Robert Roten Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Robert Roten

Send Email
Official Websites:
lariat.org/AtTheMovies/index.html

Robert Roten

"Most editors are failed writers, but then, so are most writers -- Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965)"

Agrees with the Tomatometer 74% of the time.

Biography:: After graduating from the University of Oregon with a journalism degree, I wrote for several newspapers in Oregon, Michigan and Wyoming, writing news stories, columns, editorials and movie reviews. I started my movie review web page in 1996. I retired from newspapers in 2000, but continue to write reviews online. I was elected president of the Laramie Film Society in 2000 and continue to serve in that capacity. I am also the webmaster for the Laramie Astronomical Society and Space Observers (LASSO: www.lariat.org/LASSO/index.html).
Favorites:: Favorite Movies: Lawrence of Arabia, Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, Tootsie, Groundhod Day, Citizen Kane
Publications:: Laramie Movie Scope
Critics' Group:: Online Film Critics Society

Total Reviews:: 2931
Total QuickRatings:: 503

Location:: Laramie, Wyoming

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 2931

Previous | Next

Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
B	78%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" Not as good as the first Iron Man film, but better than the second, this Iron Man sequel is a mixed bag of comedy and action, but it works well enough." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted May 4, 2013
B	56%	Oblivion (2013)	" This big budget, epic science fiction film is engaging enough most of the way, although it does wander in the final act until it finally ends up where you thought it would after some plot twists that are mildly annoying." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Apr 27, 2013
B	77%	42 (2013)	" The story is compelling. The acting is good and the historical period, including the old ball parks, are recreated very convincingly. The baseball scenes are well done." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Apr 19, 2013
C+	69%	The Croods (2013)	" This is a very nice little family film with excellent visuals and interesting characters." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Apr 8, 2013
C+	28%	G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)	" The plot is just a thin outline providing opportunities for lots of shootouts, explosions, chases, kung-fu fighting and massive destruction (including the destruction of a major world city). But that is what you buy your ticket to see, after all." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Apr 4, 2013
C	9%	The Host (2013)	" The story concept is interesting, but it gradually runs off the rails and doesn't end up being as good a story as it should have been." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 31, 2013
C	48%	Olympus Has Fallen (2013)	" Impressive special effects and action scenes, including knocking off the top of the Washington Monument, blowing up one of the wings of the White House, but it can't overcome a dumb plot and lack of interesting characters." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 29, 2013
C	39%	The Call (2013)	" If the last act of the film had been as good as the first act, this would be a good film, but it sure takes a wrong turn at the end." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 22, 2013
B	52%	Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)	" The acting and screenplay are solid and the special effects are of high quality. Director Bryan Singer (the first two 'X-Men' movies) has a good track record with big budget action films like this, and does a fine job here." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 15, 2013
B	60%	Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)	" There is also a message. This time it is not 'There is no place like home.' It is more like 'If we believe in ourselves and work together, with courage, we can do anything.' Nice message, that." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 15, 2013
C	89%	In Darkness (2012)	" The effect of all this slow-moving redundancy is like 'Schindler's List' on sleeping pills. It turns a tale of improbable rescue and survival into a boring homework assignment." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 7, 2013
B	20%	The Boondock Saints (1999)	" Willem Dafoe's portrayal of the conflicted homosexual FBI agent is overacted to such an extent that it is hilarious, amazing and entertaining. His is an unforgettable character." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Mar 7, 2013
C	13%	Safe Haven (2013)	" This romantic film has a few too many creepy elements in it. Granted, the creepy elements aren't as creepy as those in the popular 'Twilight' series, but they are creepy enough to upset the whole mood of the movie." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 28, 2013
B	58%	Snitch (2013)	" When I saw this film I was reminded of a documentary film I saw last year called 'The House I Live In' which explores the disaster of America's War on Drugs. Based on a true story, 'Snitch' explores some of the same issues." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 26, 2013
B+	85%	Side Effects (2013)	" I'm not a big fan of psychological dramas, but this is an exceptionally good one. It keeps you guessing right up to the end. I'm not a big fan of Jude Law, either, but he does a good job in this film." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 26, 2013
B	45%	Beautiful Creatures (2013)	" There are some impressive special effects in the film, but these are used sparingly. The main story is the love affair, and it is surrounded by so much acting talent that the rest of the story works." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 26, 2013
C+	15%	A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)	" There is plenty of action in this film, but the characters are a bit sketchy. There is so much backstabbing and doublecrossing that you tend to lose patience with the story." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 26, 2013
B	94%	The Thief of Bagdad (1924)	" This new high definition home video release of the 1924 classic silent film appears to be a high quality digital restoration the film with a quality musical soundtrack." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 15, 2013
C+	47%	Bullet to the Head (2013)	" This is a very violent police action film, and that is all you can expect from it." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 7, 2013
B	80%	Warm Bodies (2013)	" The funniest films in the zombie genre are still 'Zombieland' and 'Shaun of the Dead' but this one is not far behind those two. It is an effective romantic comedy." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 4, 2013
A	68%	Cloud Atlas (2012)	" While it doesn't always succeed it comes close enough for a film this ambitious." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 2, 2013
C+	23%	The Raven (2012)	" Even though this film has more than its share of dark, gruesome elements, there is also enough of a sense of playfulness in it to help make it entertaining." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Feb 1, 2013
C+	59%	The Last Stand (2013)	" Aside from the elaborate setup and the complicated escape plan, this is basically just 'High Noon' with a big shootout between the good guys and the bad guys on the main street of a small border town." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 21, 2013
B	56%	Stone of Destiny (2008)	" The raid on Westminster Abbey looks like a scene from 'Keystone Cops' with students running frantically all over, car keys being lost, a policeman nearly discovering the plot, the Stone of Scone breaking into two pieces and a host of other problems." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 18, 2013
B+	93%	Zero Dark Thirty (2013)	" It is played out in a matter-of-fact way, like a documentary. Step by step we follow the evidence with Maya as she doggedly pursues Osama Bin Laden for more than a decade." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 18, 2013
B	80%	Moby Dick (1998)	" There have been a number of adaptations of this book, arguably the greatest of all American novels, and this made-for-TV adaptation is a worthy addition, truer to the book than the 1956 film and it looks better too." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
C	21%	Taken 2 (2012)	" This is a halfway decent action film, but I do hope if they make another sequel of this, they make a better one." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
B	64%	Cosmopolis (2012)	" The anger over the injustice of the financial collapse and bailout is what powered the Tea Party movement as well as the Occupy Wall Street movement, and it powers this movie, too." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
A	94%	First Position (2012)	" First time director Bess Kargman has done a great job with this film in letting the personalities of these dancers and their families shine through." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
C	94%	Room 237 (2013)	" Weird interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' concocted of wacky conspiracy theories and urban legends." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
B	87%	Middle of Nowhere (2012)	" This is a very effective and moving film, which is remarkable given the film's microscopic budget and 20-day shooting schedule." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 7, 2013
C+	83%	Your Sister's Sister (2012)	" There is some witty banter and some interesting developments. The acting is solid by the three leads." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
B	85%	Sleepwalk With Me (2012)	" Even though the story does have its serious elements, it is very funny." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
C	45%	On the Road (2012)	" It is a bunch of big, long, emotional, messy road trips." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
C+	70%	The Loneliest Planet (2012)	" This is one of those films where very little happens very slowly, but there are a couple of dramatic scenes which change the complexion of the film." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
A	100%	How to Survive a Plague (2012)	" The film is a tribute to political activism and the power of people to change the world." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
C	90%	Holy Motors (2012)	" The intentionally blurry, perhaps non-existent line between so-called 'reality' and fantasy is either something you are willing to endure, or not, in my case." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
A	84%	The Flat (2012)	" An intriguing documentary about a man who discovers some huge surprises with major implications when he starts digging through the stuff left behind in his grandparent's apartment in Tel Aviv after his grandmother's death." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
B	94%	The Central Park Five (2012)	" It shows what happens when police and prosecutors abuse their power." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
B+	97%	Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)	" To say Ai Weiwei is an interesting character is an understatement. He is an unconventional social activist and a thorn in the side of the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
B+	92%	Silver Linings Playbook (2012)	" The plot is clever and a bit unconventional. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro all turn in wonderful performances in this very funny, very warm comedy." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Jan 1, 2013
C+	70%	Les Misérables (2012)	" This is a mixed bag of a musical. The story, and characters, are great, but the music is lacking. I think it would help a lot to have subtitles for the songs." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 29, 2012
B+	88%	Django Unchained (2012)	" A delightful mashup of blaxploitation films like 'Shaft' and spaghetti westerns like 'For a Few Dollars More.'" — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 29, 2012
B	61%	Jack Reacher (2012)	" The acting is very strong in this film and the action scenes are handled well. The story is fairly standard, but the characters are not, particularly Reacher, who is very mysterious and interesting." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 29, 2012
B	94%	Neighbouring Sounds (2012)	" This is a very sophisticated and demanding film. It is constructed very carefully and intricately. It is not a straightforward story at all. The story is attacked on multiple fronts and many different angles." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 23, 2012
B+	95%	The Imposter (2012)	" This documentary film, like 'Catfish' a couple of years ago, is about a clever impersonator, but 'The Impostor' is an even stranger and more serious story, and by the time you get near the end of this bizarre tale, it gets even stranger than that." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 23, 2012
B+	81%	The Impossible (2012)	" This is pretty much a point-of-view film that puts you right into the heart of the chaos of this Tsunami, which struck without warning in the morning as the family relaxed poolside at an upscale resort." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 23, 2012
B	63%	Hitchcock (2012)	" It is probably worth some time in a movie like this to show that Hitchcock had a life other than just making movies. This movie concentrates more on the man behind the movies than the mechanics of movie-making, and that is a defensible choice." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 23, 2012
B	100%	Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story (2012)	" The film tells a story of another America which seems most primitive, foreign and far away now, but it was really not all that long ago in old segregated, Jim Crow Mississippi." — Laramie Movie Scope Posted Dec 23, 2012

Showing 1 - 50 of 2931

Previous | Next

Sort by Rating:

Sort results by this critic's rating. This option is only available for critics with a rating system (4 star, letter grade, 1-10, etc.)
Sort by T-meter:

Sort results by the Tomatometer (percentage of critics recommending a certain movie)