Jan Lisa Huttner Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Jan Lisa Huttner

Jan Lisa Huttner

""I don't want to be part of your big push." ...LAWRENCE OF ARABIA"

Agrees with the Tomatometer 64% of the time.

Biography:: We're Jan & Rich of FILMS FOR TWO: The Online Guide for Busy Couples. We focus on identifying films that men & women can enjoy TOGETHER.
Favorites:: Jan's all-time favorite film is LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Rich's all-time favorite film is GODFATHER PART II.
Publications:: DVDwolf.com , Films for Two

Total Reviews:: 147

Location:: Chicago, IL

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 147

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
3.5/5	53%	The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)	" A near perfect masterpiece which tries hard to sprint on three legs but ultimately stumbles due to the weakness of its fourth one ... The problem is the love story. Frankly I'm not sure this film needed a love story, but it has one and it's a disaster." — Films for Two Posted May 8, 2013
4.5/5	44%	Midnight's Children (2013)	" Deepa Mehta's radiant film Midnight's Children ... runs approximately 2.5 hours. But for me, the time passed in a flash ... American movie audiences might well relate to [it] as an Indian version of the Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump." — Films for Two Posted May 8, 2013
2/5	24%	Arthur Newman (2013)	" Unbelievably excruciating film ... [and] egregious waste of time & talent ... less than halfway through, I was already ready to run. " — Films for Two Posted May 8, 2013
3.5/5	75%	No Place On Earth (2013)	" Amazing story told thru a combination of contemporary interviews and staged reenactments. Altho scheduled for theatrical release, it has a TV feel, but go in expecting something made for the History Channel, and you'll come out sated." — Films for Two Posted Apr 14, 2013
3.5/5	27%	The Brass Teapot (2013)	" The Brass Teapot is played for laughs and the two leads, Juno Temple and Michael Angarano, are adorable together ... This is Ramaa Mosley's first full-length feature and she comes to the task with lots of energy and a good eye for color and detail." — Films for Two Posted Apr 14, 2013
4/5	54%	The Company You Keep (2013)	" We come to see Susan Sarandon ... deliver one of the greatest performances of her distinguished career ... her presence resonates throughout the entire film, even though Ben never sees her again and neither do we." — Films for Two Posted Apr 14, 2013
4/5	27%	Everybody Has a Plan (2013)	" I won't pretend the plot isn't a bit convoluted, but I don't think that matters as much as the terrific acting ... [and Ana] Piterbarg does a superlative job of creating a mood filled with gut-wrenching tension, and poignant with missed opportunity. " — Films for Two Posted Apr 7, 2013
3/5	92%	Lore (2013)	" Unfortunately, although Lore is a film that sounds fascinating and provocative on paper, on screen it turns into a long, slow slog. Everything director Cate Shortland tells us about post-War Germany has been told before." — Films for Two Posted Apr 6, 2013
3.5	13%	Safe Haven (2013)	" Plot holes? Sure! ... [But] the reveals are well-placed and ... I'm not ashamed to say that I cried at the end, and so did the two gals to my left... So kudos to Lasse Hallstrom: there is no need to apologize for the occasional 'guilty pleasure'. " — Films for Two Posted Apr 6, 2013
2/5	19%	Inescapable (2013)	" Inescapable is so weak in every way that I cannot recommend it ... I won't bore you with details from a plot full of holes, I'll just say that nothing and no one rings true ... I expected more from [writer/director Ruba] Nadda, but got less." — Films for Two Posted Apr 6, 2013
3.5/5	43%	Admission (2013)	" Promoted as a RomCom, this is actually a fairly serious meditation on who gets to determine who is "the best" in the winner-take-all culture of 21st Century America ... Admission is not a perfect film, but it's no mere ChickFlick/RomCom either. " — Films for Two Posted Mar 29, 2013
4/5	75%	Sound of My Voice (2012)	" Brit Marling ... returns with this equally weird & wonderful film that trades inner space for outer space ... What Sound of My Voice gets right is the power dynamic as a charismatic personality gets inside the head of someone relatively normal." — Films for Two Posted Mar 29, 2013
4/5	80%	Augustine (2013)	" French director Alice Winocour dazzles with her first feature, a scrupulously researched dramatization of a real case ... [Winocour] takes her subject seriously, filming Augustine with an intensity that allows absolutely no comic relief. " — Films for Two Posted Mar 29, 2013
4.5/5	79%	Ginger & Rosa (2013)	" Elle Fanning has played lovely supporting roles before but she blossoms beautifully as Ginger ... she will become one of the major stars of her generation ... And Rosa? [This] is Alice Englert's first feature film and she's a knock-out. " — Films for Two Posted Mar 25, 2013
4.5/5	88%	Hava Nagila: The Movie (2013)	" Roberta Grossman's terrifically edited & thoroughly enjoyable doc takes something you thought you already knew & turns it inside out ... there is literally never a dull moment-even when the clips are black and white, they're still amazingly colorful." — Films for Two Posted Mar 22, 2013
3.5/5	89%	Koch (2013)	" A marvelous documentary: well-researched and informative, yet playful and irreverent ... I definitely think you should see it, not because it's a perfect film, but because Ed Koch, in his all-too-human complexity, lived an exemplary Jewish-American life." — Films for Two Posted Mar 22, 2013
4/5	82%	Return (2012)	" Lowkey, downbeat drama that beautifully captures the everyday rhythms of real life. Writer/director Liza Johnson has clearly made a conscious decision to avoid melodrama." — Films for Two Posted Mar 22, 2013
3/5	85%	The Hunger Games (2012)	" Even though I love the idea of an empowered heroine, I actually found the experience of sitting through The Hunger Games very tedious ... [there is] no attempt at a coherent backstory and minimal character development." — Films for Two Posted Mar 7, 2013
4/5	83%	Your Sister's Sister (2012)	" Your Sister's Sister is wonderfully acted and well-paced, with naturally-flowing dialogue and surprising plot twists. I came to care very much about these three people ... Shelton had my total attention from the first scene to the last. " — Films for Two Posted Mar 2, 2013
3/5	33%	The Lady (2012)	" Aung San Suu Kyi BioPic wastes the story of [an] extraordinary woman ... Michelle Yeoh certainly does her best with what little she's allowed to do ... This should have been the role of a lifetime for her... but instead it's a lost opportunity. " — Films for Two Posted Mar 2, 2013
4/5	55%	Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)	" Funny in the beginning; touching at the end. Highly recommended ... [Seeking a Friend for the End of the World] is as light as a feather, and I carried it with me for days afterwards." — Films for Two Posted Mar 2, 2013
3.5/5	79%	Ruby Sparks (2012)	" I am a fervent fan of Little Miss Sunshine, so I attended the Ruby Sparks screening with very high expectations ... [and] there were many things I really enjoyed about Ruby Sparks." — Films for Two Posted Feb 28, 2013
4/5	95%	Pariah (2011)	" Touching debut performance by Adepero Oduye, but what elevates this above a standard (albeit very well-done) 'coming of age' story is Wayans-outstanding as mother 'Audrey'." — Films for Two Posted Feb 28, 2013
3.5/5	50%	Mirror Mirror (2012)	" Somehow this team has made a perfect bittersweet confection, and I loved it ... Singh turns this oft told tale into a visual delight ... [and] I was frankly dazzled by [Julia Robert's] craft ... Brava!" — Films for Two Posted Feb 28, 2013
3/5	72%	Carnage (2011)	" Treating [Reza's] original script as sacred text ... [the] "less is more" adaptation becomes stagey and fake, and ultimately a waste of time and talent. This is a shame because Carnage is perfectly cast ... but in the end it's just not enough." — Films for Two Posted Feb 28, 2013
4/5	59%	La Rafle (2012)	" French actress Melanie Laurentis luminous as the moral center of La Rafle ... [and] for the most part, filmmaker Rose Bosch keeps our eyes focused on the abyss without clouding them with tears. Brava!" — Films for Two Posted Feb 24, 2013
3.5/5	65%	The Woman in Black (2012)	" Pure mindless fun with a committed performance by Daniel Radcliffe. Kudos to Jane Goldman for another great genre-perfect screenplay." — Films for Two Posted Feb 24, 2013
4/5	70%	Thin Ice (2012)	" Beautifully cast new film by the Sprecher Sisters is a perfect dramedy: very funny AND very sad ... A full ten years after their wonderful film13 Conversations About One Thing the Sprecher Sisters have now done it again." — Films for Two Posted Feb 24, 2013
3/5	86%	Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)	" To be honest, I have mixed feelings about all of this ...but it's all been done with such dedication and youthful energy that reading over what I've just written makes me feel like a bitter old hag. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 24, 2013
3.5/5	2%	One for the Money (2012)	" Katherine Heigl's new film One for the Money is like one long episode in a TV caper series, and fun in the same popcorn way." — Films for Two Posted Feb 23, 2013
3/5	33%	Musical Chairs (2012)	" Director Susan Seidelman's latest film is thin but enjoyable ... As ridiculous as this premise may be, Seidelman & her charming cast actually pull it off. [But] this film will not become a cult favorite." — Films for Two Posted Feb 23, 2013
5/5	56%	In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)	" Angelina Jolie's remarkable new film-her debut film as writer/director ... pulls us into the heart of a terrifying recent conflict many Americans barely remember ...one of the Best Films of 2011! Brava, Angelina Jolie." — Films for Two Posted Feb 23, 2013
3.5/5	56%	Albert Nobbs (2012)	" Glenn Close buries herself in the lead role, allowing others in her superb cast to shine ... this is one of those "period pieces" which transport you to another time & place ... more formal & slower-paced than our own. So be prepared to "settle in" a bit." — Films for Two Posted Feb 23, 2013
3/5	——	Retrace ()	" Filmmaker Judit Elek has a distinguished career ... so I really wanted to like this film. But even though some of the scenes are beautifully filmed, I'm afraid I wasn't able to make the various pieces of the narrative fit together." — Films for Two Posted Feb 18, 2013
3.5/5	78%	Take This Waltz (2012)	" Michelle Williams is always magical on screen...the wonderful surprise...is Sarah Silverman, who is tremendously poignant as Geraldine...When Polley focuses on her female characters, [the film] is wonderful, but when the men enter the mix, not so much. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 18, 2013
3/5	67%	Friends With Kids (2012)	" I went in with high hopes, but midway through Friends with Kids, I knew I was destined for disappointment. Absolutely nothing in the Julie/Jason relationship felt real to me." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
4/5	22%	Darling Companion (2012)	" This is Kasdan's 11th time in the director's chair ... the names have changed but the basic character types have remained the same ... Darling Companion has my highest endorsement: I laughed; I cried, I had a great time." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
4/5	92%	A Simple Life (2012)	" Filmmaker Ann Hui hits a bull's eye with A Simple Life ... the performances are so heart-felt ... [and] Ip isexcellent ... anchoring the filmwith an outwardly gentle demeanor that always shows a glint of herspine of steel." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
3/5	95%	5 Broken Cameras (2012)	" After 90 minutes, the credits finally roll and I'm aghast ... Can this propaganda really be a candidate for an Oscar? ... If the doc that takes home this year's Oscar is 5 Broken Cameras, it will be a very sad night for me." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
4/5	92%	The Gatekeepers (2013)	" Aided by Oron Adar, his extraordinary editor, Moreh weaves [these six] stories together into a seamless whole that is both fascinating and heart-breaking ... The Gatekeepersis dry, analytical, and scrupulously balanced." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
2.5/5	88%	Yossi (2013)	" After [its] very promising set-up, Yossi goes badly wrong ... and even Ohad Knoller, such a vivid presence in great Israeli films ... can't make Yossi come to life on screen. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
3.5/5	——	Salsa Tel Aviv ()	" This bubbly confection is the closest thing I've seen to...screwball comedy classic Bringing Up Baby in years...Salsa Tel Aviv is a guilty pleasure filled with music & dance plus adroit physical comedy and just a dash of social commentary." — Films for Two Posted Feb 17, 2013
2.5/5	50%	Hemingway & Gellhorn (2013)	" Sorry to say, I found HBO's new epic Hemingway & Gellhorn quite disappointing. Despite its 155 minute runtime the core of the film is muddled. And adoring scenes of Martha Gellhorn watching Ernest Hemingway type made me grit my teeth. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 14, 2013
4/5	71%	My Name Was Sabina Spielrein (2002)	" Sabina Spielrein was, in fact, a tremendously interesting and important historical figure In her own right... [and] the details of her adult life are well presented in Elisabeth Marton's 2002 docudrama. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 14, 2013
3.5/5	75%	Free Men (2012)	" The trajectory is familiar ... [and] even though we know how it will end, what sets Free Men apart is filmmaker Ismael Ferroukhi's love for Maghrebi culture. As Younes learns, we learn too. " — Films for Two Posted Feb 14, 2013
3/5	33%	Off White Lies (2012)	" Off-White Lies is a promising first feature by director Maya Kenig ... [and] Elya Inbar gives a heart-rending performance ... [but, unfortunately, it] begins to unravel in the third act." — Films for Two Posted Feb 10, 2013
4.5/5	50%	Mahler on the Couch (2011)	" Mahler on the Couch ... [is] an aural and visual delight that simultaneously enlarged my mind and broke my heart ... the performers ... are all extraordinary ... [and] this beautiful film deserves to be seen on the biggest possible screen." — Films for Two Posted Feb 10, 2013
3.5/5	62%	It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl (2012)	" It Is No Dream offers the viewer a somewhat schizophrenic experience. [But] the story is fascinating ... Me, I think Herzl deserves better, but for now something is better than nothing. So go see it ... I guarantee you will learn a great deal." — Films for Two Posted Feb 10, 2013
4.5/5	——	My Australia (Moja Australia) ()	" I am often frustrated by films with young narrators ... But Jakub Wróblewski won me over completely as Tadek ... [he] holds the film's center ... yet Aleksandra Popławska's powerful performance leads us to root for her despite her many flaws." — Films for Two Posted Feb 10, 2013

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