ROTTEN TOMATOES: Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Brett Buckalew » Fresh

Brett Buckalew

Agrees with the Tomatometer 64% of the time.

Publications:: Chicago Tribune , FilmStew.com , Hollywood.com , Metromix.com

Total Reviews:: 141

Best Reviewed Films

Showing 1 - 50 of 139

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T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
75%	Elegy (2008)	" In the early scenes of the two lovers discovering each other's bodies and personal quirks, Coixet coaxes work from Kingsley and Cruz that is remarkably intimate." — FilmStew.com Posted Aug 8, 2008
59%	The Fall (2006)	" The best movie of the year so far by a wide mile." — FilmStew.com Posted May 12, 2008
81%	Charlie Wilson's War (2007)	" A mildly engaging holiday season diversion that will evaporate from many viewers' memories at a speed so rapid it may put Santa's sleigh to shame." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 21, 2007
35%	Southland Tales (2007)	" Reminiscent of the fiction of Kurt Vonnegut, with its mix of sci-fi mythology, absurdist humor and political outrage." — FilmStew.com Posted Nov 14, 2007
75%	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)	" In its nakedly revealed tremors of fear and insecurity, Affleck's tour de force is reminiscent of the similarly raw work of the late, great John Cazale." — FilmStew.com Posted Sep 20, 2007
74%	La Vie en Rose (La Mome) (2007)	" Doesn't quite keep up with the grand showmanship and emotional complexity of the performance at its center, but has a few impressive tricks up its sleeve." — Metromix.com Posted Jun 15, 2007
97%	Once (2007)	" You leave the theatre feeling like you're walking on air. And isn't that all you can ask of any musical?" — Metromix.com Posted May 24, 2007
44%	Angel-A (2005)	" Luc Besson's characteristic flair for visual expression here manifests itself in the most subdued way imaginable." — FilmStew.com Posted May 22, 2007
86%	Paris Je T'aime (2007)	" Alexander Payne strikes the same balance of snarky humor and sneaky empathy that has made his body of work so distinct in contemporary American cinema." — FilmStew.com Posted May 22, 2007
71%	Fracture (2007)	" The smart conclusion contains a pair of twists that are actually plausible (rare these days), and, all in all, Fracture is supremely solid stuff." — Metromix.com Posted Apr 20, 2007
68%	Disturbia (2007)	" Like those gleeful, inner-child-pleasing pulp-horror rides that Steven Spielberg and Joe Dante perfected a couple decades ago." — Metromix.com Posted Apr 13, 2007
87%	The Lookout (2007)	" Gary is the kind of guy who can actually score with the pick-up line, 'Damn! And I thought I was good-looking!'" — Metromix.com Posted Mar 30, 2007
75%	Avenue Montaigne (Fauteuils d'orchestre) (Orchestra Seats) (2006)	" Not a fully great film, but damn near close; witty, charming, and ultimately rather touching." — FilmStew.com Posted Mar 3, 2007
93%	Children of Men (2006)	" A sublime visionary achievement that not only outdoes Cuar�n's previous high-water mark, Y Tu Mam� Tambi�n, but also manages to rank with other dystopian masterworks." — FilmStew.com Posted Jan 3, 2007
87%	Notes on a Scandal (2006)	" In making the leap this holiday season from a Dame to a Broad, Judi Dench has chosen to apply her inestimable talents to a tried and true fork in the thespian road." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 28, 2006
76%	Rocky Balboa (2006)	" While Stallone is appropriately fiery in key scenes, it's his way with the character's tossed-off pearls of wisdom and one-liners that makes him especially endearing." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 20, 2006
47%	The Holiday (2006)	" There's good news for Jude Law fans. With The Holiday, the actor has taken a sad career song and started to make it better." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 8, 2006
65%	Apocalypto (2006)	" On screen, Gibson was a Lethal purveyor of hot dogging lunacy. Behind the camera, he has now subverted that Riggs energy more masterfully than ever before." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 7, 2006
54%	Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny (2006)	" While fans of the HBO-born duo are already giving this a Thunderous "A," for the rest of us it's ultimately a Tendencious "B."" — FilmStew.com Posted Nov 21, 2006
72%	Stranger Than Fiction (2006)	" Will Ferrell is a more than worthy heir to Lemmon, Hanks, Brazil's Jonathan Pryce and Something Wild's Jeff Daniels." — FilmStew.com Posted Nov 10, 2006
76%	The Prestige (2006)	" Like Memento, Nolan's Prestige is an ever-shifting hall of mirrors so masterfully executed that its emotional hollowness actually manages to be beside the point." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 20, 2006
72%	Infamous (2006)	" Daniel Craig's performance is of young-Brando intensity, and a Supporting Actor nomination would be this movie's most credible shot at duplicating Capote's Oscar glory." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 13, 2006
21%	Man of the Year (2006)	" Even though it's only two-thirds of a solid comedy, it doesn't take a high-priced pollster to figure out that this is a far better ratio than a lot of other recent yukfests." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 12, 2006
63%	Jackass: Number Two (2006)	" The laughs here are so big - I'm talking doubled-over, fall-out-of-your-seat big - that they are meant to be shared in a theatre full of similarly helpless viewers." — FilmStew.com Posted Sep 24, 2006
48%	Idlewild (2006)	" Imbues tried-and-true movie musical archetypes with sly but never campy contemporary flourishes, in a way that would make Baz Luhrmann proud." — FilmStew.com Posted Aug 25, 2006
28%	Trust the Man (2006)	" Captures, with both accuracy and fleeting optimism, those domestic arguments that end in either irritataed silence or half-hearted, good-enough-for-now reconciliation." — FilmStew.com Posted Aug 24, 2006
69%	A Scanner Darkly (2006)	" Hilarious digressions like these are bound to induce chuckles even among viewers who, as Bill Clinton would say, have never inhaled." — FilmStew.com Posted Jul 7, 2006
95%	Wordplay (2006)	" Less interested in reinventing the non-fiction wheel than in providing a rousing, addictively brainy good time." — FilmStew.com Posted Jun 20, 2006
81%	A Prairie Home Companion (2006)	" This is an Altman show, through-and-through. Fans will be elated to discover that everything that makes him such a singular filmmaking voice is present and accounted for." — FilmStew.com Posted Jun 9, 2006
93%	An Inconvenient Truth (2006)	" It's as a piece of entertainment that the movie scores its most surprising victory, taking the audience on a dizzying emotional and intellectual journey." — FilmStew.com Posted May 26, 2006
51%	Down in the Valley (2005)	" For all Jacobson's allusions to John Ford archetypes, Badlands and Taxi Driver, he has essentially made a spiritual cousin to The Purple Rose of Cairo." — FilmStew.com Posted May 22, 2006
70%	Mission: Impossible III (2006)	" While M:I:III is the least successful series entry from a film-style standpoint, it is the most consistently suspenseful and action-packed, which counts for something." — FilmStew.com Posted May 4, 2006
44%	Take the Lead (2006)	" In refusing to sugarcoat the harsh realities of an impoverished region, the filmmakers make the ultimate message of hope that much more genuine and stirring." — FilmStew.com Posted Apr 6, 2006
85%	Slither (2006)	" I didn't have a date by my side, but I know a Bruised Forearm Movie when I see one, and I'm happy to report that Slither is the genuine article." — FilmStew.com Posted Mar 31, 2006
86%	Inside Man (2006)	" If the idea of Denzel Washington playing such a weirdo isn't in itself enough to convince you to see this film, then frankly I don't want to know you." — FilmStew.com Posted Mar 23, 2006
61%	Find Me Guilty (2006)	" The joy of this star turn isn't in the cosmetic adjustments Diesel has made to play Jackie. It's in the boundless energy and humor he brings to the courtroom shenanigans" — FilmStew.com Posted Mar 16, 2006
58%	Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) (2006)	" In the film's most entertaining bit of sleight-of-hand, an errant screw travels from the hull of a flying airplane into the coffee cup of a woman down on the ground." — FilmStew.com Posted Feb 17, 2006
19%	Firewall (2006)	" We are treated to Ford's magnetic and understated inner buzz of panic, and his panache with purposefully silly, growled-out catchphrases like, "I'm gonna find my dog!"" — FilmStew.com Posted Feb 8, 2006
90%	Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005)	" As someone who can always be counted on to play a dark, squirmingly funny strain of arrogance and self-delusion, Steve Coogan is like a British Larry David." — FilmStew.com Posted Jan 27, 2006
51%	The Producers (2005)	" Ferrell hasn't been this enjoyably nuts since Old School, proving that his real talent is as an ensemble player rather than a marquee star." — FilmStew.com Posted Jan 3, 2006
82%	The World's Fastest Indian (2005)	" If you're looking for a solidly built, well-paced entertainment that puts a grin on your face, World's Fastest more than adequately fits the bill." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 9, 2005
76%	Transamerica (2006)	" Boosted by plenty of choice dialogue, including a queer analysis of The Return of the King that sidesteps post-Tarantino cuteness." — FilmStew.com Posted Dec 2, 2005
56%	Breakfast on Pluto (2005)	" Murphy has played two deliciously perverse villains this year, and it's a measure of how amazing he is as Kitten that I never once thought of those earlier antagonists." — FilmStew.com Posted Nov 18, 2005
10%	Pulse (2006)	" What really separates it from the pack is its thematically rich exploration of how communications technology can unwittingly bring about a sort of cultural death." — FilmStew.com Posted Nov 16, 2005
59%	The Weather Man (2005)	" Inhabited by a courageously schlumpy Nicolas Cage, this strange and audacious character study becomes even more of a gleefully misanthropic blast." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 26, 2005
61%	Shopgirl (2005)	" Danes, who has seemed too artificially precocious in most of her work before this, delivers her most intelligent, genuinely grown-up performance to date." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 21, 2005
41%	Where the Truth Lies (2005)	" Nailing comedian Lanny Morris' sleazy come-ons and barely veiled air of pained regret, Bacon has rarely been better." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 14, 2005
23%	Jiminy Glick in La La Wood (2005)	" Not only does Short look eerily like David Lynch when covered in makeup and a fright wig, but he nails the director's creepy drawl and fondness for talking gibberish." — FilmStew.com Posted Oct 4, 2005
56%	Just Like Heaven (2005)	" Somehow, the film thrives on the opposites-attract tension of throwing together the angular blonde goddess with the unconventionally attractive king of indie downers." — FilmStew.com Posted Sep 16, 2005
51%	Transporter 2 (2005)	" The scene involving a bomb planted on the bottom of Martin's Audi A8 is bound to provoke an astonished gasp of disbelief from even the most action-movie-averse viewer." — FilmStew.com Posted Sep 2, 2005

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