Chris Sawin Movie Reviews & Previews

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Chris Sawin

Agrees with the Tomatometer 75% of the time.

Publications:: Examiner.com

Total Reviews:: 132

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 132

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
4/10	——	Mo hup leung juk (Butterfly Lovers) (The Assassin's Blade) (2008)	" The Assassin's Blade plays out like a Chinese remake of Romeo and Juliet, but tries to cram in so much melodrama, overacting, action sequences that play out like ballet, and terrible attempts at humor that it's extremely difficult to get through." — Examiner.com Posted May 7, 2013
6.5/10	86%	Manborg (2013)	" Manborg is massively cheap, outrageous, and features a lot of overacting but it's also incredibly amusing with ridiculous gore and animation. It's like an homage to your childhood that you can't help but love and hate at the same time." — Examiner.com Posted May 5, 2013
6/10	53%	The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)	" The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a pretty ballsy political thriller that puts a much needed different spin on the war on terrorism in film and happily piggybacks on the shoulders of Riz Ahmed who carries the film with ease. " — Examiner.com Posted May 3, 2013
9/10	78%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" Iron Man 3 is innovative, hilarious, and crafted in the same vein of the first film. The closing act is so ridiculously good and gratifying that it'll give you goosebumps. Robert Downey Jr electrifies in the Tony Stark role yet again." — Examiner.com Posted May 3, 2013
8.5/10	98%	Mud (2013)	" Mud is a captivating drama with well-rounded characters and fantastic performances from its three leads." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 26, 2013
7.5/10	46%	Pain & Gain (2013)	" With its over the top beefcake humor and featuring Dwayne Johnson's most impressive acting to date, Pain & Gain is so much fun because it's so crass and so ludicrous." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 26, 2013
8/10	87%	Upstream Color (2013)	" There's some sort of genius buried within Upstream Color, but it's so enigmatic and obscure that by the time you reach it after digging through its countless layers you'll likely never find your way back again." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 19, 2013
4/10	42%	To The Wonder (2013)	" While it may be filmed beautifully, To the Wonder doesn't exactly move its gestating 112-minute duration along any faster with everyone on-screen galloping around their front yard or a field full of slow moving bison genitalia." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 19, 2013
6/10	56%	Oblivion (2013)	" Oblivion is visual science fiction ecstasy yet is so structurally boring that you'll be edging towards the door two thirds of the way through the film." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 18, 2013
7.5/10	——	Bareuge salja (Going by the Book) (2007)	" Going by the Book is pretty ingenious for being so simple in nature, which results in a very imaginative and chuckle-worthy comedy." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 17, 2013
9/10	71%	Naked Lunch (1991)	" If you've yet to purchase this incredible mind-trip involving bug powder, Brazilian centipedes, typewriters turning into giant insects, and bumping into Mugwumps in bars then the Blu-ray release is well worth your hard earned money." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 12, 2013
6/10	27%	The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2013)	" The Sorcerer and the White Snake is unfortunately just another average Jet Li film to throw into the pile. Its bloated and overloaded use of mediocre special effects practically shackles the film to its humdrum atmosphere." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 10, 2013
9/10	81%	The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)	" The Place Beyond the Pines is both unique and satisfying in the way it comes full circle and is so engrossing thanks to how lugubrious it is in nature." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 5, 2013
10/10	92%	Jurassic Park: An IMAX 3D Experience (2013)	" Jurassic Park 3D is like being reunited with an old friend; an old friend that wants to eat you and maul you to death, but still. A classic is reborn in glorious IMAX with a vibrantly stunning use of 3D." — Examiner.com Posted Apr 5, 2013
6/10	70%	Wrong (2013)	" With all of its robe mocking, its pet kidnapping service, its squeaky turkey dog toys, and most of all its turd memories, Wrong is one of the most unique films you'll ever sit through." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 29, 2013
6/10	28%	G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)	" G.I. Joe: Retaliation is practically gushing with overpowered and combustible action sequences, but it doesn't feel like the tribute to its source material that The Rise of Cobra was. " — Examiner.com Posted Mar 28, 2013
4/10	——	Bangkok Revenge (2012)	" The film is smart enough to keep it short and sweet and Jon Foo packs a hell of a punch (and kick and elbow and knee), but it still isn't enough to make Bangkok Revenge even remotely decent." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 26, 2013
8.5/10	69%	New World (2013)	" New World is just an intense crime thriller that is solid from beginning to end no matter how you look at it. " — Examiner.com Posted Mar 22, 2013
5/10	66%	Spring Breakers (2013)	" With all of its gun sucking, constant references to Britney Spears, and overall dirtiness, you'll feel like you'll need a hot shower and a penicillin shot after viewing Spring Breakers." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 22, 2013
8/10	——	Suicide Forecast (2011)	" The Suicide Forecast is this humorous catastrophe with remarkable performances. The dramatic comedy is well worth seeing for its amusing nature, its tragic moments, and the amazing transition Beong-wu accomplishes. Ryu Seung-beom is outstanding. " — Examiner.com Posted Mar 20, 2013
4/10	48%	Olympus Has Fallen (2013)	" Take away its swift kicks, severe stabbings, big explosions, and gory headshots and Olympus Has Fallen is just another cookie cutter action film with stale writing." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 19, 2013
8/10	——	The Great Magician (Daai mo seut si) (2013)	" The Great Magician is an undeniably charming and whimsical Chinese fantasy that captures your imagination with little effort." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 19, 2013
3/10	39%	The Call (2013)	" The Call is mostly just another predictable and generic thriller with its only unique moments resting in a certain scalp sniffing sequence." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 15, 2013
3/10	38%	The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)	" The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is just a delusional illusion of passable entertainment." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 15, 2013
7.5/10	39%	The ABCs of Death (2013)	" The ABCs of Death is a repulsive and excessive excuse of blood-soaked entertainment that should make the horror fan in you squeal with delight." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 15, 2013
7/10	67%	Stoker (2013)	" Stoker lacks the bite that Park Chan-wook's South Korean films deliver and doesn't kick you while you're down nearly as hard as The Vengeance Trilogy does, but Stoker is still unsettling and an expertly crafted thriller." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 15, 2013
6/10	——	Punch (Wan-deuk-i) (2011)	" Punch is a film with a positive message and has just the right balance of entertainment and emotion to achieve the status of a good pick me up film." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 12, 2013
5.5/10	36%	Dead Man Down (2013)	" Dead Man Down is really sluggish at first, but tends to be really compelling in this overpowering "so bad it's good" kind of way. Good, bad, even "Dead Man Down" can't seem to decide." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 8, 2013
7/10	60%	Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)	" Funny, charming, and imaginative, Oz the Great and Powerful is a film that lingers on the cusp of greatness but has to settle for being nothing more than acceptable. " — Examiner.com Posted Mar 8, 2013
3/10	——	The Samurai of Ayothaya ()	" With its ridiculously weak special effects, atrocious acting, lack of decent action sequences, and just overall laughable antics, Muay Thai Warrior is nothing but foreseeable tomfoolery that no one is laughing at." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 5, 2013
4/10	89%	A Place at the Table (2013)	" A Place at the Table may bring to light a hunger epidemic the entire United States faces, but it also casts an even darker shadow on an already tainted world." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 1, 2013
4/10	52%	Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)	" Chock full of paper thin characters and dated special effects, Jack the Giant Slayer is mostly just extremely predictable and seems massively unnecessary." — Examiner.com Posted Mar 1, 2013
7/10	92%	A Simple Life (2012)	" Driven by the fantastic performances of Andy Lau and Deanie Ip and its authentic writing, A Simple Life is the type of film you pop in to remind yourself that there is hope for the human race." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 27, 2013
7.5/10	60%	John Dies at the End (2013)	" John Dies at the End is really freaking weird. It's along the lines of Quentin Dupieux's Rubber, but really pushes the boundaries of absurdity. Just remember that you don't choose the soy sauce. The soy sauce chooses you." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 22, 2013
5.5/10	58%	Snitch (2013)	" Dwayne Johnson really tests the limits of his acting ability in Snitch. Its stale dialogue, the way emotion and action seems to be milked until the very end, and unintentionally humorous dialogue confine the film to its average restraints." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 22, 2013
2/10	15%	A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)	" Bad acting and stiff dialogue rear their ugly head in the opening scene and just douse the movie in their thick juices repeatedly until it ends." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 14, 2013
6/10	70%	The Thieves (2012)	" The Thieves comes off like the Ocean's Eleven of South Korean cinema, but it also seems to be all talk and not enough action. Although slightly disappointing, The Thieves is worth seeing for its final 45 adrenaline pumping minutes." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 10, 2013
8/10	85%	Side Effects (2013)	" Not revealing everything all at once intertwined with the unexpected twists and turns along the way and the excellent performances of both Rooney Mara and Jude Law is what makes Side Effects so gratifying." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 8, 2013
7/10	89%	A Royal Affair (2012)	" The performances are powerful and the set pieces are exquisite, but the conclusion will leave you feeling enormously agitated thanks to what seems like the encouragement of thickheadedness." — Examiner.com Posted Feb 8, 2013
8.5/10	——	Pasuggun (Bleak Night) ()	" Bleak Night is like South Korea's answer to We Need to Talk About Kevin with shades of Martha Marcy May Marlene in its loins. It's extremely grim with a very impactful message that nearly everyone will find some way to relate to." — Examiner.com Posted Jan 22, 2013
6/10	88%	The Man Who Knew Too Much (2003)	" It's not that The Man Who Knew Too Much is necessarily boring, but it lacks that riveting suspense Hitchcock became known for later on in his career." — Examiner.com Posted Jan 21, 2013
7/10	33%	The Protector (1985)	" The Protector wastes little time splattering blood all over the walls, but what's awkward is hearing Jackie use vulgarity so often. He says just about every cuss word you can think of and it just feels weird." — Examiner.com Posted Jan 18, 2013
9/10	94%	Crime Story (Zhong an zu) (New Police Story) (Police Dragon) (1993)	" Crime Story is extremely gritty as the camera work always seems to make you feel like you're taking cover with Jackie or it'll be positioned right where someone's face gets slammed against a wall to make you feel every punch and every kick." — Examiner.com Posted Jan 18, 2013
5/10	67%	I Am Bruce Lee (2012)	" It's safe to say that every inch of Bruce Lee's legacy has been covered and I Am Bruce Lee is just an excessive amount of icing added to an already well decorated cake." — Examiner.com Posted Jan 16, 2013
6/10	32%	Gangster Squad (2013)	" Gangster Squad is far from a masterpiece and its story structure and filmmaking techniques are riddled with bullet holes, but it's still better than the average movie released in the month of January. " — Examiner.com Posted Jan 11, 2013
10/10	88%	Django Unchained (2012)	" Django Unchained is pure, nonstop, blood-soaked ecstasy that is satisfying in absolutely every way. " — Examiner.com Posted Dec 25, 2012
4/10	87%	Arbitrage (2012)	" Arbitrage is the story of one rich man's downward spiral where both sides lie to try to get what they want but both walk away empty handed. It all results in a standstill that is about as thrilling as a staring contest." — Examiner.com Posted Dec 23, 2012
3/10	93%	Zero Dark Thirty (2013)	" With a protagonist you lack the desire to root for and subject matter that's been shoved down our throats in the 11 years since 9/11, This is one of the only films this year where battling heavy eyelids is more exciting than the film itself." — Examiner.com Posted Dec 22, 2012
8/10	82%	Rust and Bone (2012)	" With the exceptional performances from both Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard and the beautiful cinematography, Rust and Bone may have a few flaws but it's still brutal, intense, and surprisingly touching." — Examiner.com Posted Dec 22, 2012

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