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Jon Niccum

Agrees with the Tomatometer 77% of the time.

Biography:: I am currently a full-time writer and frequent contributor to the Kansas City Star. Prior to that I spent 10 years as Entertainment Editor at the Lawrence Journal-World and seven years as music/film editor at Kansas City's The Pitch. I joined the Kansas City Film Critics Circle in 1994. I was the president of the organization from 2003-2007. I have a degree in film criticism from the University of Kansas.
Favorites:: The Godfather, Shane, 12 Angry Men, Alien, Almost Famous, Taxi Driver, Aguirre, Wrath of God, Run Lola Run, Unforgiven, Once, The Incredibles, The Conversation, Psycho, Blowup
Publications:: County Cable , Kansas City Star , Lawrence Journal-World , Lawrence.com , Pitch.com
Critics' Group:: Kansas City Film Critics Circle

Total Reviews:: 842
Total QuickRatings:: 473

Location:: Lawrence, KS

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 842

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
1.5/4	8%	The Big Wedding (2013)	" It's a movie packed with purportedly smart characters making the sort of absurdly contrived decisions that haven't been seen since "Three's Company" went off the air." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 26, 2013
2.5/4	56%	Oblivion (2013)	" So much creativity went into the visual design that apparently little was left when crafting the plot." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 18, 2013
2.5/4	93%	The Sapphires (2013)	" A movie with enough melody and camaraderie to cover up its lack of originality." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 4, 2013
2/4	45%	On the Road (2012)	" If the movie weren't so visually eloquent at evoking post-war America, it might prove unbearable." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 28, 2013
1.5/4	9%	The Host (2013)	" It offers viewers the choice of Team Hokey or Team Absurd." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 28, 2013
2/4	43%	Admission (2013)	" 'Admission' probably began with a clear artistic vision but was compromised along the way. The messy result offers glimpses of greatness dragged down by scenes that are bafflingly tone-deaf." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 21, 2013
2/4	67%	Stoker (2013)	" A beguiling debacle that in its best case scenario might achieve cult status ... or could just as easily fade into obscurity." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 21, 2013
3/4	69%	The Croods (2013)	" The kooky Cage, representing the voice of authority for a change, creates a marvelous character. He's part Mr. Incredible, part Homer Simpson; he's a great warrior limited by his own inflexibility." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 21, 2013
2.5/4	60%	Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)	" A long but enjoyable family adventure that is as noisy as it is clever." — Kansas City Star Posted Mar 7, 2013
3/4	58%	Snitch (2013)	" An engrossing balance of drama and thriller, "Snitch" introduces a minefield of compromised morality, where every action taken or not taken could lead to a worse predicament for its hero." — Kansas City Star Posted Feb 21, 2013
2/4	13%	Safe Haven (2013)	" The film offers an already weird hybrid of love story and police procedural. But the closing creates head-scratching moments that even the cast doesn't quite know how to handle." — Kansas City Star Posted Feb 13, 2013
2.5/4	20%	Identity Thief (2013)	" 'Identity Thief' is not a great movie. But it is a great vehicle for two terrific actors who drape themselves in material perfectly tailored to them." — Kansas City Star Posted Feb 7, 2013
2.5/4	47%	Bullet to the Head (2013)	" 'Bullet to the Head' may be trashy, but it's never dull." — Kansas City Star Posted Jan 31, 2013
2.5/4	79%	Quartet (2013)	" While the movie touches on issues of aging and self-worth, it's really an excuse to gather some elite British actors and indulge in a musical house party, AARP-style." — Kansas City Star Posted Jan 24, 2013
2.5/4	30%	Broken City (2013)	" A zigzagging thriller that is equally satisfying and forgettable." — Kansas City Star Posted Jan 17, 2013
1.5/4	32%	Gangster Squad (2013)	" Watching "Gangster Squad" is like being caught in the middle of a mob war between historical inaccuracy and bad taste." — Kansas City Star Posted Jan 10, 2013
2/4	38%	Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)	" The film misses a choice opportunity to build a central story around its secondary one." — Kansas City Star Posted Jan 3, 2013
2/4	18%	Parental Guidance (2012)	" This '90s-type family comedy falls into the same traps as most second-tier sitcoms, with eccentric characters and snappy zingers spouted as if cue cards were hovering at the edge of the frame." — Kansas City Star Posted Dec 24, 2012
2/4	88%	Django Unchained (2012)	" It's too grueling to enjoy and too sloppy to respect." — Kansas City Star Posted Dec 24, 2012
3.5/4	52%	This is 40 (2012)	" It delivers the most laughs of any comedy this year." — Kansas City Star Posted Dec 20, 2012
2/4	4%	Playing for Keeps (2012)	" It's comforting to know that American culture has progressed to where soccer routinely joins baseball, football and basketball as a backdrop for forgettable romantic comedies." — Kansas City Star Posted Dec 6, 2012
3/4	74%	Rise of the Guardians (2012)	" "Rise of the Guardians" is not the first holiday effort to explore this "Polar Express"-style concept, but it's one of the most inventive. " — Kansas City Star Posted Nov 20, 2012
2/4	13%	Red Dawn (2012)	" The flick emphatically caters to the militia groups and secessionists who've installed really cool home theater systems in their bunkers." — Kansas City Star Posted Nov 20, 2012
3.5/4	94%	The Sessions (2012)	" Most R-rated comedies involve meaningless sex. "The Sessions" is the rare one about meaningful sex." — Kansas City Star Posted Nov 8, 2012
2.5/4	86%	Wreck-it Ralph (2012)	" "Wreck-It Ralph" builds on a wonderful premise that explores whether folks are condemned to be victims of their own circumstances." — Kansas City Star Posted Nov 1, 2012
3.5/4	68%	Cloud Atlas (2012)	" The split narrative allows filmmakers to jump to another storyline if one starts to languish. It's like a "Monty Python" episode: Don't know how to finish a sketch? Cut to something completely different." — Kansas City Star Posted Oct 25, 2012
1.5/4	63%	Sinister (2012)	" Central to the cinematic impotency on display in "Sinister" is the ludicrous behavior of its hero." — Kansas City Star Posted Oct 11, 2012
4/4	96%	Argo (2012)	" This is riveting material, further heightened by its contemporary significance. So many ticking-clock elements are juggled that the tension never subsides." — Kansas City Star Posted Oct 11, 2012
3/4	87%	Frankenweenie (2012)	" It's like 'Old Yeller' crossed with 'Re-Animator.'" — Kansas City Star Posted Oct 8, 2012
2/4	21%	Taken 2 (2012)	" "Taken 2" triples the budget of the original but not necessarily the entertainment." — Kansas City Star Posted Oct 4, 2012
2.5/4	81%	Pitch Perfect (2012)	" 'Pitch Perfect' strives to be edgy, yet it never quite lets go of wanting to be comfy at the same time." — Kansas City Star Posted Sep 28, 2012
2.5/4	43%	Hotel Transylvania (2012)	" A familiar-but-entertaining animated comedy ..." — Kansas City Star Posted Sep 27, 2012
3/4	86%	The Master (2012)	" It fits with [Anderson's] previous acclaimed efforts "Boogie Nights" and "There Will Be Blood" as an epic account of a shady subculture, rich in period detail and memorable performances." — Kansas City Star Posted Sep 20, 2012
3.5/4	85%	End of Watch (2012)	" Hollywood has seldom delivered a buddy-cop picture with this much potency." — Kansas City Star Posted Sep 20, 2012
2/4	51%	Trouble with the Curve (2012)	" Eastwood settles into the role of another crusty old widower whose kids don't talk to him." — Kansas City Star Posted Sep 20, 2012
3/4	70%	Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)	" Ultimately, the characters ring true ... and true to each other." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 30, 2012
2.5/4	76%	Premium Rush (2012)	" The story appears formulaic at first but gets increasingly twisty as the movie progresses - though not always in a good way." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 23, 2012
1.5/4	48%	Hit & Run (2012)	" It's the negative zone of comedy, like humor trying to escape from the mouths of actors perched in front of a black hole." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 20, 2012
2/4	87%	ParaNorman (2012)	" It's rare to find a movie brimming with this much talent that finds a way to so consistently kill its own narrative momentum." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 16, 2012
2.5/4	65%	The Campaign (2012)	" This isn't just the Will and Zach show, but a real ensemble piece that liberally portions out laughs to the lead characters' wives, siblings and co-workers." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 9, 2012
3/4	31%	Total Recall (2012)	" "Total Recall" may not become the same pop cinema benchmark as its predecessor, but it's far better." — Kansas City Star Posted Aug 2, 2012
2.5/4	16%	The Watch (2012)	" The stars' improv-heavy camaraderie works better than the flick's more blockbustery action bits." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 26, 2012
2/4	37%	Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)	" Not every sequel can be "Toy Story 3."" — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 12, 2012
2/4	73%	The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)	" The movie's first act simply curls up in the corner as if Parker were bitten by a radioactive sloth." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 3, 2012
2.5/4	94%	Moonrise Kingdom (2012)	" The frustrating Anderson is improving, and he may one day shed the collegiate hipster aura that infuses his work." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 28, 2012
2.5/4	35%	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)	" Most filmmakers would render this "Road Warrior"-style finale with a little wink and nudge, but Bekmambetov chooses to stare down the material. It straddles his Civil War tale between Chancellorsville and Cartoon Land." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 21, 2012
2/4	41%	Rock of Ages (2012)	" "Rock of Ages" is like two hours of karaoke at a bar that plays only songs you hear at strip joints." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 14, 2012
2/4	21%	That's My Boy (2012)	" The premise of the comedy is wickedly compelling, and the flashback scenes are hilarious. But, unfortunately, Sandler spoils the party because he can't create a convincing character." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 14, 2012
2.5/4	48%	Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)	" Theron turns a stock character into a memorably sinister mix of scorned gold digger and plastic surgery addict. It takes a lot more than a pail of water to wipe out this wicked witch." — Kansas City Star Posted May 31, 2012

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