Critics » Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban

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:
1068
Location:
Sydney, Australia

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 1068
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Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
3% Diana (2013) " The focus on Diana becomes almost claustrophobic in its intensity" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Oct 6, 2013
63% 2 Guns (2013) " Iceland's Baltasar Kormákur warms to the task of delivering a fun filled action thriller, with writer Blake Masters freely commandeering the Tarantino signature of quirky banal dialogue in the midst of action" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Oct 6, 2013
59% Pandora's Promise (2013) " The utter irony in which this doco is steeped is that the very same reasons - the safe preservation of earth's environment - are now driving the very same people who stood against nuclear energy ... in favour of nuclear energy" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 29, 2013
97% The Act Of Killing (2013) " The film is far too long and repetitive, even though it's often gobsmacking in its frank portrayal of these truly nasty, ugly human beings who boast on television about their killings and are ready to keep on killing. Nay, keen to do so" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 29, 2013
50% Thanks For Sharing (2013) " The film belongs to Mark Ruffalo in many ways, the central figure whose addiction, failure and redemption takes us in and out of laughter, tears and introspection. Gwyneth Paltrow is fresh and fabulous as Phoebe" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 29, 2013
98% Gravity (2013) " Together with perfect casting and a superb score, Gravity gets its exclamation mark from the astute use of 3D - adding a layer of thrills at key moments. Hell, they're all key moments" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 29, 2013
54% Lovelace (2013) " There is little doubt that most attention will focus on the relatively small but crucial role of Dorothy, Linda's mother, played with heartbreaking honesty by Sharon Stone" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 24, 2013
8% Runner Runner (2013) " Occasionally engaging and sometimes thrilling; just not often enough" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 24, 2013
80% Prisoners (2013) " The work creates its own rhythms and moods, and weaves a rich tapestry of human experience that keeps us engaged. That is the film's achievement" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 24, 2013
47% I'm So Excited! (2013) " For a cinematic icon to get it so wrong, one has to assume it is deliberate; something to play with" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 15, 2013
38% Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) " The thin, silly story stretched into a showcase for visual and special effects left me even colder than the cinema (VMax 2, Event, Sydney)" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 15, 2013
27% Planes (2013) " The schmaltzy resolution may work for the undemanding, but given how much fabulous work has gone into the film, it's a shame the result isn't a more complete success" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 15, 2013
65% Turbo (2013) " Perfectly predictable but endlessly entertaining and boasting amazing animation, Turbo is yet another zero to hero st" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 15, 2013
33% Small Apartments (2013) " Begins as a totally quirky novelty film with seemingly absurd, overdrawn and outrageous characters ... but ends up as an absolutely captivating, totally quirky novelty film - with heart and many surprises" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 10, 2013
60% Riddick (2013) " Like so much in this film, Riddick himself is a special effect, a near-superhuman hero who can withstand just about anything and who not so much gains our sympathy as demands our attention" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 10, 2013
64% Mood Indigo () " Filled with visually arresting invention in virtually every frame, the film draws us into its bizarre, surreal world with humour and zest" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 10, 2013
91% Blue Jasmine (2013) " Allen has chosen to tell this story in slices, cutting back and forth in time ... only works to a degree; for one thing, it robs many scenes of their full emotional payoff" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 10, 2013
—— Hidden Universe () " he world's biggest screen (at IMAX, Sydney) is a great place to see deep into space, and some of the colourful images of the heavenly bodies of the universe are certainly stunning" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 5, 2013
93% The Gatekeepers (2013) " The film is detailed and requires concentration, especially for those who need to read the subtitles. But the effort is worth it for anyone vaguely interested in the subject. And of course the subject goes to the heart of the human condition" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 5, 2013
4% Paranoia (2013) " Aussie director Robert Luketic's clever fingerprints are all over the film, with its dictating pace, well maintained tension - but above all, his flair for casti" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 5, 2013
75% You're Next (2013) " The screenplay has some commendably good ideas, namely the reason for Erin's proficiency at survival, and also the twist in the plot that explains why the killings are happening. It also has a really silly one" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
—— Circle of Lies () " There are several themes on which the screenplay is built, from bullying and social status to sexual assault ... but also friendship, parenting and self esteem...while you could say it's a message board of a film, that's exactly what it sets out to be" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
—— Absolute Deception (2013) " A solid genre script by Kraig Wenman is efficiently realised in the masterly genre-loving hands of Aussie director Brian Trenchard Smith" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
63% The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta) () " The machinery is all too exposed in this disappointing work from a great filmmaker; none of it rings true ... and that's not about what isn't meant to ring true" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
26% Jobs (2013) " This is really a sort of 'Apple begins' movie, with Jobs framed as the unlikely founder of the world's richest company - eventually" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
69% Stoker (2013) " It's not the story itself that is of interest for cinema lovers, it's how he presents it" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
100% The Rocket (2013) " Working with an untested cast, Mordaunt uses all the tools at his command to engineer a film that has won major awards at TriBeca, including Best Actor for the young Disamoe. He relies on plenty of coverage and the skills of talented editor Nick Meyers " — Urban Cinefile
Posted Sep 4, 2013
85% Upstream Color (2013) " It's a film that audiences will either loath or admire; I doubt it can be loved, too austere and distant, too dissonant, too incoherent in fact" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 17, 2013
88% What Maisie Knew (2013) " My main reservation about this film is that it is so heavy handed. But I hasten to extract the wonderful young Onata Aprile from that observation; beautifully directed and photographed, Aprile is so good as to make us question if she is acting" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 17, 2013
—— Forbidden Ground () " An impressive and memorable film that should have a long life in digital form, even though its cinema releases are limited " — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 14, 2013
57% Chennai Express (2013) " This Bollywood farce, dressed in the colourful costumes of a romantic adventure with music, is an oversize comedy and a couple of hours (plus intermission) of sheer escapism" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 12, 2013
100% Red Obsession (2013) " There isn't a wine writer or wine maker of note who doesn't get a say about the traditional prestige of Bordeaux wines, especially the almighty Lafite and Margaux labels" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 10, 2013
93% Frances Ha (2013) " A virtuoso piece of writing, acting and direction to bring to the screen a 27 year old New Yorker who is more a dreamer than a pragmatist, more a romantic than a materialist and less able to control her life than to guess it" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 10, 2013
68% Elysium (2013) " Elysium still relies for its success on the performances, and especially on Matt Damon's, and on that of his nemesis, the mercenary with attitude, played with ferocious intensity (and feral South African accent) by Sharlto Copley" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 10, 2013
49% Pain & Gain (2013) " Michael Bay tells this story like a black comedy; not noir, Bay doesn't do noir. He does noisy. And the story certainly is black and the comedic juices are well squeezed out of every opportunity" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 5, 2013
59% The Bling Ring (2013) " Top marks to the cast who deliver these characters exactly as intended: shallow, stupid, reckless, irresponsible, self centred and extremely irritating. I wanted to smack them all as they snorted the stolen cocaine" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 3, 2013
90% Beyond The Hills (2013) " Mungiu immerses us in the time and place to prepare us for this extraordinary story" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 3, 2013
50% Now You See Me (2013) " Seductive with its opening magic show delivering fabulous illusion, Now You See Me has a bit of Ocean's 11 at its heart. It's somewhat darker, and it's that darkness that gives it texture" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Aug 3, 2013
69% Greetings From Tim Buckley (2013) " While the film seems like a tribute itself it doesn't have significant commercial appeal but it may appeal to the fans" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 28, 2013
85% The Way Way Back (2013) " The screenplay is unoriginal and even perhaps overstated; but it is rescued not only by outstanding performances but the observations that drive the characters" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 28, 2013
89% The World's End (2013) " They work through some of the comedy material worked into the screenplay, which relies on a few crazy twists and high range sci-fi-based fantasy" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 28, 2013
69% The Wolverine (2013) " Evil doctors, corrupt politicians and endangered biological grand daughters make up the character list, and vigorous action scenes are blasted into various locations, with stun-gun effect. All the technical work is superb" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 19, 2013
—— What's In A Name () " A comedy but only if you like blood sports. A screenplay that positively bristles with ... well, bristles, it's as savage as Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf or Carnage" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 19, 2013
95% Behind the Candelabra (2013) " The screenplay's ability to keep us engaged and involved that the opulence loses its lustre and the things that matter in life rise to the top" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 19, 2013
86% The Conjuring (2013) " As resistant as I am to spooky movies of all kinds, I do admire Wan's direction .... He realises all the potential in the drama, in the images and in the editing, managing to give us frequent chills" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 19, 2013
98% Before Midnight (2013) " Before Midnight is like an old friend who has grown sharper and grumpier and saltier with life; and for students of cinema, the film is a masterclass in the use of the language and tools of this amazing artform to portray human nature" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 19, 2013
72% Pacific Rim (2013) " Michael Bay eat your heart out. Guillermo del Toro has made one bigger, louder, faster and more destructive than you. Pacific Rim is Transformers on steroids, Godzilla to the power of 10, The Avengers turbo-charged and bigger-suited than Iron Man" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 8, 2013
65% The Heat (2013) " At half an hour, it would rip your bloody guts out. At almost 2 hours it looks more like a one note joke that doesn't know whether it's a black comedy or a plastic comedy with lots of swearing" — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 6, 2013
—— National Theatre Live: The Audience (2013) " A seductive and delicious set of hypothetical conversations peppered with humour, pathos and satire, Peter Morgan's The Audience is audacious only in that it dares to imagine the most private conversations between Britain's most public figures. " — Urban Cinefile
Posted Jul 5, 2013
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