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Deborah Krieger
Tomatometer-approved critic
Deborah Krieger is an arts and culture writer with bylines in BUST Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Paste Magazine, PopMatters, Artillery Magazine, the Awl, the Mary Sue, and numerous other publications. She is the curatorial assistant at the Delaware Art Museum and was the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Vienna, Austria, from 2016-17.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Sunlit Night (2019) |
It does feature an appealing lead performance from Slate, and is earnest and honest in its largely successful attempt to translate creative thinking onto the screen in equally creative ways. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Jul 02, 2021
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African Violet (2020) |
African Violet tangles these three tight and tense knots of characters together in ways that reveal the lengths to which we all perform different roles in different areas of life-and are different versions of ourselves around different people. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Aug 20, 2020
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Cunningham (2019) |
There's a curious disconnect between these roundabout ways we learn about Merce Cunningham, the man, and the development of his idiosyncratic dance and choreography techniques, and the fluidity with which the actual restagings of his works are presented. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jan 03, 2020
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Pause (2018) |
Pause is not an easy or a pleasant film to watch, but it does have individual moments and sequences that are simply transfixing, as well as a strong, well-defined painterly aesthetic. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Sep 27, 2019
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The Art of Self-Defense (2019) |
The Art of Self-Defense pulls no punches. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Aug 15, 2019
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Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) |
It's just these little touches of maximum effort (oops, wrong Ryan Reynolds movie!) that make Detective Pikachu as strong as it is-that, and, of course, Ryan Reynolds' energetic, generous voice acting. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jul 22, 2019
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Red Joan (2018) |
Red Joan itself is reportedly based on the story of Melita Norwood, who passed the Soviets' information on the West's nuclear development. Sadly, Norwood's Wikipedia page is more of a thrilling yarn than most of Red Joan. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Jun 28, 2019
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Us, Forever Ago (2018) |
What's unsettling and fascinating about Us, Forever Ago, is that at no point can you be entirely sure that you're watching anything documentary. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jun 21, 2019
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Diane (2018) |
Kent Jones, primarily known as a film critic, clearly understands what makes a good story and how best to tell it. There's not a false note in the movie, a point where you might think: "oh, no one actually would say that." - Bust Magazine
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| Posted May 09, 2019
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The Chaperone (2018) |
The Chaperone is produced by PBS Masterpiece and is being shown in theaters, but it feels more suited to television. The budget is clearly lower for things like wigs and backdrops and old-age makeup to the extent that it's noticeable. - MovieJawn
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| Posted May 01, 2019
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Starfish (2018) |
Starfish was written, directed, and scored by A. T. White, primarily a musician by trade, and it's completely fitting in how it uses sound to fully evoke the horror elements of the story. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Apr 19, 2019
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The Invisibles (2017) |
The Invisibles, sadly, comes across as extremely didactic, as if it is inherently unsure of why so much of the movie is reenacted by professional actors. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Mar 26, 2019
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Ruben Brandt, Collector (2018) |
Ruben Brandt is suffering in a truly isolating way: these culturally ubiquitous objects of art that have so much beauty and meaning for everyone else have been causing him psychic and even real physical pain, and nothing he does seems to help. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Mar 04, 2019
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Thin (2006) |
What I found interesting while watching the film is that no attention is paid to aspects of aspects of society, especially in the United States, that could very well have played a part in these women and girl developing such severe eating disorders. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Mar 03, 2019
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Nancy (2018) |
Riseborough, so appealing in Battle of the Sexes and amusingly histrionic in The Death of Stalin, is astonishing in the lead role. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Feb 11, 2019
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A Boy Called Sailboat (2018) |
A Boy Called Sailboat is an astonishingly assured debut narrative film, managing to be heartwarming but not overly cloying, visually striking without seeming like a formal exercise, thoughtful but probably not too complicated for kids to understand. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jan 31, 2019
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Social Animals (2018) |
Social Animals focuses exclusively on how American teenagers use Instagram, almost serving as a fact-based mirror of Bo Burnham's gentle, wickedly honest Eighth Grade . - Filthy Dreams
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| Posted Jan 22, 2019
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The New Romantic (2018) |
The New Romantic (the debut feature of writer-director Carly Stone) is too slight, both in terms of theme and general characterization, to match up to Barden's performance (which will probably not get the attention it deserves). - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Jan 03, 2019
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The Waldheim Waltz (2018) |
The Waldheim Waltz functions as both an invaluable look at a protest movement fighting against a right-wing political insurgency, and also a call to action, creating a sense of righteous fury and a desire to prevent another Waldheim affair. - Jewish Currents
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| Posted Dec 25, 2018
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On the Basis of Sex (2018) |
I just wish that the movie had taken a more unconventional approach to the story of this still-unconventional woman. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Dec 22, 2018
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The Conspirator (2010) |
Although the "guilty" verdict is already a foregone conclusion, under the sure, steady direction of Robert Redford[...]the film builds suspense and allows the watcher to hope against hope that somehow the verdict will return as "not guilty". - I on the Arts
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| Posted Dec 14, 2018
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Jobs (2013) |
This dichotomy between what the film insists is Jobs at his best, and what we the audience see as Jobs at his arguable worst undermines the overall message and what we are supposed to take away from the movie. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Dec 14, 2018
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The American Meme (2018) |
Unpacks and reveals the ecosystem of social media celebrity with incredible thoughtfulness. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Dec 13, 2018
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Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words (2017) |
It's a movie that is perhaps best watched with a biography of Callas open on your lap, or with the Wikipedia entry on her life open in a separate window. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Dec 04, 2018
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Brand New Old Love (2018) |
While Brand New Old Love is ostensibly a romantic comedy about two friends who fulfill their high-school pledge to marry each other by age thirty, it's also an honest, unglamorous exploration of what it means to be an adult in the 2010s. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Nov 15, 2018
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Divergent (2014) |
Divergent is one of the few film adaptations that improves upon its source material. That's not to say that Divergent is a great film, but it's definitely a solid, often thrilling adaptation of a weakly written book. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Nov 01, 2018
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Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable (2018) |
Calling the film "postmodern" would be a good way to summarize how unforgivingly the film is dedicated to tearing down the aura of the modernist Great Man of Art and Culture that has come to define so many (male) artists and auteurs. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Oct 29, 2018
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Much Ado About Nothing (2012) |
Joss Whedon's stab at the material is absolutely worthy, featuring some stellar performances and providing satisfying levels of depth through its direction that the dialogue alone does not convey. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Oct 25, 2018
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Star Trek Beyond (2016) |
Needless to say-much to my surprise-I found myself truly enjoying Star Trek Beyond, despite its faults, even more than the original 2009 reboot. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Oct 23, 2018
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The LEGO Movie (2014) |
Clearly having fun with the low expectations garnered by the idea of a full-length film devoted to schilling for a toy, the film's directors have nonetheless created a solidly enjoyable and often hilarious 100 minutes of entertainment. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Oct 21, 2018
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The Song of Sway Lake (2017) |
Despite the beauty of the imagery, The Song of Sway Lake is a film that conflates that artsy, impressionistic cinematography with profoundly deep and emotional storytelling, as if one can turn the correlation into a kind of causation. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Oct 17, 2018
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Paper Year (2017) |
Jogia and Hewson are entirely believable in capturing and portraying deep affection and adoration for one another, which makes it all the more affecting when their relationship breaks down. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Oct 10, 2018
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Now You See Me (2013) |
However, the film sacrifices true depth of characterization of its leads in its quest to be purely entertaining, and the film suffers as a result. We are left rooting for-and against-a series of charming façades. - I on the Arts
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| Posted Oct 10, 2018
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Hinda and her Sisterrrz (2018) |
Who wouldn't want to be a part of Avery's coterie of smiling, brightly-dressed army of (often elderly) Jewish ladies standing against Nazis and winning? - Jewish Currents
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| Posted Oct 10, 2018
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Colette (2018) |
A more conventional biopic would try to tell the whole story of the life of the writer born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, rushing through her exciting and scandalous life until we get Knightley slathered in old-age makeup, Going For That Oscar. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Oct 10, 2018
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The Wife (2017) |
Yet despite the confoundingly warm reception and exaggerated Oscar buzz for Close's performance as an archetype that many women can undoubtedly relate to, The Wife fails on nearly every level as a movie. - PopMatters
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| Posted Oct 02, 2018
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Certain Women (2016) |
Certain Women belongs to the four women at its core. - Bitch Flicks
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| Posted Sep 26, 2018
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Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018) |
Despite an honest, tender lead performance from Shannon Purser, too many elements of Sierra Burgess leave such an unpleasant taste in the mouth. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Sep 14, 2018
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The Bookshop (2017) |
And so I have to wonder: in a world with basically unlimited entertainment options, with multiple projects in every conceivable genre, who is The Bookshop even for? - MovieJawn
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| Posted Aug 28, 2018
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To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) |
The energetic, game cast and smart writing that makes To All the Boys I've Loved Before one of the best romantic comedies in years, and the strongest outing in the genre released by Netflix thus far. - Bust Magazine
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| Posted Aug 21, 2018
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A Midsummer Night's Dream (2017) |
What Mott's A Midsummer Night's Dream does best is flesh out certain elements of the story in purely visual terms, using the specificity of the medium of film to do what can't really be done on stage. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Aug 07, 2018
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The Flowers of Yesterday (2016) |
Adèle Haenel's performance as Zazie is a tour de force... Zazie is complex and, at times, opaque enough that following her rather than Toto would have provided an overall richer experience. - The Forward
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Love, Cecil (2017) |
There are hints of brilliance in how the documentary is constructed... It's unfortunate that the way Love, Cecil is paced, then, means that it's easy for your mind to wander. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Custody (2017) |
While the performances in Custody are all strong, relative newcomer Thomas Gioria runs away with the movie. - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Hotel Artemis (2018) |
Hotel Artemis is incredibly assured and aware of what it wants to do. The atmosphere of suspense and intrigue it creates... is vivid and rich in detail, - MovieJawn
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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The Square (2017) |
The Square uses both comedic and dramatic elements to illustrate the ways we, and our various creations and institutions, fail one another. - Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Loving Vincent (2017) |
Loving Vincent is no mere aesthetic experience; instead, it is a poignant journey into the lives that Vincent Van Gogh touched... - Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) |
This documentary of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr is engaging and poignant, expanding the view (and our understanding) of the famously beautiful Hollywood star. - The Forward
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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Humor Me (2017) |
Ultimately, the lightness and sincerity brought to Humor Me makes it worth catching. - The Forward
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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The Testament (2017) |
The success of the The Testament rests on Ori's performance as Yoel, and in many cases, it works splendidly. - The Forward
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| Posted Jul 31, 2018
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