Dawn Taylor Movie Reviews & Previews

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Dawn Taylor

""Always be closing!""

Agrees with the Tomatometer 82% of the time.

Biography:: Dawn reviewed her first film, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," at age 9, pronouncing it "not without charm, but such a deviation from the book that only hardcore Dick Van Dyke lovers will succumb to it's treacly charms." She has continued to take a similarly jaundiced view of popular movies ever since. Her hobbies include cooking and eating food, collecting disturbing toys, and mocking others. Her husband is very understanding of her quirks, but her cat is not. The dog is oblivious. Dawn's favorite holiday is Halloween (it's also her wedding anniversary) and she's fond of the scent of lavender. Her lucky number is five.
Favorites:: Despite my sardonic nature, my favorites are far too numerous to list. First to come to mind are "Chinatown," "A Fish Called Wanda," the original "Cape Fear," "Taxi Driver," and the Evil Dead films. I also have an inexplicable, perverse love for the movie "Tombstone."
Publications:: Cinema Sideshow , Cinematical , DVDJournal.com , DVDTalk.com , eFilmCritic.com , FADPOV.com , Film.com , Movies.com , Portland Tribune

Total Reviews:: 188
Total QuickRatings:: 4

Location:: Portland, OR -- home of Stark's Vacuum Cleaner Museum

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 188

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
	43%	Robin Hood (2010)	" It's a little like making a Johnny Appleseed movie, but having him plant peach trees instead because peaches tested better with the 15-to-27 demographic." — Cinematical Posted May 14, 2010
	8%	Furry Vengeance (2010)	" Sometimes, movies of this nature are quite funny -- Gore Verbinski's Mouse Hunt comes to mind -- but usually they are not. This one isn't." — Cinematical Posted Apr 30, 2010
1/5	49%	The Losers (2010)	" It's not only stupidly written, it's shot like [director Sylvain] White walked away and handed the reins to a brain-damaged orangatan." — eFilmCritic.com Posted Apr 23, 2010
	63%	Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)	" There's a fair amount of genuine retro fun to be had here." — Cinematical Posted Mar 26, 2010
4/5	100%	The Work of Director Michel Gondry (2003)	" [Gondry's] ingenuity and technical acumen raise these works from mere promotional tools to cinematic art." — DVDJournal.com Posted Jan 21, 2010
B-	81%	Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Oct 28, 2009
C-	21%	Amelia (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Oct 23, 2009
2.5/5	25%	Law Abiding Citizen (2009)	" Butler's character starts murdering people simply to get them out of his way so that his diabolically exact and completely preposterous plan can fully bloom." — Movies.com Posted Oct 16, 2009
B	84%	Whip It (2009)	" Juliette Lewis and her crazy eyes pretty much make any movie better." — Movies.com Posted Oct 2, 2009
C-	17%	Love Happens (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Sep 18, 2009
	43%	The Proposal (2009)	" The acting is decent, the writing competent, and the DP kept everything in focus most of the time. This may seem like faint praise, but given the state of the modern American rom-com, that places it head-and-shoulders above most of the genre." — Cinema Sideshow Posted Aug 26, 2009
C+	43%	Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Aug 21, 2009
B	60%	A Perfect Getaway (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Aug 7, 2009
D+	31%	The Collector (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Jul 31, 2009
4/5	68%	Funny People (2009)	" This is the most adult, sophisticated, smartly funny film Apatow's made yet." — Movies.com Posted Jul 31, 2009
C+	21%	G-Force (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Jul 24, 2009
B-	45%	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3) (2009)	— Movies.com Posted Jul 1, 2009
	80%	The Hammer (2007)	" [Carolla's] made a good, not great, film that sincerely honors the Underdog Sports genre, and perhaps that's enough." — Film.com Posted Jun 30, 2008
	——	Burn Notice - Season 1 (2009)	" Based on the same template that created USA's previous zany-crime-solver programs, the formula has been refined to a razor-sharp edge." — Film.com Posted Jun 30, 2008
	22%	Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)	" ... an appalling, revolting, thuddingly dumb movie." — Film.com Posted Jun 30, 2008
	33%	Rails & Ties (2007)	" Watching it feels a little like being slowly smothered by a soft pillow, while your killer won't shut up about his inability to share his feelings." — Film.com Posted Jun 30, 2008
	22%	Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)	" Yeah, there's the scene with the zombie dogs, but most of the film involves scientists sitting around a big table talking about what they plan to do next." — FADPOV.com Posted Sep 24, 2007
3/5	43%	The Brave One (2007)	" (Since) most ticket-buyers will fail to see beyond the gun violence to the more human story, The Brave One is simply a competent failure by a very good director." — eFilmCritic.com Posted Sep 14, 2007
1/5	57%	Transformers (2007)	" Considering that the whole movie is being sold as nothing more than a CGI version of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, one kind of expects there to be more rockin' and sockin' and less funny business with Optimus Prime destroying Mom's flower bed." — eFilmCritic.com Posted Jul 3, 2007
2/5	29%	Lucky You (2007)	" Hanson's an excellent director, and there are swaths of "Lucky You" that are admittedly very well executed. But without a main character to root for, a believable romance or any reason to give a crap about the story, the whole thing just rolls over on its" — eFilmCritic.com Posted May 4, 2007
3/5	100%	Koko, le gorille qui parle (Koko, a Talking Gorilla) (1978)	" ... suffers a bit from that lack of documentary intent and often feels directionless. But it's still fascinating." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
1.5/5	64%	Putney Swope (1969)	" ... an interesting archival document %u2014 but it's also painfully self-indulgent, with terrible acting and humor that's often too surreal to make any sense." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	88%	Bugsy (1991)	" Big, opulent, glitzy, and glamorous, Bugsy serves Warren Beatty well." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
4/5	76%	Factotum (2006)	" ... a marvelous ode to Bukowski, as well as a brilliant examination of one sort of writing life." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	71%	Tempest (1982)	" ... a beautiful, and curious, piece of filmmaking, long and meandering with moments of brilliance" — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3.5/5	90%	Half Nelson (2006)	" ... a well-crafted script by director Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden that eschews any obvious good guy/bad guy simplifications." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
4/5	88%	Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006)	" Rare is the opportunity to see such a detailed document on the way that the media can create a controversy almost wholly unconnected to the original event." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3.5/5	76%	Rocky Balboa (2006)	" It's another Rocky-as-underdog scenario and, written baldly, it sounds like screenplay hell -- but damned if Stallone doesn't make it work." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3.5/5	100%	The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)	" Hope's tale of identical cousins, treachery, and adventure touches something in the cultural consciousness in the same manner as Shakespeare's plays." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
4/5	86%	The Naked City (1948)	" ... a seminal work that's not to be missed." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3.5/5	69%	Hollywoodland (2006)	" A well-crafted piece of entertainment, and a surprising showcase for the usually underwhelming Affleck." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	25%	A Good Year (2006)	" A sort of alternate-universe chick flick, like a romance novel told from the point of view of the cold-but-handsome love interest rather than the plucky heroine." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3/5	100%	Gentleman Jim (1942)	" As with any biopic, it's inaccurate as all get-out -- but it's a delightful film nonetheless, with Flynn at the top of his game." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
2/5	51%	Fast Food Nation (2006)	" Linklater's Fast Food movie covers all of Schlosser's bases, but is surprisingly anemic in its execution." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	——	Extras - The Complete First Season (2007)	" ... wrings the same sort of squirm-inducing comedy from the world of filmmaking that "The Office" gleaned from 9-to-5 pencil pushing." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
3.5/5	66%	Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)	" It's an overabundant visual feast, but a satisfying one." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	——	Border Radio (1987)	" An oddball faux documentary-cum-punk Western." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
4/5	——	Adventures of Don Juan (1948)	" Here we have Errol Flynn as most of us remember him -- suave, witty and wearing tights." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	21%	You, Me and Dupree (2006)	" The slow decline of Owen Wilson's career continues with this pedestrian sitcom-on-celluloid." — Portland Tribune Posted Apr 10, 2007
	32%	The Black Dahlia (2006)	" It's hard to tell what De Palma wanted to achieve with this film. Whatever it was, what ended up on the screen is a confused, ugly mess." — Portland Tribune Posted Apr 10, 2007
	98%	The War Tapes (2006)	" A moving, very personal document, one that's as revealing as it is disturbing." — Portland Tribune Posted Apr 10, 2007
4/5	75%	Catch a Fire (2006)	" A scathing examination of how oppression and torture breed terrorism." — eFilmCritic.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	91%	Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)	" Cohen uses his characters to point out our sacred cows, whatever they may be, and then shoot them with a well-placed dart." — DVDJournal.com Posted Apr 10, 2007
	32%	Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)	" Shainberg manages the tricky task of showing us how the decidedly strange Arbus [saw] the world." — Portland Tribune Posted Apr 10, 2007

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