Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Official Websites:
http://goatdog.com

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Biography:: Michael W. Phillips Jr. started reviewing films at the age of 15, when he walked into the local newspaper office and asked if they wanted a film critic. The paper closed down soon thereafter. He took a break to attend college and start graduate school in History, then he restarted his career as a film critic with a geocities site in 2000. Somewhere in there he had a short-lived professional relationship with a major movie site that he'd rather not discuss. He moved to his own URL in 2004. In 2005, he was hired as a film critic for yet another small, local paper, which ceased publication shortly thereafter. He's reasonably sure he had nothing to do with this, but after closing down two newspapers, he's not positive anymore. He pays the bills by editing print ads for fast food retailers, as well as programming and running the projector at a film revival house. He's also a filmmaker.
Publications:: Goatdog's Movies , Movie-Vault.com
Critics' Group:: Online Film Critics Society

Total Reviews:: 1104
Total QuickRatings:: 51

Location:: Chicago, IL

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Showing 51 - 100 of 1104

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
3.5/5	89%	Let Me In (2010)	" Not as good as the original but able to stand on its own feet." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 23, 2010
3.5/5	86%	Death Line (Raw Meat) (1972)	" The first (or only?) ethnographic urban legend horror film." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 16, 2010
4/5	81%	Catfish (2010)	" What a gem!" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 3, 2010
4/5	90%	Wanda (1971)	" A sometimes incoherent primal scream, directed not at any particular target but at the state of the American dream in the late 1960s, especially as it applied to women." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 2, 2010
2.5/5	92%	Vincere (2010)	" A series of striking images that serve little purpose except to look striking." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 28, 2010
2.5/5	47%	Hereafter (2010)	" A few great performances buoy the proceedings, but the laziness of Morgan's script and the overall lack of focus or momentum combine to sink it." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 25, 2010
1.5/5	——	The Big Tits Dragon (Kyonyû doragon: Onsen zonbi vs sutorippâ 5) (2010)	" This film, called Big Tits Zombie and featuring both big tits and zombies, is unforgivably boring." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 17, 2010
3.5/5	94%	The Warriors (1979)	" A cult film that deserves its reputation." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 12, 2010
4/5	——	Lady on a Train (1945)	" An enjoyable romp." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 11, 2010
4.5/5	96%	The Social Network (2010)	" Jesse Eisenberg's Zuckerberg is a beautiful, fully textured child of the internet age." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 10, 2010
4/5	——	Adventure in Manhattan (Manhattan Madness) (1936)	" A cracking good comedy-thriller, one of the unheralded gems of the period." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 7, 2010
2.5/5	——	Hoop-La (2000)	" It's kind of an embarrassment for Bow, and it makes for a poor exit from the Hollywood machine that chewed her up and spit her out." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 5, 2010
5/5	——	The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard) (1930)	" One of the greatest animated films ever created." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 1, 2010
2/5	——	Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937)	" In this film there's little to recommend." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 1, 2010
3.5/5	——	The Story of Temple Drake (1933)	" What makes it worth watching, even compelling, is Miriam Hopkins's performance." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 29, 2010
2.5/5	——	Dames (1934)	" The most Berkeleyesque of all [his films], for all the good and bad that entails." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 28, 2010
2.5/5	46%	Colin (2009)	" Feels like a decent short film blown up to feature length." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 28, 2010
3.5/5	86%	Inception (2010)	" I'm somewhat disappointed that Nolan didn't make a different movie, I heartily enjoyed the one he did make." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 28, 2010
3.5/5	——	Border Street (1950)	" This rare teen's-eye view of the Holocaust is valuable as an antidote for the misconception that the Jews of Europe failed to resist their own persecution and murder. " — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 28, 2010
4.5/5	——	Aventurera (1950) (1950)	" It's a humdinger, and I'm not just talking about Ninon Sevilla's legs." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 16, 2010
4.5/5	100%	Raw Deal (1948)	" The next time someone asks me to define "film noir," I'm going to say Raw Deal." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 26, 2010
3.5/5	83%	Dexter -The Complete First Season (2007)	" One's enjoyment of the show is largely based on how much coincidence one can stand." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 1, 2010
2.5/5	——	Masters of Horror - Ernest Dickerson: The V Word (2007)	" Tonal shifts destroy what starts out as a damned good vampire movie." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jan 31, 2010
1.5/5	70%	Sherlock Holmes (2009)	" A loud, stupid film." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jan 31, 2010
4/5	——	Masters of Horror - Stuart Gordon: Dreams in the Witch House (2006)	" Worthy of being called Lovecraftian" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 31, 2009
2.5/5	60%	Town Without Pity (1961)	" If it had more going for it than [Kirk] Douglas's electrifying performance ... I'd recommend it" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 31, 2009
4/5	——	Kaizokuban Bootleg Film (1999)	" Its own unique beast." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 31, 2009
2.5/5	83%	Avatar (2009)	" But everything about the story, the setting, the dialog, and the parts that aren't purely visual is awful." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 30, 2009
2/5	——	Deadline (2009)	" Formulaic dreck, perhaps not surprisingly." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 29, 2009
4.5/5	87%	Big Fan (2009)	" The decision to look at sports fandom through the lens of addiction gives Big Fan its power, its believability, its pathos, and its humor." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 28, 2009
5/5	85%	Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951)	" One of the handful of best Christmas movies ever made." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 25, 2009
4/5	——	The Bigamist (1953)	" The surprisingly modern-seeming ending casts some shadow onto easy conclusions." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 25, 2009
2.5/5	——	Masters of Horror: Joe Dante - The Screwfly Solution (2007)	" The story itself has big problems, and the adaptation doesn't cover them" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 23, 2009
4/5	91%	Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)	" Sidibe, in her screen debut, is silently shattering." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 23, 2009
3.5/5	57%	9 (2009)	" Watch it for the visuals, and dream about what Shane Acker might accomplish with a better screenplay." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 20, 2009
2.5/5	96%	Food, Inc. (2009)	" Feels like the Cliffs notes version of a gripping book." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 18, 2009
0.5/5	89%	A Serious Man (2009)	" I hated just about every agonizing, smug minute of it." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 17, 2009
4/5	71%	Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword of Vengeance (Kozure Ôkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru) (1972)	" Achieves a few moments of transcendant beauty, and the quick, brutal swordfights ... are thrilling." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 5, 2009
2/5	58%	Trucker (2009)	" Unremarkable at best, remarkably bad at worst." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Dec 1, 2009
2.5/5	45%	The Box (2009)	" The only way to get your money's worth out of The Box is to walk away from the ticket counter without paying." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 30, 2009
4.5/5	93%	Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)	" Fantastic isn't a strong enough word for this vibrant, intelligent, hilarious film for all ages" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 30, 2009
4.5/5	89%	World's Greatest Dad (2009)	" A mind-blowing shot of misanthropic, black-comic genius." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Nov 6, 2009
2.5/5	64%	The Girlfriend Experience (2009)	" His techniques are so alienating that it's difficult to decide whether we're supposed to feel something for his pretty plastic people." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 26, 2009
4/5	100%	Marlene (1984)	" I think we learn much more about Dietrich than we would have if she had submitted to the usual paint-by-numbers, fawning Biography Channel type of film." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 26, 2009
3.5/5	——	The Real Joan of Arc (2009)	" Packs its share of compelling questions." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 13, 2009
1.5/5	72%	Carmen Jones (1954)	" A film in which talented, attractive people sing ugly lyrics to beautiful music in other people's beautiful voices amid ugly shot framing and ill-timed cutting." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 1, 2009
3.5/5	100%	Destry Rides Again (1939)	" A close-to-brilliant comedy-Western ... until the end." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 30, 2009
4.5/5	88%	Inglourious Basterds (2009)	" Everything else [except the Basterds themselves] works so beautifully" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 9, 2009
3/5	68%	Funny People (2009)	" It should probably have been apparent to Apatow, well versed in the structure of comedy on film, that it was far too long." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 1, 2009
4.5/5	——	Todd P Goes to Austin ()	" Many other music docs and concert films can give you an idea of how great a band is live, but how many can truly make you feel like you're in the audience?" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Aug 27, 2009
2/5	87%	500 Days of Summer (2009)	" The film seems constructed to short-circuit your attempts to invest anything in it." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 26, 2009
4.5/5	71%	Tetro (2009)	" The Coppola who was master of the 1970s ... is back, and that should make every cinephile weep with joy" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 11, 2009
3.5/5	——	La Mujer Del Puerto (1936)	" A strange, hypnotic blend of a dozen influences." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 4, 2009
5/5	100%	Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)	" One of Hollywood's, and cinema's, grandest and most emotionally satisfying tales of unrequited love and self-sacrifice." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 4, 2009
3/5	——	Reveille with Beverly (1943)	" Might have been a truly great collection of numbers without the filler ... but it's definitely worth seeing." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 2, 2009
4/5	50%	Jingi naki tatakai (Battles Without Honor and Humanity)(The Yakuza Papers)(War Without a Code) (1973)	" A sometimes shocking, sometimes blackly funny, and often disorienting takedown of gangster tropes." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 29, 2009
3/5	67%	Away We Go (2009)	" I'd actually advise people to buy a ticket, go grab a soy burger, and enter the theater halfway through." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 27, 2009
4.5/5	92%	Drag Me to Hell (2009)	" Built on a love of old movies, on the special camaraderie that exists when you're sitting there in the dark, screaming and laughing with a bunch of strangers." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 6, 2009
2.5/5	95%	Star Trek (2009)	" Abrams doesn't get the franchise that Roddenberry created." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 20, 2009
2.5/5	62%	Lymelife (2008)	" The Martinis are not filmmakers, and I wish they had paid more attention in their Production 101 classes." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 16, 2009
2.5/5	83%	Richard Pryor - Here and Now (1983)	" A disappointment, especially since it's the last full-tilt concert film of the funniest man in history." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 11, 2009
2.5/5	83%	My Sister Eileen (1942)	" One of those comedies one damns by calling it "unsuccessful," even though parts of it work just fine." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 11, 2009
2/5	67%	Violent Saturday (1955)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 18, 2008
2.5/5	92%	Auntie Mame (1958)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 18, 2008
4/5	67%	Honeydripper (2007)	" It's optimistic, and maybe it doesn't have a heck of a lot to do with history, but it's a tale well told." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Oct 18, 2008
3.5/5	83%	The Cat and the Canary (1927)	" Not exactly a horror film, at least by any strict definition. But it is a great deal of fun." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 20, 2008
2.5/5	82%	Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)	" Serves as proof that Allen's heart isn't in it anymore." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 20, 2008
4/5	89%	Bombshell (Blonde Bombshell) (1933)	" Surprising for something so mean-spirited to have come so early in the Dream Factory's saga of self-loathing, and even more surprising because it seems so heartfelt." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Sep 20, 2008
4/5	95%	Broken Blossoms (1919)	" One of the screen's greatest symbioses of performance and photography." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Aug 4, 2008
3.5/5	——	Don't Change Your Husband (1919)	" It's generally a smooth, arch, enjoyable romp." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 28, 2008
3.5/5	——	Brandherd ()	" Wears its Expressionist heritage in a fascinating way." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 28, 2008
2.5/5	——	Life and Passion of Jesus Christ/From the Manger to the Cross (2003)	" But aside from the historical value ... there's not a lot here to keep one's attention" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jul 28, 2008
3/5	——	His People ()	" A valuable, moving portrait of an immigrant community that tends to be ignored by mainstream films" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 29, 2008
2.5/5	51%	Get Smart (2008)	" A feature-length elaboration on its own hilarious trailer." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 19, 2008
3/5	——	Oyster Princess/I Don't Want to Be a Man (2006)	" [About I Don't Want...]: How long would it be before a mainstream Hollywood movie showed the same worldliness about sex." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 16, 2008
3/5	——	Potseluy Meri Pikford (The Kiss of Mary Pickford) ()	" The most interesting thing about the film is the elaborate way it interacts with and stands outside the cinema." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 9, 2008
3.5/5	——	Hot Water (1924)	" Has so much momentum and inarguable internal logic that it drags you along, laughing helplessly." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Jun 2, 2008
5/5	100%	La Chute de la maison Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher) (1928)	" The film denies us the safe distance between viewer and viewed, and it does this so effectively that its horrors are occurring all around us." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 25, 2008
4.5/5	100%	Ballad of a Soldier (1959)	" Deceptively simple, heartfelt." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 23, 2008
4/5	——	Mad Love - The Films Of Evgeni Bauer (2003)	" [About After Death] Bauer's filmmaking skills exploded in the two years after his first feature." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 19, 2008
3/5	——	The Devil's Daughter (1973)	" The filmmakers [realize] that they're working within a genre with firmly established conventions are but able to carve out a little niche for themselves." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 19, 2008
3/5	53%	Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)	" Overall, it's an enjoyable sequel, although not up to the admittedly high--heh--standards of the first installment." — Goatdog's Movies Posted May 11, 2008
2.5/5	86%	Testament (1983)	" The film is barely competent, revealing its TV-movie roots in uncertain directorial guidance, technical flubs, [and] a patchwork script." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 26, 2008
2.5/5	50%	Smart People (2008)	" From a technical standpoint, Smart People is incredibly lacking" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 26, 2008
4/5	95%	Cape Fear (1962)	" Its politics are abhorrent to me, but my god, it's such a slick, well-crafted thriller ... that I can't hate it" — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 18, 2008
3/5	——	Sherlock Holmes: The House of Fear (2003)	" A middle-of-the-pack entry in the series." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 4, 2008
0.5/5	——	BloodRayne II: Deliverance (2007)	" This film's a minor cinematic crime entirely unworthy of my rhymes." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Apr 2, 2008
3/5	60%	The White Parade (1934)	" Its somewhat unlikely [Best Picture] nomination is neither an embarrassment to the Oscars ... nor a strong credit to the judgment of the Academy." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Mar 24, 2008
4/5	——	The Children, (The Children of Ravensback) (1980)	" The "scary little kid" subgenre has never been scarier or more nihilistic." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Mar 19, 2008
2.5/5	——	The Barker (1928)	" A fair-to-middlin' example of that transitional hybrid, the part-talkie." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Mar 17, 2008
4.5/5	77%	Cloverfield (2008)	" One of the most exciting and frightening sci-fi/horror films of the last decade." — Goatdog's Movies Posted Mar 13, 2008
4/5	100%	Lord of the Flies (1963)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
2/5	80%	The Return of Frank James (1940)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
5/5	98%	Wings of Desire (1987)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
4/5	86%	Zorba the Greek (2004)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
3/5	31%	Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
4/5	80%	Youth of the Beast (The Brute) (Yajû no seishun) (1963)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
5/5	98%	Sunset Boulevard (1950)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008
5/5	100%	On the Waterfront (1954)	— Goatdog's Movies Posted Feb 29, 2008

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