Amanda Waltz
Amanda Waltz's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer when
published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
The Film Stage
| Publications: | The Film Stage |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91% | Kusama: Infinity (2018) |
As it should be with a film like this, the most fascinating aspect is the examination of Kusama's process, its evolution, and the psychology that drives it.‐ Pittsburgh City Paper
Read More | Posted Nov 14, 2018
|
|
| 94% | Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) (2018) |
While the film does have its weak spots, including some out-of-place CGI, they're worth ignoring, as Dutra and Rojas deliver a smart, sensitive film with just enough gore to keep it interesting.‐ Pittsburgh City Paper
Read More | Posted Oct 31, 2018
|
|
| B | No Score Yet | Nae-ga sal-in-beom-i-da (Confession of Murder) (2013) |
Despite its inner conflict, Confession of Murder weaves a suspenseful, compelling tale that saves its surprises until the very end.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jul 11, 2016
|
| A- | 81% | Stop The Pounding Heart (2014) |
Stop the Pounding Heart becomes a sensitive, lovingly crafted illustration of the relationship between culture, faith, and identity.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 27, 2016
|
| D+ | 29% | The Family (2013) |
Full of tone deaf humor and gratuitous violence, The Family marks a miscalculated step for an otherwise fine filmmaker. ‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 27, 2016
|
| B- | 96% | Birth Of The Living Dead (2013) |
Viewers will feel most rewarded by Kuhns' dissecting of Night's production, which provides a colorful and inspiring portrait of guerrilla filmmaking from a pre-digital era.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 22, 2016
|
| C+ | 25% | The Wait (2014) |
Visually, Blash does a excellent job portraying the character's quiet desperation, even if the symbolism sometimes verges on the obvious.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2016
|
| C+ | 45% | Raze (2014) |
With plots as flimsy as the one presented here, there's a tendency to favor spectacle over character development, and it's no surprise that Raze struggles to balance the two.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2016
|
| D | 33% | Summer in February (2014) |
The performances are but one eye roll-inducing aspect of a period drama so generic and formulaic that it verges on parody.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2016
|
| D+ | 27% | Pompeii (2014) |
Pompeii's recreated world feels especially hokey as the backdrop for shoddy sets, cheesy costumes and ludicrous dialogue.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2016
|
| D | 78% | The Den (2014) |
The film is neither compelling or innovative enough to justify sitting through its torture porn-y moments.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2016
|
| B+ | 83% | Hide Your Smiling Faces (2014) |
By showing and not telling, Carbone creates a profoundly tender work made all the more affecting by his young stars' effortless performances.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 7, 2016
|
| D+ | 39% | In the Blood (2014) |
In the Blood does fulfill one rite of passage for Carano, who had yet to make her own terrible, B-level movie.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 6, 2016
|
| A- | 100% | Der Samurai (2014) |
Der Samurai is an unusual little gem of a film that excites with its own offbeat blend of horror, suspense, and visual elegance.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Jun 6, 2016
|
| B | 87% | Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Beradona) (1973) |
Belladonna stands as both an important forebear to a now widely beloved genre, and as a confused, yet earnest tribute to those who dare defy authority in order to elevate themselves.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted May 6, 2016
|
| B- | 54% | Holidays (2016) |
While each entry satisfies in its own unique way, the anthology as a whole makes for an impressive examination of distaff fears and underestimated ferocity.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Apr 18, 2016
|
| C | 50% | One More Time (When I Live My Life Over Again) (2016) |
The ineffective quality of the music composition rubs off onto the script, a dragging narrative occasionally punctuated with workable humor. ‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Apr 7, 2016
|
| B- | 67% | Rigor Mortis (2014) |
By combining Chinese and Japanese aesthetics, Rigor Mortis also becomes a sometimes fun, sometimes original shout-out to the East's rich and varied horror film culture.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 26, 2016
|
| B+ | 92% | Creep (2015) |
Though lean in running time, scale, and budget, Creep demonstrates its makers' masterful resourcefulness and spirited direction. ‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 26, 2016
|
| F | 24% | Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero (2014) |
A dreary, uninspired, unmotivated lump of putrid dreck.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 26, 2016
|
| B- | No Score Yet | The Search For Weng Weng (2014) |
Succeeds in spurring a dialogue on Weng Weng's role as a representation of the Filipino spirit, which, in the grand scheme of things, is more than any film scholar could possibly hope for.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 26, 2016
|
| D+ | 44% | They're Watching (2016) |
Tired jokes and uninspired gore abound in what amounts to an unbearable experience, and that's before the climactic bloodbath has a chance to disappoint with its sub-amateur special effects.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 25, 2016
|
| B- | No Score Yet | Partners In Crime (2014) |
Tidy and predictable, the film delivers few surprises, but makes for a somewhat attractive, if mediocre, drama about lives and relationships ended too soon.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 12, 2016
|
| C+ | 83% | The Wave (Bolgen) (2016) |
Its strict adherence to the disaster formula renders the experience far too generic and risk-averse to make it memorable.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Mar 3, 2016
|
| B | 75% | ABCs of Death 2 (2014) |
Despite a few missteps, ABCs of Death 2 promises a brighter future for an anthology progressing into sequel territory.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 26, 2016
|
| B- | 79% | Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2014) |
Defined by a sanguineous sense of humor and unpretentious spirit, [it] makes for a stylish, self-aware, if somewhat lagging romp about film culture and creative ambitions.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 26, 2016
|
| A- | 92% | The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2014) |
[It] does the world a service by chronicling and preserving, in a most charming and understated way, Miyazaki-era Ghibli and the human element beneath its creative genius.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 25, 2016
|
| B | 96% | Appropriate Behavior (2015) |
Appropriate Behavior marks a strong first-time effort for the director, and establishes her ability as both a filmmaker and as an actress with considerable screen presence.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 25, 2016
|
| D+ | 17% | Monsters: Dark Continent (2015) |
Deprived of sympathetic characters, thrills, and Edwards' skilled touch, the film makes for a disappointing follow-up to some impressive sci-fi cinema.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 23, 2016
|
| B+ | 67% | Dark Star: HR Giger's World (2015) |
A dignified tribute to a very provocative figure.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| D- | 25% | The Stranger (2015) |
The genre deserves better, audiences deserve better, and the people of Chile deserve better than this lazy, artless nonsense.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| C+ | 43% | Madame Bovary (2015) |
The players struggle to inject emotion into the bookish, period-specific dialogue, which often results in clunky, stilted exchanges.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| B- | 80% | Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015) |
An enjoyable, but unconvincing look at religious hypocrisy and Christianity's struggle to accept changing social norms.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| C- | 25% | Bound to Vengeance (2015) |
Its message remains muddled at best as it tries, and fails, to effectively comment on the consequences of rape culture.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| C+ | No Score Yet | Chang-baek-han eol-gul-deul (On the White Planet) (2014) |
Its imaginative, nightmarish look combines well with the grim tone, and makes for a compelling alternative to the meticulous polish of mainstream animated films.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| B- | No Score Yet | The Interior (2015) |
It's worth overlooking The Interior's lopsided narrative structure in order to enjoy all the stylish, trippy, genuinely frightening moments it has to offer.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| C- | 71% | I Am Chris Farley (2015) |
We're left wondering a lot of things, as I Am Chris Farley scratches the surface of Farley's life and death, but never bothers to dig any deeper.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2016
|
| C | 87% | Fort Tilden (2015) |
[An] unpleasant, unfunny experience with nothing fresh or insightful to say.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 21, 2016
|
| B | 71% | When Animals Dream (2015) |
A Danish export with a surprisingly tender take on the werewolf myth.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 21, 2016
|
| B- | 81% | The Other Side (Louisiana) (2016) |
An unflinching look at the unwholesome underbelly that, to the rest of the country's chagrin, defines the Deep South.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 21, 2016
|
| B | 50% | Der Nachtmahr (2015) |
It's better to just accept the film for the bizarre curiosity that it is rather than examine its intentions.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2016
|
| B+ | 83% | Uncle John (2015) |
[Steven Piet] has masterfully interwoven multiple genres into one tightly crafted, surprising little film.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2016
|
| B | 76% | Goosebumps (2015) |
[Goosebumps] focuses on keeping the dialogue snappy, the action plentiful, and the CGI convincing as it quickly moves through scenario after scenario.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2016
|
| D | No Score Yet | Indigenous (2014) |
[A] wholly unpleasant, ungratifying experience.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2016
|
| C- | 9% | Martyrs (2016) |
Goetz's version prefers to shy away from or downplay the brutality, which results in the rare case of a film suffering from gore deficiency.‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2016
|
| C+ | 83% | Glassland (2016) |
While the cast masterfully shoulders the sad affair, their efforts are undermined by Barrett's unfortunate tendency to tell when showing has already done the job. ‐ The Film Stage
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2016
|