Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes
Critics list

Adam Fendelman

Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Location:

Chicago

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) 93% 4.5/5.0 EDIT “Masterfully marrying new with nostalgia, this is the one we've been waiting for.” – HollywoodChicago.com Dec 16, 2015 Full Review Sicario (2015) 91% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “One of the best films of 2015, "Sicario" does more than just lift the dirty, clandestine rug on the Mexican drug war. It poses harrowing moral questions many of us are too nervous to be asked let alone prepared to actually answer.” – HollywoodChicago.com Sep 26, 2015 Full Review Meet the Patels (2014) 87% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “"Meet the Patels" dares to buck the traditional documentary film formula. Its unscripted story bridges the cultural divide with a cinma vrit style that Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock can learn from.” – HollywoodChicago.com Sep 15, 2015 Full Review The Gift (2015) 91% 3.5/5.0 EDIT “An "R"-rated warning of the dangers of childhood bullying, Australian actor Joel Edgerton's tense directorial debut shows promise for both the modern psychological thriller genre and for himself as a legitimate filmmaker.” – HollywoodChicago.com Aug 10, 2015 Full Review Ricki and the Flash (2015) 64% 2.0/5.0 EDIT “"Ricki and the Flash" is an uninspired story from an Oscar-winning screenwriter who used her influence to tell an inspired-by story about her no-name mother-in-law rather than a real unknown musician who deserved it.” – HollywoodChicago.com Aug 7, 2015 Full Review Vacation (2015) 27% 2.5/5.0 EDIT “"Vacation" attempts to recreate the charm of the classic with actors who know how to read the lines but don't embody the characters. And they're forced to speak within a lazily written story that doesn't add enough to justify coming back.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jul 28, 2015 Full Review Pixels (2015) 18% 2.0/5.0 EDIT “The epitome of an idea that far outweighs its execution, "Pixels" is a bittersweet blunder that had all of the elements to be geeky great but ends up being cheesy mediocre. I could literally feel its potential, but the film ultimately fails to realize it.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jul 23, 2015 Full Review Ant-Man (2015) 83% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “Thanks to a perfectly cast leading role by Paul Rudd​ and a hilarious supporting choice in Michael Peña​, "Ant-Man​" is a much funner-than-expected summer blockbuster that's as kid-friendly as it gets for the superhero genre.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jul 20, 2015 Full Review The Gallows (2015) 15% 3.5/5.0 EDIT “Despite the production power of the trite Blumhouse horror machine, "The Gallows" harnesses real originality from new filmmakers (in a genre that's been lacking it) and effectively creates genuine scares because of it.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jul 12, 2015 Full Review Magic Mike XXL (2015) 66% 2.0/5.0 EDIT “Showing little differentiation from a substanceless soft porn with cheesy dialogue and a non-existent story, the nichely entertaining "Magic Mike XXL" treats you like you're a dumb monkey just wanting a jiggling banana.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jul 1, 2015 Full Review Jurassic World (2015) 72% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “"Jurassic World" doesn't buck blockbuster trends. Rather, it cleverly plays into them. More than a visual feast to marvel at, its new Indominus villain leaves us with a human lesson to heed: there's a price to pay for overmeddling with nature.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jun 14, 2015 Full Review San Andreas (2015) 48% 2.5/5.0 EDIT “When the story is as weak as the film's fault lines and the character development never develops, the problem with blowing $100 million mostly on special effects is all you're left with is unintelligent disaster porn.” – HollywoodChicago.com May 29, 2015 Full Review Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) 97% 4.5/5.0 EDIT “The epitome of a badass thrill ride and what a reboot should really be, I'll patiently wait another 30 years for someone to achieve what George Miller has pulled off here.” – HollywoodChicago.com May 15, 2015 Full Review Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 75% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “Hitting society's central nervous system through the real fear of AI gone horribly rogue, this complete sequel package weaves together a rich story, rousing special effects and the sacrificial duality of being a superhero versus the layman.” – HollywoodChicago.com May 1, 2015 Full Review Furious 7 (2015) 81% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “A tactful and touching legacy for Paul Walker, "Furious 7" is a relentlessly action-packed thrill ride that actually has a story, too. Its fun is propelled by characters you give a frick about even if you've never called yourself a franchise fan before.” – HollywoodChicago.com Apr 3, 2015 Full Review The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) 67% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “Often motivated by financial greed, many sequels satiate businesspeople while disappointing moviegoers. But "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" manages to buck the often-botched sequel trend with yet another naturally charming film.” – HollywoodChicago.com Mar 9, 2015 Full Review The Last Five Years (2014) 59% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “Telling the tough truth instead of being lied to with a glamorized version of theatre through rose-colored glasses, "The Last Five Years" establishes Anna Kendrick as a serious singer through Jason Robert Brown's naturally flowing, unpretentious music.” – HollywoodChicago.com Feb 22, 2015 Full Review Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) 25% 2.0/5.0 EDIT “Beneath its curious surface, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is an uninformed and unrealistic "romance" set in the BDSM world that dangerously dramatizes sexual violence and glamorizes domestic abuse.” – HollywoodChicago.com Feb 14, 2015 Full Review Seventh Son (2014) 12% 2.0/5.0 EDIT “"Seventh Son" wastes a promising cast with unfocused and incoherent story decisions, unusual-but-not-in-a-good-way acting, unfortunate choices with gender roles and one-sided depiction of people with color.” – HollywoodChicago.com Feb 8, 2015 Full Review Black Sea (2014) 81% 2.5/5.0 EDIT “While "Black Sea" physically dives deep, the story is shallow, the character's motivations are irrational and the drama is forced. The star of the film is the old, rickety submarine and the tension only she provides.” – HollywoodChicago.com Feb 1, 2015 Full Review Cake (2014) 49% 4.0/5.0 EDIT “More than just a vehicle for awards, "Cake" features an overdue, career-growing, award-worthy, emotionally honest role for Jennifer Aniston anchored by a patient script written by real humans about real humans.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jan 24, 2015 Full Review American Sniper (2014) 71% 3.0/5.0 EDIT “Entertaining, tense and thrilling, "American Sniper" devolves into glorification -- sugarcoating the truth and creatively changing details to assure we see the hero Chris Kyle was without most of the much darker anti-hero he also was.” – HollywoodChicago.com Jan 18, 2015 Full Review Into the Woods (2014) 70% 3.5/5.0 EDIT “Neither Hollywood nor purely Broadway, Disney's big-screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical "Into the Woods" finds an imperfect but charming, family-friendly home on Hollyway.” – HollywoodChicago.com Dec 24, 2014 Full Review The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) 59% 3.5/5.0 EDIT “One of Hollywood's best in splitting up the cinematic cellular DNA of one story into three, Peter Jackson is a master of mitosis. He now concludes a trilogy in traditional too-long but epic fashion after spending 513 screen minutes on only 445 pages.” – HollywoodChicago.com Dec 17, 2014 Full Review The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) 70% 2.5/5.0 EDIT “Weak source material split into two films for no creative advantage only results in a disappointing artistic decision ruled by financial greed. The film anti-climatically makes us wait and leaves us asking: "For what?"” – HollywoodChicago.com Nov 23, 2014 Full Review
No Reviews Yet
Load More