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Simon Foster

Agrees with the Tomatometer 77% of the time.

Publications:: Digital Retribution , sbs.com.au , Screen-Space

Total Reviews:: 430

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Showing 1 - 50 of 430

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
	60%	Drift (2013)	" The film could very easily have devolved into a cornball family drama/sports soap opera, but it remains both steadfastly likable and quietly compelling throughout." — sbs.com.au Posted May 4, 2013
	95%	Chasing Ice (2012)	" Less a didactic 'message-movie' than a study of one man's steely determination, the debut helmer directs with a sure hand and no-frills aesthetic. " — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 25, 2013
	——	Drug War (Du Zhan) ()	" Drug War is an absorbing, exciting film, and the work of a profoundly assured craftsman." — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 25, 2013
	78%	Iron Man 3 (2013)	" Shane Black's perfunctory, fatigued film will suffice for the fans who have to have their regular cinematic superhero fix, but will leave others generally unmoved." — Screen-Space Posted Apr 25, 2013
	64%	Antiviral (2013)	" As a piss-take of society's shallow fascination with Kardashian-like nobodies, Antiviral is coolly effective, but there's little insight into the psychology that drives normal people to fixate on such 'celebrities'. " — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 17, 2013
	56%	Oblivion (2013)	" It is just as well director Joseph Kosinski renders his vision of a post-apocalyptic Earth with such crisp acuity, because his story plays a little fuzzy at times." — Screen-Space Posted Apr 10, 2013
	44%	Thale (2013)	" There is a great deal of humour in the story; the message that 'man is the real savage' is not fresh but it's well played by the director and his leading men." — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 5, 2013
	38%	Blue Like Jazz (2012)	" Blue Like Jazz certainly breaks the mould in terms what audiences have come to expect from spiritual cinema, but it refuses to take the necessary leap required to fully redefine mainstream audiences' perception of this niche genre." — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 4, 2013
	——	Crave ()	" Putting aside the nagging sensation that you may have seen this type of character study before, Crave proves to be an impressive career-maker for all involved. " — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 4, 2013
	——	Himmatwala (2013)	" As grotesque and garish a spectacle as I've seen in quite some time, this Hindi remake of a coarse and unremarkable hit comedy from 1983 is cringe-worthy and puerile." — sbs.com.au Posted Apr 4, 2013
	9%	The Host (2013)	" Simply dismissing The Host as a shallow Invasion of the Body Snatchers/Romeo and Juliet mash-up would be to ignore how effectively it will play to large herds of mall-dwellers." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 28, 2013
	73%	Chained (2012)	" Lynch...presents nuanced, sepia-tinged menace with a clear and determined eye. " — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 25, 2013
	100%	The History Of Future Folk ()	" If it sounds nutty, it is; but it is also an effortlessly lovable study in friendship, the power of the imagination and the joy of a musical awakening." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 20, 2013
	85%	Sleepwalk With Me (2012)	" Sleepwalk With Me is a disposably sweet 'Annie Hall' rehash that achieves its minor ambitions with unremarkable efficiency." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 18, 2013
	——	Reverse Runner ()	" Given that the past 12 months of Australian big-screen comedy has been arguably its direst ever, the amiably silly low-budgeter Reverse Runner comes as somewhat of a revelation." — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 16, 2013
	65%	Mama (2013)	" There are lots of shocks but no real surprises in Andres Muschietti's Mama, a grimy, unpleasant Canadian-Spanish co-production from the stable of Guillermo del Toro. " — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 15, 2013
	79%	A Late Quartet (2012)	" Superb acting adds weight to scenes involving infidelity, illness and ego, but those elements also read like some standard soap-opera button-pushing." — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 13, 2013
	——	The Attacks Of 26/11 (2013)	" A better film might have proved cathartic to a reeling nation; The Attacks of 26/11 just adds insult to the injury. " — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 13, 2013
	73%	Cockneys vs Zombies (2013)	" All that Hoene must do is stage his action well (he does), nail the comedic beats (gets it mostly right) and generally bring enough freshness to the endeavour so that detractors don't bleat "It's not as good as Shaun of the Dead" (which it is)." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 13, 2013
	52%	Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)	" Few other mainstream directors wear their creative heart on their sleeve like the talented Singer; when next offered a time-filling gig, he may think twice." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 10, 2013
	——	Vs (2013)	" Constantly struggling to match the promise of its premise, writer/director/star Jason Trost becomes mired in his own cyclical construct in the offbeat but underwhelming All Superheroes Must Die." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 10, 2013
	——	The Human Race ()	" Filled with fine performances, splattery effects and an electrifying out-of-nowhere third-act twist that pushes Hough's feature debut into instant cult status." — Screen-Space Posted Mar 8, 2013
	——	I, Me Aur Main (2013)	" Sharma and screenwriter Devika Bhagat refuse to lay the blame for the lead character's flaws at his own feet, thereby undermining the arc that allows for his redemption (however meagre it may be). " — sbs.com.au Posted Mar 6, 2013
	——	Kadal (2013)	" The richness of his vision suggests that the 57-year-old Ratnam...was invigorated by the energies of his young cast and the thematic opportunities of Kadal's classic good vs. evil premise. " — sbs.com.au Posted Feb 28, 2013
	——	Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul ()	" Cynics may groan at the inherent clichés, but cast and crew pull off familiar situations with gentle laughs and a winning sentiment." — sbs.com.au Posted Feb 28, 2013
	60%	Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)	" All four principals and their director Sam Raimi emerge no worse off for the experience, but nor do they cover themselves in any type of ground-breaking glory." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 28, 2013
	59%	The Last Stand (2013)	" Resembling more the 'Austrian Oak' with each passing year, Arnold Schwarzenegger still manages to make a big, bloody fist of the archetypal action-hero in Kim Jee-woon's The Last Stand." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 20, 2013
	——	Bye Bye Blondie ()	" Writer/director Virginie Despentes delivers a sweet, if slight, mature-age love story with Bye Bye Blondie, exhibiting considerable growth as a filmmaker since her maddeningly-overrated debut shocker Baise-Moi (2000)." — sbs.com.au Posted Feb 20, 2013
	95%	West of Memphis (2012)	" Somewhere along this narrative's mammoth timeline, examining the construction of modern social heroes became more important than the memories of three little boys." — sbs.com.au Posted Feb 11, 2013
	13%	Safe Haven (2013)	" "Nothing very much exciting happens, but it sure is beautiful," utters our square-jawed leading man Josh Duhamel, and there is no more apt description of Safe Haven." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 11, 2013
	47%	The Sweeney (2013)	" There's plenty of muscle in Nick Love's bloody, boys' own adventure, but not much suspense and next to no logic." — sbs.com.au Posted Feb 8, 2013
	89%	Lincoln (2012)	" Every ounce of time-honoured respect a nation has seen fit to bestow upon The Great Emancipator is addressed frame by frame in Steven Spielberg's stately masterwork, Lincoln." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 7, 2013
	4%	Movie 43 (2013)	" The very fact that all gave so willingly of their time and talent to feature in such a grotesque spectacle is sort of endearing." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 7, 2013
	76%	Kon Tiki (2013)	" A handsomely-mounted human drama, epic in scope if not execution, Kon-Tiki is a worthy testament to the magnitude of the feat it portrays." — Screen-Space Posted Feb 3, 2013
	79%	Flight (2012)	" Washington's layered, nuanced take on the anguish and blindly self-destructive spiral of Whittaker is some of the actor's best work." — sbs.com.au Posted Jan 26, 2013
	50%	Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)	" Hyams' film is steeped in the myopic lust for vengeance that fuels many B-actioners, but he brings a great deal more to the proceedings." — Screen-Space Posted Jan 26, 2013
	46%	Beyond The Black Rainbow (2012)	" Audiences who appreciate oddball first efforts from talents such as Lynch (Eraserhead), Cronenberg (Shivers) and Jeunet (Delicatessen) will be thankful. " — sbs.com.au Posted Jan 20, 2013
	94%	Farewell, My Queen (2012)	" The complex triangle at the dark heart of his film, set against the surging social change of a nation, makes for both a superb historical epic and a compelling human drama." — sbs.com.au Posted Jan 20, 2013
	33%	Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013)	" A technically proficient widescreen opus that shifts, jarringly, between a generic love-triangle rom-com, a farcical political black comedy and a preachy message-movie. Some fragmented images and well-played moments leave an impact; most don't." — sbs.com.au Posted Jan 16, 2013
	——	Table No. 21 (2013)	" It is not without some well-staged dramatics and the Fijian Tourism Board would be thrilled with the coverage, but Table No 21 is just a too over-the-top in its histrionics and downright silly in its plotting to offer any lingering impact. " — sbs.com.au Posted Jan 14, 2013
	32%	Gangster Squad (2013)	" Gangster Squad...so clearly riffs on plot beats and key characters from 1987s The Untouchables, one is tempted to scan the credits for acknowledgement of Brian De Palma and David Mamet." — Screen-Space Posted Jan 7, 2013
	61%	Jack Reacher (2012)	" As the melodrama unfolds, Jack Reacher might occasionally feel like a minor work in Tom Cruise's filmography; hindsight may reveal it to be one of his most accomplished and defining characterisations." — Screen-Space Posted Jan 3, 2013
	——	The Guillotines (2013)	" Clearly a commentary on the shifting status of rule in modern day China, the prolific Lau's latest is nevertheless an obtuse work that buries much of its subtext and historical relevance beneath overstated dramatics and cacophonous staging." — sbs.com.au Posted Dec 20, 2012
	63%	Hitchcock (2012)	" Highlighted by two strong leads and solid support work but hamstrung by a low-budget sense of period and some soapy dramatics." — sbs.com.au Posted Dec 20, 2012
	66%	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)	" For thousands, the Lord of The Rings trilogy was an emotion-filled spectacle; The Hobbit, by comparison, is all pixels and no pulse." — Screen-Space Posted Dec 20, 2012
	52%	This is 40 (2012)	" Judd Apatow's first stint in the director's chair since 2009's under-appreciated Funny People isn't quite the classic middle-class American comedy/drama he might have made, but it's as close as Hollywood has gotten in a long time." — Screen-Space Posted Dec 17, 2012
	88%	Life of Pi (2012)	" The wonder of Pi's sea-going struggle (phosphorescent whales; swarms of flying fish...it's all there in the trailer) is convincing; the framing, structure and impact of Pi's emotional and mental struggle, somewhat less so." — Screen-Space Posted Dec 12, 2012
3.5/5	44%	Habibi Rasak Kharban (Habibi) (2012)	" It is an impressive first effort by Yousef." — sbs.com.au Posted Dec 5, 2012
	81%	The Impossible (2012)	" That it should be so dramatically inert makes The Impossible one of 2012's most frustrating film-going experiences; you should feel so much of the anguish and suffering, so universal is their pain. But you just don't." — Screen-Space Posted Nov 30, 2012

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