Authors

Seanax.com

Rating Title | Year Quote Author
75%

Norwegian Wood (2012)

"... suffused in melancholia, with imagery as delicate as the lives it presents and atmospheres so fragile they look like they'd shatter under too much emotional pressure. "

Sean Axmaker

26%

Underworld Awakening (2012)

"... a blur of generic exposition, random plot twists, vaguely maternal instincts, sloppy CGI animation, and Stephen Rea looking like a waxwork ..."

Sean Axmaker

64%

The Front Line (2012)

"The themes and characters are right out of any number of classic war movies, but... the frontline culture, so at odds with military discipline and command, is fascinating."

Sean Axmaker

80%

Haywire (2012)

"... we just wait for her to click back into fight mode. Her body language tells us more about her character than any dialogue exchange."

Sean Axmaker

75%

Walking Tall (1973)

"... the film was a sensation, becoming a big hit and spawning a whole industry of southern-fried vigilante lawman action pictures."

Sean Axmaker

68%

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

"... is one of the funniest comedies of its time, a veritable live-action cartoon from Joe Dante at his most unrestrained. "

Sean Axmaker

61%

Mimic (1997)

"It comes off smarter and creepier than I recall the original, less about scares than a sustained atmosphere of eerie unease and skittery threats."

Sean Axmaker

——

Cinema Verite (2012)

"... an engaging and accomplished production and its coda offers yet another perspective on the show, the controversy, and the complexity of the characters ..."

Sean Axmaker

50%

Camelot (1967)

"... considered a classic by many and a disaster by others. I'm in that other camp."

Sean Axmaker

——

The Last of the Mohicans (1936)

"... an exciting and involving screen version, with Scott as a strong-willed but civilized Hawkeye ..."

Sean Axmaker

100%

Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1999)

"... a work of pure, playful imagination, a picture-book fantasy brought to life with intricate, hand-painted sets and a whimsical portrait of science as wizardry by way of the industrial revolution ..."

Sean Axmaker

91%

Into The Abyss (2011)

"It is also a devastating portrait of the culture of crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and broken families ..."

Sean Axmaker

98%

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

"... a Hollywood landmark, both for pushing the envelope of subject matter allowed on screen by the censors and for showcasing the more naturalistic "method" approach to performance ..."

Sean Axmaker

——

The Corsican Brothers (1941)

"Fairbanks' athletic energy and flamboyant performance enlivens the film and excellent photographic effects create a seamless look to the scenes where the brothers interact..."

Sean Axmaker

71%

Soylent Green (1973)

"Where so many science fiction visions of the era have dated, this gritty creation of a depressed (and depressing) future... looks all the more real."

Sean Axmaker

85%

King of Kings (1961)

"... whereas detractors dismissed the films as I Was a Teenage Jesus, it's more accurate to describe it as Rebel With a Cause. "

Sean Axmaker

——

Il Profumo della Signora in Nero (The Perfume of the Lady in Black) (1974)

"... the hall of mirrors reflecting reality and fantasy back on one another is part of the fun and the Satanic reverberations of the conspiratorial climax only adds to the mystery."

Sean Axmaker

67%

BMX Bandits (1983)

"... Trenchard-Smith directs the BMX action with high energy and gets a lot of personality and camaraderie from the teen actors."

Sean Axmaker

20%

The Tourist (2010)

"... somehow this lavish light thriller stumbles through the set pieces and bobbles the star chemistry."

Sean Axmaker

40%

Sharktopus (2010)

"Absurdly-titled, cheaply produced and executed with tongue firmly in cheek ..."

Sean Axmaker

——

The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)

"... a handsomely mounted and nicely acted piece, especially when the two Hollywood greats share the screen."

Sean Axmaker

——

Finishing School (1934)

"The film feels like it was developed as a saucy comedy for the pre-code era worked over to meet the new requirements of the Production Code."

Sean Axmaker

100%

Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)

"Both intimate and outsized, it's a strange product of the era, a Hollywood white elephant of a movie straddling self-awareness and self-parody ..."

Sean Axmaker

43%

Ong Bak 3 (2011)

"... a mix of action spectacle, period detail, hero's odyssey cliché and narrative incoherence, directed with a soberly serious, mannered grandiosity..."

Sean Axmaker

96%

The Social Network (2010)

"Directed with typical technical fastidiousness and textural richness by David Fincher from a verbally dexterous script by Aaron Sorkin..."

Sean Axmaker

80%

Cyrus (2010)

"... has the dubious distinction of being the first mumblecore comedy to come out of a major studio, complete with an A-list cast."

Sean Axmaker

76%

Let it Rain (Parlez-moi de la pluie) (2010)

"For all the affairs, the jealousy, the self-involvement and the obliviousness of some characters, these are lives in lower case..."

Sean Axmaker

55%

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

"[Oliver] Stone uses a lot of visual effects to give some energy to a very conventional story..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Scooby-Doo ()

"If you grew up with Scooby and the gang, these original episodes are like a nostalgia train to Saturday morning yesteryear..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles (2008)

"It's basically a 21st century Godzilla movie in medieval fashions, but without the fun of suitmation effects and physical puppets. "

Sean Axmaker

41%

The Expendables (2010)

"... a perfectly enjoyable mercenaries-on-a-mission-of-redemption adventure with a mix of testosterone-fueled camaraderie and this-time-it's-personal seriousness."

Sean Axmaker

71%

Valhalla Rising (2010)

"Directed in moody and portentous strokes by Nicolas Winding Refn, this is the most abstract Viking movie you'll ever see..."

Sean Axmaker

55%

La Siciliana Ribelle (The Sicilian Girl) (2010)

"... manages to combine mob opera with true crime to tell the story of Sicilian mob culture from the inside."

Sean Axmaker

52%

Knight & Day (2010)

"It's the Hitchcockian "wrong man" theme played as a Hollywood action lark, all momentum and spectacle and no mortal risk or moral confusion..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam (2010)

"... a fine film, if a little stunted in scope for such a significant story, with the same high level of production values seen in earlier animated shorts release by Warner..."

Sean Axmaker

——

I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009)

"Richard Shepard profiles this actor's actor, a New York stage veteran who worked with and earned the respect of some of the greatest actors of his generation..."

Sean Axmaker

80%

The Battle of the River Plate (Pursuit of the Graf Spee) (1956)

"The miniature work is excellent and physical production impressive even as the filmmakers constantly deny the spectacle of battle to focus on the people..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Metropia (2010)

"Corporate conspiracy, urban alienation and mind control through shampoo are stirred up in Tarik Saleh's animated science fiction dystopia..."

Sean Axmaker

95%

Best Worst Movie (2010)

"Whether or not you believe Troll 2 is the single worst film ever made... any fan of so-bad-it's-good cinema will appreciate this loving tribute"

Sean Axmaker

91%

Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? (2010)

"John Sheinfeld's portrait revisits the man, the artist and the reputation, with a wealth of TV performance clips and interviews with friends, family and colleagues..."

Sean Axmaker

90%

Winnebago Man (2010)

"What makes the film so enjoyable is how it keeps defying expectations in its survey of the rough edges, sharp mind and iconoclastic personality..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Searchers 2.0 (2007)

"... a shaggy little thing, sloppy at times and pitted with awkward political statements, but at its best filled with Cox's askew humor and unexpected digressions..."

Sean Axmaker

——

Score (1973)

"Shot in location in Europe at a gorgeous little seaside village, Radley Metzger's stylish 1972 soft core erotica combines a playful cinematic style with a cool European sensibility."

Sean Axmaker

——

Psychomania (1971)

"Hammer films veteran Don Sharp is saddled with a silly script and an odd fit... and can't decide whether to play the goofy script straight or for gallows humor."

Sean Axmaker

66%

Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles) (2010)

"... a delightful reminder of the romantic streak and cinematic whimsy still in this 88-year-old cinema elder."

Sean Axmaker

91%

The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) (2010)

"It's a handsome production with a story rooted in the nasty past of political fascism, which may explain why it won, because it sure isn't subtle or dramatically challenging."

Sean Axmaker

——

Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection (2010)

"... Mirren commands the role of Tennison with authority, intelligence, and a touch of over-achieving desperation, while revealing a private life unraveling under the pressure."

Sean Axmaker

——

Apache Rifles (1964)

"This cut-rate 1964 western,... shows off [William] Witney's talent for creating dynamic dramas with highly-charged conflicts on a budget. "

Sean Axmaker

26%

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2009)

"The words drip with affectation (as do the actors) and Jodie Mankell's direction is dipped in southern gothic honey and glazed over with period sprinkles."

Sean Axmaker

82%

Solitary Man (2010)

"... [Michael] Douglas never drops the charm or the confidence, his greed or lust or simple arrogance pumping up beyond caring when confronted with his own sleaze."

Sean Axmaker

Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile