Brian Costello
Brian Costello's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
Common Sense Media
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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MIxed by Erry (2023) |
It's a movie as interesting as it is enjoyable, relevant because home taping, with 20/20 hindsight, can be seen as one of the first nails in the coffin of the music industry. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jun 06, 2023
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Hard Feelings (2023) |
The strong sexual content is also likely to drown out the fact that, unlike pretty much every other teen sex comedy, teen girls and women are allowed to be something more than mere sex objects for the boys to drool over. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jun 06, 2023
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Mojave Diamonds (2023) |
It's a clunky low-budget action movie with amateur-hour production values and exposition.
- Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jun 06, 2023
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Influencer (2023) |
Influencer has very good acting in each of the roles, even if most of the characters lack a certain depth that would make the story and conflicts that much better. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 31, 2023
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Rowdy Fellow (2014) |
The whole thing seems needlessly complicated, and the blend of comedy and drama clashes. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 23, 2023
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Soft & Quiet (2022) |
It's not a movie one will easily forget. It's a drama-horror that reminds us that the people who seem like the most ordinary of citizens can be as horrific as hockey mask-wearing axe murderers, if not more so. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 10, 2023
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From Black (2023) |
The acting is solid and the story is engaging, but these aspects get lost in the morass of goat sacrifices, salted circles with hieroglyphics, and spell conjuring. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 03, 2023
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Attack on Titan (2022) |
Some movies are so bad they're good; this movie is so bad, it's boring. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 03, 2023
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Conan the Destroyer (1984) |
Conan the Destroyer has all the hallmarks of a bad '80s fantasy movie -- cheesy special effects, unintentionally funny dialogue, and sets that look like they were left over from bad heavy metal music videos. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 03, 2023
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Quasi (2023) |
It looks like those involved had a great time making this. Sadly, this enjoyment doesn't extend to the audience. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted May 03, 2023
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Invitation to a Murder (2023) |
Invitation to a Murder definitely pushes the limits of suspension of disbelief, and some of the characters -- mystery archetypes all -- skirt dangerously close into cliches and stereotyping, but it doesn't quite get cross over. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 25, 2023
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Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) |
Like most sequels, it's not as good as the original, but like the original, it's best enjoyed as a slice of nostalgia for a time of CB radios, ludicrous vehicle chases, and even more ludicrous storylines. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023) |
The acting is above average for movies like this, where, typically, the actors are more about the fight scenes than delivering their lines in a credible manner. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Kuttey (2023) |
It's entertaining despite all the cliches of hardboiled dialogue, extreme gratuitous violence, and the inevitable scenes of every single character having a weapon and pointing them at each other. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 05, 2023
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The Unheard (2023) |
There are so many redundant scenes of Chloe hearing static-y auditory hallucinations, the viewer can be forgiven for shouting, "OK, we get it already!" - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 05, 2023
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Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023) |
The central story is muddied by the gimmickry of origin stories for this or that character. It's yet another superhero animated movie that's best enjoyed by the fans, who will probably have a lot to argue about with this one. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 05, 2023
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Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023) |
The problem is that the big reveals aren't particularly rewarding, and while there's enough entertainment value to sustain the movie, all the plot twists and backstories and big reveals get to be exhausting. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Apr 05, 2023
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Noise (2023) |
It's a slow-burn kind of movie, beautifully directed and skillfully acted. Regrettably, the story doesn't quite live up to its promise.
- Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 21, 2023
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Unseen (2023) |
Where the movie falls a bit short is in the secondary characters. While the two leads come across as fully developed, likable characters, the villains are so over the top, it's depressing. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Possessed (2022) |
All in all, there's nothing here that hasn't been done before in so many other zombie movies. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Die Hart the Movie (2023) |
It doesn't take a genius to point out the cliches of action movies, and there's a lack of any kind of next-level to the humor. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Dawn of the Dead (1978) |
There's still plenty of the low-budget charm that made the original 1968 Night of the Living Dead a classic, and there's also plenty of good old fashioned 1970s shock value and societal despair regarding post-Vietnam America. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Call Me Chihiro (2023) |
Yes, the "sex worker with a heart of gold" story is as old as time, but this variation on the theme comes across as wholly original. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 01, 2023
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One Year Off (2023) |
There's a tiny bit of charm to it, and there's almost a story there, but the other problem is that this movie has no real conflict. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 01, 2023
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Nothing Is Impossible (2022) |
There are many better sports movies out there, no matter what you believe.
- Common Sense Media
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| Posted Mar 01, 2023
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All the Places (2023) |
It follows a familiar formula, but the likable characters and lovely scenery of the Mexican countryside and cities keep it enjoyable. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 24, 2023
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There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023) |
However, there are too many cheesy jump scares, overbearing "gothic" synthesizer background music, and the worn-out trope of bloody noses that signal bad things to come. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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The Substitute (2022) |
Predictably enough, this is met with boredom and active disinterest, but there's a lot that the movie gets right; namely, that when it's done right, the teacher learns as much as the students. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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Piggy (2022) |
As the coming-of-age horror becomes the blood and gore of horror movie violence, it makes the choice Sara must ultimately make that much more powerful, with an ending that should inspire spirited discussion. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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Teen Wolf: The Movie (2023) |
While the action is brisk, the acting is often inconsistent. Some are better than others. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 07, 2023
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Viking Wolf (2021) |
Overall, though, while it's a Norwegian twist on the werewolf tale, it doesn't really add anything new to the story. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 07, 2023
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Mission Majnu (2023) |
This central story is interesting, filled with action and fascinating political backdrops. The conflicts are engaging, and there are some entertaining "cloak and dagger" scenes of chasing and escaping. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Narvik (2021) |
It depicts the heroism of the proverbial "ragtag" soldiers fighting back against seemingly impossible odds, but it's more than firefights and bombings. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Snow Falls (2023) |
Snow Falls is another version of the "young adults go to the vacation house in the country to die" horror story, only instead of murderous countryfolk, the homicidal culprits in this one are both snow and cold. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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The Wandering Earth II (2023) |
The movie comes off as China's answer to the blockbuster sci-fi epic, and, just like many of these types of movies made in the United States, there's a heavy-handed jingoistic nationalism at work here that gets tiresome. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Sick (2022) |
The payoffs are actually rewarding, and more than a little disturbing in terms of the lengths the crazed killers have gone to get vengeance and attain some twisted sense of justice. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 25, 2023
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New Gods: Yang Jian (2022) |
The animation in New Gods: Yang Jian is consistently impressive and beautiful, but without a coherent story, the striking visuals only go so far. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 25, 2023
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Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld (2023) |
It's a fascinating look at a turbulent time in Mumbai, particularly for those who knew nothing about it. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 18, 2023
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Mousa (2021) |
As the story goes on, it gets to be more and more uneven, and the only real thread worth hanging on to concerns whether or not Yehia will learn what it means to be brave without the help of VR headgear and giant vigilante robots. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 18, 2023
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How I Became a Gangster (2020) |
If you can tune out all the other gangster movies that existed before this one and let it stand on its own, it's enjoyable on its own terms. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 11, 2023
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10 Minutes Gone (2019) |
10 Minutes Gone starts out with most of a gang planning a heist and discussing it in a bar over beers and whiskey (the best way to plan heists, naturally), and shortly after, it's difficult to determine what gets clumsier, the heist or the movie itself. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 10, 2023
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Warriors of Future (2022) |
It's a pretty crazy movie, but at the same time, a lot of it doesn't seem that far removed from Michael Bay and James Cameron epics.
- Common Sense Media
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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All In: Miracle at St. Bernard's (2022) |
Documentaries like these always feel the need to be playing "rousing" and "inspirational" background music on an endless loop, as if the story itself can't move the audience. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 21, 2022
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The Big 4 (2022) |
While the action is unrelenting, the movie's length does test one's patience. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 21, 2022
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It's a Wonderful Binge (2022) |
It's downright impressive that so much comedic talent signed on to take part in this banal movie that doesn't produce one single laugh amidst all the screaming and sight gags involving broken legs and menorahs with joints instead of candles. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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Resistance: 1942 (2021) |
This is a solid historical drama with a positive message of hope in the midst of despair. Resistance 1942 isn't really saying anything new in the sea of movies about WWII, Nazis, and the resistance to fascism. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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The Territory (2022) |
While clearly showing what will happen if the destruction of the rainforest and the indigenous people who live there continue, it also takes the time to present the views of those who see this as an opportunity to be landowners and farmers. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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God's Crooked Lines (2022) |
When it works, such as when it develops the characters suffering from mental illness in the hospital, it adds depth and heightens the story. When it doesn't, one begins to feel the seconds tick away in this two-hour-and-35-minute movie.
- Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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My Name Is Vendetta (2022) |
The story and the action work well together, and there isn't a wasted scene in the whole movie. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 07, 2022
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Summertime Dropouts (2021) |
The acting comes across as comfortable across the board. No one is over the top and the story feels natural. It's a very wholesome movie. - Common Sense Media
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| Posted Dec 07, 2022
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