Frank Lovece

Frank Lovece

Agrees with the Tomatometer 66% of the time.

Publications:
Film Journal International , Hollywood Reporter , Newsday , TV Guide's Movie Guide
Total Reviews:
418

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 51 - 100 of 418
Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
88% X-Men: First Class (2011) " A dark and emotionally complex movie for grownups, this prequel to the Marvel Comics X-Men franchise is exactly what its title suffix says." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 3, 2011
81% Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) " ...the film works on both aesthetic and emotional levels, and is truly beautiful to behold." — Film Journal International
Posted May 27, 2011
74% The Big Uneasy (2010) " A comedian's well-meaning but muddled documentary about the Army Corps of Engineers' pre-Katrina failings in New Orleans is a narrative mess of 20/20 hindsight." — Film Journal International
Posted May 20, 2011
77% Thor (2011) " Lavish and satisfying big-screen translation of the Marvel comic's mighty Norse god brought down to Earth." — Film Journal International
Posted May 6, 2011
71% Exporting Raymond (2011) " Fascinating and entertaining vanity production about adapting the show for Russian TV." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 29, 2011
11% Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil (2011) " Once upon a time there was a substandard CGI secret-agent spoof with fairy-tale characters spouting unfunny dialogue and shoehorned-in pop-culture references." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 29, 2011
82% American: The Bill Hicks Story (2011) " Hagiographic documentary of the late standup comic, with great visual style but gaping narrative and thematic holes due to the filmmakers' remarkable decision to only interview Hicks' loving family and friends." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 7, 2011
88% Rango (2011) " An animated homage to western movies-from classic to revisionist, old-fashioned to postmodern--Rango plumbs existential depths and hits movie-lover highs." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 2, 2011
49% No Strings Attached (2011) " Attractive but laugh-deficient romantic comedy of two young people in L.A. trying to maintain a friends-with-benefits relationship." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 21, 2011
43% I'm Dangerous with Love (2011) " This highly personal look at the controversial addiction-ending drug Ibogaine often veers into self-indulgence before becoming an interesting ethno-documentary at the end. But its lack of journalistic objectivity hinders real understanding of the subject." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 19, 2011
97% Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune (2011) " Moving and fast-moving documentary about the influential 1960s folksinger and face of the protest movement, considered second only to Bob Dylan in the power of his lyrics." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 5, 2011
80% Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers (2010) " The talented Mabry delivers an interesting look at a sport with great potential, and at women who can be testosterone-tough while remaining fully feminine. " — TheFilmJournal.com (Ohio)
Posted Dec 17, 2010
80% Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers (2010) " Documentary about women's roller-derby in Portland, Ore., showcases a talented new director but doesn't disclose its executive producer's ties to the organization, making objectivity suspect." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 17, 2010
8% Alien Girl (2010) " By-the-numbers crime thriller set in 1990s Ukraine, Prague and Bratislava, with a femme fatale and fatheads." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 17, 2010
86% Rabbit Hole (2010) " We don't want fireworks, but we do want a lit fuse." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 15, 2010
90% Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) " Odd and ominous little tale about a long-buried monster uncovered in the frozen wastes of Lapland: the horned demon Santa Claus." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 3, 2010
73% Megamind (2010) " Rollickingly funny superhero comedy of manners about a poor, misunderstood supervillain may not be The Incredibles, but it's still incredible." — Film Journal International
Posted Nov 12, 2010
40% Walkaway (2010) " Four first-generation Indian-American New Yorkers look for love, or try to hold onto it, in this Desi-loo production." — Film Journal International
Posted Nov 1, 2010
42% The Taqwacores (2010) " No profit will shine a light on this youth-drama of Muslim-American punk rockers." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 25, 2010
86% Punching the Clown (2010) " A quiet jewel of smart, unexpected laughs...as old vaudevillians would say, "It's funny because it's true."" — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 25, 2010
0% Kalamity (2010) " Kalamity well describes this katastrophe." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 25, 2010
50% Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (2010) " Interesting but uncritically naïve look at male and female convicts in Oklahoma, competing in one of the nation's last two prison rodeos." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 4, 2010
50% Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) " PG rating belies the incipient terror of this exquisitely rendered, well-told tale of genocidal ambitions, medieval slashing tools, child slavery, child soldiers and other nightmare-inducers." — Film Journal International
Posted Sep 24, 2010
17% Last Day of Summer (2010) " A fine performance by character actor DJ Qualls can't make up for an amateurish enterprise as pathetically inept as its own hero's own attempts at recognition." — Film Journal International
Posted Sep 17, 2010
17% Legendary (2010) " Stix Dig Hick Pix? A firmly Middle American high-school drama, set in small-town Oklahoma, about classical wrestling, starring a sports-entertainment wrestler and produced by World Wrestling Entertainment." — Film Journal International
Posted Sep 10, 2010
20% Clear Blue Tuesday (2010) " Theatre-inspired and cast-workshopped musical about several New Yorkers' lives in the wake of 9/11 is well-intentioned but off-off-off-off-Broadway." — Film Journal International
Posted Sep 2, 2010
28% Takers (2010) " Takers is all so slickly handsome, it's like a string of European clothing commercials interrupted by the occasional plot." — Film Journal International
Posted Aug 26, 2010
36% Hiding Divya (2010) " Intimate indie about a disaffected desi in Edison, N.J., who with her 16-year-old daughter must face her own mother's ever-more-evident mental illness." — Film Journal International
Posted Aug 19, 2010
81% Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) " Magical realism meets Mortal Kombat, as magical combat and mortal realism fire up a sweet, funny and blindingly original first-love tale." — Film Journal International
Posted Aug 10, 2010
78% The Other Guys (2010) " Smart, funny send-up of buddy-cop movies wields wit and satire even while cars crash, storefronts explode, and Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg exchange jibes as eager police partners pursuing big prey." — Film Journal International
Posted Aug 4, 2010
20% Red Alert: The War Within (2010) " Even charismatic star Suniel Shetty can't generate interest or excitement in this earnest drama of India's internal conflict with the Maoist "Naxalite" movement." — Film Journal International
Posted Jul 8, 2010
62% Raavanan (Villain) (2010) " Dark, psychologically trenchant modern retelling of the ancient epic The Ramayana, with a police inspector's wife held captive in a jungle by a near-mythic tribal leader." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 18, 2010
66% The Karate Kid (2010) " Formulaic but savvy reboot of the four-film series makes for a solid children's movie, bolstered by exotic locales and a genuinely talented young star." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 11, 2010
87% Cropsey (2010) " Documentary of a spate of child kidnappings/killings in Staten Island, New York, in the 1970s, tied thematically to the titular Hudson Valley boogeyman myth." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 8, 2010
0% Raajneeti (2010) " More pulpy than political, this Godfather-ripoff Hindi electoral drama is a candidate for oblivion in U.S. theatres." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 7, 2010
51% Holy Rollers (2010) " Low-key, low-budget drama based on a real-life 1990s drug-smuggling ring involving Hassidic Jews trudges along with a simplistic, heavy-handed message." — Film Journal International
Posted May 24, 2010
57% Shrek Forever After (Shrek 4) (2010) " A fitting fourth film in the animated series, Shrek Forever After is a mature story of romance and regret, and yet hilarious enough for kids and grownups alike." — Film Journal International
Posted May 24, 2010
82% Kites (2010) " Bollywood's widest U.S. release to date, hitting 215 stateside screens, is ironically atypical: a romantic melodrama in English, Spanish and Hindi, with nary a dance number." — Film Journal International
Posted May 19, 2010
83% Daddy Longlegs (2010) " Handmade New York indie about a disheveled, divorced dad on his annual two-week time with his kids was likely cathartic for the sibling filmmakers, but the movie shambles as much as its protagonist." — Film Journal International
Posted May 12, 2010
73% Iron Man 2 (2010) " In a refreshing and unexpected turn, the sequel to Iron Man doesn't find a changed man. Inside the metal, imperfect humanity grows even more so, as thought-provoking questions of identity meet techno-fantasy made flesh." — Film Journal International
Posted May 10, 2010
67% Date Night (2010) " Intermittently amusing action comedy with two deservedly well-liked stars whose ad-libs unfortunately aren't as funny as they think." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 12, 2010
—— Falling for Grace (2007) " Romantic comedy of a first-generation Chinese woman, played by the writer-director, and her old-money WASP beau is no My Big Fat Greek Wedding." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 7, 2010
76% Kick-Ass (2010) " The second comic-book movie based on a Mark Millar series is less ridiculous, more grounded and more fun than Wanted. Wanted was wanting. Kick-Ass kicks ass." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 5, 2010
86% Lbs. (2010) " Lbs. look and feel has an unassuming confidence that's all the more remarkable for this being a first feature, when new filmmakers usually can't resist being flashy in an attempt to be memorable." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 2, 2010
98% How to Train Your Dragon (2010) " Beautifully animated CGI adventure for youngsters has dragons and Vikings and characters with names like Snotlout. A decent little coming-of-age tale with parts more excellent than the whole." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 25, 2010
22% Repo Men (2010) " Sci-fi mishmash about a conscience-stricken repo man for an artificial-organ company who finds himself hunted by his partner." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 19, 2010
58% She's Out of My League (2010) " Remarkably good performances by the supporting cast give this beauty-and-the-beast romantic comedy some laughs and warmth, but finding chemistry between the leads proves out of its league." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 12, 2010
73% Children Of Invention (2010) " Heartfelt but dramatically tepid tale of two kids who must fend for themselves after their single mom goes missing." — Hollywood Reporter
Posted Mar 11, 2010
73% Children Of Invention (2010) " Heartfelt but dramatically tepid tale of two kids who must fend for themselves after their single mom goes missing." — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 26, 2010
—— Veer (2010) " Quasi-historical epic of a tribal leader who takes on the British and a treacherous Indian king in the 19th and early 20th centuries is a grand and expansive blend of Braveheart, Lawrence of Arabia and the Tarzan legend." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 26, 2010
—— Love Impossible (2010) " Well-directed if predictable Bollywood romantic company sinks under the weight of writer-producer-star Uday Chopra, a charmless leading man with a finger-wide range of expressions." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 20, 2010
56% It's Complicated (2009) " Some farcical baubles sparkle, but this have-it-all women's fantasy otherwise plods along with uneven acting, padded direction and inch-deep characters. Thank goodness for John Krasinski." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 28, 2009
60% Paa (2009) " This would-be tearjerker without the musical numbers of typical Bollywood fare is for die-hard Amitabh Bachchan fans only." — Hollywood Reporter
Posted Dec 14, 2009
—— Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year (2009) " David-and-Goliath workplace drama from India goes unexpected places, and hits satisfying chords." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 14, 2009
45% Until the Light Takes Us (2009) " Rough-hewn documentary of the heavy-metal subgenre black metal and the disaffected Norwegian youth culture that spawned it finds yin-and-yang exemplars to tell the story." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 9, 2009
60% Paa (2009) " A would-be tearjerker without the singing-dancing musical numbers of typical Bollywood fare seen in the U.S., the lackluster Paa is for die-hard Amitabh Bachchan fans only%u2014of which there is no small number." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 4, 2009
2/4 49% Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (2009) " Strictly for small fry." — Newsday
Posted Oct 23, 2009
87% Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) " Feast your eyes: This delectable animated feature, based on the famed children's book, crackles with cleverness, dry wit, kinetic slapstick and absurd humor for all ages%u2014and offers possibly the most dimensional 3D yet." — Film Journal International
Posted Sep 16, 2009
78% The End of the Line (2009) " Sundance-screened documentary about the global depletion of fish stocks takes a premise both valid and shocking and delivers the bad news as a bombastic harangue." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 18, 2009
—— Munde U.K. De () " Unexceptional romantic comedy won't turn any U.S. cineastes into Punjwood aficionados, and lacks the production values and star power Indian-American audiences have come to expect." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 17, 2009
75% Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise (2008) " You can't help but love the Loaf, and that spills over into most anything he does." — Film Journal International
Posted Jun 9, 2009
8% The Skeptic (2009) " Bardwell writes and directs carefully though without inspiration, leaving open the question of whether the house is really haunted." — Hollywood Reporter
Posted May 1, 2009
38% X-Men Origins - Wolverine (2009) " Last year's Iron Man leads to this year's adamantium man: The first spin-off of the X-Men movies has heart, action and Shakespearean-style tragedy, and uncompromisingly plays for keeps." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 30, 2009
0.5/4 64% Crank 2: High Voltage (2009) " For all its ADD editing, it's a joyless slog." — Newsday
Posted Apr 17, 2009
28% Chatham (The Golden Boys) (2009) " Picturesque if plodding indie romantic comedy about three salty dogs in 1905 Cape Cod who bring in a would-be bride to keep house." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 16, 2009
55% 17 Again (2009) " Zac Efron is charming, Sterling Knight is a great young find, and second-chance comedies of grownups in teen bodies are timeless, so to speak. So why is this movie so creepy and pervy-seeming?" — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 15, 2009
80% An Unlikely Weapon (2008) " Documentary about the Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and celebrity-portrait photographer Eddie Adams, whose image of a 1968 street execution in Saigon became an icon of the Vietnam War." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 10, 2009
34% Alien Trespass (2009) " Not a spoof, not a satire, just an imaginary story with echoes of It Came from Outer Space and other 1950s drive-in classics, Alien Trespass is a paragon of dry humor." — Film Journal International
Posted Apr 3, 2009
18% The Cross(The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story) (2009) " Heartfelt but pedestrian, so to speak, documentary of an evangelist who for decades carried a 12-foot wooden cross around the globe to spread the gospel." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 30, 2009
50% American Swing (2009) " Repetitive, narratively fractured, and padded with more hardcore inserts than hardcore facts, this amateurish documentary about the disco-era Manhattan sex club Plato's Retreat skimps on context and basic information. It's a fan site on celluloid." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 26, 2009
33% Knowing (2009) " Once you get past the typically and needlessly convoluted way otherworldly beings communicate with us, this "Twilight Zone"-like tale tantalizes%u2014and delivers three extraordinary disasters that alone are worth the price of a ticket." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 20, 2009
5% Miss March (2009) " Gross-out comedy starring two members of The Whitest Kids U'Know is one of the Worst Movies U'll See. Two buddies take a road trip to the Playboy mansion, defecating all the way. How apropos, since the movie is crap." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 13, 2009
—— 13B (2009) " J-horror-styled supernatural thriller from India doesn't have the gore or intensity of the real thing, and for many in the mainstream, that's a relief. Low-budget-looking but effective, with a great central gimmick." — Film Journal International
Posted Mar 6, 2009
33% Delhi 6 (2009) " An Indian drama with music, rather than a typical Bollywood musical, this ambitious story of a first-generation Indian-American discovering his roots in Delhi loses focus amid plots about patronizing Yanks, Muslim/Hindu relations and a media-fed legend of" — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 20, 2009
—— Billu Barber () " A small Indian village gets upturned with excitement when a big Bollywood film comes to shoot, and the townsfolk think their local barber is great buddies with the star." — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 19, 2009
41% He's Just Not That Into You (2009) " Romantic roundelay adapted from a self-help book tries to make a statement about dating in the new millennium, but gets mired in a labyrinthine soap opera of doormats and dudes." — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 6, 2009
12% Pink Panther 2 (2009) " Successor to the 2006 revival of the farcical franchise has inspired individual scenes, but a once-sublime subversion of French policiers has devolved into kiddie movies with all the cosmopolitan cachét of Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties." — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 5, 2009
3.5/4 96% Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) " A witty romantic comedy with a sardonic edge." — TV Guide's Movie Guide
Posted Feb 3, 2009
75% Luck by Chance (2009) " The Player meets All About Eve in this seriocomic satire of the Bollywood film industry%u2014by a first-time director whose collaring of over a dozen major Hindi stars for cameos speaks well of its biting accuracy." — Film Journal International
Posted Feb 2, 2009
49% Donkey Punch (2008) " Good little calling-card movie from a first-time feature director: a violent psychological study of seven randy young Brits on a borrowed yacht, an accidental death during rough sex, and the fallout that follows." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 21, 2009
51% Notorious (2009) " A hagiography of the late hip-hop star Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., this overlong biopic glosses over so much detail and avoids the real man so much, it's a fan-magazine profile gone B.I.G.-screen." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 16, 2009
33% Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) " You'd better shop around%u2014you could probably find an unfunny comedy with an unappealing hero and clumsily shot action choreography for much less than retail price. Maybe the straight-to-DVD bin?" — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 16, 2009
3/4 43% Chandni Chowk To China (2009) " Less a Bollywood bonbon than a pan-Asian fusion dish, this combination of Indian musical and Chinese chopsocky is, nonetheless, delicious fun." — Newsday
Posted Jan 15, 2009
52% Yonkers Joe (2009) " Heartfelt, well-acted but overly sincere drama of a smalltime hustler and the 20-year-old Down's syndrome son he's barely known." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 9, 2009
10% Bride Wars (2009) " You couldn't give this Bride away. Pedestrian comedy of friends at war balances on a petty framework, with shallow, unlikeable and archaic characters." — Film Journal International
Posted Jan 8, 2009
25% Bedtime Stories (2008) " A great idea gets lost amid unfunny, obnoxious antics and more mugging than in 1970s New York in this ham-fisted children's comedy from Adam Sandler." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 29, 2008
100% Dostana (2008) " Big, colorful, delightfully dumb Bollywood "gateway" movie could be a perfect crossover vehicle for U.S. audiences." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 29, 2008
1/4 14% The Spirit (2008) " Gorgeous cinematography and design can't mask the hollow core and bizarre ugliness of this mishandled comics adaptation." — Newsday
Posted Dec 24, 2008
—— Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Couple Made by God) (A Match Made in Heaven) (2008) " Smart, colorful and well-acted Bollywood romantic comedy succumbs to sentimental wish-fulfillment toward the end, but could still teach Hollywood rom-coms a thing or two." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 19, 2008
56% The Tale of Despereaux (2008) " Computer-animated, painterly adaptation of the Newberry Award-winning children's novel is a blunt sword of moral lessons with a character more insufferable than inspiring." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 19, 2008
12% Delgo (2008) " Admirable attempt at independent feature animation is undercut by videogame-quality CGI, cardboard characters and a bludgeoningly allegorical, unimaginative story of tribal conflict and teenagers in love." — Film Journal International
Posted Dec 12, 2008
25% Four Christmases (2008) " A star-studded cast way too talented for the material plod through a painfully rote holiday rom-com." — Film Journal International
Posted Nov 26, 2008
64% Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) " Sitcom-like sequel to the 2005 movie about clueless New York zoo animals bungling in the jungle, this story about a lion king is no Lion King but a perfectly funny diversion that improves on the original. And the penguins are still psychotic." — Film Journal International
Posted Nov 7, 2008
—— Roadside Romeo (2008) " Stray dogs sing, dance, find love and confront a gangster mongrel on the streets of Mumbai. India's first major computer-animated feature, a co-production of Disney and Bollywood giant Yash Raj Films, makes for an inauspicious debut." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 28, 2008
20% Passengers (2008) " She sees dead people, maybe. Stealth movie starring Anne Hathaway as the world's worst trauma counselor slipped into a few theatres without warning. Now you've been warned." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 27, 2008
35% Pride and Glory (2008) " Dark, violent and unfocused New York City police drama of two detective brothers, their uniformed brother-in-law, and the price of loyalty in the face of homicidal corruption." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 23, 2008
C 22% Shoot On Sight (2007) " Earnest problem-drama about a Muslim police inspector in London investigating fellow cops' killing of a suspected terrorist." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 13, 2008
19% Fly Me to the Moon (2008) " G-rated, 3D animated adventure of three plucky young flies who hitch a ride on Apollo 11 plods rather than soars. And maggots with faces aren't cute." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 13, 2008
70/100 41% Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) " A single moment of magical realism shows the Babe-that-might-have-been, very charitably speaking, had the makers of this doggie adventure-comedy chosen a more daring and creative route..." — Film Journal International
Posted Oct 13, 2008
Showing 51 - 100 of 418
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