate actor Barry has done excellent work here." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 21, 2002
3/4 83% Satin Rouge (2002) " A fascinating examination of the joyous, turbulent self-discovery made by a proper, middle-aged woman." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 31, 2002
3/4 48% Naqoyqatsi (Naqoyqatsi: Life as War) (2002) " A disturbing and frighteningly evocative assembly of imagery and hypnotic music composed by Philip Glass." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 24, 2002
3/4 82% Secret Ballot (2002) " A gem, captured in the unhurried, low-key style favored by many directors of the Iranian new wave." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 29, 2002
31% Miu haan fook wood (Second Time Around) (2001) " Extremely well acted by the four primary actors, this is a seriously intended movie that is not easily forgotten." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Feb 7, 2002
3/4 75% Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius (2001) " This is a movie that is neither sentimental nor cheap; it never takes itself too seriously, and it has faith in the intelligence of its audience." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 20, 2001
78% Audition (Ôdishon) (1999) " Miike is brilliant at transforming the mundane and familiar ... into something sinister and eerie." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 29, 2001
77% Presque rien (Come Undone) (2000) " While Come Undone has some explicit material, what makes it a mature and special work is its embrace of the knotty and unfamiliar." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 1, 2001
77% La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins) (2001) " A film of clarity, feeling and electric intensity." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 25, 2001
86% La Ciénaga (2001) " A film that has an extraordinary cumulative power." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 18, 2001
98% All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) (1999) " A dedication to great women performers." — Hollywood Reporter
Posted May 11, 2001
59% Kikujiro (2000) " ... a great deal of fun." — Hollywood Reporter
Posted May 11, 2001
B 78% Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) " Dark, malevolent, and serious, this Harry Potter was designed by its new writer, director, and composer as a waking nightmare." — EmanuelLevy.Com
Posted Jul 4, 2007
2.5/4 50% Onmyoji (2001) " Rarely solemn or dull, and Takita holds its disparate parts together fairly well." — Chicago Tribune
Posted May 1, 2003
2.5/4 67% Amen (2003) " On its own terms, Amen is a memorably prickly film." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 6, 2003
2.5/4 83% Baraka (1993) " The form is ravishing, though the content suffers by comparison." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Jan 9, 2003
2.5/4 67% The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) " By the second hour, Miike's story fails to punctuate its powerful setup, and the work, much like the family itself, ends up a tangled mess." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 5, 2002
2.5/4 65% Lan Yu (2002) " The movie is gorgeously made, but it is also somewhat shallow and art-conscious." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 17, 2002
2.5/4 73% Tuvalu (2002) " A fascinating work that never quite coalesces, Tuvalu finally becomes oppressively repetitive." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Jul 20, 2002
B- 76% Stardust (2007) " The movie is jaunty and stylish and is blessed with some fun stretches." — EmanuelLevy.Com
Posted Aug 8, 2007
2/4 82% Bugs! (Bugs! 3D) (Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure) (2003) " Narrated with stentorian authority by English actress Dame Judi Dench, and watching this IMAX movie often feels like being at the receiving end of a dry, dull lecture." — Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2003
2/4 16% Pokemon Heroes (2003) " It looks cheap and feels slapped together." — Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2003
2/4 80% Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) " Though Better Luck Tomorrow is the work of an intriguing new talent, there remains something amiss about a movie so desperate to legitimize its own daring." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 10, 2003
2/4 —— All About You (2001) " Utterly lacking surprise, tension or any flair." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 25, 2003
2/4 —— Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (1997) " Doesn't transcend the feeling that the content never achieves the kinetic power and magnetism of the IMAX format." — Chicago Tribune
Posted Jul 11, 2002
77% Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2005) " The ethereal private moments and inspired passages are beautifully shot by Jean-Marie Dreujou, but Dai never quite organizes the material dramatically, and the tone is too often jagged and disruptive." — Chicago Reader
Posted Mar 18, 2010
54% Choke (2008) " The movie's not quite there, but it represents a dark ride into the night that unleashes a series of precarious thrills." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
81% Trumbo (2007) " Trumbo is hurt by an unwillingness to actually explore Trumbo's own politics and delve into his actual beliefs about communism, Stalin or Marxist ideology." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
57% One Week (2009) " Another dispiriting example of a director using sickness and physical deterioration in rationalising dishonest and narcissistic behaviour." — Screen International
Posted Oct 18, 2008
Showing 1 - 50 of 61
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