Roger Catlin
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78% | 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
Read More | Posted Jun 26, 2018
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| 75% | 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
Read More | Posted Jun 12, 2018
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| 98% | 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
Read More | Posted May 29, 2018
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| 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
Read More | Posted May 25, 2018
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| 35% | Fahrenheit 451 (2018) |
Some of Ramin Bahrani's film is so dull, though, it may leave you wanting to read a book instead.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted May 21, 2018
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| No Score Yet | The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish! (2018) |
If you're going to wade into the royal wedding at all, my preference hands down is "The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish"...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted May 21, 2018
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| 81% | Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie (2018) |
The documentary... takes an awful long time telling the story of Mattel doing something they should have done a long time ago: ditch the preposterous body type of its Barbie doll for different sizes and shapes.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2018
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| 95% | Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018) |
Director Tom Zimny keeps the focus either on vintage clips or newly filmed, lovingly shots crawling over every inch of Graceland.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 16, 2018
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| 94% | Andre the Giant (2018) |
Mostly we marvel at him the same way we would by paying 50 cents at the side show.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 16, 2018
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| 74% | Paterno (2018) |
Al Pacino has specialized in playing actual people for HBO films, from Roy Cohen to Phil Spector, Jack Kavorkian and now Joe Paterno, in an understated and effective portrayal of the beloved Penn State coach...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 16, 2018
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| 90% | Arthur Miller: Writer (2018) |
... the comprehensive documentary "Arthur Miller: Writer" (HBO, 8 p.m.) the author of "Death of a Salesman" and so many other works is warm, thoughtful and expansive, probably because he's talking to his daughter [director Rebecca Miller].‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Mar 19, 2018
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| 100% | Notes From The Field (2018) |
Amid her riveting performances are many of the still indelible images from recent incidents.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 26, 2018
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| 100% | Trouble No More (2017) |
... with some driving performances from Toronto interspersed with brief sermon interlude, written by Luc Sante and delivered by Oscar nominee Michael Shannon, of all people.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 26, 2018
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| No Score Yet | Word Is Bond (2017) |
... a thoughtful exploration of hip hop...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 16, 2018
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| 69% | Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars (2017) |
It's quite a portrait, with a terrific soundtrack.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 12, 2018
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| 89% | May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2017) |
... a strong music biography...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jan 29, 2018
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| 98% | I Am Not Your Negro (2017) |
It's an imaginative look not only at the intellectual powerhouse of writer James Baldwin, as seen on TV interviews and in speeches, but also his own words from an unpublished manuscripts...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jan 16, 2018
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| 92% | David Bowie: The Last Five Years (2017) |
It's a thoughtful look back at a formidable artist.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jan 9, 2018
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| No Score Yet | The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004) |
If this poor stab at Indiana Jones is the best material [Noah Wyle] can find, he's better off at the hospital.‐ Hartford Courant
Read More | Posted Jan 2, 2018
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| No Score Yet | A Very Married Christmas (2004) |
A dour film about divorce at the holidays that can't be dressed up by music or misleading promotion as "a lighthearted holiday story.'' ‐ Hartford Courant
Read More | Posted Jan 2, 2018
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| No Score Yet | Mitch Albom's 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven' (2004) |
But as its ponderous, simplistic tales play out, you find yourself counting down how many more people he'll still have to meet in heaven before the three hours are over.‐ Hartford Courant
Read More | Posted Jan 2, 2018
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| 72% | The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) |
"The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' is the rare celebrity bio that rises above its limitations to approach the magic of its subject matter.‐ Hartford Courant
Read More | Posted Jan 2, 2018
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| No Score Yet | America: The Story of Us (2010) |
Still, the most troubling part comes when the first talking head heard is that of Donald Trump. Are we comfortable learning our American history from the likes of Trump, Michael Douglas and Diddy?‐ Hartford Courant
Read More | Posted Jan 2, 2018
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| No Score Yet | Panama's Animal Highway (2017) |
There's enough activity on Panama to supply a whole series on Panama's Animal Highway. For now, enjoy what they've packed into an hour.‐ TV Worth Watching
Read More | Posted Dec 14, 2017
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| 88% | The Problem with Apu (2017) |
The film is an interesting door to a useful discussion about portrayals of people on TV...‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Nov 21, 2017
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| 100% | Baltimore Rising (2017) |
... the documentary by Sonja Sohn and Mark Levin that covers the event in a manner nobody has quite done before.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Nov 21, 2017
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| 91% | Gerald's Game (2017) |
There's no paranormal activity at work in this Stephen King-inspired film, but Gerald's Game is just as nightmarish.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Oct 4, 2017
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| No Score Yet | Year of the Scab (2017) |
"Year of the Scab" benefits from a wealth of period sports news footage on news conferences and games... ‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2017
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| 83% | My Love, Don't Cross That River (2016) |
My Love, Don't Cross That River is a simple and profoundly moving examination of a couple that's been together 75 years.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Sep 11, 2017
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| 93% | Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny (2016) |
What makes filmmaker Richard Linklater stand out as a subject is his own ambivalence to anything approaching being called a "Master."‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Sep 1, 2017
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| 90% | Raising Bertie (2017) |
By keeping talking heads - and most authority figures outside of moms, Saunders and other teachers - out of the film and letting the young men speak and dream of their future show glimmers of hope and an indomitable spirit, even in the bleakest prospects.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Aug 28, 2017
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| 87% | Tour De Pharmacy (2017) |
The piece has a roaring sophomoric quality and quite a fixation on penises, but generally gets to the comic finish line.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jul 10, 2017
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| 100% | Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017) |
Questions are raised in Erin Lee Carr's creepily fascinating Mommy Dead and Dearest.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted May 15, 2017
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| 81% | Casting JonBenét (2017) |
Fascinating.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted May 1, 2017
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| 93% | Tickled (2016) |
It's a fascinating tale, that is followed by the shorter addendum, The Tickle King, about what happened when the principals showed up to disrupt festival screenings.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 27, 2017
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| 100% | Tower (2016) |
It gains impact when it begins to show many of the eyewitnesses and victims in some case, who in some cases are reuniting 50 years after that hot afternoon to recollect the story.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 15, 2017
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| 100% | Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (2017) |
If you didn't know much about the band before, you'll be a fan soon enough. That's before the horror of the attack is recalled.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 14, 2017
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| 81% | By Sidney Lumet (2016) |
It's a great body of work and a satisfying biography.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jan 3, 2017
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| 100% | Every Brilliant Thing (2016) |
There's no denying the generosity and depth of empathy found in audiences such as the ones filmed for this remarkable film.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Dec 29, 2016
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| 90% | Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing (2016) |
Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing is both a comprehensive look at the reprehensible act of terrorism at the worldwide event, but a deeply human one, that follows a trio of families... even as they try to move past it.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Nov 21, 2016
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| 63% | Killing Reagan (2016) |
Director Rod Lurie plays it down the middle, though he has a tough time replicating Washington in Atlanta, where the whole thing was shot. ‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Oct 17, 2016
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| 50% | Mascots (2016) |
It's awfully funny.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Oct 14, 2016
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| 100% | Class Divide (2016) |
Marc Levin talks to people on both sides [the rich and the poor] in Class Divide and gets his most poignant responses from children.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Oct 4, 2016
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| 73% | How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change (2016) |
The culmination of disaster footage and shocking talk from scientists make this compulsive viewing.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jun 28, 2016
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| 93% | Janis: Little Girl Blue (2015) |
Janis: Little Girl Blue, a sensitive portrait by Amy Berg... shows how thoughtful the entertainer, sometimes dismissed as a party girl, really was.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted May 3, 2016
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| 96% | Heart of a Dog (2015) |
It's a remarkable art project posing as a personal documentary, the third consecutive night of striking premieres on the network.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 26, 2016
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| 67% | Purple Rain (1984) |
A viewer's response to the movie will probably relate directly to how much the viewer likes Prince to begin with.‐ Omaha World-Herald
Read More | Posted Apr 21, 2016
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| 81% | Confirmation (2016) |
The TV film, directed by Rick Famuyiwa, succeeds, as most HBO films do, on the casting alone.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Apr 18, 2016
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| 100% | Homegrown: The Counter-Terror Dilemma (2016) |
What makes [it] interesting is when the family members of a victim at Ft. Hood meets with the cousin of the terrorist there; or when the family of a young scholar meets with the FBI analyst who put him away, who asks finally, "What would you have done?"‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Feb 9, 2016
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| No Score Yet | Heroin: Cape Cod, USA (2015) |
"Christmas morning every morning, who doesn't want that?" says one of the sad young people in the chilling new documentary Heroin: Cape Cod, USA where seemingly well adjusted suburban kids are lured into heroin through painkillers.‐ rogercatlin.com
Read More | Posted Jan 4, 2016
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