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Lawrence Van Gelder

Lawrence Van Gelder's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
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Movies TV Shows
The Last Starfighter (1984) 76% EDIT “Though it is occasionally talky, and though its plot takes a while to crank up, The Last Starfighter, directed by Nick Castle, is more often than not good-humored, bent on action and even touching.” – New York Times May 3, 2022 Full Review Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997) 4% EDIT “Here's the lowdown on the latest chapter in Mortal Kombat: deadly dull.” – New York Times Jul 20, 2021 Full Review Joan the Maid: The Battles (1994) 86% EDIT “Austere and handsome, propelled by an unadorned but magnetic performance by Sandrine Bonnaire.” – New York Times Jul 15, 2020 Full Review Joan the Maid: The Prisons (1994) 88% EDIT “Austere and handsome, propelled by an unadorned but magnetic performance by Sandrine Bonnaire.” – New York Times Jul 15, 2020 Full Review Countdown at Kusini (1976) EDIT “Countdown at Kusini is the sort of movie that illustrates what happens when achievement falls short of aims.” – New York Times Jul 11, 2020 Full Review Help Wanted: Kids (1986) EDIT “Films like this give the impression that the director, writer and producer are more interested in filling time than being novel and creative.” – New York Times Sep 27, 2019 Full Review The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973) 86% EDIT “The sort of old-fashioned excursion into sentiment that ought to warm the hearts of parents in search of that elusive piece of merchandise that goes under the name of good family entertainment.” – New York Times Feb 4, 2019 Full Review Meatballs Part II (1984) EDIT “Pallid writing, awkward acting, familiar situations and tired jokes make the morons, wimps and losers of ''Meatballs Part II'' easy to pass up.” – New York Times Jun 17, 2015 Full Review Boiling Point (1990) 94% EDIT “Something is rotten in the state of Japan, and the Renaissance man who goes by the name Takeshi Kitano doesn't mind saying so.” – New York Times Aug 1, 2005 Full Review Death Race 2000 (1975) 80% EDIT “In the end, it reveals itself to have nothing to say beyond the superficial about government or rebellion. And in the absence of such a statement, it becomes what it seems to have mocked -- a spectacle glorifying the car is an instrument of violence.” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) 83% 2/5 EDIT “The range of its satire and comedy, as displayed in 22 segments running from a minute or two up to 30 minutes, is fairly narrow.” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review The Yakuza (1974) 50% EDIT “Its merits as an action film strongly dosed with exotic culture and subculture are offset by obvious flaws. ” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review Cooley High (1975) 83% EDIT “"Cooley High" is good history, good entertainment and good art.” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review Orca (1977) 10% EDIT “If it were medically possible to overdose on claptrap, [Orca - The Killer Whale] would be compelled to carry a warning from the Surgeon General.” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review Smokey and the Bandit (1977) 72% EDIT “This is a movie for audiences capable of slavering over a Pontiac Trans Am, 18-wheel tractor-trailer rigs, dismembered police cruisers and motorcycles.” – New York Times May 9, 2005 Full Review A Soldier's Story (1984) 91% EDIT “Mr. Rollins gives an arresting performance under volatile dramatic circumstances.” – New York Times Sep 18, 2004 Full Review The Jigsaw Man (1984) 39% EDIT “With so many seasoned professionals involved, ''The Jigsaw Man,'' once it gets going, moves briskly through spy literature's familiar landscape of move and countermove, enlivened by the vigor and variety of Mr. Olivier's performance.” – New York Times Aug 30, 2004 Full Review Electric Dreams (1984) 45% EDIT “In the failure of Electric Dreams to blend and balance its ingredients properly, plot elements are lost (the brick), credibility is overtaxed (the lovelorn computer), and what remains is high tech without being high art.” – New York Times Aug 30, 2004 Full Review Revenge of the Nerds (1984) 70% EDIT “Revenge of the Nerds doesn't do much for movies or nerds.” – New York Times May 17, 2004 Full Review Freeway (1996) 76% 2/5 EDIT “Freeway glints here and there with dark humor amounting to a knowing wink that undercuts the cautionary tale at its heart and the seriousness of its graphic sociology.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review When We Were Kings (1996) 100% 3.5/5 EDIT “When Muhammad Ali achieved victory in Kinshasa on Oct. 30, 1974, he did far more than win a prize fight.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review C.H.U.D. (1984) 43% EDIT “''C.H.U.D.'' makes no pretension toward serious theses about government or the environment. It is meant to be light commercial entertainment, and in the category of horror films it stands as a praiseworthy effort.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review Fall (1997) 0% 1.5/5 EDIT “Fall leans too heavily in the direction of vain and smug.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review Simon Sez (1999) 0% 1.5/5 EDIT “Neither the Rivera scenery nor the martial arts of Xiong Xin Xin, much less the automotive stunts attributable to Remy Julienne, can lift Simon Sez beyond the very ordinary.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review Hard Rain (1998) 34% EDIT “For all the talent and effort involved, ''Hard Rain'' turns out to be routine entertainment.” – New York Times May 20, 2003 Full Review
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