Peter Hartlaub Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Peter Hartlaub

Peter Hartlaub

Agrees with the Tomatometer 76% of the time.

Publications:: Houston Chronicle , San Francisco Chronicle

Total Reviews:: 424

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Showing 1 - 50 of 424

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
2/4	28%	G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)	" The filmmakers appear to have handed a dozen or so G.I. Joe dolls to a 9-year-old, watched him play for 110 minutes, and then shot a scene-for-scene remake." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 29, 2013
3/4	66%	Spring Breakers (2013)	" What should be infuriating makes sense in the context of the director's twisted cinematic rulebook." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 21, 2013
3/4	69%	The Croods (2013)	" Considering the fact that a young girl is picking her nose on the movie poster, "The Croods" is surprisingly evolved." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 21, 2013
2/4	30%	Reincarnated (2013)	" Snoop's involvement as a producer does a disservice to the film. Was there anyone behind the scenes with veto power?" — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 14, 2013
3/4	86%	Harvest of Empire (2012)	" Getzels and Lopez take a refreshing approach in this age of punditry and choir-preaching." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 7, 2013
1/4	52%	Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)	" What's the point of making a movie with a 9-year-old boy's sensibility, then including just enough violence to garner a PG-13 rating?" — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 28, 2013
3/4	26%	21 And Over (2013)	" Writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore find a nice balance between the over-the-top high jinks and an emotional core, which unexpectedly crystallizes relatively late in the movie." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 28, 2013
2/4	70%	Bless Me, Ultima (2013)	" Reminiscent of Billy Bob Thornton's "All the Pretty Horses" or Lasse Hallström's "The Shipping News" - literary adaptations that got the look right, while lacking the easy flow of the original work." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 21, 2013
2/4	13%	Safe Haven (2013)	" Hallström's understated approach clashes with the blunt-force drama of the Sparks story line, which is definitely a matter of taste." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 13, 2013
3/4	100%	The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013: Live Action (2013)	" Typically eclectic and entertaining." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 1, 2013
2/4	95%	The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013: Animation (2013)	" The "Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts 2012" lack the consistency of last year's group ..." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 1, 2013
4/4	92%	The Cabin in the Woods (2012)	" By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Jan 4, 2013
2/4	18%	Parental Guidance (2012)	" Director Andy Fickman opts against subtlety at every turn. A score filled with heavy strings and the occasional ringing of chimes telegraphs all emotional cues, practically willing the water out of your tear ducts." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 25, 2012
1/4	47%	Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D (2012)	" It's a big promo reel, and not a carefully disguised one." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 20, 2012
3/4	77%	Any Day Now (2012)	" The script seems almost religiously adverse to Hallmark-style melodrama." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 13, 2012
2.5/4	74%	Rise of the Guardians (2012)	" Innocence and joy are threatened by the Boogeyman, and from there the plot comes pretty close to mirroring this summer's The Avengers movie. Mostly in a good way." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Nov 20, 2012
3/4	86%	Wreck-it Ralph (2012)	" Delightfully off the rails, offering a grown-up-friendly tone and merging of visual styles that are reminiscent of the studio's 1988 animated homage to film noir, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."" — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Nov 1, 2012
2/4	26%	Fun Size (2012)	" "Fun Size" seems trapped in a limbo between a hyperkinetic comedy for kids and something more outlaw for teens." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 25, 2012
4/4	88%	The Other Dream Team (2012)	" Adding detailed historical context, the quirky feel-good story becomes a tragedy and a lesson. And that makes the victories resonate even more." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 11, 2012
3/4	78%	Dredd (2012)	" A fine piece of cheap entertainment." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 20, 2012
2/4	51%	Trouble with the Curve (2012)	" "Trouble" is second-rate Eastwood, existing in a parallel universe where the celebrity has been reduced to a Hallmark movie-of-the-week actor, not one of the most respected directors in Hollywood." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 20, 2012
1/4	39%	The Possession (2012)	" The evil spirit in "The Possession" should be embarrassed to call itself a demon." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Aug 30, 2012
2/4	48%	Hit & Run (2012)	" Pretty much everything shot by Shepard and co-director David Palmer looks as if it was done in one take." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Aug 21, 2012
1/4	13%	The Moth Diaries (2012)	" Way too serious for its own good." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Aug 9, 2012
4/4	96%	Searching for Sugar Man (2012)	" Music executive Clarence Avant says Rodriguez sold about six copies of each of his two albums. Multiply that by the number of people who see this movie." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Aug 2, 2012
3/4	88%	Ballplayer: Pelotero (2012)	" A scrappy documentary about teenage ballplayers in the Dominican Republic." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Jul 12, 2012
3/4	88%	Neil Young Journeys (2012)	" More casual fans will twist in their chairs uncomfortably, wishing that a roadie would walk up and wipe it off. Neil Young die-hards will cherish the spittle." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Jul 5, 2012
2/4	13%	Ultrasonic (2012)	" An electronic score pulses throughout the film, which can be cliched in individual scenes but still goes in some unexpected directions." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Jun 21, 2012
2/4	60%	Otter 501 (2012)	" The stars of the film are so entertaining, the tricks seem superfluous. Sometimes all you need are otters." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted May 10, 2012
3/4	74%	Chimpanzee (2012)	" The stunning and mostly uncompromising visuals more than compensate for the frequent corny turns of phrase." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Apr 20, 2012
2/4	38%	Detention (2012)	" There will be young moviegoers who proclaim this genius, and more stodgy audience members who find it torturous. If you're not tweeting and texting a combined 50 times or more per day, you're probably in the latter camp." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Apr 13, 2012
3/4	76%	Kill List (2012)	" "Kill List" has a slow build, but don't be lulled into complacency. This is one of the most violent and disturbing films you'll see in an art house." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 15, 2012
3/4	85%	21 Jump Street (2012)	" This film is even better if you come in with no spoilers and low expectations, so we will build it up no more." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 15, 2012
3/4	96%	Undefeated (2012)	" It's a credit to directors Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Daniels that the personal stories of the kids and coaches resonate more than the wins and losses." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Mar 1, 2012
3/4	90%	Oscar Nominated Animation Shorts (2012)	" Proves that it was still a good year for animation, even if audiences were underwhelmed by the mainstream feature fare." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Feb 9, 2012
3/4	——	Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer (2011)	— San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 17, 2011
1/4	12%	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)	" It's an uninspired and instantly forgettable film. But it completely succeeds by its own standards: an 87-minute rainy-day distraction that will probably make a zillion dollars." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 15, 2011
1/4	——	Golf In The Kingdom (2011)	" For anyone coming in cold, this can be a ponderous cinematic experience." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Dec 8, 2011
3/4	88%	Dragonslayer (2011)	" In following this scattered character around, "Dragonslayer" director Tristan Patterson makes a very purposeful documentary about the pessimistic worldview of the nation's youth, and what that means for the future." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Nov 17, 2011
3/4	32%	All Good Things (2010)	— San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 14, 2011
2/4	36%	The Thing (2011)	" It's an imperfect facsimile, guilty of borrowing too many ideas from the earlier film, and then executing them with differing results." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 13, 2011
2/4	27%	Dirty Girl (2011)	" Social satire, heartbreaking family drama and a lot of toe-tapping 1980s music attempt to exist in the same space. Watching this movie is like eating a hot fudge sundae and lasagna in alternating bites." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 7, 2011
3/4	60%	Real Steel (2011)	" You've probably seen toy commercials that present a more thoughtful dystopian future. And yet, in the moment, this film will make you want to do nothing except stuff your face with more." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Oct 7, 2011
3/4	85%	Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011)	" Relying mostly on a single gimmick, the slasher comedy presents a high degree of difficulty for both the director and actors. Their earnest efforts keep the repetition from becoming ponderous." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 29, 2011
2/4	95%	Moneyball (2011)	" Naysayers have been claiming for years that the Moneyball book wouldn't work as a movie. But ultimately, it's the cinematic touches that keep this film version from becoming something exceptional." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 23, 2011
3/4	82%	Dolphin Tale (2011)	" It gives young audiences credit for having patience and imagination, and rewards them with an engaging narrative." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 22, 2011
3/4	93%	Drive (2011)	" Mainstream audiences will probably be confounded by "Drive," while lovers of gritty filmmaking will defend every exaggerated shotgun wound as art. Know which camp you're in before you enter the theater." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 15, 2011
2/4	33%	A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)	" Movies about raising children or reconnecting with lost loves can be subtle and slow paced. But orgy movies need to go all out. There doesn't appear to be any other way." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Sep 1, 2011
3/4	72%	Fright Night (2011)	" "Fright Night" isn't quite a classic vampire movie, but it's refreshingly straightforward and self-deprecating." — San Francisco Chronicle Posted Aug 18, 2011

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