Stephanie Merry

Stephanie Merry

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Publications:
Washington Post
Total Reviews:
139

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 139
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Rating T-Meter Title | Year Add Date
3/4 83% Don Jon (2013) " The film manages to be extremely efficient, conveying its points, making the audience laugh, getting viewers invested and even breaking our hearts in just 90 minutes." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 26, 2013
1.5/4 34% Salinger (2013) " Given the many stories about Salinger and the dearth of images, it would have been more efficient just to skip the documentary altogether." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 19, 2013
99% The Wizard of Oz (1939) " The result is quite stunning and a lot less gimmicky than it could have been." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 19, 2013
2.5/4 78% Good Ol' Freda (2013) " While the tales of the band's spectacular rise create a genial mood, the film feels superficial." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 19, 2013
2.5/4 63% Things Never Said (2013) " When it comes to writing the poetry that Kalindra recites, Murray knows how to do more with less; he needs to apply that lesson to his filmmaking, too." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 12, 2013
3/4 83% The Patience Stone (2013) " Some movies prove both immediately transformative - altering how we view the world as soon as we leave the theater - and long-lasting, demanding days or weeks of reflection." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 12, 2013
1/4 33% The Family (2013) " The Blakes think they're vigilantes, but in most other movies they'd be the bad guys." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 12, 2013
2.5/4 60% Riddick (2013) " "Riddick" can be cheesy and silly, not to mention excessively violent, but it's also fun." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 5, 2013
2.5/4 71% Terraferma (2013) " For the most part the multi-faceted story works." — Washington Post
Posted Sep 5, 2013
0.5/4 3% Getaway (2013) " "Getaway" could have been an excellent two-minute film." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 29, 2013
2.5/4 64% One Direction: This Is Us (2013) " For the most part, the movie embraces harmless fun, which can be enjoyable for the audience members, whether they're 1D fans or not." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 29, 2013
2/4 52% Thérèse (2013) " The magnificent nature that surrounds Therese becomes her prison. It's an interesting paradox, but not necessarily an especially satisfying experience." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 29, 2013
3/4 72% The Wall (2013) " Pölsler's film is quietly deliberate without ever feeling slow, thanks to a few handy assets at his disposal." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 23, 2013
1.5/4 31% Austenland (2013) " No matter how bleak things seem, Austen's characters always manage to find a euphoric and contagious happiness. And that kind of feeling needs to be earned. It can't be replicated with a checklist of plot points." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 22, 2013
2/4 12% The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) " The action flick is overly long, complicated and, even by teen romance standards, cringe-worthy in its cheesiness." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 21, 2013
1.5/4 55% I Give It a Year (2013) " In addition to some trite set pieces, writer-director Dan Mazer serves up nothing more than conspicuous cynicism masquerading as comedy." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 15, 2013
3/4 91% The Spectacular Now (2013) " The movie captures the raw excitement and heartbreak of adolescence so completely that it manages to replace a seen-it-all jaded heart with the butterflies that accompany fresh experiences." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 8, 2013
2.5/4 78% Europa Report (2013) " There are genuinely chilling moments in "Europa Report," thanks in no small part to a talented cast that will likely look familiar to viewers, even if the actors' names aren't instantly recognizable." — Washington Post
Posted Aug 1, 2013
3.5/4 84% Fill the Void (2013) " Beautiful and mysterious, the[se] first glimpses are an ideal primer for the Israeli film, which never rushes to spell out the meanings of its subtle and quiet moments." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 30, 2013
100% The Fruit Hunters (2013) " Hearing the personalities describe the transcendent tastes of different fruits has me wanting to hop the next plane to Hawaii just to taste a water apple." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 25, 2013
2.5/4 52% The To Do List (2013) " Boys don't need to be the only ones having fun in an ultra-crass comedy." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 25, 2013
1/4 14% R.I.P.D. (2013) " R.I.P.D. is a dud that squanders a decent cast and succeeds neither as the comedy nor the action film it purports to be." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 19, 2013
1.5/4 42% Red 2 (2013) " Sequels are, for the most part, inherently stale, so it's no shock the luster has faded in "Red 2." The bigger surprise is just how clunky and unsatisfying this follow-up feels." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 18, 2013
—— Coffee Town (2013) " What starts out as genuinely bright veers into cringe-inducing territory -- at least for someone that isn't a man, ages 18 to 24." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 11, 2013
2/4 86% Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) " There are triumphs, both in front of and behind the camera, but they often get overshadowed by a story that tries to do too much." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 11, 2013
1.5/4 8% Grown Ups 2 (2013) " The fact that some moments are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny almost makes the whole endeavor sadder." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 11, 2013
3/4 75% Despicable Me 2 (2013) " The animation is beguiling, particularly when Lucy drives her car into the ocean, transforming it into a submarine that scoots around sharks and fish." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 2, 2013
2.5/4 63% Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (2013) " Diminutive and energetic, he exudes comedy with every spirited step and elaborate gesture. He's hilarious, but almost as important, he's self-aware enough to joke about his own shortcomings." — Washington Post
Posted Jul 2, 2013
17% Syrup (2013) " The actors are young and beautiful, the soundtrack kicks and the camera zips around with precision. But the script never seems to match the carefully orchestrated mood." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 27, 2013
2.5/4 84% An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty (2013) " While the movie doesn't paint a clear sense of Nance's emotional side, one thing is certain: He is an artist with creativity to spare. This effort may not have been wholly successful, but it's a promising start to what could be a thrilling career." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 27, 2013
2.5/4 64% Unfinished Song (2013) " It's worth a watch, if just for Stamp's complex performance. Just don't forget to bring some tissues." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 27, 2013
2/4 25% Copperhead (2013) " The story offers uncommon insights on the endlessly parsed period in history, but its execution sometimes falls short." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 27, 2013
1.5/4 10% Molly's Theory Of Relativity (2013) " Molly's Theory of Relativity has its fleeting moments. But writer-director Jeff Lipsky's purpose always seems just beyond reach." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 20, 2013
3.5/4 95% Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton As Himself (2013) " He was many things, the documentary reveals, but self-serious was not among the late writer's lengthy list of descriptors." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 20, 2013
2/4 22% Violet & Daisy (2013) " The film's subtle visual allure is all but stamped out by the impression that the director tries too hard to be an idiosyncratic auteur in the vein of Quentin Tarantino." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 7, 2013
3/4 72% Wish You Were Here (2013) " The mysteries unravel at a steady pace and the dialogue and acting feel naturalistic, adding up to a taut and progressively tangled portrait of familial relations." — Washington Post
Posted Jun 7, 2013
2.5/4 50% Now You See Me (2013) " The outrageous setup more than suffices, and the film gets a lift from offbeat characters." — Washington Post
Posted May 30, 2013
1.5/4 7% The Big Wedding (2013) " Sadly, superior talent can propel a movie only so far. Bad scripts beget bad movies, even when four Academy Award winners are involved." — Washington Post
Posted Apr 26, 2013
0/4 4% Scary Movie 5 (2013) " Scary Movie 5 must be some kind of psychological experiment. Perhaps the filmmakers sat in a lab, rubbing their temples while wondering aloud how awful they could make a movie and still score at the box office." — Washington Post
Posted Apr 12, 2013
3/4 100% The Revolutionary Optimists (2013) " Most people could learn a lot from these little activists." — Washington Post
Posted Apr 5, 2013
1.5/4 28% G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) " People may flock to G.I. Joe: Retaliation despite its inert illogic. But don't say you weren't warned. As a wise man once said, "knowing is half the battle."" — Washington Post
Posted Mar 28, 2013
3/4 86% Harvest of Empire (2012) " The stories grow more eye-opening as filmmakers Peter Getzels and Eduardo Lopez paint a recurring picture." — Washington Post
Posted Mar 15, 2013
3/4 88% Yossi (2013) " "Yossi" has an air of lightness but never feels insignificant." — Washington Post
Posted Mar 8, 2013
1.5/4 15% Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) " A rarely funny spoof that's heavy on bone-crushing and blood-gushing." — Washington Post
Posted Jan 25, 2013
2.5/4 29% Broken City (2013) " You may want to account for low expectations, but the crime drama "Broken City" turns out to be much better -- and funnier and more suspenseful -- than both trailer and release date portend." — Washington Post
Posted Jan 18, 2013
2/4 36% LUV (2013) " A sometimes taut and occasionally preposterous day in the life of an 11-year-old accompanying his uncle on business in Baltimore." — Washington Post
Posted Jan 18, 2013
1/4 60% The Last Stand (2013) " It persistently tries to drag the audience down to its mindless level." — Washington Post
Posted Jan 18, 2013
3/4 100% Burn (2012) " An emotional character study of a group of heroic, yet very human, individuals." — Washington Post
Posted Dec 7, 2012
3/4 98% Brooklyn Castle (2012) " Enlightening, inspiring and expertly crafted." — Washington Post
Posted Nov 1, 2012
Showing 1 - 50 of 139
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