Ben Yagoda
Ben Yagoda's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
Philadelphia Daily News
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) |
Even those of us who prefer the goofy anarchy of Warner Brothers' Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to the sweet, cute and too often treacly world according to Disney have to grant the frequent charm of this film. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Dec 19, 2022
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The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) |
No one is better able to appreciate this movie than the devout Christians who are protesting it. If you have a deep interest in Jesus, you may find the movie infuriating, but you will probably also find it consistently engaging and at times inspiring. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 05, 2022
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Stand and Deliver (1988) |
This is a Rocky without any cut lips, a story of hope and glory in a strange world of the Y axis and differential equations. Stand and Deliver makes you want to stand up and cheer. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Aug 10, 2021
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La Bamba (1987) |
La Bamba is an appealing film, in part because of its very niceness. In telling the Valens story, Valdez has taken the edge off many music-bio clichés, a welcome counter to our expectations. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Aug 10, 2021
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Baby Boom (1987) |
The message of "Baby Boom" is so wildly dubious that it s impossible to ignore. When you think of it as only a movie, however (and a slick, manipulative light comedy at that), you have to admit that "Baby Boom" does a nice job. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 24, 2021
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Running on Empty (1988) |
"Running on Empty," helped by uniformly excellent performances, is a thoughtful, moving and, yes, dramatic look at a family's struggle to stay together. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 25, 2021
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The Living Daylights (1987) |
The relative clarity of the story allows director John Glen and screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson to inject moments of subtlety and human interest -- commodities that in recent Bonds have been in even shorter supply than sense. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Oct 20, 2015
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Hot to Trot (1988) |
[Hot to Trot] sounded truly awful. It turned out to be worse. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Apr 21, 2015
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Tampopo (1985) |
As long as the movie sticks to the story of the noodle shop, however, it's delightful and funny. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Mar 13, 2015
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She's Having a Baby (1988) |
Hughes is simply doing what they tell you the first day of creative writing class: write about what you know. And he's doing it with both craft and a good deal of emotional honesty. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 04, 2014
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Eight Men Out (1988) |
Unfortunately, the movie's didacticism returns in the lengthy and somewhat tedious courtroom ending dealing with the aftermath of the Series. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 06, 2014
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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) |
It's hard to escape the conclusion that all the originality and excitement have been drained from the series. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 05, 2014
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Three Amigos! (1986) |
So sweetly goofy that you can't keep from laughing. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Apr 25, 2014
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Platoon (1986) |
Platoon is not the definitive Vietnam statement that Stone may have intended, or that others are already claiming it to be. But it is a powerful document about that sad war, and a riveting piece of moviemaking. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Feb 24, 2014
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RoboCop (1987) |
It proceeds from a vision, and it takes that vision seriously. It ends up being moving -- and for a comic book of a movie, that's no small achievement. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Feb 11, 2014
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Moonstruck (1987) |
No resistance could overcome the overfamiliarity of the situations in Moonstruck, the corniness of its dramaturgy or the banality of its message. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Feb 07, 2014
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The Lost Boys (1987) |
Though there is enough gore in the film to satisfy the typical bloodthirsty filmgoer, its strong suit is deadpan humor. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jan 21, 2014
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The Last Emperor (1987) |
Even though its ambitions sometimes get the better of it, the film succeeds often enough to make us grateful that, even in our MTV age, a director like Bertolucci is still willing to get on the mat and grapple with Personality and History. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jan 07, 2014
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Lethal Weapon (1987) |
What this premise needs is a serviceable plot, but screenwriter Shane Block hasn't provided one. Indeed, for an action thriller, Lethal Weapon is unacceptably slow. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Dec 06, 2013
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Big (1988) |
There's also one absolutely charming moment when Hanks and Loggia leap from key to key to tap out the melody and harmony to "Heart and Soul" on a giant piano in the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Aug 02, 2013
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The Big Easy (1986) |
Barkin makes the silliness with which her character behaves as credible as is probably possible. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 31, 2013
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A Fish Called Wanda (1988) |
As in most of his Python parts... Cleese's character is an extended riff on the concept of pomposity. But Archie is more leavened with humanity than any of his other roles. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 30, 2013
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Midnight Run (1988) |
De Niro is probably the most intense and idiosyncratic actor of his generation; Midnight Run may be the most conventional movie I've ever seen. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 30, 2013
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) |
The feats performed by director Robert Zemeckis and director of animation Richard Williams are pretty amazing. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 30, 2013
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No Way Out (1987) |
It's too bad Alfred Hitchcock didn't live long enough to put Kevin Costner into a movie, because Costner is exactly the kind of leading man Hitchcock liked. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 29, 2013
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Die Hard (1988) |
Die Hard is probably the most manipulative movie I've seen this year, but since it makes no bones about being manipulative and does it so well, this not only isn't a problem -- it's fun. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jul 09, 2013
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The Princess Bride (1987) |
Mandy Patinkin, as Inigo Montoya, deserves special mention. Inigo is the one character in the film who contains real emotional depth, and Patinkin plumbs it. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 28, 2013
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The Untouchables (1987) |
De Palma does superb job with the action sequences, which are choreographed, paced and acted out so well that they don't leave a palm dry in the house. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 25, 2013
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Full Metal Jacket (1987) |
If a film doesn't give us people, it has to offer a substitute -- an idea, a style, a vision. Full Metal Jacket comes up blank. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 21, 2013
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Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987) |
This is fairly clever. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 21, 2013
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Vibes (1988) |
If there were an Academy Award for Most Instantly Forgettable Film, the odds-on early favorite would be Vibes. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 21, 2013
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Cocktail (1988) |
The philosopher Hannah Arendt once wrote a book about the banality of evil. After seeing Cocktail, I want to write one about the evil of banality. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 21, 2013
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Square Dance (1987) |
The heights Square Dance reaches up until then are enough to make it one of the laudable films of the year. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 20, 2013
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Mac and Me (1988) |
Possibly aware that they have something less than a classic on their hands, the makers of MAC and Me have cut their losses by making the film into a kind of cinematic billboard: all space is for sale. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 14, 2013
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Wish You Were Here (1987) |
Leland has not, as I say, made up his mind as to which kind of film he is making, and so the mood of Wish You Were Here bounces uncomfortably back and forth between playful sass and grim decline-and-fall melodrama. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted May 08, 2013
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Dirty Dancing (1987) |
There is some freshness in the film, much of it supplied by Jennifer Grey, who's appealing, thoughtful and just right as Baby. There's also some eloquence, although most of it is supplied by the wonderful vintage pop songs. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Mar 25, 2013
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Sid & Nancy (1986) |
As it chronicles the fall, and fall, and fall of its title characters, Sid & Nancy very quickly becomes tiresome and annoying. - Philadelphia Daily News
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| Posted Jun 12, 2003
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