Louis B. Parks
Tomatometer-approved critic
| Publications: | Houston Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Critics' Group: | Houston Film Critics Society |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36% | Radio Free Albemuth (2014) |
Modestly budgeted but professional, this film has some imaginative visuals and a strong cast.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Dec 4, 2014
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| 1/4 | 32% | The Vow (2012) |
"The Vow" is a cinematic box of candy wrapped in bright red cellophane. Like any box of chocolates, you have to bite a lot of bad centers to get to the few good ones.‐ San Francisco Chronicle
Read More | Posted Feb 9, 2012
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| 2.5/4 | 32% | Fanboys (2008) |
Even geeks enjoy poking fun at geeks. And they really know how.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Feb 6, 2009
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| 2/4 | 0% | Surfer, Dude (2008) |
Surfer, Dude is a bizarre throwback. It feels 25-30 years out of date and seems to be meant to be watched on VHS, oops, make that DVD, while stoned.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Sep 12, 2008
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| 3.5/4 | 78% | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) |
Partly due to its intensity, Order of the Phoenix is better than the first four in the series. Also credit a much tighter, meatier script and better acting.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Jul 10, 2007
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| 3/4 | 82% | Live Free or Die Hard (2007) |
Live Free or Die Hard is the most creative and exciting Die Hard film since the original, though it's hardly the original's equal.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Jun 26, 2007
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| 2/4 | 5% | Broken Bridges (2006) |
When you can get just as good on the Hallmark network, why drive all the way to a theater?‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Sep 8, 2006
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| 3/4 | 93% | Lassie (2006) |
This new Lassie is no match for the original MGM production (Roddy McDowell, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor, etc.), but there are many compensations that make it fine family entertainment.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Sep 1, 2006
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| 2.5/4 | 22% | Barnyard (2006) |
Adults will get enough laughs to survive gags such as the chickens using a Col. Sanders dartboard but will likely lose patience waiting for the very predictable story and sentiments to slowly play themselves out.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 4, 2006
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| 2.5/4 | No Score Yet | Paradise, Texas (2005) |
Joe Conway's script needs more dramatic edge and motivation and a less easy resolution, but we're glad when things work out the way we knew they would.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted May 3, 2006
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| 3/4 | 86% | Slither (2006) |
Slither is seriocomic horror, alternating laughs with gooey, creepy scares.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Mar 31, 2006
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| 2.5/4 | 18% | Firewall (2006) |
If you're in the mood for a thriller, Firewall will suffice -- barely.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Feb 10, 2006
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| 3/4 | 83% | Serenity (2005) |
The best summer thrill ride since Batman Begins, Serenity roars in a late but mighty welcome considering this year's sub-fun slate.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 30, 2005
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| B- | 61% | Alice et Martin (2000) |
Techine keeps a tight rein on his actors' dramatics.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 70% | Frequency (2000) |
Why gripe about a few minor inconsistencies? Just relax and enjoy the show.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B | 84% | Chuck & Buck (2000) |
All the people of Chuck & Buck feel very human.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 97% | The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (2000) |
It seems too much to ask a movie to entertain, inform and inspire. For it to also work as sports story, social history and biography is a home run with men on base.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 16% | Dudley Do-Right (1999) |
Dudley is merely a dud.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 23% | I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998) |
None of the cast comes off well, but they have little to work with, since the dialogue sounds like it was made up on the spot and performed without rehearsal.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 69% | Keeping the Faith (2000) |
The ending gets a little too cute, and isn't true to Anna's independent nature. Oh well, to forgive is divine.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 75% | Fellini Satyricon (1969) |
Those who don't weaken and bolt for the door experience a one-of-a-kind visual adventure they are unlikely to forget.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 77% | Mansfield Park (1999) |
While this version plays somewhat fast and loose with the original story, and even more so with the heroine's character, it is still much more Jane Austen than not.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B | 82% | Love and Basketball (2000) |
Satisfying, enjoyable and smart.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B | 68% | U-571 (2000) |
It's a wham-bam bumpy ride, great fun in the old-fashioned war movie tradition.‐ Houston Chronicle
Read More | Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B+ | 94% | Blood Simple (1984) |
The movie is as dark, ironic and fatalistically comic as modern film noir comes.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B | 87% | Girlfight (2000) |
It's obvious Kusama knew what she wanted and was in control, because all the key roles and scenes are played with a uniform tone and conviction.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| B+ | 89% | 42 Up (1999) |
One of the best movie series ever is a true-life drama like no other. Miss it at your peril.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 79% | Without Limits (1998) |
Without Limits wins as a sports film precisely because it's not really about sports or a great victory.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 21, 2005
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| 42% | Miss Congeniality (2000) |
Caine may save the movie, but Bullock is the movie. The confection rests on her considerable off-center charm and beauty.‐ Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Posted Oct 24, 2003
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| 47% | Better Than Sex (2001) |
The director and actors get away with this fluff thanks to the nimble, whimsical way it's played.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Nov 9, 2001
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| 19% | On the Line (2001) |
On a whole, the movie stays as blandly inoffensive (albeit sometimes annoying) as possible.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 25, 2001
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| 81% | Innocence (2001) |
It's about grown-ups and for grown-ups.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 25, 2001
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| 21% | Bones (2001) |
As a horror film, Bones is a half-hearted bust, not likely to really frighten anyone over age 12. It works better if watched tongue in cheek as a supernatural pot boiler.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 23, 2001
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| 81% | Audition (Ôdishon) (1999) |
There will be many people who consider Audition an atrocity, and a few who find it a stimulating cinema experience.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 19, 2001
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| 53% | My First Mister (2002) |
It's hard not to enjoy the amusing and sometimes touching turnarounds [Jennifer and Randall] do.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 12, 2001
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| 77% | Our Lady of the Assassins (2001) |
We never come to care about these characters, perhaps because they seem to care so little about themselves.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 9, 2001
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| 60% | Haiku Tunnel (2001) |
A low-budget, mild-mannered comedy, often amusing and at times laugh-out-loud funny.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 9, 2001
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| 72% | Training Day (2001) |
Director Antoine Fuqua, whose credits include the unimpressive The Replacement Killers, keeps a kinetic pace with visually exciting immediacy.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Oct 5, 2001
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| 46% | Greenfingers (2001) |
It's just too bad the intended charm is applied with a shovel instead of a trowel. Romantic comedy is a delicate flower that can be smothered by too much fertilizer.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 28, 2001
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| 71% | Bread & Tulips (2001) |
It's a feel-good movie to see with a friend on a rainy afternoon when you both need a little getaway.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 21, 2001
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| 83% | Lakeboat (2000) |
More play than movie. But it's unusual for either. It's neither plot-driven like many plays nor action- and image-driven like most movies.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 14, 2001
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| 21% | The Glass House (2001) |
Like Ruby, The Glass House is in conflict with itself. It's confused about what kind of film it wants to be.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 13, 2001
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| 11% | The Musketeer (2001) |
Often, in the fight scenes, it's hard to tell who is doing what to whom, but since it's all glitz and no content, it hardly matters.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Sep 6, 2001
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| 21% | John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) |
Ghosts of Mars, hah. More like Turkey of Mars.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 23, 2001
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| 29% | Jackpot (2001) |
Its audience is a very narrow spectrum of filmgoers amused by tiny hints at a joke, or the minor peculiarities of a slightly unusual character. All others, beware.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 17, 2001
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| 43% | Rat Race (2001) |
If you don't think Hollywood movies have gone all soft in the head and heart, compare the sticky sweet ending of this with the finale to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 17, 2001
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| 14% | American Outlaws (2001) |
A poor script and lame direction leave most of this Western deader than a dogie at a poisoned watering hole.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 17, 2001
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| 78% | Keep the River on Your Right (2000) |
Schneebaum, a dull and helpless-looking nonentity at first glance, proves to be an amazingly courageous, inquisitive, remarkable man.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Aug 10, 2001
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| 71% | Made (2001) |
Amusing in the offbeat humor that comes from the wackiness of odd but believable characters.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 27, 2001
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| 54% | Everybody's Famous! (2001) |
Often loses focus and wanders, unsure of where it wants to go.‐ Houston Chronicle
Posted Jul 27, 2001
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