Jordan Riefe
Jordan Riefe's reviews do not count toward the Tomatometer. This is not a
Tomatometer-approved critic, and this critic's reviews are not published on a
Tomatometer-approved publication.
| Publications: | The Deadbolt, Truthdig |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57% | The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx) (2018) |
The elevated work of the cast is attributable to fine acting, but also to Peck's direction as he sidesteps some of the material's flaws.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Feb 26, 2018
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| 91% | The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen) (2017) |
Although Kaurismäki might be accused of confusing passion with sentimentality, thereby avoiding it like the plague, the result is a unique movie on an urgent topic told without urgency.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Dec 20, 2017
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| 87% | The Post (2018) |
But while it proudly displays its anti-Trump bona fides, it fails as resistance cinema, stirring the kind of soft fury one might expect from mollified Beverly Hills baby boomers.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Dec 7, 2017
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| 85% | Darkest Hour (2017) |
A history lesson for many and an acting clinic for most, Darkest Hour features an outstanding cast and inspirational themes, some of the elements of good cinema.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Nov 29, 2017
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| 29% | Suburbicon (2017) |
When it works, it's outstanding. And when it doesn't, it's good enough.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Nov 1, 2017
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| 85% | Battle of the Sexes (2017) |
Without sermonizing, "Battle of the Sexes" speaks to issues that are sadly all too contemporary, but it does so in a way that is entertaining, thoughtful and emotionally engaging, making it a worthy entry in the Oscar race.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Sep 28, 2017
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| 93% | The Force (2017) |
The result is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that offers surprisingly little insight.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Sep 28, 2017
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| 100% | Strong Island (2017) |
Strong Island is an example of how the justice system routinely fails people of color. But more important, his film examines the impact of that failure on families and communities.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Sep 21, 2017
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| 97% | Whose Streets? (2017) |
Activist Sabaah Folayan and St. Louis artist Damon Davis tell a story the mainstream media mostly neglected. ‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Aug 16, 2017
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| 80% | An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power (2017) |
Of course, polar caps continue to melt, and more work needs to be done, but An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, flawed as it is, helps bring awareness to a new generation.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Aug 7, 2017
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| 92% | Endless Poetry (Poesía Sin Fin) (2017) |
If Endless Poetry sounds episodic and a bit nutty, it is, delightfully so, and actually tamer than Jodorowsky's earlier works, sharing with them triumphant glimmer and a casual, unpretentious surrealism.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Jul 20, 2017
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| 100% | Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS (2017) |
Junger and Quested organize the multisourced material in a straightforward chronology, tracing a complicated conflict with roots in the Arab Spring.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Jun 29, 2017
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| 71% | The Commune (Kollektivet) (2017) |
The Commune is grounded in gritty acting at the core of an otherwise drawn-out melodrama.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted May 25, 2017
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| 98% | Truman (2017) |
Gay avoids heart-tugging claptrap by aiming for-and achieving-emotional veracity throughout, a rarity in popular cinema.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Apr 20, 2017
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| 96% | The Salesman (Forushande) (2017) |
Farhadi is a master of his craft, a nuanced chronicler of the human condition, whose work unfailingly offers moments of truth and beauty.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Feb 1, 2017
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| 94% | Neruda (2016) |
A clever, playful and, yes, poetic accounting of the literary icon's run for his life from his home country of Chile.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Dec 21, 2016
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| 94% | Newtown (2016) |
Newtown is emotionally active, moving us in ways facts and figures never could.‐ Truthdig
Read More | Posted Oct 24, 2016
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| 36% | Misery Loves Comedy (2014) |
What might have turned out to be a movie about comedy only for comedians is instead a funny and engaging look at the most twisted and naked branch of the entertainment world.‐ Hollywood Reporter
Read More | Posted Apr 17, 2015
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| 4/5 | 64% | Trash (2015) |
With its heavy plotting, Trash hardly aspires to docudrama, yet the trio paint an indelible portrait of youth in crisis that is essential to the movie's success.‐ Guardian
Read More | Posted Oct 20, 2014
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| 3/4 | 38% | Dead Man Down (2013) |
[A] bleak film noir that values character over tension.‐ Boston Phoenix
Read More | Posted Mar 7, 2013
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| 2.5/4 | 59% | Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) |
Oz the Great and Powerful isn't great, nor is it powerful, but it is competent and entertaining.‐ Boston Phoenix
Read More | Posted Mar 7, 2013
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| 2/4 | 33% | Escape From Planet Earth (2013) |
This might please young kids but torment discerning parents.‐ Boston Phoenix
Read More | Posted Feb 15, 2013
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| 2/4 | 14% | A Good Day To Die Hard (2013) |
A Good Day To Die Hard is a movie for people who like blowin' stuff up, evidently a favorite pastime of director John Moore, whose action scenes make about as much sense as his script, which was likely written on a cocktail napkin.‐ Boston Phoenix
Read More | Posted Feb 14, 2013
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| 86% | Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Hellboy 2) (2008) |
The first big screen Hellboy felt like del Toro constrained...The sequel feels more like the director on his own terms.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Jul 14, 2008
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| 8/10 | 13% | The Love Guru (2008) |
Greetings from The Love Guru, dispenser of wisdom in bite-size chewable chunks, a soulful man of infinite knowledge with three goals on his mind: the Stanley Cup... then Oprah and a shot at his rival, Deepak Chopra, to become the new celebrity prince of s‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Jun 27, 2008
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| 5/10 | 71% | Wanted (2008) |
They are the deadliest assassins the world has ever known. Genetically enhanced, they execute superhuman feats of death. No target has ever escaped alive. They are the Fraternity. It's not a very imaginative moniker, but then again they are in a movie cal‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Jun 27, 2008
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| 38% | You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008) |
Is it funny? The answer is no.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Jun 8, 2008
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| 49% | Sex and the City (2008) |
If the new film is any indication of where things are headed in the future, the return of Sex and the City would work much better back on TV as a cable series... on The Lifetime Channel.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted May 30, 2008
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| 77% | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) |
Even with its flaws, Spielberg and Ford do enough to ultimately make Crystal Skull a terrific addition to the franchise.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted May 22, 2008
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| 80% | The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) |
Younger fans of the books will undoubtedly love The Spiderwick Chronicles while adults will find it diverting enough to take a break from life given its 97-minute running time.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Apr 21, 2008
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| 22% | Semi-Pro (2008) |
Though it isn't the funniest Will Ferrell film, the laughs keep on coming right up to the final buzzer.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Apr 21, 2008
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| 52% | Leatherheads (2008) |
Despite its faults, Leatherheads is funny, smart, original, and another fine notch in the belt of the director who seems well on his way to becoming a classic American filmmaker.‐ The Deadbolt
Read More | Posted Apr 20, 2008
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