Andrew L. Urban Movie Reviews & Previews

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Andrew L. Urban

Agrees with the Tomatometer 68% of the time.

Biography:: Andrew L. Urban is Publisher & Editor of Urban Cinefile, Australia's award winning online weekly movie magazine (est. 1997). Specialising in film journalism, Andrew was Australian bureau chief for London based film trade publications from 1985 to 1994. He was Channel Host for the World Movies subscription movie channel (2002-6), and with his publishing partner and wife Louise Keller, he co-produced and hosted Movies This Week, a short movie review program, broadcast on World Movies and the Ovation arts & entertainment channel (2004-5). Since July 2005, Andrew has presented Movies Now, a contemporary movie appreciation course at Sydney University's Centre for Continuing Education. In January 2007, Andrew was commissioned by the Australian Film Television and Radio School's Centre for Screen Business to produce an extensive series of in depth on camera interviews with film and TV industry practitioners, for the CSB website; the series continues into 2008. Prior to Urban Cinefile, Andrew created the prime time social documentary series, Front Up, which ran for 9 years on SBS TV.
Publications:: Urban Cinefile

Total Reviews:: 1008

Location:: Sydney, Australia

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 1008

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T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
30%	Only God Forgives (2013)	" And maybe God does forgive Nicolas Winding Refn for this error of judgment of a film, but the Cannes festival audiences didn't" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 17, 2013
100%	Despicable Me 2 (2013)	" The adventure itself - chasing the villain - is full of misadventure and colourful chases, novelty numbers, cute asides and a whirlwind vocal performance by Wiig, a contempo Agent 99 figure to Gru's Agent Smart-alike." — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 17, 2013
——	Satellite Boy ()	" A kind hearted exploration of the struggle for self in a complicated world" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 15, 2013
74%	World War Z (2013)	" Part disaster movie, part sci-fi and part zombie movie - none of the parts being particularly satisfying but at least the sc-fi element is interesting" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 15, 2013
11%	After Earth (2013)	" Less exciting or engaging than an old fashioned adventure and filled with wooden dialogue a father wouldn't (or shouldn't) use with his 13 year old son, After Earth is stodgy and rather meaningless" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 12, 2013
34%	The Internship (2013)	" The humour comes from the combination of truth and make-believe as the two 30 somethings compete with the 20 somethings who are digital natives. They are not so much has beens in digital terms as never beens" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 7, 2013
94%	Ping Pong ()	" By briefly profiling each, the filmmakers ensure we care about them all; they are not treated as some sort of novelty act for the sake of the camera, and this is what makes the film a standout" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 1, 2013
92%	Farewell, My Queen (2012)	" A mood of melancholy and the film is beautifully lit and shot. But there's something missing in the telling and its often disjointed structure mitigates against the emotional satisfaction we are seeking" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 1, 2013
100%	Still Mine (2013)	" A David and Goliath story of the geriatric set, Still Mine is a sentimental but thanks to James Cromwell's performance an engaging story of love, devotion and determination" — Urban Cinefile Posted Jun 1, 2013
71%	Fast & Furious 6 (2013)	" Whatever Sly Stallone and his Expendables team can destroy on screen, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team can do it bigger, louder, faster ... and younger" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 29, 2013
40%	Kora (One Mile Above) (2013)	" An act of brotherly love, an adventure, an endurance test, a spiritual test and a dangerous trek; these are all the descriptions that fit One Mile Above, which has been likened to The Motorcycle Diaries" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 27, 2013
11%	A Haunted House (2013)	" Somewhere between a spoof on Paranormal Activity and crazy fun, film gathers pace and comedic momentum as it goes. The cumulative effect, especially if enjoyed in a group of relaxed friends, is likely to be hilarity ... black dude jive kinda hilarity" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 27, 2013
100%	Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul ()	" The establishing scenes are the best things about the film, as it shows its heart on its sleeve, turning on the magic realism charm, seducing us with its overt romanticism and letting us feast on two characters falling madly in love" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 27, 2013
64%	Sinister (2012)	" I especially like inventive horror concepts, or those with a bizarre sense of humour. Sinister has the former: inventiveness, which is increasingly difficult to create in a genre as enormous as horror" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 26, 2013
50%	The Great Gatsby (2013)	" Luhrmann and his design/vision soulmate Catherine Martin package all this in oversize gift boxes all superbly ribboned and bowed, but we have to accept that the presents inside are just as valuable and meaningful" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 21, 2013
20%	The Hangover Part III (2013)	" Neither as good as it wants to be or as bad as I had feared, The Hangover Part III is a crazy-paving of a movie, as you'd expect" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 21, 2013
37%	Dead Man Down (2013)	" The plot takes a bit too long to get any traction and consequently the film feels rather long. Still, I like the fusion of Hollywood and European filmmaking sensibilities" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 20, 2013
54%	The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)	" William Wheeler has forged a richly complex, achingly satisfying screenplay from Mohsin Hamid's hugely popular, Booker Prize shortlisted novel and Mira Nair has turned it into a significant and powerful film with something to say" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 18, 2013
61%	Broken (2013)	" The adaptation from the novel is excellent, a fine example of how character and place can be sculpted from prose" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 12, 2013
41%	The Call (2013)	" Hi, I'd like to order an abduction thriller set around the 911 emergency call centre in Los Angeles. Sure, would you like a psycho with that? Ah yes, and while we're at it can I upsize to the hero being ...er, a heroine ... and black. Done" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 12, 2013
87%	Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)	" Except for the occasional 3D indulgence of things flying at your face, making you wince and duck, Star Trek Into Darkness is, for me, a pleasant surprise; thrilling and engaging, sometimes harrowing and always cinematically satisfying" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 6, 2013
81%	The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)	" With the final act, as we see the longer term impact of earlier actions, the film attains something akin to epic status, stirring notions of classic Greek tragedy before scaling back and completing itself as a contemporary morality tale" — Urban Cinefile Posted May 4, 2013
60%	Drift (2013)	" If screen surf perving is your thing, you will revel in Drift. It's a sort of amalgam story of how surf gear culture and business began in the 70s in Australia, dotted with the struggles of two brothers" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 27, 2013
60%	Camille Redouble ()	" This playful, sometimes whimsical, always engaging take on a familiar storytelling theme - alternative futures - manages to make the fantasy meaningful" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 27, 2013
91%	The Hunt (2013)	" Nuanced but robust, the screenplay is a masterclass in exposition, drama, character portraiture - and cinema. It is also a vivid warning to society that yes, 'thought is a virus' that can maim and even kill" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 27, 2013
78%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" The stunts are spectacular and the suits - whether flying or fighting - are terrific, while the humans add an edginess to the always fast-paced proceedings. The adults are, as you would expect, well oiled and seamless in their roles" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 23, 2013
67%	Haute Cuisine (2013)	" An engaging enough film, with a few special moments amidst the procedural aspects; serious cooking always fascinates us foodies, and Hortense has a few appetizing and unique dishes with which to tempt us" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 20, 2013
47%	Olympus Has Fallen (2013)	" If this film were a pizza, it would be with double cheese plus all the trimmings you can pile on, and the base would be thick and heavy" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 15, 2013
55%	Oblivion (2013)	" Writers who direct their own rather complex stories often are too familiar with the material to be able to really clarify it for the audience" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 10, 2013
92%	Jurassic Park (1993)	" The thrill of seeing live dinosaurs on screen is not as acute today as it was 20 years ago admittedly, but there is still some 3D awe left in the creations that roared 65 billion years ago..." — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 6, 2013
80%	Warm Bodies (2013)	" Most disturbingly, defence against the dead people is guns; the fact that this is common silliness in zombie movies doesn't make it any better ... It reconfirms the gun-obsession that grips America; they even shoot dead people" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 6, 2013
64%	Thérèse Desqueyroux (2013)	" In many respects the film is a farewell to cinema from Claude Miller, suitably hushed in tone, aptly circling death and notably classical in its approach, from camera to mis en scene to performances" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 6, 2013
——	Kon-Tiki (1950)	" Technically superb and made chronologically to capture the verity of men growing beards and scars and deep tans when spending over 100 days at sea" — Urban Cinefile Posted Apr 6, 2013
68%	Trance (2013)	" Creative filmmaking that elevates what could have been a pretentious thriller into an artistic, compelling and intriguing surprise" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 29, 2013
85%	Sleepwalk With Me (2012)	" Moments of comedy and drama are preserved, but even at 81 minutes the film seems a tad long" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 29, 2013
9%	The Host (2013)	" Hello there, all 15 and 16 year old girls, this one's for you, although you'll have to endure quite a bit of sci-fi hokum packed around the few delicious moments of two girls inside one body kissing two boys who have a crush with one or other of them" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 26, 2013
28%	G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)	" Channelling my inner 18 year old, the first word that hits my keyboard is - awesome! G.I. Joe is about big boys' toys and high calibre action. Tick and tick" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 24, 2013
82%	De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) (2012)	" This multi-layered film with its characters tossed like flotsam on fate's giant, unpredictable waves drenches us in the intimate details of characters" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 22, 2013
38%	Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)	" There is nothing stirring or sufficiently humorous to engage us; the fact that a serving US President is having secret affairs no longer shocks" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 22, 2013
69%	The Croods (2013)	" Kids will respond to the slapstick humour and the physicality of the action, and adults will find moments of insight and emotion" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 22, 2013
79%	Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2012)	" A cinematic work of art, presenting a world in which humanity is banished in favour of the rituals of an ever-warring people" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 15, 2013
98%	Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God (2012)	" With meticulous care and intricate detail, Silence In The House of God deconstructs the nature of the Catholic Church's systematic cover ups of pedophilia among their clergy, stretching back well into the past century" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 15, 2013
70%	The Loneliest Planet (2012)	" Although short stories usually make terrific source material for films, in this case the adaptation suggests that this is not one of those instances" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 15, 2013
15%	A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)	" It's a shame John McClane - one of cinema's iconic characters - has to go out with a whimper. His creators and handlers just didn't know how to close the book" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 15, 2013
96%	War Witch (2013)	" It is astonishing that film that contains such violence can have such a serene tone. The source of the serenity is the measured, calm narration by Komona (voice of Diane Umawahoro) that is the telling of her story to her unborn child" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 8, 2013
78%	A Late Quartet (2012)	" Cinema devoid of metaphor is usually rather dull, but Yaron Zilberman's excess of metaphor makes Performance less supple than it might have been" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 8, 2013
66%	Mama (2013)	" Haunting with its tragically melancholy story, Mama doesn't treat audiences as naïve fools. I am most impressed" — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 8, 2013
75%	Goddess ()	" Three outstanding leads provide a deep talent pool for the film and they each deliver the film's best moments. " — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 8, 2013
93%	Barbara (2012)	" In short, the failures in storytelling detract from the film, despite its sensitivities, its subtleties and its final payoff of personal sacrifice. " — Urban Cinefile Posted Mar 1, 2013

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