Nick Johnston

Nick Johnston
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Nick Johnston is the Film Editor and Critic for the Boston-based online magazine Vanyaland.
Publications: Vanyaland

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
34% Shaft (2019) The kind of lifeless slog meant to capitalize on existing IP in order to con viewers into watching it. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 17, 2019
54% The Dead Don't Die (2019) The perfunctory ending doesn't stop it from being effective. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 14, 2019
24% Men in Black International (2019) This movie is an utter waste of its talent - you get Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson together again and this is the result? - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 12, 2019
23% Dark Phoenix (2019) The kind of aggressively bad summer blockbuster that Hollywood used to make in the halcyon days of the Comic-Con era, where the mere attempt at pandering to the geeks and nerds of the world would be enough to sell some tickets. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 7, 2019
40% Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) It ultimately feels like a half-measure for this new [take on the] franchise. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 31, 2019
89% Rocketman (2019) Rocketman isn't the best possible version of itself, but it does have the best possible man cast at its center. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 31, 2019
56% Ma (2019) Ma proves just how essential Octavia Spencer is to the modern cinematic landscape, and it makes a brilliant case for her eventual induction in genre Valhalla. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 31, 2019
57% Brightburn (2019) BrightBurn is genuinely unnerving - both intellectually and physically - for the majority of its well-paced 90-minute runtime... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 28, 2019
57% Aladdin (2019) It's a damn shame to see Ritchie go from something like King Arthur to this, as it felt, at least, that he gave a shit there. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 22, 2019
89% John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) Parabellum forgoes most of its storytelling smarts to deliver the most pulse-pounding, intense action sequences that the series has ever seen. And honestly? It's a damn good trade-off. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 20, 2019
89% John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) Parabellum forgoes most of its storytelling smarts to deliver the most pulse-pounding, intense action sequences that the series has ever seen. And honestly? It's a damn good trade-off. - Vogue EDIT
Read More | Posted May 16, 2019
66% Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) It's hard not to love a movie that is so fully alright with expressing its otherwise cheesy, earnest emotions without giving a damn about what people think about it, and its energies are never misplaced in bringing this film to a solid ending. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 9, 2019
100% Well Groomed (2019) It all adds up to Well Groomed being this wonderfully pleasant experience, full of unexpected grace and pathos for those who want to learn more about this odd art form. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 6, 2019
31% The Intruder (2019) For the most part, The Intruder is a smooth-as-hell watch, if one doesn't mind the constant manipulation. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 3, 2019
81% The Death of Dick Long (2019) it's easy to recommend The Death of Dick Long simply for the sheer shock value, which will undoubtedly make it a fascinating cult curio in the years to come... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted May 1, 2019
100% It Started As a Joke (2019) A compelling and moving tribute to an era of alt-comedy that suddenly took the mainstream by storm, and is worthwhile viewing for any and all fans of this brand of humor. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 29, 2019
94% Avengers: Endgame (2019) It's everything a fan could want. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
30% The Curse of La Llorona (2019) If something is a beloved or closely-held cultural institution amongst a people, it will inevitably be turned into a jump scare-loaded studio horror movie (not an exploitation movie, mind you) that will please approximately three people. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 23, 2019
57% Pet Sematary (2019) At least this Pet Sematary commits to its badness all the way through the credits, with a Ramones cover so poorly done and lifeless that it almost feels like someone buried the original song itself in the Micmac graveyard. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 11, 2019
90% Shazam! (2019) Happily, Sandberg's commitment to the weirder aspects of this universe pays off, especially when he plays it with a straight face. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 11, 2019
17% Hellboy (2019) While not without its meager pleasures, the new Hellboy is badly written and its lead is fatally miscast. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 11, 2019
90% Daniel Isn't Real (2019) It looked like Daniel Isn't Real might be a part of the solution to problematic portrayals of mental illness in horror, and what a shame that it wound up becoming a part of the problem. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2019
100% Boyz in the Wood (2019) Boyz in the Wood is a harmless and fun little film that's well-worth seeing with a jazzed-up audience. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2019
57% The Highwaymen (2019) The Highwaymen would have been behind the times even 50 years ago. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2019
95% The Art of Self-Defense (2019) Riley Stearns shows a firm understanding of modern-day masculinity. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2019
100% Snatchers (2019) The practical effects work is smartly done, and the monsters themselves are excellently animated. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
83% Knife + Heart (Un couteau dans le coeur) (2019) Knife+Heart is ultimately a must-see aesthetic experience for those who know they'd love its trance-like appeal. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
78% Good Boys (2019) [It] has an earnest and sweet heart buried underneath all of the raunch, and, dare I say it, it has a stronger and more moving ending than any of the current crop of these "wild night" comedy pictures. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
96% Villains (2019) It's definitely of interest to the more-sensitive genre fan, one looking to feel something in the midst of their gore and goofs, and it's also for anyone who wants to celebrate the return of Maika Monroe to alt-superstardom. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
68% Them That Follow (2019) ...the film is exclusively asking for our judgment rather than our understanding. Even worse, it feels as if this part of the world is completely disconnected from the things that might drive people to such extremes... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
100% Girl on the Third Floor (2019) Brooks' performance here is an interesting jumble of traits from different iconic horror protagonists. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
97% Booksmart (2019) Booksmart possesses a polish that places it well within the upper echelon of recent high school sex comedies. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
27% Tone Deaf (2018) I can't even tell you how disappointed I was with Richard Bates Jr.'s try-hardy horror/comedy Tone-Deaf. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
100% The Unthinkable (Den blomstertid nu kommer) (2018) ...impressively, it features one of the more biting conclusions of a disaster film in recent memory, which makes the full experience absolutely worth it in the end. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 4, 2019
55% The Beach Bum (2019) It's an earnestly sweet, incredibly funny, and extraordinarily affecting work that, much like its protagonist, possess such a beautiful heart beneath all the aesthetic trappings. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2019
47% Dumbo (2019) Dumbo isn't totally a return to form, but it feels like Burton's having a bit more fun than he did in years past, and that fun bleeds through into the final product. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2019
80% The Day Shall Come (2019) The film sizzles with an electric humor until, right near the end, it stops being funny at all, and aims right for the solar plexus with a punch fueled with righteous frustration and anger... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2019
94% Us (2019) Us is a tremendous accomplishment. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 8, 2019
78% Captain Marvel (2019) Captain Marvel is light, funny and quite satisfying, though it may leave you craving something a bit more substantive. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 5, 2019
80% Late Night (2019) Late Night is a movie made wholly for the people who enjoy falling asleep to episodes of The Office and need something new for them to get the job done for them... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
73% Troop Zero (2019) ...suffocatingly twee, designed to be a cute and warm hug of both empowerment and acceptance, and for many, it'll succeed at doing just that. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
55% Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) It's not a bad way to spend two hours, and, once again, Efron doesn't disappoint. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
88% The Hole in the Ground (2019) Lee Cronin's creepy kid movie will scare and move you... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
63% Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Mary Queen of Scots fails as cinema and as revolutionary tract. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
100% Honey Boy (2019) Honey Boy is an utterly harrowing and moving story about how the parents we're given are, for better or for worse, a part of us... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
77% The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) In terms of food for thought, The Inventor is close to a buffet, chock-full of fascinating information, intelligently told through a compelling story of one company's disaster. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
37% Glass (2019) It is one weird and difficult film, one that is sure to drive audiences crazy and inspire a whole new round of not-wholly-undeserved frustration towards the director... - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
96% Roma (2018) There'll be plenty to write about Roma in the days to come aside from this brief reaction, but I'm so excited for you to get to see this film: It's truly astonishing. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
40% The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) As soon as the title sequence of Fede Alvarez' The Girl in the Spider's Web unfurls over two thunderingly dull minutes at the start of the film, it's becomes crystal-clear just how much of a bad idea this endeavor was for everybody. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
66% Suspiria (2018) This Suspiria is beautifully enigmatic in its processes and vast in its delights, and for those willing to follow along and vibe along with it, its rewards are plentiful. - Vanyaland EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019