Matt Brunson Movie Reviews & Previews

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Matt Brunson

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Publications:: Creative Loafing
Critics' Group:: Southeastern Film Critics Association

Total Reviews:: 1600
Total QuickRatings:: 88

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Showing 1 - 50 of 1600

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
1.5/4	21%	Darling Companion (2012)	" The dog is an absolute charmer -- would that the movie had spent its time on his adventures in the woods than on the dullards who ultimately seem incapable of finding a book in a library." — Creative Loafing Posted Jun 2, 2012
2.5/4	46%	Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)	" The story ultimately becomes more Tolkien than Grimm, with extraneous additions and radical reworkings meant to assuage moviegoers weaned on the Peter Jackson trilogy." — Creative Loafing Posted Jun 2, 2012
2.5/4	74%	Sound of My Voice (2012)	" The more the film balks at meeting viewers halfway, the more frustrating it becomes, like the Wizard of Oz after he's revealed to be a charlatan. It promises to take us down a yellow brick road toward enlightenment, but it leads us off a cliff instead." — Creative Loafing Posted May 26, 2012
2.5/4	76%	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)	" The Avengers for the elderly demographic, it's harmless, undemanding piffle. It's a worthy sentiment to graciously offer a film for moviegoers both young and old who might not know a Hulk from a Thing. It's just a shame the result isn't a better movie." — Creative Loafing Posted May 26, 2012
2.5/4	68%	Men in Black III (2012)	" Ultimately, it proves to be a bit long in the tooth, but a few bits manage to do the series proud." — Creative Loafing Posted May 26, 2012
1/4	34%	Battleship (2012)	" Could be mistaken for a Transformers sequel except it's missing Shia LaBeouf's distinctive hairdo ... To tag it a worthy popcorn flick is the equivalent of spitting in the faces of Spielberg, Zemeckis or anybody who used to expertly do this sort of thing." — Creative Loafing Posted May 19, 2012
2.5/4	58%	The Dictator (2012)	" Cohen has added something to the picture that prevents it from completely succeeding: a plot." — Creative Loafing Posted May 19, 2012
1.5/4	23%	What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)	" Following in the footsteps of He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve comes another all-star idiocy that strands a number of good (and some not-so-good) actors in several thematic vignettes of competing dopiness." — Creative Loafing Posted May 19, 2012
2.5/4	40%	Dark Shadows (2012)	" How is it possible that a man who just a few years ago stood as one of our most exciting and unconventional actors has now become one of the most predictable?" — Creative Loafing Posted May 12, 2012
2/4	84%	Crazy Horse (2012)	" The movie might as well be about the Burger King down the road, considering that it tells us virtually nothing about this legendary Parisian club." — Creative Loafing Posted May 11, 2012
3/4	80%	The Red House (1947)	" This isn't a noir in the traditional sense, but it boasts enough ingredients to pass as one." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
2.5/4	68%	Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)	" Any movie with former Dracula Christopher Lee as a scientist who creates a gremlin-bat can't be all bad, but there's a reason we never received a Gremlins 3." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
2.5/4	80%	Gremlins (1984)	" It certainly displays a nasty streak, although that's not one of its problems." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
1/4	——	Mimic 3 - Sentinel (2003)	" Illogical and sloppily constructed, and not even a villainous role for Lance Henriksen can elevate it." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
1.5/4	8%	Mimic 2 (2001)	" Not worth the effort." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
3/4	61%	Mimic (1997)	" Viewers will be forgiven for wanting to rush next door and douse their neighbor with RAID." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
2/4	50%	Camelot (1967)	" Often so misguided that it threatens to become a spoof worthy of Monty Python or Mel Brooks -- when Arthur hisses, "I demand a man's vengeance!" he sounds exactly like Cloris Leachman bleating, "Death to King Louis!" in History of the World: Part I." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
3/4	92%	Pillow Talk (1959)	" It's impossible to imagine this movie not being presented in CinemaScope, as the widescreen format is integral in supporting the imaginative use of split-screen techniques." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
2.5/4	12%	W.E. (2012)	" Truth be told, the film isn't THAT bad, and if it had been directed by an unknown rather than a controversial media icon, it might have been more charitably dismissed as an ambitious failure." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
2.5/4	79%	Madonna - Truth or Dare (1991)	" Much of the supposedly raw material feels calculated, but several off-the-cuff moments are ingratiating -- the backstage meeting between Madonna and Kevin Costner, who deems her show "neat," is priceless." — Creative Loafing Posted May 8, 2012
3.5/4	93%	Marvel's The Avengers (2012)	" The scene-stealer is Ruffalo, who provides Bruce Banner with a soulfulness missing in the portrayals by Bana and Norton. This is also the first film to nail the Hulk, who in 2003 looked like a video blip Gumby and in 2008 seemed shellacked in plastic." — Creative Loafing Posted May 5, 2012
2.5/4	75%	Damsels in Distress (2012)	" It would be wonderful to report that Damsels in Distress marks a completely triumphant return for Stillman, yet while it's certainly recommendable, it falls short of his '90s output." — Creative Loafing Posted May 4, 2012
2.5/4	62%	The Five-Year Engagement (2012)	" Pauline Kael said of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers pairing, "He gave her class and she gave him sex." Blunt provides both the class AND the sex, but Segel brings enough easygoing charisma and sly wit to the table to make them a believable screen couple." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 28, 2012
2.5/4	86%	The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)	" The Pirates! Band of Misfits fares OK against most modern toon flicks but pales next to other Aardman releases. How a person chooses to rate its success depends on whether one looks at a glass of water and views it as half-full or half-empty." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 28, 2012
3/4	98%	Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)	" Since few (if any) of us will ever be able to actually taste sushi chef Jiro Ono's cuisine -- minimum cost per person to dine there is roughly $300 -- we'll have to console ourselves with the visual bliss of this entertaining documentary." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 27, 2012
4/4	97%	Unforgiven (1992)	" The great Orson Welles once stated that Clint Eastwood was the most underrated filmmaker in America, and the sobering footnote is that he passed away in 1985, well before Eastwood began to be taken seriously as an artist by most critics and moviegoers." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3.5/4	100%	Scarlet Street (1945)	" A film noir so potent for its time that it was banned in Atlanta, Milwaukee and the entire state of New York." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	100%	Anatomy of a Murder (1959)	" Otto Preminger, no stranger to ruffling moral-watchdog feathers, never succumbs to the sleaziness inherent in the material, instead turning out an intelligent and tightly controlled drama that ranks as one of the all-time great courtroom procedurals." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3/4	95%	The War Room (1993)	" Illustrates in often amusing detail how the Clinton team managed to overcome petty hostilities and seize the day -- and the White House." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3/4	95%	Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)	" There's a semblance of a plot, but this is really just an excuse for the boys to engage in their unique brand of humor, which includes mimicry, dress-up, dry wit, slapstick and glorious non sequitors." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	97%	Casablanca (1943)	" Rick and Ilsa. Laszlo and the letters of transit. Captain Renault and his charming corruptibility. "As Time Goes By." "Here's looking at you, kid." You know the routine. So round up the usual accolades." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3.5/4	91%	The Deer Hunter (1978)	" The film's depiction of a senseless war remains relevant as long as power-hungry leaders continue to play Russian roulette with the lives of young soldiers." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
2/4	32%	The Bodyguard (1992)	" The premise is workable, but the movie is sabotaged by several elements, including the hot-and-cold dialogue, obvious red herrings, and a ludicrous climax centering on an assassination attempt at the Academy Awards ceremony." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	100%	Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1999)	" A treat for cineastes and sci-fi fans alike, with Melies borrowing from both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	98%	A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)	" An unqualified masterpiece." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3.5/4	100%	A Night to Remember (1958)	" Kenneth More essays the central role of Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller, and he's the reassuring presence throughout a film that breaks down the incident in powerful fashion." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3.5/4	91%	Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (2011)	" At one point in this joyful documentary, Jack Nicholson discusses the countless cheapies produced by Roger Corman and cracks, "By mistake, he actually made a good picture every once in a while."" — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
1.5/4	50%	Kate & Leopold (2001)	" It's rare to come across a time travel tale as listless as this one." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	87%	Brief Encounter (1945)	" Haunting in its evocative mood -- one enhanced by Robert Krasker's cinematography and Lean's meticulous, muted direction -- Brief Encounter primarily hinges on the extraordinary performance by Celia Johnson." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
2.5/4	71%	Blithe Spirit (1945)	" Blithe Spirit is beloved by so many people that I feel like a curmudgeon handing it a mixed review. But when it comes to supernatural comedies starring Rex Harrison, I much prefer Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1947 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
4/4	100%	This Happy Breed (1944)	" This Happy Breed ranks with 1949's One Woman's Story and 1950's Madeleine as the most obscure title in David Lean's canon. That's a shame, because it's a wonderful motion picture." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3.5/4	93%	In Which We Serve (1942)	" Noel Coward, who also co-directed and wrote the script, brings weight and dignity to the role of Captain Kinross." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
2.5/4	52%	Bounce (2000)	" The very premise of Bounce sounds suspect, so it's a credit to Roos' writing that he largely overcomes his own dubious plotline and fashions a fairly involving love story." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 25, 2012
3/4	89%	Girl Model ()	" This is the sort of film that should be mandatory viewing for all governments that have the power to combat such soul-shredding evil." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 21, 2012
3/4	90%	In Darkness (2012)	" For her latest film, Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa) again turns to a fascinating footnote from that chapter in history." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 21, 2012
1.5/4	47%	The Three Stooges (2012)	" Can anyone who isn't a Stooge fan possibly enjoy The Three Stooges? More to the point, can anyone who IS a Stooge fan (like me) possibly find merit in this Farrelly misfire?" — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 14, 2012
3.5/4	90%	The Cabin in the Woods (2012)	" To reveal anything more about this film would be criminal." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 14, 2012
3/4	83%	The Raid: Redemption (2012)	" Pure, unadulterated, uncut action -- it's like cocaine for adrenaline addicts." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 13, 2012
3/4	82%	Tyrannosaur (2011)	" Those angling for a "feel-bad" bummer won't be disappointed." — Creative Loafing Posted Apr 13, 2012

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