Roger Catlin

Roger Catlin
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications: Salon.com, Hartford Courant, AARP Movies for Grownups, rogercatlin.com, TV Insider, Omaha World-Herald, TV Worth Watching, The Vinyl District

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
25% My True Fairytale (2021) The youthful cast that includes Juliana Destefano, Morgan Lindholm and BJ Mitchell, are mostly fine in scenes structured for maximum soap opera drama. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 12, 2021
88% In Action (2020) Other than showing the absolute limits of the lowest of low budget movies, this wears out its welcome at just about the time they get restrained by their captors. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 9, 2021
100% Transference: A Love Story (2020) It's largely a sweet, subtle romantic story with an underpinning of a certain truth. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 9, 2021
91% Tina (2021) Makes a splashy case for Tina Turner at a time when she's one of the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2021
67% Francesco (2021) Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky says he had unfettered access to the Vatican, and the result is the utmost positivity. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2021
100% West Michigan (2021) It's a charming little story mostly because the siblings are so engaging and credible in their semi-detached relationship to one another. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 9, 2021
No Score Yet COVID Diaries NYC (2021) Though it seems there have been a lot of coverage, there's something new being expressed in the well-done "COVID Diaries NYC". - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 9, 2021
67% The Mimic (2020) The scenes go on and on. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 8, 2021
100% This Is Not a War Story (2021) A clear-eyed, ambitious and ultimately hopeful story told through the eyes of veterans. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 4, 2021
92% Black Art: In the Absence of Light (2021) It's both a comprehensive overview and a visual delight at a time when museums are still shuttered. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 12, 2021
No Score Yet Salt-N-Pepa (2020) [Salt-N-Pepa] is buoyed by the music from the hip hop team, the spirited performances from GG Townson and Lalia Odom as Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton respectively. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 25, 2021
69% Tulsa (2020) Unless Tulsa becomes a cult item in the category of sub-Norris attempts, it may be time for Pryor to return his full focus to personal injury law. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 22, 2021
86% Donna (2021) Amundsen is an appealing actress with some flashes of Ali McGraw here and there, but we have to question her character's judgment from the start by going with such an obvious disaster. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 19, 2021
100% Ice Cream in the Cupboard (2020) In a laudable adherence to reality, the film doesn't reach for any magic resolution at its end. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 14, 2021
93% Minor Premise (2020) A nifty puzzle, a scientific thriller that doesn't insult the intelligence with any superfluous corn. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 13, 2021
95% The Ringmaster (2020) Like a few other films about failed film projectss, this one has a lot to offer. It's an enjoyable watch that would only be made better with a fresh basket of just the right onion rings. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 12, 2021
92% Elizabeth is Missing (2019) Glenda Jackson turns in a brilliant performance as a woman descending into dementia. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 4, 2021
90% Effigy, Poison and The City (2020) A transformative and artful portrait of an era just before science and criminology could get a hold of this specific kind of deviation. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 4, 2021
90% My Psychedelic Love Story (2020) Engrossing. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 30, 2020
98% David Byrne's American Utopia (2020) [David Byrne's American Utopia] may be all you need to lift you up above the dire world all around you. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 19, 2020
96% Feels Good Man (2020) Most interesting is a look in how the 4Chan malcontents grew into a group so antisocial it viewed the rise of Trump as its own victory. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 19, 2020
94% Boys State (2020) It's an engrossing and thought-provoking documentary. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 14, 2020
67% The Swamp (2020) An interesting look inside anyway. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 4, 2020
98% The Go-Go's (2020) Their story is being told in perhaps the most complete way in Alison Ellwood's new documentary. - The Vinyl District EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 31, 2020
100% After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020) The insidious networks of misinformation who snake their conspiracy theories into mainstream news media are deftly explored. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 19, 2020
91% El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) Mostly, there is well-crafted tension that will make you miss the series more. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 14, 2019
74% Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) Here's Zach Galifianakis at his best. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 20, 2019
No Score Yet Right on Track (2003) Its biggest problem is that it stars Beverley Mitchell, the most annoying cast member of "7th Heaven," whose most expressive look is crossing her eyes. - Hartford Courant EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2019
No Score Yet Buffalo Dreams (2005) Graham Greene adds some weight to the story, which ends up as entertaining for grownups as it is for kids. - Hartford Courant EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2019
100% Ramy Youssef: Feelings (2019) Recommended. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jul 1, 2019
98% Deadwood: The Movie (2019) It's a warming, welcoming and well made farewell. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted May 31, 2019
91% Running with Beto (2019) His enthusiasm is infectious, even as his family gets wary of his relentless campaigning. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted May 28, 2019
60% Native Son (2019) Ashton Sanders gives a strong performance as Bigger. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 8, 2019
79% 306 Hollywood (2018) Visually striking. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 18, 2019
No Score Yet Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (2019) [Tyler Perry] keeps things moving in a special that keeps its focus on the music, which was marvelous. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 11, 2019
97% Free Solo (2018) Breathtaking photography. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 4, 2019
100% United Skates (2018) Amid it all are the joyful expressions on wheels, reflective of different cities and regions. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
100% Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me (2017) A complete look at [Sammy Davis, Jr's] many sides, from the pint-sized tap whiz to adult crooner and foundry-breaker. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 19, 2019
91% RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017) The great, untold story of Native American pioneers of rock 'n' roll should be shown to every misguided MAGA-hat wearing student at Covington Catholic High School. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 31, 2019
100% Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists (2018) The strong documentary "Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists"...makes a strong case that Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill...each offered some of the best journalism of the late 20th century with work that championed the poor and voiceless. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 30, 2019
80% Brexit (2019) Benjamin Cumberbatch is very good as usual as a single minded organizer who wants to break from the staid conservative politicians who have failed on the issue for years. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 22, 2019
100% Momentum Generation (2018) The film by Michael and Jeff Zimbalist is full of awesome surf footage on huge waves, but also a lot of emotional reminiscing among its stars, which include Taylor Steele, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado and about a dozen more. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 11, 2018
100% Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018) A documentary on the case Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland... puts a face on the Black Lives Matter struggles and is enhanced by her many encouraging (and not necessarily anti-cop) messages on her video blog. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 4, 2018
100% Flight of the Conchords: Live in London (2018) Now a little greying, they are typically deadpan in their patter, which is as amusing as the songs. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 8, 2018
82% The Oslo Diaries (2018) An enlightening documentary that goes behind the secret, even illegal, negotiations that came the closest to finding peace in the Middle East. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2018
27% The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018) What once was camp is now just atrocious. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Aug 21, 2018
64% Believer (2018) Dan Reynolds, frontman of the group Imagine Dragons, acts like he deserves a big pat on the back for not adhering to the discriminatory policies of the Mormon Church in which he was raised. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 26, 2018
76% Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2017) Working with the family of the musician, there are a lot of revealing home movie and archival footage and the words of Coltrane - from interviews or writings - are spoken with cool authority by Denzel Washington. - TV Worth Watching EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 12, 2018
99% The Tale (2018) Most of all it plays like an off-putting Lifetime movie, but with a better cast (Ellen Burstyn, Common, John Heard, Frances Conroy and Elisabeth Debicki). - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted May 29, 2018
100% Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (2018) Lucky thing that somebody put to film the agreeable tour of the Dos Amigos, in "Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life"... But there are a lot of grins in the banter, songs, bits and dances. - rogercatlin.com EDIT
Read More | Posted May 25, 2018