Robert Denerstein
Tomatometer-approved critic
| Publications: | Denver Rocky Mountain News, Movie Habit, Denerstein Unleashed |
| Critics' Group: | Broadcast Film Critics Association |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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| 93% | Crazy Rich Asians (2018) |
Think of it as a trip to a cinematic spa in the company of some of the world's best dressed and most attractive people.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Aug 15, 2018
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| 97% | BlacKkKlansman (2018) |
Lee again puts the pedal to the metal in trying to acknowledge an ugly part of American life that shouldn't be swept under any red, white and blue rug -- then or now. ‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Aug 9, 2018
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| 93% | We the Animals (2018) |
The movie is at its best while observing the way three brothers behave in a world where adult supervision is sporadic.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Aug 9, 2018
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| 90% | Far From the Tree (2018) |
You can't help but empathize with the people you'll meet in Far From the Tree, but Dretzin, whose multi-subject approach sometimes feels sketchy, doesn't devote much time to the financial burdens these families face.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Aug 9, 2018
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| 74% | The King (2018) |
The difference: Much of The King proves interesting and some [of] it, even salient. That's because The King is as much about the kingdom as it is about Elvis's pop-cultural royalty.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 20, 2018
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| 100% | Leave No Trace (2018) |
Leave No Trace is a rarity, a movie that runs its finger over a deep vein of pain without offering palliatives or bromides. That feels unblinkered and right.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2018
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| 94% | Sorry to Bother You (2018) |
Sorry to Bother You stands as a comedy that strikes enough targets to make it a welcome attempt to say something about where we actually are - instead of trying to transport us... to places we'd rather be.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2018
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| 48% | Skyscraper (2018) |
Despite such super-human displays, Johnson isn't quite strong enough to hold the movie together, but if you're willing to check all of your critical faculties at the door, Skyscraper might qualify as one of the summer's guiltier pleasures.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2018
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| 51% | Boundaries (2018) |
Predictable and never totally convincing, Boundaries nonetheless features a fine performance by Plummer, who pours on the roguish charm.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 5, 2018
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| 88% | Whitney (2018) |
Whatever you thought about Whitney Houston, you'd have to be pretty callous not to let Whitney break your heart.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 5, 2018
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| 82% | Nancy (2018) |
What unfolds is an intimate exercise in acceptance and delusion, an exploration of grief and diminished hope conducted by a trio of highly skilled actors.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 5, 2018
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| 87% | Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) |
It's nice to see a Marvel movie that seems intended to amuse us more than it's designed to beat us into submission.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jul 5, 2018
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| 39% | Mary Shelley (2018) |
Haifaa Al-Monsour loses out by attempting to walk a fine line between a well-adorned period piece and an emotionally turbulent tale populated by Mary Shelley and two poetic geniuses.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 29, 2018
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| 64% | Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) |
In taking the reins from director Denis Villeneuve, Italian director Stefano Sollima (Gomorrah) has made a movie that, like many of its characters, seems to lack conviction about the corrupted world into which it pumps a fair measure of bullets.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 28, 2018
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| 59% | Always at the Carlyle (2018) |
Director Matthew Miele has made what amounts to an enthusiastic ode to a hotel most of us never will check into. ‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 28, 2018
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| 96% | 1945 (2017) |
Driven by the agitation and anxiety of the town's populace, 1945 does... continue the exploration of an inexhaustible and inescapable subject.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2018
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| 100% | Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993) (2018) |
Simon obtains entirely credible performances from the movie's children.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2018
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| 51% | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) |
Fallen Kingdom leans heavily on action while shortchanging build up.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2018
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| 55% | Tag (2018) |
The tag catchphrase -- "you're it" -- might have given the movie stinging sharpness, but after laying out its premise, this over-amped effort does little to catch us unaware.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 15, 2018
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| 90% | Hearts Beat Loud (2018) |
Offerman has a sly way of commanding the screen, avoiding any of the ingratiating gestures that would have turned Frank into an off-beat role model.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Jun 15, 2018
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| 68% | The Seagull (2018) |
Mayer's adaptation works in fits and starts, but if you're interested in the way a new group of actors approach important theatrical roles, Seagull is worth seeing.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 31, 2018
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| 94% | First Reformed (2018) |
It is a work that isn't' afraid to look at something most movies try their best to avoid: deep despair.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 31, 2018
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| 68% | On Chesil Beach (2018) |
In all, On Chisel Beach is a well-acted movie that feels more slender than it probably should, neither an insular chamber piece nor a full-blown look at crippling sexual mores.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 24, 2018
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| 71% | Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) |
Solo tied me out with a lengthy action sequence about three-quarters of the way through, but overall the origins story of Han Solo proves an entertaining enough addition to the Star Wars galaxy to drown out quibbles.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 22, 2018
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| 53% | Book Club (2018) |
A terrific cast can do little to save a lightweight comedy about mature women who, thanks to a shared book club reading of Fifty Shades of Gray, decide that they must fight against the dying light of their aging libidos.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 17, 2018
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| 85% | Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieur) (2018) |
The movie... offers more than a showcase for Binoche, putting her at the center of a story about a woman struggling to come to grips with the relationships in her life.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 17, 2018
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| 89% | Pope Francis - A Man of His Word (2018) |
Some may find it difficult to see Pope Francis: A Man of His Word as anything more than hagiography, but it's impossible to deny Francis's appeal to a deep sense of humanity that he himself reflects. ‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 17, 2018
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| 83% | Deadpool 2 (2018) |
True to form, Deadpool 2 doesn't skimp on one-liners and visual gags, many of them referencing signature moments in other movies... In a way, Deadpool 2 doesn't try to speak to the audience; it is the audience.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 15, 2018
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| 92% | Revenge (2018) |
First-time French director Coralie Fargeat has delivered one hell of a calling card, attacking the screen with Revenge, a debut movie that leaves a bloody, indelible impression.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 15, 2018
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| 94% | RBG (2018) |
Even Ginsburg's detractors, who get short shrift here, would have to admit that RBG is formidable, whether on the bench or away from the court. Spending time with her proves a real pleasure.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 15, 2018
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| 38% | Life of the Party (2018) |
Life of the Party suggests that the filmmakers might do well to return to comedy school for a refresher in how to avoid the kind of formula traps that tend to neuter comic potential.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 11, 2018
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| 52% | Ismael's Ghosts (Les fantômes d'Ismaël) (2018) |
Of course, the movie frustrates but its confusions push Desplechin toward something vital, the way his characters respond to the disjointed absurdities with which he confronts them.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 11, 2018
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| 86% | Tully (2018) |
Tully may speak loudly to women who can appreciate the overwhelming tsunami that has smashed on the beaches of Marlo's middle-aged life, a point at which the door has all but slammed shut on her youth.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 3, 2018
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| 85% | Disobedience (2018) |
I'm not entirely sure that the material is always up to the task, but Weisz, McAdams, and Nivola make the inner lives of these characters vivid, real and affecting.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 3, 2018
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| 74% | Little Pink House (2018) |
The issue of eminent domain receives a modest work-out in Little Pink House.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted May 3, 2018
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| 97% | The Rider (2018) |
Zhao has made a movie about how one man copes with the pain that accompanies loss. Brady certainly knows how to "cowboy up," but we know his pain is real -- and so does he.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2018
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| 88% | Love After Love (2018) |
I wish the pieces of Harbaugh's domestic jigsaw fit more elegantly together. Sometimes, it seems as if he's tripping into scenes the way a person might stumble into a darkened room before turning on the light.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2018
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| 95% | Zama (2018) |
No matter what you make of this strangely enthralling movie, Zama will take you on a trip in which Martel serves as a remorseless, insightful guide.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2018
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| 89% | Itzhak (2018) |
If you thought musical genius, by definition, would be intimidating, the documentary Itzhak should go a long way toward changing your mind.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2018
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| 97% | The Endless (2018) |
No fair telling you where all this is headed, but Benson and Moorhead create an eerie little movie that effectively plays with time and mortality -- and with our heads.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 25, 2018
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| 83% | Avengers: Infinity War (2018) |
It's intended to knock your socks off and, in the end, it finally attains a stirring, if slightly morose, grandeur.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 25, 2018
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| 34% | I Feel Pretty (2018) |
Not only does I Feel Pretty score low on credibility, but the writing/directing team of Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein lobs a softball.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2018
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| 87% | You Were Never Really Here (2018) |
Watching You Were Never Really Here, I couldn't help marveling at the combination of daring and commitment it must have taken to make a film such as this, one that has little interest in reassuring an audience‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2018
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| 48% | Souvenir (2018) |
Director Bavo Defurne does little to turn the movie into anything more than a pleasant diversion -- the kind of movie in which not much comes as a surprise but we hardly care. ‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2018
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| 82% | Beirut (2018) |
Beirut is never anything less than watchable, even if it's ultimately short on thematic clout.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
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| 86% | A Bag of Marbles (Un sac de billes) (2018) |
The movie shows us, with some success, what it might have been like to be a child facing such sustained horror.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
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| 14% | Blumhouse's Truth or Dare (2018) |
The real problem when it comes to movies such as Blumhouse's Truth Dare involves summoning new forms of creativity to show the ways in which victims are dispatched.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
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| 74% | Final Portrait (2018) |
It takes conviction to make a film such as Final Portrait and Tucci deserves credit for trying to peer into the world of an artist at the moment of creation.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
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| 52% | Rampage (2018) |
Rampage is so far from qualifying as a best of its breed that a movie such as Jurassic Park looks like a doctoral dissertation by comparison. Enough said.‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2018
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| 100% | Oh Lucy! (2018) |
Led by a Terajima -- who wisely keeps Setsuko's motivations vague -- an able cast creates a genre-defying movie that takes us deep into the kind of life that normally would go unseen. ‐ Denerstein Unleashed
Read More | Posted Apr 5, 2018
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