Deborah Ross Movie Reviews & Previews - Rotten Tomatoes

Deborah Ross

Deborah Ross
Deborah Ross's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s): Daily Mail (UK), The Mail on Sunday (UK), The Spectator

Movie Reviews Only

Rating T-Meter Title | Year Review
88% Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieur) (2018) Perhaps this is meant to be a satire of the romantic narrative but if it is, it was too subtle for me. Also, it did not burn.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2018
88% Funny Cow (2017) The film is broken up with intertitles that seem unnecessary, as does the business of having the adult characters meet their childhood selves. But the story is wholly worth telling. And Peake is blistering.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2018
94% Custody (Jusqu'à la garde) (2017) The suspense builds, but apart from the final moments perhaps, which are pure Stephen King, it is never melodramatic. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
67% Wonderstruck (2017) The plot is so reliant on coincidences and contrivances you'll want to throw stuff at the screen.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Apr 6, 2018
91% Isle of Dogs (2018) The main thing to know is that none of it works to the extent that you give any kind of a damn. It's so highly stylised that it all happens at a chilly remove, and we're not given reason to feel anything.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2018
79% Unsane (2018) As written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, the film can feel like 98 minutes of mansplaining, and it is thematically messy, as it throws so much else into the pot, like the American private healthcare racket.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Mar 22, 2018
5/5 89% Being Blacker (2018) Tender and loving and sharp and engrossing and somehow unpicked not just a life but also what it's like to be black in Britain today without ever getting in your face. ‐ The Mail on Sunday (UK)
Read More | Posted Mar 19, 2018
96% Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) It's a proper story alright, and a fascinating one.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Mar 8, 2018
87% You Were Never Really Here (2018) Based on the novella by Jonathan Ames, the film has the casual, sadistic violence of a Tarantino film, but none of the narrative inventiveness, as far as I could fathom. Or narrative clarity.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Mar 8, 2018
76% Dark River (2017) There are occasional fine, touching moments but, for the most part, it's as heavy-going as it is heavy-handed and some aspects are plain odd.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 22, 2018
99% Lady Bird (2017) This is a coming-of-age story that's affecting without ever being sentimental, and feels absolutely true -- like remembering the teenager you once were, even if you were never a Lady Bird (or Debee) exactly. A rare bird indeed.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 15, 2018
92% The Shape of Water (2017) I liked it well enough, but not as much as I should have.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 15, 2018
94% Loveless (Nelyubov) (2018) It is a bleak film, but Zvyagintsev's artistry means that it is not just compelling, but more involving than you'd ever think possible, given the two main characters are so unceasingly terrible.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 8, 2018
82% Charlie Wilson's War (2007) Wilson? Enormously pleasurable company, since you ask. True, he's a lech, but such a gallant lech, plus he also gets irony. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 1, 2018
91% Phantom Thread (2018) It is a wonderfully fixating film in every respect, and wholly non-formulaic.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Feb 1, 2018
58% W. (2008) The trouble, basically, is that this film just doesn't know what it is about. Is it about dynasty? Imperialism? Ambition? The dark side of democracy? What? And, consequently, you are just not made to care about any of it. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 31, 2018
45% Lakeview Terrace (2008) Alas, LaBute loses it entirely in the third and final act, when he yields entirely to genre convention and allows it all to explode into a shoot-out of the utmost silliness.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 31, 2018
33% Magicians (2007) This film is just such a wasted opportunity. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
72% When Did You Last See Your Father? (2008) There are, alas, true weaknesses in this adaptation - too many close-ups of Colin Firth with tears in his eyes is one; too many mirror reflections are another - but it is neatly executed with a well-crafted script. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
73% The Illusionist (2006) So, in short? Well, the scenery is very pleasant and this film would kill a couple of hours on a plane. But I don't think I'd advise schlepping to the cinema rather than, say, staying at home for a nap then a bit of cheese.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
55% Body of Lies (2008) It's actually the pile up of clichés and implausibilities that make the whole thing such a slog. ‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
74% Son of Rambow (2007) True enough, it's make-believe, but to believe in make-believe, you do have to be firmly on board in some way. Otherwise, it's just nonsense.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
88% Unrelated (2014) Unrelated observes the English upper-middle classes so astutely that, at times, it is almost painful to watch.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
82% Tropic Thunder (2008) The bulk of this movie, alas, comes down to weak sketches held together by ridiculous action, vast explosions and more or less everything else it should be parodying.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 26, 2018
85% Mongol (2008) Stunning to look at, but as an engaging, illuminating, convincing piece of cinema? No, not really.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 26, 2018
51% Downsizing (2017) It offers a jumble of barely explored, quarter-baked ideas attached to a laborious plot.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 25, 2018
88% The Post (2018) It's a bit of a Trojan horse, as it cleverly smuggles in another film; a film about a woman coming into her own, which has to be satisfying. And is.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 18, 2018
92% Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) The narrative never goes where you think it will go. Instead, it takes your narrative expectations and shreds them before your eyes.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 11, 2018
82% Brad's Status (2017) I'll tell you what Brad's status should be: face well and truly slapped.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Jan 4, 2018
82% Molly's Game (2018) There's no nuance, no reflective downtime, and it ends with what may be the worst cod-psychology scene of all time. It all comes down to daddy issues, apparently. Oh, boo-hoo.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2017
97% Menashe (2017) It is small and specific, admittedly, but it also tells a universal story about a father's struggle to hold on to the son he loves, and it tells this story tenderly, thoughtfully, beautifully.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Dec 7, 2017
85% Battle of the Sexes (2017) The film is not unsuccessful, as it's mostly entertaining enough, and if the gender politics seem oversimplified, there are reminders of some real-life commentaries.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Nov 29, 2017
80% Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017) This is essentially held together by the two lead performances. On paper, Bell has the lesser role, but this is his best performance to date... As for Bening, if she doesn't get Oscar-nominated this year, I will eat my hat, and also yours.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Nov 16, 2017
96% The Florida Project (2017) With most films you know what you are getting within the first ten minutes -- oh, it's this film; OK -- but here there are no plot points as such and we never quite know where we're headed, which gives it the thrum of real life.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Nov 9, 2017
2/5 62% George Michael: Freedom (2017) For all of Freedom: George Michael I just didn't know what I was watching.‐ The Mail on Sunday (UK)
Read More | Posted Oct 23, 2017
96% The Death of Stalin (2018) This is not Iannucci's best work, but as Iannucci on a bad day is better than most on a good day, and there are brilliant moments, and you just can't argue with Simon Russell Beale -- in anything -- it's not nearly two hours wasted.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Oct 19, 2017
3/5 80% The Child in Time (2018) Hard to recommend, as it was so sad but, on the other hand, it was so good at what it is like to be so sad.‐ The Mail on Sunday (UK)
Read More | Posted Oct 15, 2017
81% The Party (2018) I can't tell you what it adds up to exactly, but it's fun getting there, wherever that is.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Oct 12, 2017
87% Blade Runner 2049 (2017) It never properly creates its own world, the drama is plodding, and every character is a tiresome type.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Oct 5, 2017
82% Borg Vs. McEnroe (2018) It doesn't have the dramatic smarts to lend either surprising tension or excitement to otherwise familiar events, or shed any new light on them.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Sep 21, 2017
69% mother! (2017) It's plainly nuts(!). But, that said, it is never plainly dull. I was not Bored.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Sep 14, 2017
87% Wind River (2017) I won't bore on here, even though it's my inclination, but will say that while Sheridan's intentions were undoubtedly noble, this makes the whole enterprise feel cheaply mainstream and exploitative.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Sep 7, 2017
96% The Rocket (2014) [It's] a feel-good, triumph-over-adversity story involving a small boy and, although this outcome also isn't in any doubt, at least the journey is fascinating and it's been made with a heart that is warm.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Sep 1, 2017
5/5 100% The Witness for the Prosecution (2016) ... it was not just astoundingly addictive as a whodunit, but was also rich in psychological complexity, which has to be a Christie first.‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 31, 2017
4/5 86% Meet The Patels (2015) [Meet the Patels] bills itself as 'a reallife romantic comedy' and it's a scream and also moving and fascinating and an absolute delight. ‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 31, 2017
3/5 No Score Yet Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks (2016) This documentary concentrated on the Penny/Koko bond, which has now lasted more than 40 years, rather than the language element.‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 31, 2017
76% Una (2017) It's 90 minutes of uncomfortably shifting in your chair... But it is also compelling, up to a point, and your responses will be so complicated that you won't know where to start unpicking them. Or how.‐ The Spectator
Read More | Posted Aug 31, 2017
5/5 No Score Yet A Song for Jenny (2015) And while some of the script felt as though it had been lifted from Julie's book, rather than anything anyone would actually say, you still couldn't argue with the power of it.‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 30, 2017
No Score Yet The Scandalous Lady W (2015) Everything happened whip-fast, as was perhaps necessary to bring it all in at 90 minutes, but it was the chronology that was all over the place.‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 30, 2017
4/5 No Score Yet An Inspector Calls (2015) It's a sort of Murder On The Orient Express... as threaded through socialist politics, and while it still stands up, and even felt timely, it was the performances that made this special; made you forget the play-ness of it.‐ Daily Mail (UK)
Read More | Posted Aug 30, 2017