Jeffrey Chen
Tomatometer-approved critic
| Biography: |
Jeff's movie-loving father made movies more a part of his life by opening a couple of video stores. His born-again movie-loving son now makes movies a part of his life by writing reviews about them. Jeff writes for ReelTalkReviews.com and his own site, windowtothemovies.com.
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| Publications: | ReelTalk Movie Reviews, Window to the Movies |
| Critics' Group: | Online Film Critics Society |
| Location: | Los Angeles, CA |
| Official Websites: | windowtothemovies.com |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/10 | 96% | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) |
The successful run of a franchise such as this is truly a rare feat in Hollywood. Take a bow, folks.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Aug 3, 2011
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| 7/10 | 92% | Source Code (2011) |
Duncan Jones's sophomore film, Source Code, is an assured second step into the realm of thoughtful science fiction.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Aug 3, 2011
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| 5/10 | 71% | The Adjustment Bureau (2011) |
Eventually the whole thing feels a little too silly to be able to take any of its inherent concerns meaningfully.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jul 26, 2011
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| 6/10 | 92% | Of Gods and Men (2011) |
Confirms without really challenging our readily held beliefs about the nobility of selflessness and sacrifice.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Jul 20, 2011
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| 7/10 | 87% | Rango (2011) |
Kudos to the director for making it as oddball as it could get away with.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jul 20, 2011
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| 4/10 | 10% | Red Riding Hood (2011) |
Like Twilight, makes the shallow desire to run away with a boy the heroine's main concern.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jul 15, 2011
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| 8/10 | 88% | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2011) |
One to absorb, to wonder at, and, perhaps most significantly, to give exposure to lines of thinking that one might not be familiar with.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jul 14, 2011
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| 7/10 | 39% | Cars 2 (2011) |
No, Cars 2 isn't another pearl from Pixar, but it's entertaining and well-made.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Jun 25, 2011
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| 10/10 | 84% | The Tree of Life (2011) |
Its assembly alone makes a case for its achieving cinematic heights. It's a work of great confidence, asking its audience to observe, reflect, and feel.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Jun 22, 2011
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| 8/10 | 92% | Another Year (2010) |
[Observes] the thin lines and acute angles which separate well-adjusted people on a continuing path of contentment from the less fortunate ones who live lives of regret and desperation. ‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jun 17, 2011
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| 6/10 | 65% | Biutiful (2010) |
Even though this movie piles it on, I can see its positive values and the potential it would have to reach the hearts of its audience.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jun 16, 2011
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| 4/10 | 24% | The Dilemma (2011) |
Feels like a throwaway effort by everyone involved.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Jun 7, 2011
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| 5/10 | 44% | The Green Hornet (2011) |
Derivative of several molds and unable to really take command of any of them.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Jun 3, 2011
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| 7/10 | 72% | Megamind (2010) |
Would be lost in the crowd, perhaps deservedly so, if it didn't pull aces on its execution.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted May 26, 2011
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| 8/10 | 96% | Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011) |
We will likely never be able to see this amazing place in person. Thanks to Herzog for giving us the next best thing.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted May 20, 2011
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| 7/10 | 87% | Blue Valentine (2010) |
From the movie's standpoint, [its story] is a common tragedy that deserves acknowledgment and pity, and it pulls absolutely no punches in sharing its view.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted May 12, 2011
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| 5/10 | 50% | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) |
The lead kids here have their charms, and while the film is functional it lacks distinction and a passionate sense of drive.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted May 12, 2011
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| 7/10 | 77% | Thor (2011) |
A well-balanced mixture of summer movie pop aesthetics -- not too serious, not too light, with a flare for visual pizazz and big personality.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted May 9, 2011
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| 6/10 | 32% | How Do You Know (2010) |
What makes any of these kinds of movies run involves the appeal of the main actors, and all three, stalwart in their screen likabilities, smooth the proceedings.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted May 3, 2011
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| 4/10 | 20% | The Tourist (2010) |
Depp and Jolie together create a chemical black hole. They couldn't produce sparks with dry hair and a comb.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted May 3, 2011
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| 7/10 | 93% | Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster (2011) |
The movie is simply an entertaining second chance to see more of this man of character in action.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2011
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| 5/10 | 49% | Love and Other Drugs (2010) |
There were several potential avenues to develop here, but the film settles for something conventional and sentimental with its love story.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2011
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| 7/10 | 95% | Animal Kingdom (2010) |
Michôd takes familiar material and approaches it with less emphasis on the sensational and more on the surreal atmosphere of accepted dread.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2011
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| 7/10 | 79% | Fair Game (2010) |
A drama about the cost of idealism and sticking to your guns in order to bring truth to the light.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Apr 1, 2011
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| 7/10 | 51% | The Next Three Days (2010) |
Haggis somehow pulls off a delicate balancing act -- a gravity-bound fantasy scenario -- showing us John's desperate, dark, human need while playing out made-for-movie scenes.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 21, 2011
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| 7/10 | 86% | Unstoppable (2010) |
Scott subdues his more stylized tendencies to deliver the kind of meat-and-potatoes action thriller that might very well be watched and enjoyed by the heroic blue collar characters in this movie.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 21, 2011
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| 3/10 | 8% | My Soul to Take (2010) |
Is it just possible that Craven fumbled the ball this time and gave us the equivalent of a fairly amateur teen horror flick?‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 21, 2011
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| 7/10 | 85% | Easy A (2010) |
It does get by on lively energy, a creativity in its writing, and a star turn by Stone.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 21, 2011
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| 6/10 | 41% | Gedo senki (Tales from Earthsea) (2010) |
A passable piece from the junior Miyazaki, and one only hopes the reservation in voice felt here will be far more loosened in future projects.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Mar 16, 2011
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| 8/10 | 90% | The Illusionist (L'illusionniste) (2010) |
To give Tati his posthumous chance to express a very sad story may have been Chomet's only true course, and, to be honest, the film is beautifully, thoughtfully realized.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 16, 2011
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| 10/10 | 98% | Inside Job (2010) |
We want them to go to jail and realize the horror of what they've done? Is that too much to hope for? The answer may be too hard to face.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Mar 14, 2011
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| 6/10 | 82% | Four Lions (2010) |
The comedy is as black as can be, both silly and sharp ... It just doesn't quite succeed in its Dr. Strangelove-inspired goal.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 8, 2011
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| 8/10 | 87% | White Material (2010) |
Vial is presented as a complex character who feels she's been backed against a wall, and on the one hand we can see where she's coming from, but on the other hand we might think she's just nuts.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 4, 2011
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| 9/10 | 98% | Marwencol (2010) |
Speaks to the addictiveness, the catharsis, the unpredictability, and the eternity of the creative process.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 4, 2011
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| 7/10 | 97% | Sweetgrass (2009) |
The movie is decidedly no frills, and it both lives and dies by this strict adherence to its protocol.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 2, 2011
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| 9/10 | 92% | Vincere (2010) |
The events occur not to tell a narrative, but to illustrate an emotional progress.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Mar 2, 2011
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| 8/10 | 91% | Fish Tank (2010) |
Reveals the incidental arrival of the first trickles of emerging maturity.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Feb 28, 2011
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| 5/10 | 53% | The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2010) |
Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace, spends most of the story constrained -- first in the hospital, then in prison. What fun is that?‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 24, 2011
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| 7/10 | 67% | Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles) (2010) |
Resnais is having fun here, possibly at the expense of audiences who demand tradition.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 24, 2011
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| 5/10 | 45% | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) |
Although Allen's field of poorly adjusted people may be interesting to watch run around for a while, they shed little new light on an already well-expressed cynical point of view.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2011
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| 5/10 | 59% | Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) |
Not only drags out too long, it fails to pay off at the end.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 20, 2011
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| 8/10 | 71% | Enter the Void (Soudain le vide) (2010) |
The discipline on display here, to stick with concept and to execute it with consistency, is intense and considerable.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Feb 14, 2011
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| 8/10 | 90% | Alle Anderen (Everyone Else) (2010) |
Notable for its realism ... striking in its simple relatability.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 14, 2011
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| 6/10 | 43% | Ong Bak 3 (2011) |
The 'enlightened' defensive fighting of Jaa, whose screen presence is more crucial than ever here in selling this scenario, pulls it off -- but just by a hair.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 10, 2011
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| 8/10 | 32% | A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) (A Simple Noodle Story) (The First Gun) (2010) |
A valentine from one director to a famous team of others.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 9, 2011
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| 6/10 | 79% | Nowhere Boy (2010) |
A passable drama, and might make a nice double feature with Backbeat.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 9, 2011
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| 9/10 | 92% | Dogtooth (Kynodontas) (2010) |
A kind of ingenious horror show you just can't take your eyes off of.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 2, 2011
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| 3/10 | 22% | Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) |
The law of diminishing returns rears its ugly, ugly head with Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth movie in a series that is going absolutely nowhere.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Feb 2, 2011
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| 6/10 | 54% | Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) |
Those who see [Gordon Gekko] as an antihero worthy of redemption might find this kinder, gentler Wall Street worth sitting through.‐ Window to the Movies
Read More | Posted Feb 2, 2011
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| 5/10 | 81% | I Am Love (2010) |
For me the obvious attempts at enhancing lushness, rapture, and emotional swings were not connecting. I couldn't help noticing it was trying too hard.‐ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Read More | Posted Feb 1, 2011
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