Betsy Sharkey Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Betsy Sharkey

Betsy Sharkey

Agrees with the Tomatometer 70% of the time.

Biography:: Los Angeles Times film critic.
Publications:: Chicago Tribune , Los Angeles Times

Total Reviews:: 480

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 51 - 100 of 480

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
4/5	81%	The Impossible (2012)	" It is the kind of ode to the human spirit that you hope comes along, and not just during the holiday season." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 21, 2012
3.5/5	52%	This is 40 (2012)	" The film has as much to say about family dynamics as a couple's wavering love." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 20, 2012
2.5/5	61%	Jack Reacher (2012)	" The actor can do cool and calculating, it's the meaning behind it that never flickers to life. "Jack Reacher" plays like Cruise on cruise control." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 20, 2012
3/5	53%	The Girl (2013)	" There are moving moments as Cornish channels the slow self-enlightenment necessary for Ashley's character arc. And the actress is particularly good in the scenes with the promising young Hernandez." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 13, 2012
3.5/5	77%	Any Day Now (2012)	" Cumming is the linchpin, and the actor does an exceptional job of moving across the vast galaxy of universal emotions about partners and parenthood. He takes us to the heart of the matter in ways that matter most." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 13, 2012
3/5	37%	Stand Up Guys (2013)	" Despite some predictable predicaments - and the inevitable Viagra joke - the film is clever in the way it deals with the high cost of mob connections and the even higher cost of old age." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 13, 2012
2.5/5	32%	Deadfall (2012)	" At times it is riveting stuff and at times ridiculous." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 6, 2012
1/5	19%	Lay the Favorite (2012)	" What has happened to director Stephen Frears?" — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 6, 2012
2.5/5	4%	Playing for Keeps (2012)	" At some point you hope [Butler] will find a movie that will give him the right material to make hearts truly beat faster." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 6, 2012
3.5/5	79%	Quartet (2013)	" "Quartet" is very much a performance piece, which plays to Hoffman's strength - as an actor he knows when to allow this excellent ensemble breathing room and when to tighten the belt." — Los Angeles Times Posted Dec 5, 2012
3/5	75%	Killing Them Softly (2012)	" The writer-director becomes so intent on hammering home the parallels between economic decay, political disappointments and petty criminals, there is nothing soft, or subtle, about it. He should trust his audience more." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 29, 2012
3/5	74%	Rise of the Guardians (2012)	" There is a lot to savor in "Rise of the Guardians," but sometimes too much of a good thing can be exhausting." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 20, 2012
5/5	88%	Life of Pi (2012)	" There are always moral crosscurrents in Lee's most provocative work, but so magical and mystical is this parable, it's as if the filmmaker has found the philosopher's stone." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 20, 2012
2.5/5	64%	Anna Karenina (2012)	" All dressed up with no place to go." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 15, 2012
3/5	48%	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)	" The dialogue remains spotty and sappy, the effects still haven't caught up to modern-day standards, but "Twilight's" popularity is such that even when it falls short, it doesn't seem to matter." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 15, 2012
2.5/5	67%	Barrymore (2012)	" It was brilliant as a one-man stage show; it was never a good candidate for film." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 14, 2012
3.5/5	77%	Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012)	" Like a high school reunion, filled with affectionate memories of an earlier, more innocent, time." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 8, 2012
3/5	50%	Switch (2012)	" Perhaps "Switch's" greatest strength is in giving us enough information to try to come up with better questions of our own." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 8, 2012
4/5	92%	Skyfall (2012)	" In "Skyfall," Mendes has given us a thrilling new chapter in a franchise that by all rights should have been gasping for air - which really makes him the hero of this saga." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 7, 2012
4/5	86%	Wreck-it Ralph (2012)	" The movie's subversive sensibility and old-school/new-school feel are a total kick." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 2, 2012
3/5	49%	The Man With the Iron Fists (2012)	" It may just be one of the best bad movies ever." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 1, 2012
2.5/5	79%	A Late Quartet (2012)	" Zilberman's minimalistic approach fits the idea of the film better than it fits the actual film." — Los Angeles Times Posted Nov 1, 2012
4/5	70%	The Loneliest Planet (2012)	" Shot on location by cinematographer Inti Briones, "Planet" is a piece of art even without Bernal and Furstenberg, who are like moving portraits of themselves in this film." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 25, 2012
2.5/5	79%	The Other Son (2012)	" "The Other Son" is a case of good intentions overwhelming the inherent drama - quite simply, political correctness got the best of it" — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 25, 2012
2/5	33%	Chasing Mavericks (2012)	" "Chasing Mavericks" falls into the "Machine Gun" category of disappointments - at best it's a wash." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 25, 2012
3/5	37%	Nobody Walks (2012)	" If you allow yourself to drift with it, rather than get frustrated by all the non sequiturs, "Nobody Walks" becomes a more enjoyable film." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 18, 2012
4/5	94%	The Sessions (2012)	" In a country that embraces cinematic violence with such ease but blushingly prefers to keep sex in the shadows or under the sheets, the grown-up approach of "The Sessions" is rare." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 18, 2012
1/5	12%	Alex Cross (2012)	" [Cross] has a really bad temper, really big guns and really bad dialogue. He will use all of them excessively if pushed." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 18, 2012
2/5	68%	Wuthering Heights (2012)	" It's just that there isn't enough story - the book shouldn't be required reading for the film to make sense." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 11, 2012
4/5	84%	Detropia (2012)	" City services are shutting down, schools are closing, houses are being demo'd by the thousands - like lights being turned out one by one, "Detropia" powerfully captures a city fighting not to go dark." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 4, 2012
3/5	87%	Frankenweenie (2012)	" There are so many horror auteurs Burton wants to thank that the film is absolutely bursting at the seams with knowing nods." — Los Angeles Times Posted Oct 4, 2012
4/5	86%	The Iran Job (2012)	" "The Iran Job" is one of those documentaries that is sad and hopeful in equal measure and exceptional in its storytelling." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 27, 2012
3/5	81%	Pitch Perfect (2012)	" What helps offset the predictable in this very predictable movie is a series of show-stopping numbers, so props to the folks who oversaw music and choreography. But the true saving grace is a few of the central players." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 27, 2012
2/5	43%	Hotel Transylvania (2012)	" "Hotel Transylvania" never becomes the great monster mash that seemed in the offing." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 27, 2012
4/5	85%	End of Watch (2012)	" A visceral story of beat cops that is rare in its sensitivity, rash in its violence and raw in its humor." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 20, 2012
3.5/5	85%	The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)	" Thanks to [Chbosky's] stars, the film - like the book - is a smartly observed study of a troubled teen's first year in high school." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 20, 2012
4/5	94%	Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2012)	" We begin to understand what created her distinctive fashion aesthetic as well as her drive." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 20, 2012
3/5	53%	Little Birds (2012)	" Though the plotting is problematic and at times as lost as the kids, there are bursts of brilliance and moments of aching vulnerability in "Little Birds" that make you wonder what the filmmaker might do next." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 13, 2012
3.5/5	87%	Arbitrage (2012)	" A tense and chilling horror story for financially fraught times." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 13, 2012
3/5	69%	Liberal Arts (2012)	" "Liberal Arts" is a light and lively comedy of manners about college, literature and a midlife crisis that hits earlier than expected." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 13, 2012
2.5/5	54%	The Inbetweeners (2012)	" Basically just another bawdy spring break movie - with an accent." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 7, 2012
1.5/5	22%	The Words (2012)	" It's a snooze." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 6, 2012
2/5	55%	Bachelorette (2012)	" Even in this dreary, going nowhere role, Dunst is fascinating to watch." — Los Angeles Times Posted Sep 6, 2012
3/5	85%	Sleepwalk With Me (2012)	" "Sleepwalk With Me's" transition from stage to screen primarily works because Birbiglia continues to carry the weight." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 31, 2012
1/5	26%	2016: Obama's America (2012)	" The film is not after new insight; rather, it's intent on laying out the arguments of a man who has given the same lecture countless times. That makes for a sluggish film. Even its outrage falls flat." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 27, 2012
4/5	76%	Premium Rush (2012)	" [It] actually doesn't sound like it would work at all as a tightly wound slice of street action, but it does, and in radically fresh ways." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 23, 2012
2.5/5	58%	Red Hook Summer (2012)	" In truth, the film fizzles as much as it fumes. There is a kind of lassitude that sets in, even as it builds toward some kind of reckoning." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 23, 2012
2.5/5	——	The Anderson Monarchs (2012)	" "The Anderson Monarchs" is the nicest of stories, but Martin fails to put into focus what is really at stake for the dedicated players or their devoted coach." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 23, 2012
3/5	48%	Hit & Run (2012)	" A strange, but strangely entertaining combo of drag racing machismo, slapstick silliness, raunchy riffs, politically incorrect rants and sweet nothings." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 21, 2012
3.5/5	65%	The Expendables 2 (2012)	" What gives "Expendables 2" its charm is the film's unabashed nostalgia for the genre's best B-movie moments." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 16, 2012
3/5	——	Defiant Requiem ()	" It is better when it focuses on the two men. The seriously false note is in the reenactments." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 16, 2012
3.5/5	87%	ParaNorman (2012)	" It may be the most fun you'll have with ghosts and zombies all year." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 16, 2012
2.5/5	64%	Cosmopolis (2012)	" DeLillo's brilliant analysis of the destructive power of wealth that took such seductive hold on page has a tough time gaining traction on screen." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 16, 2012
3.5/5	——	Garden in the Sea (2012)	" A very internationally flavored film, one that ultimately relies on the language of sight and sound to speak eloquently about art and ecology and how they can be fused into something extraordinary." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 9, 2012
3.5/5	63%	Nuit #1 (2012)	" Returning to some of the same themes she explored in her short films, Émond continues her smart contemplation of youth and the difficulties of making meaningful emotional connections in these times." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 9, 2012
4/5	74%	Hope Springs (2012)	" This well-considered look at a long marriage that has lost its spark proves that old love is as fraught as any teenage crush and sex never fades as a source of contention." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 8, 2012
3/5	77%	Killer Joe (2012)	" Out of the muck and mire of human depravity that is "Killer Joe," something magnificent comes: a killer performance by Matthew McConaughey." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 2, 2012
3.5/5	70%	Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)	" More often than not "Celeste and Jesse Forever" delivers an affectionate and intelligent look at how even the closest couples can find that breaking up is so very hard to do." — Los Angeles Times Posted Aug 2, 2012
3.5/5	96%	Searching for Sugar Man (2012)	" The rustic folk-rock sound and politically provocative lyrics provide the seductive soundtrack for the film. They often serve as a stand-in for the artist as well. It is how we get to know him." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 26, 2012
3/5	16%	The Watch (2012)	" Some of the phallic jokes work, others are really lame. Fortunately there are many other funny bits that have nothing to do with body parts that keep the laughs coming." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 26, 2012
3.5/5	79%	Ruby Sparks (2012)	" An engagingly off-kilter love story of a writer, the girl of his dreams and the power of his pen." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 24, 2012
3/5	37%	Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)	" The dialogue is sometimes too sluggish and definitely too preachy, the ending is a little too sappy, yet somehow this strange collection of prehistoric critters and their completely illogical life are consistently likable, if not quite lovable." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 12, 2012
3.5/5	76%	The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012)	" "Do-Deca" can't always overcome the sensation that this is as much a no-budget as it is a no-holds-barred affair. But the sardonic slights and crafty insights are steadily there." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 5, 2012
3.5/5	78%	Take This Waltz (2012)	" Somehow it is the waiting - for the fall that you expect is coming, for the marriage you figure will fall apart - that makes "Take This Waltz" one to make room for on your dance card." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 5, 2012
3.5/5	77%	Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)	" As one record executive put it, for too long the industry tried to make Katy Perry into something or someone else. The secret, which "Part of Me" captures quite nicely, was to just let her be." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jul 4, 2012
4/5	97%	Paul Williams Still Alive (2012)	" Filmmaker Stephen Kessler's sheer delight in following around his boyhood idol, whose music framed much of the '70s when Kessler was a lad in Queens, is thoroughly infectious." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 29, 2012
3.5/5	69%	Ted (2012)	" To fully appreciate "Ted," it's best to simply forgive its bad behavior upfront and save any apologies for liking it until later. Sorry." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 28, 2012
3/5	88%	Neil Young Journeys (2012)	" Young's almost mystical musicianship is what saves it." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 28, 2012
4/5	86%	Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)	" An extraordinary new drama whose fierceness, like its 6-year-old heroine Hushpuppy, grabs on and won't let go." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 27, 2012
3/5	43%	To Rome with Love (2012)	" An affectionate but meandering comedy that contemplates romance, fame, legacy and longing." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 21, 2012
2/5	55%	Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)	" Scafaria, who made such a splash with her cheeky screenplay adaptation of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" in 2008, is simply over her head here." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 21, 2012
3/5	29%	Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (2012)	" It's not "On Golden Pond" by any stretch, but it is nice to have Fonda back in the fractious family way." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 7, 2012
3/5	34%	Lola Versus (2012)	" Gerwig is ... distinctive and interesting an actress to watch, especially when the story includes a lot of raw truth-telling." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 7, 2012
3.5/5	79%	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)	" A neon-saturated, high-flying trapeze act with enough frenetic funny business that it's a wonder the folks behind this zillion-dollar franchise about zoo critters on the lam didn't send the animals to the circus sooner." — Los Angeles Times Posted Jun 7, 2012
3/5	48%	Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)	" It is an absolute wonder to watch and creates a warrior princess for the ages. But what this revisionist fairy tale does not give us is a passionate love - its kisses are as chaste as the snow is white." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 31, 2012
3/5	81%	A Cat in Paris (2012)	" There are wild chases and fever dreams, and sometimes the thieving and the thieves become a muddle. But the animation of A Cat in Paris itself is so artful, it steals the day." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 31, 2012
3/5	70%	Men in Black III (2012)	" "Men in Black 3" has got the MIB mojo back - well, most of it anyway." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 24, 2012
4/5	94%	Moonrise Kingdom (2012)	" In this tale about growing up and falling in love, it seems Anderson has found his true heart." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 24, 2012
4/5	71%	Natural Selection (2012)	" In Harris' hands, Linda is guileless but believable, her smile so worn and wary that it almost hurts to see it." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 17, 2012
1.5/5	22%	What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)	" Cute couple Kendrick and Crawford are completely lost at sea. But the guys in the Dudes Group have the worst of it - they are a whiny, unappealing bunch through and through." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 17, 2012
3/5	58%	The Dictator (2012)	" By turns hysterical, heretical, guilty, innocent, silly, sophisticated, teasing and tedious." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 15, 2012
2.5/5	26%	The Cup (2012)	" A tale of heart-wrenching tragedy and uplifting triumph that never quite hits its stride." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 11, 2012
3/5	67%	God Bless America (2012)	" This funny, sick twist of social satire is certainly locked and loaded, even if its aim is sometimes off." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 11, 2012
4/5	100%	Under African Skies (2012)	" The affection between the musicians and Simon is clear. The portrait that emerges time and again is personal and a reflection of the realities of apartheid." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 10, 2012
3.5/5	94%	I Wish (2012)	" There is a lot of hope in the air in "I Wish," but the film never feels sappy." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 10, 2012
2/5	48%	The Perfect Family (2012)	" The film's single saving grace is Turner, who channels that legendary Catholic guilt like there is no tomorrow." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 3, 2012
3/5	78%	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)	" It all makes for a movie whose infectious charm outweighs some of the predictability that slips in around the edges." — Los Angeles Times Posted May 3, 2012
2/5	23%	The Raven (2012)	" It's neither grand nor grisly enough to seriously satisfy Poe-ish cravings for murder, mystery and literary allusions." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 27, 2012
4/5	90%	Bernie (2012)	" A true-life Texas tale so perfectly told it seems more like eavesdropping than moviegoing." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 26, 2012
2.5/5	64%	The Five-Year Engagement (2012)	" A little restraint would have gone a long way to making this a far funnier, fleeter affair." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 26, 2012
4/5	74%	Chimpanzee (2012)	" [It] might as well be called "Simply Irresistible," because thanks to the mischievous monkeyshines of a baby chimp named Oscar, it comes pretty close." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 20, 2012
1.5/5	22%	Darling Companion (2012)	" Like Freeway, the lovable stray dog at the center of this very teary comedy, "Darling Companion"has lost its way." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 19, 2012
3/5	20%	The Lucky One (2012)	" The Sparks-styled romance has almost become its own movie genre - predictable, pure of heart, sentimental and never straying from the boy-meets-girl basics, or the surface, for that matter - and in that "The Lucky One" delivers." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 19, 2012
3/5	51%	The Three Stooges (2012)	" There is an appealing nyuk, nyuk nostalgic spirit to"The Three Stooges."" — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 12, 2012
2/5	38%	Lockout (Unrated) (2012)	" Mostly "Lockout" is lost in space." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 12, 2012
2.5/5	92%	The Cabin in the Woods (2012)	" All the actors do a decent job with whatever is thrown at them - usually sharp objects." — Los Angeles Times Posted Apr 12, 2012
4/5	96%	The Kid with a Bike (2012)	" A wonderfully human and humane story about one of those lost-and-found children who tend to slip through society's not-so-safe safety nets." — Los Angeles Times Posted Mar 16, 2012
4/5	85%	21 Jump Street (2012)	" Miller and Lord clearly understand the push-and-pull and hyper-competitiveness that make guy friendships both complex and stupid." — Los Angeles Times Posted Mar 15, 2012
2.5/5	78%	Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)	" Segel ... seems to be staking his claim on just about any sweet, clueless character that comes along. He should be more discriminating." — Los Angeles Times Posted Mar 15, 2012

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