Kevin A. Ranson

""They're coming to get you Barbara...!" (Although my alter ego is fond of saying "I'M coming to get you, Barbara!")"

Agrees with the Tomatometer 63% of the time.

Biography:
What his grammar school teachers called “underachieving,” Kevin A. Ranson called “being bored to tears” and spent every possible second making up projects to fuel his unattended creativity. After discovering nothing interesting at college other than movies and role-playing games, Kevin escaped from West “By God” Virginia to travel the world for six years on the US Navy’s dime while compiling ideas for books, games, and screenplays. Now from his home page at ThinkingSkull.com, he owns/manages MovieCrypt.com as a certified (or certifiable) film critic endorsed by the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org). He also works as a freelance game writer/designer when not working on his indie role-playing game at KindlingMoon.com. Kevin currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
Favorites:
Of all time, thus far, and in no particular order: "Contact," "The 13th Warrior," "Ghostbusters," "Once Upon a Time in the West," "The Exorcist," "The Fellowship of the Ring," Disney's "Aladdin," "The Iron Giant," "Gattaca," "Back to the Future," "Shaun of the Dead," and my personal guilty pleasure, "Killer Klowns from Outer Space." (I do admit to a favorable predisposition to films with normal people catalyzed by slightly-supernatural circumstance!)
Publications:
MovieCrypt.com
Critics' Group:
Online Film Critics Society
Total Reviews:
615
Total QuickRatings:
529
Location:
Jacksonville, Florida

Movie Reviews Only

Showing 51 - 100 of 529
Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
3.5/4.0 82% Super 8 (2011) " While it's not perfect, it's honestly one of the most interesting films that's been out all year and certainly this summer." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jul 28, 2011
3.5/4.0 96% Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) " With nothing left to tell, the grand finale to the Harry Potter saga holds nothing back." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jul 17, 2011
2.5/4.0 36% Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) " Once the film stops trying to endear you to Shia's employment and girlfriend problems, the meaningless destruction and mayhem does have a measure of entertainment value." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jul 12, 2011
4.0/4.0 38% Cars 2 (2011) " After the serviceable first film... this sequel puts the accelerator to the floor and never looks in the rear-view mirror." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jun 29, 2011
3.0/4.0 88% X-Men: First Class (2011) " Xavier's mutants go all prequel on John F. Kennedy's presidency." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jun 13, 2011
2.5/4.0 16% Priest (2011) " That's what churches are for... get in a man's way (especially when he needs to kill a horde of vampires)." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jun 13, 2011
0.5/4.0 14% Hard Breakers (2011) " Remember those teen sex comedies like Losin' It that started the careers of people like Tom Cruise? This isn't one of them." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted May 19, 2011
3.5/4.0 77% Thor (2011) " The Marvel movie machine puts another second-string superhero on the A-list." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted May 16, 2011
4.0/4.0 78% Fast Five (2011) " Fifth time's the charm." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted May 13, 2011
3.5/4.0 66% Insidious (2011) " A high-concept horror that oozes atmosphere and unease without relying on computer-generated effects or buckets of gore." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 24, 2011
3.0/4.0 11% Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) " ... succeeds in creating heroes of the main characters, making the mystery of John Galt... compelling, and setting up the remaining two parts of the trilogy." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 16, 2011
3.0/4.0 58% Scream 4 (2011) " ... does what Scream 3 failed to do: further the franchise while keeping it fresh... certainly a better conclusion than where the previous installment left off." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 16, 2011
3.0/4.0 11% Red Riding Hood (2011) " Best trip to Grandma's House ever." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 12, 2011
2.5/4.0 26% Your Highness (2011) " Like someone bringing pot brownies to a Dungeons and Dragons game..." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 9, 2011
3.5/4.0 91% Source Code (2011) " 'Quantum Leap' meets Groundhog's Day by way of The Matrix... aside from a few predictabilities, Source Code succeeds." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Apr 8, 2011
2.0/4.0 23% Sucker Punch (2011) " ... Snyder's effort to be creative works against his narrative and distracts from his female empowerment storyline to become the very thing the story claims that it isn't..." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Mar 29, 2011
2.5/4.0 35% Battle: Los Angeles (2011) " A pro-war movie masquerading as a disaster film? This is the anti Hurt Locker." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Mar 13, 2011
3.5/4.0 73% The Adjustment Bureau (2011) " Your preconception of this existential romantic thriller's entertainment value is about to be adjusted." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Mar 9, 2011
3.0/4.0 88% Rango (2011) " The Western isn't dead. It's just become more animated... literally." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Mar 9, 2011
1.5/4.0 29% Take Me Home Tonight (2011) " A well-acted but forgettable 'Hot Tub Time Machine' clone for the post-college set (and without the time travel.)" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Mar 6, 2011
2.0/4.0 45% Drive Angry (2011) " William Fichtner steals his scenes, Nic Cage goes nuts, and Amber Heard remains hot. Okay, at least it's better than Ghost Rider, right?" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Feb 27, 2011
3.0/4.0 32% I Am Number Four (2011) " 'Roswell' meets Critters (and a dozen other ideas)... decidedly more 'Aliens' ass kicking than 'Twilight' tweening." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Feb 27, 2011
2.5/4.0 38% The Eagle (2011) " The combination of battle tactics, subterfuge, and mystery solving while master and slave become friends and equals makes for an enjoyable story." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Feb 16, 2011
3.0/4.0 20% The Rite (2011) " What do you call an Exorcist-inspired film free of projectile pea soup and set in Rome? Not too bad, actually." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 30, 2011
3.0/4.0 44% The Green Hornet (2011) " Fun, full of action, and just serious enough to work without becoming ridiculous." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 17, 2011
3.0/4.0 79% Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) " No more professors, no more books; no more Potter's defiant looks." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 17, 2011
3.5/4.0 90% Tangled (2010) " ... may well be the first in a new line of animated films infusing Disney fairytale storytelling with Pixar know-how (yes, it's that good.)" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 15, 2011
1.5/4.0 52% I'm Still Here (2010) " If what's happening in the film is honest and real, it's more spectacle than introspection. If it's all fake, only the filmmakers are laughing." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 15, 2011
2.0/4.0 90% The Fighter (2010) " ... so one-sided, you almost forget Wahlberg is even part of the production when Bale is on screen." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 15, 2011
3.0/4.0 72% Monsters (2010) " While the plot appears to meander, the impact is undeniable." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 14, 2011
3.0/4.0 89% Waiting for Superman (2010) " ... a close look at the current (US education) system is all it takes to consider making a real change." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 14, 2011
3.0/4.0 52% Devil (2010) " An effective locked-in-the-box thriller." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Jan 14, 2011
3.5/4.0 87% Black Swan (2010) " Who knew "Swan Lake" was rife with thrills, chills, and kills?" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Dec 30, 2010
3.5/4.0 96% True Grit (2010) " Audiences should be so lucky if all remakes were this good (and this isn't even a remake.)" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Dec 29, 2010
2.5/4.0 51% Tron Legacy (2010) " ... it would have been nice to see a tighter, more action-oriented sequel... comes dangerously close to drowning itself in back story and narrative." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Dec 19, 2010
1.5/4.0 23% Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) " Wasn't all this going someplace at one time? The mind boggles at all of the incredible things these two women could be doing in wet, dirty clothes." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Dec 8, 2010
3.0/4.0 59% Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) " Revealing more of the mystery reduces the scare factor but ups the intrigue." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Dec 8, 2010
3.0/4.0 89% Let Me In (2010) " How to care and feed your very own vampire, or how to ensnare and manipulate your very own human?" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Nov 18, 2010
2.5/4.0 15% Skyline (2010) " Skyline is pure eye candy, but it's mighty tasty." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Nov 16, 2010
3.0/4.0 73% Megamind (2010) " ... DreamWorks Animation is carving itself out a niche for consistent high-concept zaniness." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Nov 16, 2010
1.5/4.0 10% Saw 3D (2010) " Aside from the clever engineering of the traps (and perhaps one two-timing trollop that had it coming), the story is formulaic at best." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Nov 2, 2010
1.0/4.0 9% My Soul to Take (2010) " With either too much or too little happening on screen and a script juggling too many red herrings at once, My Soul to Take feels like Purgatory... in 3D." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Oct 27, 2010
3.0/4.0 81% Despicable Me (2010) " With no other performance coming close to being as layered as Carell's, the rest... is played for laughs to such an extent that it never reaches Pixar-plotted heights." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Oct 27, 2010
2.5/4.0 72% Machete (2010) " Machete don't text, but he will hack your limbs off." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Sep 30, 2010
3.0/4.0 50% The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2010) " There is a tradition among mad scientists who exhibit creativity with their victims that comes down to three little words: some assembly required." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Sep 28, 2010
3.0/4.0 41% The Expendables (2010) " How many actions stars does it take to get audiences into theaters? THIS many." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Sep 4, 2010
2.0/4.0 41% The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) " "Almost" and "wants to be" should never precede the word "epic" ... (feels like) the coolest stuff is being saved for later (sequels.)" — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Sep 1, 2010
2.0/4.0 73% Piranha 3-D (2010) " Even if the rest is immediately forgettable, the massacre scene isn't." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Sep 1, 2010
3.5/4.0 73% The Last Exorcism (2010) " Superior storytelling mixed with masterful misdirection. The devil is (quite literally) in the details." — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Aug 29, 2010
3.5/4.0 81% Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) " The level-up, super fun, dance-dance, pop culture, max-combo, rock-n-roll romance video game film of, well, forever. " — MovieCrypt.com
Posted Aug 22, 2010
Showing 51 - 100 of 529
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