Rob Vaux

Rob Vaux

"“You know what a cautious fellow I am.” — Harrison Ford, Raiders of the Lost Ark “You rotten man. Here, let me take your rotten bloody picture… for the rotten bloody newspapers.” — Arthur Kennedy, Lawrence of Arabia “I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that sumbitch Reagan in the White House…” — Nicholas Cage, Raising Arizona “Are you gonna let it go or are we gonna drive around pissed all night?” — Edward Norton, The Score “Okay: I'm going home. Keep your money.” — Kurt Russell, Big Trouble in Little China"

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Biography:
A native Californian, Rob Vaux grew up in the greater Los Angeles area before attending college in Minnesota and graduate school in Syracuse, NY. He moved back to So Cal after earning his M.A. and currently works as a writer and editor, as well as serving as a film critic for Mania.com and The Sci-Fi Movie Page. He's also a faithful fan of the Anaheim Angels, though he considers the Rally Monkey a dubious asset at best. He lives in the suburbs, has three black cats, and probably liked The Phantom Menace more than you.
Favorites:
Brazil, The Third Man, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Throne of Blood, West Side Story, Wings of Desire, Miller's Crossing, John Carpenter's The Thing, and too many others to count. The Lord of the Rings is moving up with a bullet.
Publications:
Filmcritic.com , Flipside Movie Emporium , Mania.com , Sci-Fi Movie Page
Critics' Group:
Online Film Critics Society
Total Reviews:
1816
Total QuickRatings:
865
Location:
The greater Los Angeles area.

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 1816
Previous | Next
Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
3/4 —— Superman Unbound () " It ultimately takes a high place in the ranks of DC's direct-to-video line, exemplifying the kind of stories tailor made for this format." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted May 8, 2013
B- 67% The Iceman (2013) " Imperfect perhaps, but ultimately undeniable. " — Mania.com
Posted May 3, 2013
B+ 78% Iron Man 3 (2013) " Whether it marks an ending, a beginning or something in between, it really doesn't matter. Iron Man 3 starts the summer off right." — Mania.com
Posted May 2, 2013
C+ 46% Pain & Gain (2013) " You won't forget it easily; it just needs to find a better way to make its surprisingly pertinent points." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 26, 2013
D 47% The Lords of Salem (2013) " The Lords of Salem suffers far too much for its shortcomings; sadly, the audience suffers even more." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 19, 2013
B+ 56% Oblivion (2013) " The film stands on the shoulders of giants, but the view from there is still pretty damn good." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 19, 2013
A+ 98% The Evil Dead (1981) " One of the shining lights of the horror genre." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 15, 2013
A 92% Jurassic Park: An IMAX 3D Experience (2013) " While it's not the most profound of Spielberg's works or the most entertaining from a popcorn perspective, it's one of the most technically flawless movies he's ever produced." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 5, 2013
B+ 62% Evil Dead (2013) " Congratulations guys: you get to keep the name." — Mania.com
Posted Apr 5, 2013
B 94% Room 237 (2013) " A strange and enduring testament to Kubrick's cinematic legacy, as well as a fun way to look at a horror classic in a whole new way. " — Mania.com
Posted Mar 29, 2013
D 9% The Host (2013) " Populated by one-note characters and the kind of moral subtext that usually precedes cult suicides." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 29, 2013
C 28% G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) " We may hate ourselves for liking it, but at least we don't hate ourselves for being there." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 29, 2013
C 69% The Croods (2013) " It's product, pure and simple: dependable, disposable and forgotten as soon as it serves its purpose." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 22, 2013
C 48% Olympus Has Fallen (2013) " The film's grit and realism throw sand in the bigger picture, which ultimately derails the whole thing." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 22, 2013
4/4 88% Life of Pi (2012) " A wondrous tale of survival and faith that challenges our notions of the possible." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Mar 20, 2013
3/4 48% Willow (1988) " There's a sunny feeling here that's impossible to deny: a warm, inviting tone unseen in more recent fare." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Mar 20, 2013
D 29% Upside Down (2013) " Upside Down falls into that old trap of overwhelming us with spectacle before we spot the emptiness beneath." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 15, 2013
C+ 38% The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) " Its sweetness does it credit, but ultimately blunts its badly needed bite." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 15, 2013
F 39% The ABCs of Death (2013) " The possibilities are delicious. The reality is absolutely vile." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 8, 2013
B 60% Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) " Leave your preconceptions at the door and enjoy it for what it is. In this case, the man behind the curtain knows what he's doing." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 8, 2013
A 67% Stoker (2013) " The best film of 2013 so far." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 1, 2013
C 52% Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) " Fee. Fi. Fo. Meh." — Mania.com
Posted Mar 1, 2013
B- 58% Snitch (2013) " Snitch isn't anyone's idea of a great film, but it aspires to be a good one. " — Mania.com
Posted Feb 22, 2013
1.5/4 35% Dark Skies (2013) " Dark Skies shows us glimpses of the movie it could have been before squandering it all on silly misfires and a lack of overall thrust." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Feb 22, 2013
C 45% Beautiful Creatures (2013) " It coasts to a stop too often for comfort, searching in vain for a reason to keep moving forward. " — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Feb 14, 2013
B 15% A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) " It ain't perfect, but it sure finds a way to get the job done." — Mania.com
Posted Feb 14, 2013
C- 27% The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2013) " We've seen this movie before, in better clothes and with a much higher IQ." — Mania.com
Posted Feb 8, 2013
B 55% Top Gun (1986) " An undeniably cheesy yet strangely appealing time capsule, with a little something for everyone provided we understand that it's all bubblegum. " — Mania.com
Posted Feb 8, 2013
B 47% Bullet to the Head (2013) " Bullet to the Head definitely qualifies as a guilty pleasure, but if you can't enjoy the guilty ones, you've missed the whole point of Stallone's career." — Mania.com
Posted Feb 1, 2013
4/4 —— The Dark Knight Returns: Part Two (2013) " It sets a standard that few can beat." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Jan 28, 2013
2/4 40% Death Race 3: Inferno (Unrated) (2013) " Ask it no questions and it will tell you no lies: a fair bargain that too many other films on this level resolutely refuse to grant." — Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Jan 26, 2013
C 4% Movie 43 (2013) " Movie 43 deserves at least some of the bad press it's getting, but don't be surprised if it sticks around a little longer than its detractors believe." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 26, 2013
D 14% Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) " Even the 3D feels listless and dead." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 26, 2013
B 60% John Dies at the End (2013) " [It] threatens to go completely off the rails at every turn. If you're the intended audience for this film, you'll realize that that's one of the selling points." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 25, 2013
B 65% Mama (2013) " Muschietti definitely has a future in this genre if he chooses to pursue it." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 18, 2013
B- 59% The Last Stand (2013) " The movie passes muster as a nuts-and-bolts action film, though just barely sometimes and with no expectation of being anything more." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 18, 2013
C- 32% Gangster Squad (2013) " We all have better things to do than watch movie stars playing cops-and-robbers." — Mania.com
Posted Jan 11, 2013
B- 19% Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) " It's kind of surprising. And interesting. And even entertaining after a fashion, if your idea of entertainment involves warranty-voiding uses of the Black & Decker catalog. " — Mania.com
Posted Jan 4, 2013
B+ 88% Django Unchained (2012) " It's bold, it's beautiful, it's a sheer delight... and a more disciplined approach might have made a masterpiece out of it." — Mania.com
Posted Dec 28, 2012
B 66% The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) " "Disappointing" isn't the same thing as "bad."" — Mania.com
Posted Dec 28, 2012
A+ 70% Les Misérables (2012) " If you're not careful, it will sweep you right off your feet: leaving you drained, stunned and more than a little moved." — Mania.com
Posted Dec 25, 2012
F- 0% Nutcracker in 3D (2010) " It's flawless in its flaws, without a single redeeming element to obscure its idealized awfulness." — Mania.com
Posted Dec 24, 2012
B+ 61% Jack Reacher (2012) " Each clue is carefully conceived and intelligently executed; each one makes sense without pandering to the lowest common denominator." — Mania.com
Posted Dec 21, 2012
B+ 96% Monsters, Inc. 3D (2012) " It does well, but not brilliantly: an amusing trifle from a studio whose best work still lay ahead of it. " — Mania.com
Posted Dec 20, 2012
A- 93% Zero Dark Thirty (2013) " Don't mess with the chicks. Osama bin Laden did, and look what happened to him." — Mania.com
Posted Dec 20, 2012
F 50% Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012) " I'd say this film hates women, but that's too limiting. It hates everyone." — Mania.com
Posted Nov 30, 2012
C 36% The Collection (2012) " Dunstan mistakes unpleasantness for fear, reveling in gore for its own sake and destroying any anticipation or suspense in the bargain." — Mania.com
Posted Nov 29, 2012
C- 13% Red Dawn (2012) " It's worse than bad: it's forgettable." — Mania.com
Posted Nov 21, 2012
A 88% Life of Pi (2012) " Sublime filmmaking from an artist at the top of his game" — Mania.com
Posted Nov 21, 2012
Showing 1 - 50 of 1816
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