Karen Krizanovich

Tomatometer-approved critic

Publications: Empire Magazine, Little White Lies, Monocle, Filmstar Magazine, Radio Times, The List, The Arts Desk

Movie Reviews Only

Movies

	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Review
	97%	The Kingmaker (2019)	It's almost as if [Lauren Greenfield has] been working up to this; it's a perfectly logical move for her after her last two films. - Monocle EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 9, 2020
	98%	Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (2020)	What I enjoyed about it was the discovery of love. - Monocle EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 5, 2020
3/5	50%	Sulphur & White (2020)	It doesn't exactly blend together as a coherent whole, but what Sulphur and White does best is to show the redemptive power of love. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 2, 2020
2/5	20%	Like a Boss (2020)	It's a film that so desperately wants to be funny, but isn't sure how. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 17, 2020
5/5	74%	The Gentlemen (2020)	Ritchie is the UK's Tarantino and this comedy blows the bloody doors off. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 20, 2019
3/5	94%	Honey Boy (2019)	Memorable imagery and nuanced performances sweeten a sometimes bitter, ultimately unrepentant look at the beginnings of a tangled and infamous life. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 3, 2019
3/5	44%	After the Wedding (2019)	As heavy-handed as the production and costume design are, the moments when Moore and Williams share the screen hint at a powerful tale of mothers, daughters and love that this film, sadly, can't quite reach. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 11, 2019
3/5	42%	Just Friends (2005)	Worth watching just for Christopher Marquette's hilarious turn as Chris's pain-in-the-neck brother, this obnoxious comedy has a generous helping of natural, surprising laughs amid the bumptious stupidity. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Nov 5, 2019
2/5	43%	The Addams Family (2019)	Expect only the tiniest monsters to be amused. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 25, 2019
2/5	26%	Gemini Man (2019)	It's possibly the director's worst film to date. Let's hope it's just a blip. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 13, 2019
4/5	95%	Good Posture (2019)	It's a crafty comedy, this: a remarkable debut. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 7, 2019
3/5	24%	The Goldfinch (2019)	At least, Oakes Fegley and Ansel Elgort both shine in the leading role of Theo, but you can't escape the feeling that we're missing something here... genuine feelings, perhaps? - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Oct 2, 2019
4/5	63%	Yesterday (2019)	For all its flaws, this is another feel-good, uplifting singalong entertainment that's very much in the style of Rocketman or Bohemian Rhapsody, but at least this time, we don't have to worry about the facts. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 30, 2019
4/5	99%	Apollo 11 (2019)	Apollo 11 is a piece of gleaming history, showing the youth, hope and enthusiasm of that time. For those who were alive then, it's as if watching a scene from a dream - where America still stood for something great. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 24, 2019
4/5	71%	Balloon (2020)	German writer/director Michael "Bully" Herbig has not completely abandoned his comedy roots, though, and creates a cosy-looking period story that is both funny and thrilling. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 16, 2019
4/5	76%	Halston (2019)	The movie leaves us wanting more - and one of his dresses too. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 10, 2019
3/5	23%	Dark Phoenix (2019)	Under the able debut direction of writer/producer Simon Kinberg, this pacey instalment brings a close to 20 years of X-Men films and the birth of a fresh, new franchise once 20th Century Fox has completed its merger with Disney. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 10, 2019
4/5	90%	John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)	Wick 3 is jaw-droppingly violent, hilarious and surprising. It's also a hell-of-a lesson in cool. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted May 15, 2019
4/5	69%	Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)	Quirky and lovingly crafted, even if you don't care for Pokémon, you'll love Detective Pikachu. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted May 7, 2019
4/5	67%	The White Crow (2019)	Fiennes' light touch textures this biopic into something exciting, genuine and naturally sexy; it's a film that stays en pointe for its entirety. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 18, 2019
2/5	70%	Isn't It Romantic (2019)	Despite a pacy script, Wilson's disbelief in a world where everyone finds her attractive soon becomes tiresome. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 2, 2019
3/5	84%	Jellyfish (2018)	Glum yet impressive, Jellyfish is worth watching for the raw and remarkable work of rising star Liv Hill. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 11, 2019
4/5	95%	Roma (2018)	Set in the comfortable upper middle-class neighbourhood of Roma in Mexico City, this compelling story centres on a marriage slowly splintering apart and the native Latina live-in maid who stands at the swirling heart of the family for whom she works. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 8, 2019
5/5	94%	It's a Wonderful Life (1946)	There's sex and death here, elation and depression, hope and despair. - Little White Lies EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 14, 2018
4/5	88%	Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)	Want a tightly packed bundle of fast dialogue, heady danger and speculation as to which stars are coming back for a third film? Ant-Man and the Wasp is that ticket. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jul 30, 2018
3/5	24%	Overboard (2018)	If Faris and Derbez have negligible chemistry, they are such comedy pros that it somehow works. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 18, 2018
3/5	36%	I Feel Pretty (2018)	When the film fails it is because it often perpetuates what it is trying to destroy: the idea that judging by appearances is a legitimate mode of assessment. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 30, 2018
4/5	34%	American Assassin (2017)	What some will find a surprisingly unpredictable, action-packed bit of entertainment, others may find a politically dubious gun-and-bomb party, but this is one of the freshest political thrillers in years. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 13, 2017
4/5	92%	Logan Lucky (2017)	Logan Lucky is like those inline tube slides at a water park: you don't worry about where you're going, because getting there is so much darned fun. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Aug 21, 2017
3/5	96%	Jawbone (2017)	An honest look at a well-worn subject, this home-grown drama about a boxer's fight back to sobriety packs some punch. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted May 11, 2017
3/5	96%	Jawbone (2017)	Winstone ... enlivens even the simplest dialogue; the reason he's a star is his ability to conjure meaning that may be absent or ambiguous in the script itself. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted May 8, 2017
4/5	88%	Lady Macbeth (2017)	Lady Macbeth is daring cinema that will chill you to the bone and leave you rooting for its understandably immoral heroine. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 27, 2017
3/5	32%	Monster Trucks (2017)	Despite a perky pace and a serious eco message, Monster Trucks is far from fresh. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 4, 2017
4/5	39%	Why Him? (2016)	A breezy, likeable comedy with the potential to make both slackers and old schoolers smile. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 20, 2016
3/5	41%	Office Christmas Party (2016)	Sentimental and just plain mental, this is the comedy we need this holiday season. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 7, 2016
3/5	82%	Chi-Raq (2015)	Studded with smart couplets, dance numbers and scenes of grief verging on the Shakespearean, this vibrant, controversial film from director Spike Lee is deft and timely in its message. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 1, 2016
3/5	25%	Ben-Hur (2016)	It's Ben-Hur for sure, but no real improvement on what's gone before; save Morgan Freeman's amazing dreadlocks. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Sep 6, 2016
3/5	79%	Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)	Spinal Tap and Zoolander come together in a comedy take on the pop industry that's hot for the first half before it cools into submission. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Aug 28, 2016
3/5	79%	The Shallows (2016)	It's a stellar role for Lively, who ... is amassing a respectable body of work across genres. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Aug 10, 2016
4/5	54%	Jason Bourne (2016)	Absolutely stonking action like you haven't seen in years. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jul 26, 2016
4/5	80%	The Conjuring 2 (2016)	Even hardened horror fans will find themselves covered in gooseflesh, as this spooky sequel ratchets up the tension like thumbscrews. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Jun 13, 2016
3/5	93%	Love Is Strange (2014)	Pivoting on a loving couple growing older, not having finances in place, needing to rely on others to get by, Love Is Strange has universal poignancy. - The Arts Desk EDIT Read More \| Posted May 23, 2016
4/5	87%	Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)	Pacey and completely entertaining, this comedy rocks. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted May 12, 2016
	43%	Jane Got a Gun (2016)	If Jane Got a Gun is not the rousing feminist western we've been waiting for, it is a pony trek in the right direction. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 18, 2016
3/5	50%	The Sweeney - Paris (Antigang) (2015)	A solid if lacklustre police caper with some sparkling moments. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Apr 14, 2016
2/5	28%	My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)	A sequel that ticks off all the right topics but only superficially. It simply doesn't have time to do more. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 22, 2016
3/5	63%	Truth (2015)	The movie is wordy, worthy and often bombastic in dialogue, with Blanchett the backbone of the story while Redford's careful, nuanced portrayal of the nation's most trusted news anchor is a study in understatement. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Mar 3, 2016
3/5	95%	Rams (Hrútar) (2016)	Credible, hilarious and poignant by turns, Rams is a keenly detailed, well-paced and entertaining tale of family dynamics ... - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Feb 4, 2016
4/5	95%	Creed (2015)	A fresh-faced crowd-pleaser as smart and informed in the story's lore as it is rousing for Rocky fans and the uninitiated alike. - Radio Times EDIT Read More \| Posted Jan 15, 2016
3/5	43%	In the Heart of the Sea (2015)	In the Heart of the Sea is watchable enough. It just doesn't harpoon us the way its maker intended. - The List EDIT Read More \| Posted Dec 21, 2015