James Berardinelli Movie Reviews & Previews

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James Berardinelli

Agrees with the Tomatometer 78% of the time.

Biography:: I was born in September 1967 in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey (USA). I started writing when I was about 9 years old, and suffered through the traumatic experience of reading chapters from my stories in front of my entire fourth grade class. However, although my "first love" was writing, too many tales of starving authors scared me off that path, so I decided to become an engineer instead. I attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 through 1990, obtaining both a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. Putting my education to use, I went to work for a company called Bellcore, which pays well enough for me to keep up the mortgage, maintain a home theater, finance film festival trips, and buy the 25-30 gallons of gasoline I need each week to attend screenings. As for my "film history"... As a child, I did not attend many movies. In fact, the first one I remember going to was JAWS, at a drive-in. During my junior high and high school years, I rarely ventured into a theater, but my interest in movies escalated while I was at college. In 1991, the year before I started reviewing, I saw about 30 films. The number jumped up to 180 in 1992, when I wrote capsule reviews for my own use. Starting in 1993, the year I "went public" on the Usenet newsgroups, I began seeing between 220 and 250 theatrical releases per year.
Publications:: ReelViews
Critics' Group:: Online Film Critics Society

Total Reviews:: 4333
Total QuickRatings:: 1

Location:: New Jersey, US

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 4333

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
2/4	8%	Runner Runner (2013)	" Various subplots are given short shrift and the whole thing feels more like a Cliff's Notes version of a longer piece than an actual finished motion picture." — ReelViews Posted Oct 4, 2013
4/4	98%	Gravity (2013)	" Wow." — ReelViews Posted Oct 3, 2013
2.5/4	95%	Enough Said (2013)	" The jarring shifts between effective drama and failed humor make watching Enough Said a bumpy and sometimes frustrating journey." — ReelViews Posted Sep 27, 2013
3/4	83%	Don Jon (2013)	" Don Jon is visually interesting without being overbearing. The script finds a witty way to confront serious issues. And Levitt-Gordon takes on the personality of a guy straight out of Jersey Shore." — ReelViews Posted Sep 25, 2013
3/4	88%	Rush (2013)	" Rush not only effectively presents a balanced view of the rivalry between two race car drivers but manages the difficult task of taking Formula One racing, an inherently non-cinematic sport, and translating it to the screen." — ReelViews Posted Sep 24, 2013
3.5/4	80%	Prisoners (2013)	" The screenplay is smart, the execution is impeccable, and the holes are few and far between." — ReelViews Posted Sep 19, 2013
1.5/4	35%	Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)	" Insidious: Chapter 2 is not only unnecessary but it commits the cardinal sin of devaluing its predecessor." — ReelViews Posted Sep 13, 2013
3/4	33%	The Family (2013)	" Besson's history is one of making crowd-pleasing entertainment and The Family is no different." — ReelViews Posted Sep 12, 2013
3/4	60%	Riddick (2013)	" Much of the film is over-the-top, but that won't be a surprise to those who saw the previous two installments. Diesel is in fine form, growling his lines and being the most menacing person on screen even when he's in chains." — ReelViews Posted Sep 6, 2013
2/4	3%	Getaway (2013)	" Getaway is pretty much a 90-minute car chase. That's it." — ReelViews Posted Aug 30, 2013
3.5/4	99%	Short Term 12 (2013)	" An emotionally authentic examination of the lives of those who live in and work at a children's home where the lines between the inhabitants and the caretakers isn't as clear as one might suppose." — ReelViews Posted Aug 29, 2013
3/4	46%	Closed Circuit (2013)	" The movie is low-key but each scene is packed with information. Full understanding demands full attention." — ReelViews Posted Aug 29, 2013
3/4	89%	The World's End (2013)	" The film's strength is its comedic bent - there are some very funny moments contained herein." — ReelViews Posted Aug 25, 2013
2/4	12%	The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)	" It sticks so closely to the YA formula that it feels like a mashup of a watery fantasy with soap opera. Suds overflow." — ReelViews Posted Aug 21, 2013
3/4	73%	Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)	" Forest Whitaker imbues his part with immense dignity and the old-age makeup is effective showcasing Cecil during his later years." — ReelViews Posted Aug 18, 2013
1.5/4	4%	Paranoia (2013)	" The movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense and, when it does, it would be better off not doing so." — ReelViews Posted Aug 18, 2013
2/4	26%	Jobs (2013)	" A missed opportunity." — ReelViews Posted Aug 16, 2013
2.5/4	30%	Kick-Ass 2 (2013)	" While there are some solid gold moments, the story as a whole has an unfocused, meandering quality, and there are elements that simply don't work." — ReelViews Posted Aug 15, 2013
2.5/4	54%	Lovelace (2013)	" Unfortunately, most of Lovelace is more generic and familiar, right down to the too-neat happy ending." — ReelViews Posted Aug 12, 2013
3/4	91%	Blue Jasmine (2013)	" It's narratively uneven but the occasional lapses of focus are rescued by Cate Blanchett's riveting lead performance." — ReelViews Posted Aug 9, 2013
3/4	68%	Elysium (2013)	" I departed the theater satisfied with what I'd seen but wanting more." — ReelViews Posted Aug 8, 2013
1.5/4	47%	We're The Millers (2013)	" Some of the jokes are funny. If one was to compile all the good snippets and scenes into a highlight reel, it might run about six minutes." — ReelViews Posted Aug 7, 2013
2/4	22%	The Canyons (2013)	" Sadly, this is a case when the behind-the-scenes story is more intriguing than the one told in the film." — ReelViews Posted Aug 4, 2013
3.5/4	91%	The Spectacular Now (2013)	" The two leads, Miles Teller's Sutter Keely and Shailene Woodley's Aimee Finicky are so well drawn and believably portrayed that it's impossible not to accept them as real." — ReelViews Posted Aug 2, 2013
3/4	63%	2 Guns (2013)	" Fast pacing and a high energy level can cover a lot of sins, and nowhere is that more evident than in 2 Guns." — ReelViews Posted Aug 1, 2013
3/4	69%	The Wolverine (2013)	" Finally - a superhero movie that doesn't feel like every other superhero movie." — ReelViews Posted Jul 25, 2013
3/4	52%	The To Do List (2013)	" The film feels a little like what might happen if the producers of films like Bridesmaids found a lost John Hughes script and adapted it for 2013 audiences." — ReelViews Posted Jul 25, 2013
3.5/4	94%	Fruitvale Station (2013)	" By using a fly-on-the-wall approach, Coogler is able to tell his story in a straightforward style that gets the message across without seeming preachy." — ReelViews Posted Jul 23, 2013
1.5/4	14%	R.I.P.D. (2013)	" It's not funny. It's not exciting. It's not engaging. It's a waste of time and money. Having seen it, I can understand why it was hidden from critics. The disappointment is that it wasn't hidden from everyone else as well. " — ReelViews Posted Jul 19, 2013
2.5/4	42%	Red 2 (2013)	" Sitting through it is nowhere near as enjoyable as the experience of watching its predecessor." — ReelViews Posted Jul 18, 2013
3.5/4	86%	The Conjuring (2013)	" If I was to use a single word to describe The Conjuring, it would be "intense."" — ReelViews Posted Jul 17, 2013
3.5/4	85%	The Way Way Back (2013)	" Nostalgia often tinges our memories in soft, warm colors; something like The Way Way Back reminds us of the good, the bad, and the cringe-worthy. " — ReelViews Posted Jul 16, 2013
3/4	72%	Pacific Rim (2013)	" It's the perfect summer spectacle, with giant robots pounding on monsters, monsters stomping on cities, and the kind of mayhem that only big theaters with big screens and big sound systems can truly convey." — ReelViews Posted Jul 11, 2013
3/4	75%	Despicable Me 2 (2013)	" Despicable Me 2 feels like a opportunity to get together with some old friends, hang out, and discover what they've been up to." — ReelViews Posted Jul 2, 2013
2.5/4	31%	The Lone Ranger (2013)	" It's not until the last 15 minutes, when "The William Tell Overture" arrives in its full glory, that this starts to feel a little like The Lone Ranger. But that's too little, too late." — ReelViews Posted Jul 2, 2013
2/4	50%	White House Down (2013)	" It follows the Emmerich template: a spectacle-tinged, compelling setup; a dumb, disappointing midsection; and a cheese-topped denouement that veers so close to self-parody that one is tempted to call it funny." — ReelViews Posted Jun 28, 2013
2.5/4	59%	The Bling Ring (2013)	" All the characters are shallow and one-dimensional and, while one can argue that this is the point, it doesn't make for 90 minutes of engaging cinema." — ReelViews Posted Jun 24, 2013
3/4	78%	Monsters University (2013)	" Although it falls short of the best Pixar has brought to the screen over its long association with Disney, it's nevertheless worth a trip to the theater, especially for kids." — ReelViews Posted Jun 21, 2013
2.5/4	67%	World War Z (2013)	" A letdown with a strange mixture of epic apocalyptic material and generic zombie stuff." — ReelViews Posted Jun 20, 2013
3/4	84%	Much Ado About Nothing (2013)	" The most interesting aspect of Much Ado about Nothing is that it illustrates Whedon's ability to make a movie that relies exclusively on performances and dialogue." — ReelViews Posted Jun 19, 2013
3/4	56%	Man of Steel (2013)	" For those who crave cinematic mayhem, Man of Steel is right up your alley (and it will make a ton of money)." — ReelViews Posted Jun 13, 2013
3/4	84%	This Is the End (2013)	" It's funnier and more energetic than a lot of what's out there in a movie season most would qualify as disappointing." — ReelViews Posted Jun 11, 2013
1/4	38%	The Purge (2013)	" When critics bemoan the dumbing down of movies, they're talking about stuff like The Purge." — ReelViews Posted Jun 7, 2013
1.5/4	35%	The Internship (2013)	" Everything about it feels stale: the actors, the story, the comedy, everything. And, to make matters worse, that everything goes on for an interminable two hours." — ReelViews Posted Jun 6, 2013
2.5/4	76%	The Kings of Summer (2013)	" One senses the filmmakers were going for something more profound and transformative than what ended up on screen." — ReelViews Posted Jun 2, 2013
1/4	11%	After Earth (2013)	" The characters are emotionally neutered; the average viewer won't care about them. The pacing is plodding and uneven." — ReelViews Posted May 31, 2013
3/4	50%	Now You See Me (2013)	" With Now You See Me, director Louis Leterrier has taken a page out of the book of his characters: use sleight-of-hand so viewers are distracted from some rather obvious screenplay deficiencies." — ReelViews Posted May 30, 2013
2/4	64%	Epic (2013)	" Although the basic story is too juvenile and simplistic to entertain anyone with an age in the double-digit range, the themes and underlying ideas are too complicated to capture the attention of someone younger." — ReelViews Posted May 27, 2013
2/4	69%	Fast & Furious 6 (2013)	" Exists purely to showcase how idiotically over-the-top action sequences can become when annoyances like gravity are tossed to the side." — ReelViews Posted May 24, 2013

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