Kirk Baird Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Kirk Baird

Kirk Baird

Agrees with the Tomatometer 65% of the time.

Publications:: Toledo Blade

Total Reviews:: 37

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 37 of 37

Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
	77%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" A superhero in film is only as good as his villain. And that's a critical problem for Iron Man 3." — Toledo Blade Posted May 2, 2013
3.5/4	46%	Pain & Gain (2013)	" There's undeniable humor in this comedy of errors of three bumbling criminals, and Wahlberg, Johnson, and Mackie strike the right tone in their performances." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 26, 2013
3/4	56%	Oblivion (2013)	" Even as so many once-bankable action stars ungracefully age out of the genre, Cruise reclaims it... and returns to doing what he does best." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 19, 2013
3.5/4	75%	The Adventures of Tintin (2011)	" By no means a masterpiece, the full-length computer-generated animated film nevertheless has freed Spielberg from the shackles of conventional filmmaking and physical limitations." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 12, 2013
	81%	Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)	" While there have been numerous attempts by Hollywood to cash in on the popularity of video games, none of those films has felt true to the artistic and creative spirit of those games until now. This one gets it right." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 12, 2013
2.5/4	70%	Men in Black III (2012)	" This is the proper sequel to the 1997 original, and not the 2002 laugh-free abomination, Men in Black II." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 12, 2013
4/4	87%	The Dark Knight Rises (2012)	" The Dark Knight Rises is all about risks, and there are payoffs and failures to go with it." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 12, 2013
3/4	77%	42 (2013)	" Just as 42 is a reminder of Robinson's importance to those who struggled for basic human rights of recognition and dignity during segregation, it's a reflection of those still persevering for equality." — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 12, 2013
2.5/4	62%	Evil Dead (2013)	" There's no break from the intense gore and horror, no ironic wink; Evil Dead is the basic nightmare tale of five doomed individuals trapped in a cabin by an evil entity. And where's the fun in that?" — Toledo Blade Posted Apr 5, 2013
	28%	G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)	" Perhaps the best compliment for G.I. Joe: Retaliation is that it doesn't drag and it does exactly what you expect it to." — Toledo Blade Posted Mar 29, 2013
2/4	43%	Admission (2013)	" Depending on your point of view, then, Admission is either a so-so comedy, or a quirky drama that's never fully formed." — Toledo Blade Posted Mar 22, 2013
	38%	The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)	" Even this comedic triumvirate cannot prevent the script's biggest feat of magic: making the laughs disappear." — Toledo Blade Posted Mar 15, 2013
3/4	60%	Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)	" Oz the Great and Powerful isn't destined to become a classic, but it's a fun time at the movies, one that reminds us that even old stories can be new again." — Toledo Blade Posted Mar 8, 2013
2/4	52%	Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)	" The original release date of Jack the Giant Slayer was pushed back several months, in part, to accommodate the special effects crew. As it turns out, that was the least of the film's problems." — Toledo Blade Posted Mar 1, 2013
3/4	15%	A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)	" Yes, it's a brain drain of a film, but its go-for-broke zeal is contagious and fun, mindless or otherwise." — Toledo Blade Posted Feb 15, 2013
2/4	20%	Identity Thief (2013)	" A self-indulgent comedy catchall, one that's saddled with an irony for a title; that is, for a film about the value of identity, Identity Thief doesn't have a clue about what it wants to be." — Toledo Blade Posted Feb 8, 2013
1.5/4	47%	Bullet to the Head (2013)	" I didn't think it was possible to make a boring action film in New Orleans, but Bullet to the Head proved me wrong." — Toledo Blade Posted Feb 1, 2013
2.5/5	59%	The Last Stand (2013)	" For an A-list star like Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Last Stand is strictly B-grade filmmaking. As an action movie it's competent and routine, but as a comeback it's hardly memorable." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 18, 2013
5/5	93%	Zero Dark Thirty (2013)	" Zero Dark Thirty is not a sequel to Boal's and Bigelow's earlier effort, yet it is very much an extension of The Hurt Locker's taut pacing and maddening high-wire tension." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 11, 2013
	76%	Premium Rush (2012)	" A fun chase film starring the likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with a deliciously over-the-top performance by Michael Shannon as a villainous crooked cop, and some X Games-worthy bike stunts." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 8, 2013
2.5/5	73%	The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)	" For a superhero origin film, it's pretty good, but it's hardly amazing." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 8, 2013
2/5	85%	21 Jump Street (2012)	" Given the broad drama of the series, their movie should be full of big ideas, and instead settles for redundant gags involving drugs, guns, and high school cliques." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 8, 2013
	86%	The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)	" This is a good Aardman Animations feature, from a studio that's proved itself capable of being better than good." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 7, 2013
2.5/5	87%	Frankenweenie (2012)	" Compared to the shorter and more to the point original, the expanded Frankenweenie is padded and less focused, meandering from a simple path of what was a clever parody/homage." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 7, 2013
4/5	85%	The Hunger Games (2012)	" Given the recent failure of so many big-budget films, the odds weren't in The Hunger Games favor, either. Thankfully, Hollywood got this one right." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 7, 2013
4/5	92%	The Cabin in the Woods (2012)	" While this film is not for everyone -- those who like their slasher film cliches without irony shouldn't bother -- anyone who likes brains to go with their blood are bound to appreciate what Whedon and Goddard have conjured." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 4, 2013
4/5	93%	Marvel's The Avengers (2012)	" Whedon has delivered that rare action-packed, special-effects spectacle that is relentless in its eagerness to please and successful beyond its goal." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 4, 2013
4/5	96%	Argo (2012)	" Affleck inserts such thoughtful commentary and ideas unobtrusively into his film; there's no ideological ball-peen hammer from the filmmaker to drive his beliefs into the audience." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 4, 2013
4/4	92%	Silver Linings Playbook (2012)	" Silver Linings Playbook doesn't settle for the routine or the cliché. It's a funny drama about imperfect people looking for love. It also happens to be the best romantic comedy in years." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 4, 2013
3/4	51%	Promised Land (2013)	" The drama can be funny and romantic and occasionally moving. It has a bigger message about fracking and the environment, and big companies and small towns, and while Promised Land is not a great film, such ambition is not its intention." — Toledo Blade Posted Jan 4, 2013
2.5/4	70%	Les Misérables (2012)	" The gorgeous art direction and sweeping cinematography by Danny Cohen elevate the filmmaker's vision of Les Misérables as something greater than a rehash of the musical." — Toledo Blade Posted Dec 24, 2012
2.5/4	52%	This is 40 (2012)	" This is Fox's best role yet. Just as this painfully long comedy is Apatow's funniest film in years." — Toledo Blade Posted Dec 21, 2012
2.5/4	61%	Jack Reacher (2012)	" Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie paces his film at a steady clip, and the requisite car chases and action sequences are well executed. But his attempts at shoehorning humor into tense standoffs play to groans and silence." — Toledo Blade Posted Dec 21, 2012
	66%	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)	" Jackson's biggest failing with the first installment of The Hobbit is that he crowds out a great story with such minor plot developments that carry no immediate importance to the movie or characters." — Toledo Blade Posted Dec 13, 2012
4/4	88%	Life of Pi (2012)	" Life of Pi proves to have the heart of a small art film with the big aspirations of a major blockbuster. And on the big screen, there's nothing else quite like it." — Toledo Blade Posted Nov 21, 2012
5/5	92%	Skyfall (2012)	" Quibble here and there over a sequence or a subplot that occasionally drifts off course from Skyfall's narrowly focused story, but this is a film that roars with enthusiasm, guts, and a sense of freedom from genre conventions." — Toledo Blade Posted Nov 9, 2012

Showing 1 - 37 of 37

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