Jeff Giles Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Jeff Giles

Official Websites:
popdose.com

Jeff Giles

Agrees with the Tomatometer 82% of the time.

Biography:: I'm a freelance music and film critic, which means a lot of people mistake me for Newsweek's Jeff Giles (I even get his mail sometimes). I am not Newsweek's Jeff Giles. Also, I like long walks on the beach.
Publications:: Bullz-Eye.com , Collider.com , Dadnabbit , Movies With Butter , Popdose , Rotten Tomatoes

Total Reviews:: 151

Location:: New Hampshire

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Showing 1 - 50 of 151

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T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
78%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" In spite of some killer set pieces and some genuinely funny moments, the whole thing feels awfully hollow in the end." — Movies With Butter Posted May 3, 2013
93%	Amour (2012)	" One of the most thoughtful, tenderly wrought ruminations on love in recent memory." — Movies With Butter Posted Dec 19, 2012
52%	This is 40 (2012)	" It has a terrific cast and a rich premise. So why doesn't This Is 40 feel like much of a movie?" — Movies With Butter Posted Dec 16, 2012
66%	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)	" By the end, An Unexpected Journey has undeniably taken you on a ride -- it's just a much bumpier one than you might have expected." — Movies With Butter Posted Dec 16, 2012
74%	Rise of the Guardians (2012)	" Unless you have a serious bias against major holiday mascots, you'll be hard pressed to resist the occasional chuckle or wistful sigh." — Movies With Butter Posted Nov 22, 2012
48%	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)	" Taken on its own merits, it's a woefully uneven mess; if you've never understood the appeal of The Twilight Saga, nothing you see here will change your mind, but you probably weren't going to see it anyway." — Movies With Butter Posted Nov 18, 2012
92%	Skyfall (2012)	" A lithe, brutal case study in how characters can stay vital no matter how many stories they've already told." — Movies With Butter Posted Nov 10, 2012
86%	Wreck-it Ralph (2012)	" Wreck-It Ralph addresses its themes with more honesty and wit than we've come to feel we have any right to expect from family-friendly Hollywood." — Movies With Butter Posted Nov 2, 2012
96%	Argo (2012)	" Uses old-fashioned Hollywood formula to demonstrate exactly why, in the right hands, old-fashioned Hollywood formula always works." — Movies With Butter Posted Oct 15, 2012
93%	Looper (2012)	" Only Johnson's third film, Looper's something like a modern masterpiece, and he'll be hard-pressed to follow it up -- but it should be our pleasure to watch him try." — Movies With Butter Posted Sep 29, 2012
34%	Hall Pass (2011)	" Hall Pass definitely had its moments, but it's nowhere near as funny as it should have been, or as insightful as it wants to be." — Popdose Posted Jun 13, 2011
94%	The Outlaw Josey Wales (1999)	" A niche is a niche for a reason; Eastwood was damn good at this stuff, and while most of his Westerns were pretty solid, some are better than others. The Outlaw Josey Wales rides near the head of the pack." — Popdose Posted Jun 3, 2011
66%	The American (2010)	" It shuffles dejectedly between dull and pretentious, and you can't help shaking the feeling that Clooney took the gig because it offered a European vacation and very little dialogue to memorize." — Popdose Posted Dec 30, 2010
86%	Inception (2010)	" Does it live up to the hype? No, of course not. But it treats you like a thinking adult. That this is so refreshing says more about the current state of mainstream film than it does about Inception, but it still feels pretty terrific." — Popdose Posted Dec 28, 2010
94%	The Town (2010)	" The Town is a solid heist flick, and one of the better mainstream action thrillers (or even dramas) to come out in 2010, but that all the critical praise and awards hype is more than a little overblown." — Popdose Posted Dec 28, 2010
80%	Cyrus (2010)	" While there's something really lovely about a movie that treats characters this broken with such care and nobility, I couldn't help wishing they were held together by a stronger narrative thread." — Popdose Posted Dec 28, 2010
52%	Going the Distance (2010)	" There's something wrong with a movie that leaves you pining for its supporting players." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
96%	Fantasia (1940)	" Do you love animation? Do you love music? This deserves a spot in your collection, no questions asked." — Dadnabbit Posted Dec 8, 2010
83%	Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010)	" Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is built on rich, clever storytelling that ties into the Disney tradition more strongly than you'd have a right to expect." — Dadnabbit Posted Dec 8, 2010
92%	Beauty and the Beast (2012)	" Until Disney can bring Walt Disney back to life and bundle his reanimated corpse with the Ultra Mega Diamond Edition, this is absolutely the definitive version to own. Simply excellent." — Dadnabbit Posted Dec 8, 2010
88%	The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (2008)	" Don't believe flamingos can hold your attention for 78 minutes? Turn on your hi-def set and prepare to get pink." — Dadnabbit Posted Dec 8, 2010
81%	Oceans (Disneynature's Oceans) (2010)	" Dive in." — Dadnabbit Posted Dec 8, 2010
93%	Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)	" In a lot of cases, it's hard to understand a classic's appeal so far removed from its original context, but this isn't the case with Mutiny on the Bounty. It's as gripping as it was when it originally sailed into theaters." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
46%	Ocean's Eleven (1960)	" It's a goofy trifle of a heist flick, perfect for whiling away a couple of hours or pining away for the days when men were men and broads were dames." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
88%	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)	" Does a fine job of ratcheting up the tension while still allowing for playful moments and plenty of action." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
84%	The Sound of Music (1965)	" Filled with gorgeous cinematography and timeless songs, this is family entertainment at its finest - they just don't make 'em like this anymore." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
81%	Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)	" Is it the cinematic marvel the fanboys made it out to be? Maybe not. But is it one of the most effervescent, purely fun films of the year? Absolutely." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
90%	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)	" This is obviously for collectors only, but unlike a lot of deluxe reissues, this set comes with a ton of worthwhile extras, and it's reasonably priced." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
63%	The Goonies (1985)	" Like Cyndi said, it's good enough." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
97%	Psycho (1960)	" Psycho is required for any film lover's library." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
15%	A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)	" The new Nightmare is more dull than scary; it mimics the original in some respects, following the same rough plot outline and replicating most of the more iconic scenes, but everything that's different feels wrong." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
74%	Splice (2010)	" Splice is funny, clever, and creepy, but not as much as it thinks it is, or probably should have been." — Popdose Posted Dec 8, 2010
91%	The Secret of Kells (2010)	" Whatever it may lack in narrative sparkle, it more than makes up for with pure visual wonder." — Popdose Posted Oct 12, 2010
73%	Iron Man 2 (2010)	" As an action movie, a superhero adventure, and a sequel, Iron Man 2 is better than most; it's a seamless combination of solid acting and popcorn thrills." — Popdose Posted Oct 12, 2010
98%	King Kong (1933)	" King Kong is a spectacle, but it's also a story, and that's a balance that filmmakers have always struggled to maintain. They did it here." — Popdose Posted Oct 12, 2010
82%	Collapse (2009)	" Ruppert sits and talks, scaring the hell out of you, with bits and pieces of extraneous and/or archival footage blended in. Rinse and repeat. It's grimly spellbinding, and one of the most gripping thrillers to see release in years." — Popdose Posted Jun 17, 2010
68%	Shutter Island (2010)	" Some critics sniffed at the movie for its unapologetically pulpy genre thrills, but the hell with them; Scorsese's having a blast here, and so will you. Watch it late at night with the curtains drawn." — Popdose Posted Jun 17, 2010
18%	Valentine's Day (2010)	" What are all these people doing here? What story could possibly require all of them to squeeze into a single movie? I don't know, and neither does Marshall." — Popdose Posted Jun 17, 2010
74%	War of the Worlds (2005)	" All in all, it's sleek, good-looking popcorn entertainment from a pair of guys who know a thing or two about how to deliver it." — Popdose Posted Jun 17, 2010
48%	The Book of Eli (2010)	" More than anything, it reminded me of Walter Hill's rather lame Yojimbo remake, Last Man Standing, although that movie at least had the benefit of Christopher Walken in the cast and a nasty Ry Cooder soundtrack." — Popdose Posted Jun 17, 2010
——	Life (2010)	" The bonus features are relatively slim, as you might expect for a set this size, but they include an option that husbands and live-in boyfriends have been praying for since 1986: Namely, the ability to silence Oprah Winfrey, who provides narration." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
76%	Invictus (2009)	" In a Hollywood drunk on computer-generated possibilities, Eastwood remembers it's the human element that counts." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
83%	Avatar (2009)	" Yes, you'll snicker at Cameron's stilted dialogue, and yes, you'll occasionally be taken out of the movie by the sheer wonder of the visuals, but by and large, this is a solidly immersive adventure." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
51%	Alice in Wonderland (2010)	" When a movie has a final act as carefully digitally sculpted as Burton's Alice, you should feel the tension leading up to the inevitable happy ending, but I only felt like stifling a yawn." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
35%	The Wolfman (2010)	" It's fast-paced, full of action, and generous with shots of the rampaging Wolfman, but while everything else is going on, there isn't much room for a story about characters who matter." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
76%	Caddyshack (1980)	" It looks like a 99-minute accident that luckily ended up being funny, but what Caddyshack had, and so many modern comedies don't, is a rigorous commitment to craft." — Popdose Posted Jun 10, 2010
95%	Best Worst Movie (2010)	" Stephenson has made a fun film, and there's nothing wrong with that -- but it's tempting to wonder what a more objective director might have done with this." — Collider.com Posted May 12, 2010
58%	Edge of Darkness (2010)	" Once you shake off the sour aftertaste, you're mostly just glad to see Gibson back in action. Long may he get pummeled by the bad guys." — Popdose Posted May 11, 2010
91%	Crazy Heart (2009)	" You might not think you'd ever be the kind of person who'd root for a middle-aged guy who passes out in his underwear on the bathroom floor, but Bridges will change your mind." — Popdose Posted May 11, 2010

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