Brian Webster Movie Reviews & Previews

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Brian Webster

Agrees with the Tomatometer 80% of the time.

Biography:: Brian is editor of Apollo Movie Guide, a leading online magazine focusing on reviews of the latest new movies, DVDs and home video releases. Apollo Guide's focus is on concise, intelligent reviews written to a high standard. A team of more than a dozen critics contributes, with every review edited by Brian. Apollo Guide is among the top-ten DVD review sites on the internet and provides the most thorough home video coverage available anywhere.
Favorites:: Some Favourite 1998 films: The Butcher Boy, Saving Private Ryan, Zero Effect, Slums of Beverly Hills, A Perfect Murder, The Celebration, Smoke Signals, The Spanish Prisoner, The Horse Whisperer, Out of Sight Some least favourite 1998 films: Dirty Work, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, The Substitute 2: School's Out, Operation Delta Force II, The Hunted Some Favourite 1997 Films: Titanic, Welcome to Sarajevo, The Ice Storm, The Full Monty, Cop Land, Wag the Dog, As Good As it Gets, In the Company of Men Some Least Favourite 1997 Films: Melanie Darrow, The Right Connections, Quicksilver Highway, Sins of the Mind, Prince Valiant Some Favourite Directors: Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, John Sayles, Joel Coen, Constantin Costa-Gavras
Publications:: Apollo Guide

Total Reviews:: 1947
Total QuickRatings:: 4

Location:: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 1947

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
74/100	84%	The Princess and the Frog (2009)	" The result is a pretty standard old-style Disney story -- of damsel up against exotic challenges -- that's very nicely spiced up by its unique setting." — Apollo Guide Posted Oct 16, 2010
53/100	21%	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)	" Extras on the blu-ray disc are numerous, including eight featurettes covering everything from the history of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise to the movie's music." — Apollo Guide Posted Apr 8, 2010
53/100	21%	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)	" I never thought the day would come where I'd wish I were watching Scooby-Doo rather than what's actually onscreen." — Apollo Guide Posted Apr 8, 2010
78/100	93%	Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)	" Fantastic Mr. Fox gets the deluxe treatment in its combo-pack release, which gives you the movie on blu-ray, standard DVD and a digital copy, all in the same package." — Apollo Guide Posted Apr 6, 2010
78/100	93%	Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)	" Funny, eccentric and great-looking, Fantastic Mr. Fox is utterly unique and highly entertaining." — Apollo Guide Posted Apr 6, 2010
73/100	81%	Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)	" The standard DVD and blu-ray versions are most impressive, especially the blu-ray, packed as it is with more than an hour and a half of extras." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 29, 2010
73/100	81%	Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)	" If you've got the slightest interest in Jackson's music, then this is the movie for you. If you want to learn the truth about the icon, then you're looking at the wrong film." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 29, 2010
63/100	39%	Surrogates (2009)	" On blu-ray, the movie looks sharp in 1080p high definition and the explosions are loud and clear in 5.1 DTS-HD master audio." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 19, 2010
63/100	39%	Surrogates (2009)	" Sure, it's made capably, in a technical sense. But it's banal, utterly predictable and often quite stupid." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 19, 2010
73/100	32%	The Lovely Bones (2009)	" Peter Jackson is anything but a good fit to direct this story, as his well-intentioned efforts at conveying transcendence sometimes look and feel phony." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 15, 2010
71/100	63%	Extract (2009)	" The extras seem just a bit half-hearted, much like the movie itself." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 12, 2010
71/100	63%	Extract (2009)	" Mike Judge's nuggets are often enjoyable enough for us to want to ignore the fact that Extract really doesn't work particularly well in its totality." — Apollo Guide Posted Jan 12, 2010
73/100	67%	Brüno (2009)	" The Bruno DVD includes a full-length audio commentary by star Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles, which delves into many of the tricks used in the making of the film." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 18, 2009
73/100	67%	Brüno (2009)	" You can watch Bruno purely as outrageousness or you can view it while pondering where the line is - or should be - between incisive social commentary and misanthropy." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 18, 2009
86/100	98%	Up (2009)	" Up is available in a nifty blu-ray combo pack that gives you a two-disc blu-ray set loaded with extras, a standard DVD of the movie and a digital copy." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 13, 2009
86/100	98%	Up (2009)	" A joyous, wacky, sometimes bittersweet story of love, loss and making your dreams come true, Up does what Pixar movies usually do %u2013 it far exceeds our expectations." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 13, 2009
68/100	45%	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3) (2009)	" Extras are predictably numerous, including a filmmaker commentary, three featurettes and a good-sized handful of Fox Movie Channel pieces on the movie." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 6, 2009
68/100	45%	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3) (2009)	" I'm mystified by those who find these characters appealing." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 6, 2009
69/100	43%	The Proposal (2009)	" The blu-ray tries to whet your appetite for going HD by also adding an additional deleted scene." — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 2, 2009
69/100	43%	The Proposal (2009)	" It's not awful, certainly not memorable and - despite the words of at least one quote whore - it's not "the year's best comedy."" — Apollo Guide Posted Nov 2, 2009
66/100	51%	Chéri (2009)	" Extras on the disc include a set of deleted scenes, a 'making of' featurette and several movie trailers." — Apollo Guide Posted Oct 16, 2009
66/100	51%	Chéri (2009)	" Scene after scene unfolds, with colourful costumes, attractive sets, knowing glances and innuendo, but also a feeling that this is a pedestrian read-through of a stage play." — Apollo Guide Posted Oct 16, 2009
64/100	44%	Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)	" There are no extras included on the disc." — Apollo Guide Posted Oct 14, 2009
64/100	44%	Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)	" Clearly, one person's authentic homage is another person's overwrought teeth-gnashing fest, as Branagh's film never hesitates to slop on the melodramatic mustard." — Apollo Guide Posted Oct 14, 2009
70/100	50%	The Craft (1996)	" Extras on the disc start with a full-length audio commentary by director Andrew Fleming." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 30, 2009
70/100	50%	The Craft (1996)	" The 1970s-style special effects do little to distract us from an uneven script, direction and performances. Yet there's enough here for us to hope it'll come together." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 30, 2009
90/100	98%	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)	" The combination standard DVD and blu-ray 'Diamond Edition' release is truly fabulous." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 29, 2009
90/100	98%	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)	" This is both an entertaining old movie and a significant historical document. If you love film, then you must see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 29, 2009
71/100	87%	Earth (Disneynature's Earth) (Planet Earth) (2009)	" On blu-ray, Earth looks awesome in 1080p high definition, with its widescreen picture grabbing the eye while its 5.1 DTS-HD audio track sounds just as sharp." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 14, 2009
71/100	87%	Earth (Disneynature's Earth) (Planet Earth) (2009)	" Like Arctic Tale, this is a great looking and interesting view of nature. Also like that other 2007 film, Earth falls short of being truly memorable." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 14, 2009
71/100	100%	Inside Planet Earth (2009)	" On blu-ray, Earth looks awesome in 1080p high definition, with its widescreen picture grabbing the eye while its 5.1 DTS-HD audio track sounds just as sharp." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 14, 2009
71/100	100%	Inside Planet Earth (2009)	" Like Arctic Tale, this is a great looking and interesting view of nature. Also like that other 2007 film, Earth falls short of being truly memorable." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 14, 2009
71/100	90%	Iron Monkey (2001)	" Extras on the disc include an interview with Quentin Tarantino, who helped bring the film to North America, plus an interview with one of the movie's stars, Donnie Yen." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 10, 2009
74/100	100%	American Son (2009)	" The sort of movie that folks who are addicted to a Tom Cruise-style action sequence every three minutes might dismiss as one in which "nothing happens."" — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 8, 2009
74/100	100%	American Son (2009)	" Extras on the disc include a full-length commentary by writer/director Neil Abramson and producers Danielle Renfrew and Michael Roiff." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 8, 2009
73/100	31%	High Crimes (2002)	" There's a modest load of extras on the standard DVD and blu-ray versions, including a half-dozen featurettes." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 2, 2009
92/100	90%	MAS*H (MASH) (1970)	" The extras start with an excellent full-length audio commentary by director Robert Altman - his fans will love it - and also include well-made documentaries." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 2, 2009
71/100	88%	Adventureland (2009)	" Features that are only available on blu-ray include a bunch of material on employment at the Adventureland amusement park" — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 1, 2009
71/100	88%	Adventureland (2009)	" Clearly, writer/director Greg Mottola has plenty of good ideas and an inclination toward quirky movies just slightly off-centre." — Apollo Guide Posted Sep 1, 2009
71/100	56%	The Soloist (2009)	" DVD and blu-ray versions of The Soloist come with a few nice extras." — Apollo Guide Posted Aug 13, 2009
71/100	56%	The Soloist (2009)	" While I admire filmmakers who navigate material like this without sentimentality, this film stands back just a bit too much and leaves us feeling like distant observers." — Apollo Guide Posted Aug 13, 2009
60/100	25%	Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)	" There's a modest collection of extras on the disc, including a set of deleted scenes, an outtakes reel and a music video." — Apollo Guide Posted Jul 6, 2009
60/100	25%	Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)	" Even without the bad timing %u2013 a paean to debt and excess released a few months after the world's biggest financial meltdown since the 1920s %u2013 it still would not have worked." — Apollo Guide Posted Jul 6, 2009
75/100	92%	A Bug's Life (1998)	" Extras on the first disc include a full length audio commentary by co-director John Lasseter and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the film." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 17, 2009
75/100	92%	A Bug's Life (1998)	" Promotes the classic American ethos of individualism without seeming preachy or narrow-minded, creating characters we enjoy, a story that's fun and visuals that sparkle." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 17, 2009
77/100	57%	Defiance (2009)	" You get a collection of featurettes, including a substantial 26-minute one on the story, characters and making of the film." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 17, 2009
81/100	57%	Defiance (2009)	" That Edward Zwick made such an honest film about the Bielski brothers is a wonderful gift, even if it is likely to be underappreciated by audiences." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 17, 2009
86/100	87%	Three Days of the Condor (1975)	" The only extra on the disc is the movie trailer." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 1, 2009
86/100	87%	Three Days of the Condor (1975)	" Makes you wish the makers - and especially the funders - of today's overblown big budget thrillers could be made to learn from some of the finer thrillers of the 1970s." — Apollo Guide Posted Jun 1, 2009

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