Carla Meyer

Tomatometer-approved critic

Biography:

Film Critic, San Francisco Chronicle

Publications: Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News

Critics' Group: San Francisco Film Critics Circle

Movie Reviews Only

Movies
TV

	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Review
3/4	94%	Wild Rose (2019)	Buckley's unusually unguarded expressions give viewers entry into her character's every thought. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 26, 2019
2/4	82%	American Woman (2019)	Had the movie been more focused on Deb's devastation over Bridget's disappearance, Miller might have been great in it. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 11, 2019
2.5/4	59%	The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)	Watching these movies that imagine what pets do when you are away is like seeing a more colorful, exciting version of your home pet cam. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 5, 2019
3/4	67%	Wine Country (2019)	Director Poehler clearly allowed for improv on set, but she also kept this film from losing its shape the way so many "SNL"-tied films before it have. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted May 7, 2019
1/4	35%	El Chicano (2019)	Diego... lacks any nuance as a character. He is grim and humorless, like most everything else about this film. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted May 1, 2019
3/4	97%	Hail Satan? (2019)	"Hail Satan?" is too lacking in conflict (apart from the eternal one) to be a true study of a movement. But it's a highly entertaining survey. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 24, 2019
3/4	99%	Amazing Grace (2019)	In "Amazing Grace," Franklin's vocals are pristine and elastic, her control of her instrument absolute. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 11, 2019
3/4	96%	On Her Shoulders (2018)	Its subject compels throughout. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 31, 2018
2.5/4	95%	Blaze (2018)	Dickey would have made a strong impression regardless. But it turns out he can act, and sing, and has a genuine magnetism that combines with an endearing quality to create a highly appealing screen presence. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 9, 2018
2.5/4	91%	Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco (2018)	There is a remarkable person here, and Crump should get credit for reintroducing him to the spotlight, even if it takes wading through disco and banality to get to him. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 3, 2018
3/4	85%	A Simple Favor (2018)	"Favor" is packed with jokes, most very funny. The ones that are not as funny usually land anyway, thanks to Kendrick's sly delivery and Lively's blithe way with a putdown. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 12, 2018
2/4	91%	Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)	"Teen Titans" never reaches that sweet spot where adult and kid humor align in a single gag. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jul 25, 2018
1/4	54%	The First Purge (2018)	Without ideologies at play, how is this "Purge" film different from the others? It isn't. It's interesting, then boring, then bad, like the rest. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jul 3, 2018
4/4	100%	Leave No Trace (2018)	Whether this insular relationship can survive in the larger world is the source of such consistent, compelling tension that you do not notice until this close-to-two-hour film is nearly over that it contains almost no exposition. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 29, 2018
2/4	53%	A Kid Like Jake (2018)	Some of this material is too sensitive, granted, to have a very young actor play it. But "Jake" goes too far the other way, giving us only glimpses of the boy, who emerges as more of a symbol than a real child. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 13, 2018
3/4	100%	The Judge (2018)	"The Judge" lays out facts while avoiding making easy judgments about how Palestinian men view and treat women. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 26, 2018
2.5/4	91%	Lean on Pete (2018)	It takes place in a world films rarely show, one where the crusty mentor lacks a heart of gold and where country music plays in every diner, but the people eating there are hard, not homespun. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 12, 2018
2/4	51%	The Miracle Season (2018)	High school volleyball is not an exciting sport to watch on a big screen. At least not the way "Miracle" director Sean McNamara presents it. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 5, 2018
3/4	94%	Foxtrot (2018)	Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz's strange, engaging "Foxtrot" offsets tragedy with a significant entertainment factor. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 13, 2018
2/4	86%	Thoroughbreds (2018)	It starts out strong but ends up basic, lacking the complexity of "Heavenly Creatures" or even "Wild Things." - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 6, 2018
1/4	23%	The 15:17 to Paris (2018)	Athough Eastwood deserves credit for not going the cheesy route by drawing out the attack unnaturally, the rest of "15:17" is so drawn out, you almost wish he would have given into cheese. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 8, 2018
2.5/4	76%	In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) (2017)	[Kruger's] performance sustains interest in the movie when director and co-writer Fatih Akin ("Head-On"), after a highly promising start, takes it into C-grade Liam Neeson territory. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 10, 2018
3/4	100%	Paddington 2 (2018)	These actors all yield the floor to Hugh Grant's delightful performance as Phoenix Buchanan, a vain thespian who lives near the Browns in London. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 9, 2018
1/4	17%	Father Figures (2017)	Comedian Katt Williams, in a small role as a chipper hitchhiker, injects about 15 minutes worth of fun into Father Figures, an otherwise mostly dreadful road comedy in which Ed Helms and Owen Wilson play twins searching for a man to call dad. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 21, 2017
3/4	76%	Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)	Johnson is good at suggesting a timid teen beneath his wall of muscle. Gillan seems believably unsure of herself as the nerd Martha, while also making exposed abs look classy. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 19, 2017
2/4	87%	My Friend Dahmer (2017)	Which came first, bullies or dead animals in jars? "Friend" does not say, nor is there a clear link between the discord in Jeff's home and his behavior. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 16, 2017
3/4	97%	Mudbound (2017)	The story's eventual move into brutality is all the more devastating because of well-observed intimacy that preceded it. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 16, 2017
3/4	98%	Jane (2017)	Full of vivid greens and sun-backlit wildlife imagery, Van Lawick's shots are beautifully composed yet not too formal looking, thanks to the warm, grainy quality of 16-millimeter film. "Jane" looks like an old home movie directed by David Lean. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 26, 2017
1/4	50%	Blood Money (2017)	This brand of eccentricity does not suit Cusack. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 12, 2017
3/4	93%	The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)	Sandler lends Danny an open-heartedness that grounds the film. - San Francisco Chronicle EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 11, 2017
	100%	Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2017)	If you have or had a mother, or a daughter, or a father, or a son, you are likely to blubber through Bright Lights ... But don't. You will miss part of the show, and Reynolds would not want that. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 23, 2017
	86%	Other People (2016)	Other People [is] a highly affecting Sacramento-set tragi-comedy . - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 23, 2017
	83%	Amanda Knox (2016)	The powerful new documentary "Amanda Knox" emphasizes the spike in awareness of sexism just since 2007. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 23, 2017
	98%	Moonlight (2016)	The five stories' most striking commonality is placing its characters in conflict with the American ideal of being able to forge one's own destiny. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 22, 2017
2.5/4	64%	The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)	The retirees' embrace of India, and a resulting lack of transformative experiences, diminish the dramatic possibilities in Second. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 8, 2016
2/4	51%	Unbroken (2014)	Unbroken is a triumph-of-the-spirit film that devotes too much time to attempts at squashing that spirit. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 8, 2016
2.5/4	30%	Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)	It creates a less-believable ancient world and contains fewer compelling action scenes than Scott's previous sun-and-sandals epic Gladiator -- nor conviction. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 8, 2016
4/4	97%	Two Days, One Night (2014)	It is Cotillard's emotional accessibility that turns this drama and character study into a quiet thriller. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 8, 2016
3/4	89%	A Most Violent Year (2015)	J.C. Chandor is becoming American cinema's foremost chronicler of men in crisis. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 8, 2016
3/4	93%	Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)	[The Force Awakens] rarely stops moving, yet its action never seems excessive. That's because combatants and targets always remain clear instead of fuzzed up by the hyper-speed visuals hack action directors use. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 17, 2015
3/4	94%	All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records (2015)	The film never lapses into hagiography, partly because Solomon is too authentic a presence. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 22, 2015
4/4	97%	Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)	Real people and organic settings always capture the eye more fully, and imply higher stakes, than CGI imagery. Miller ups the ante by ensuring all characters and vehicles are visually striking, either in their good looks or their hideousness. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted May 14, 2015
2/4	75%	Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)	Ultron is too full, of action and CGI, while also being nearly empty of genuine thrills. A talented cast impresses throughout, but the action ultimately overwhelms it. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 29, 2015
3/4	84%	While We're Young (2015)	When "Young" is good, it is delicious, playing on 40-somethings' resistance to being considered "middle-aged." - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 9, 2015
2.5/4	81%	Furious 7 (2015)	The ramrod-serious Diesel and Statham sell the dialogue, anyway. So do the more lighthearted Johnson and Tyrese Gibson. Johnson and Gibson wring laughs from obvious jokes. The acting champ of 7, though, is Michelle Rodriguez. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 2, 2015
3/4	96%	It Follows (2015)	It succeeds as a thriller, with performances that strike a grave, quiet tone suited to the film's wide shots, long takes and carefully cultivated mood of foreboding. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 26, 2015
1.5/4	28%	Get Hard (2015)	The distasteful, often flat Get Hard succeeds only as a testament to the resilience of talent. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 26, 2015
1.5/4	28%	Insurgent (2015)	Long and violent but lacking narrative momentum, Insurgent is an inferior sequel to the already mediocre Divergent. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 18, 2015
2/4	84%	Cinderella (2015)	Even with Blanchett playing her, the stepmother remains the same uncomplicated villain she was in the 1950 Disney animated film. This is even more disappointing than the Cinderella character lacking gumption, since she's always been bland. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 12, 2015
2.5/4	56%	Focus (2015)	Robbie brings such genuine feeling to heavier scenes and such joy to light ones that her acting fools us into thinking Jess is a more developed character than she is. - Sacramento Bee EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 27, 2015