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Derek Deskins
Tomatometer-approved critic
Derek was the only engineer at Northeastern University taking a class on German film and turning a sociology research paper into an examination of Scorsese's work. Now in Austin, TX, he blatantly abuses his Netflix account on the reg, although his List mocks him as it proudly sits healthily above 200. He continues to fight the stigma that being good at math means you are not any no good at writing. I good write, very much.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Bottoms (2023) |
Emma Seligman has delivered a movie that stretches its own genre and tells a story that is decidedly unique, while also feeling cozily familiar. "Bottoms" is smart, different, and, through it all, unrelentingly funny. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Aug 24, 2023
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Summoning Sylvia (2023) |
This mix of the mediocre and entertaining leaves "Summoning Sylvia" in a weird space. It has many bright spots, and inspires more than its fair share of laughs, but as a complete film it is largely a miss. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 31, 2023
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Emancipation (2022) |
"Emancipation" may not be a perfect film, an explosive action movie buried in a wannabe prestige picture, but in it Will Smith avoids an Oscar slump and further cements his status as a top-tier actor. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Dec 09, 2022
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The Fabelmans (2022) |
"The Fabelmans" is a director baring his life and soul on screen, in the most entertaining and touching way possible. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Nov 23, 2022
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) |
"Glass Onion" is more than just a sequel to "Knives Out." It is a director confidently making the movies that he wants to in a manner that only he can. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Nov 23, 2022
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The Menu (2022) |
For much of the film's runtime, it is immensely enjoyable. [...] But when "The Menu" sets out to give itself meaning, to be more than an alternatingly funny and upsetting horror-comedy, it struggles to find its footing. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Nov 18, 2022
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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) |
"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" is a goofy ode to an exceedingly strange man that feels both fitting and lacking. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Nov 15, 2022
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Bullet Train (2022) |
Its plot is a mess, its characters have simplistic motivations, and it doesn't even approach anything close to reality; but I don't care at all. It's fluffy, brightly colored, action packed entertainment, and sometimes, that's all you really want. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Aug 05, 2022
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Not Okay (2022) |
It is a film that strides into well-trod territory with misplaced confidence and nothing new to say. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 27, 2022
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Spiderhead (2022) |
"Spiderhead" is proof that a good concept does not necessarily make for a great film, and that sometimes more is actually less. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jun 17, 2022
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Hustle (2022) |
"Hustle" has the vibe of something built carefully and thoughtfully, and the results are a delight. It is the type of movie that reels you in with punchy sports action, but keeps you around for the way it makes you feel. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jun 09, 2022
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Memory (2022) |
...another in a long string of Neeson revenge movies that do little more than make you wish he could just play his age. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Apr 29, 2022
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I Want You Back (2022) |
Eastwoods aside, "I Want You Back" isn't altogether awful. It's a perfectly pleasant movie, with an admittedly cute ending, that will inspire the occasional chortle and leave you feeling just fine. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Feb 10, 2022
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Clerk (2021) |
As a documentary, it is straight down the middle, neither awful nor exceptional, but as a piece of the Kevin Smith milieu, it captures a transportive essence of Smith that warms you from the inside out. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Nov 23, 2021
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Army of Thieves (2021) |
"Army of Thieves" takes a great character from a poorly made movie and gives him a place to play. And while Schweighöfer is the primary reason that any of it works, at least this time that was on purpose. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Oct 29, 2021
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The Manor (2021) |
"The Manor's" many failures are all the more frustrating because of its cast. Living legend Barbara Hershey does her best to make the film captivating, but that ability resides outside of her prodigious skill set. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Oct 13, 2021
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Kate (2021) |
When "Kate" gets out of its own way and relishes its skills, it's a stylish, hyper violent thrill ride bathed in neon lights, coated in blood, and so exhilarating that you'll have to fight the urge to shout words of encouragement at the screen. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Sep 10, 2021
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Blood Red Sky (2021) |
As it is, "Blood Red Sky" is a perfectly fine horror action film, bathed in blood and accentuated with explosions. It won't surprise you, but it'll keep you entertained for most of its runtime. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 21, 2021
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Happily (2021) |
By the time you reach the end of "Happily," all that is left is a series of abandoned ideas, potential character arcs, and a return to relative normalcy. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 19, 2021
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Boss Level (2021) |
While Frank Grillo is a perfectly competent grizzled action star, "Boss Level" is a sad attempt at anything flirting with competency. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 05, 2021
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Ukraine Is Not a Brothel (2013) |
With its strength of voice, it is far more inspirational than any topless protest contained within. - Next Projection
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| Posted Jan 20, 2021
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One Night in Miami (2020) |
But rather than it being the monologues of mythical beings, King gives it the intimacy of friends chatting. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Dec 27, 2020
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Little Monsters (1989) |
It is 100 minutes of nails on a chalkboard and, in a more just world, would have resulted in the end of Howie Mandel's career. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Sep 23, 2020
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How to Build a Girl (2019) |
With a lesser cast, I may have forgiven its broad sensibilities, but its complete waste of an exceptionally talented troupe of actors feels unforgivable. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Aug 19, 2020
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Project Power (2020) |
"Project Power" can never stick the landing, wavering in an in-between space: Not crazy enough to be fun, not smart enough to be good. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Aug 15, 2020
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SCOOB! (2020) |
While "Scoob!" doesn't always feel like a Scooby movie or accomplish anything exceptional, it manages to be a welcomed distraction that balances its sense of humor with its more saccharine sensibilities. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 21, 2020
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We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (2020) |
As a documentary "We Are Freestyle Love Supreme" lacks anything exceptional. But a failure of a documentary is not necessarily a failure of entertainment. Although, that is not true in this case. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 20, 2020
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The Hunt (2020) |
The writing is hack, sounding more like an anonymous internet comment than how people actually speak to one another. This poorly-written script crumbles under the smallest amount of pressure. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jun 17, 2020
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The Way Back (2020) |
Ben Affleck gives a tour-de-force performance that is wonderfully and heartbreakingly subtle. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted May 19, 2020
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Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) |
This is a movie that frequently makes jokes at the expense of Olive Garden, while itself being the Olive Garden of movies. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted May 19, 2020
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EMMA. (2020) |
"Emma." is as much a sweetly funny romantic comedy as it is an utter delight for your eyes. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted May 19, 2020
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Just Mercy (2019) |
The resulting movie is a very well assembled cinematic mediocrity. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Apr 28, 2020
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) |
When watched with your brain turned off, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an entertaining and action-packed thrill ride. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Apr 01, 2020
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Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) |
The story is largely nonexistent, as it truly is played like the next level of a videogame. It makes for a pleasing if exceedingly thin and unmemorable final product. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 24, 2020
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Charlie's Angels (2019) |
While the 2000s-era films were far from cinematic greats, their physics-defying stunts and action set pieces made them something that audiences flocked to. And therein lies the problem with the latest iteration: It's not any fun. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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Dark Waters (2019) |
Haynes makes the already relevant tale of an environmental David vs. Goliath absolutely essential. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 03, 2020
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21 Bridges (2019) |
The type of movie that you stumble onto partway through and just leave on while you do chores around the house. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Feb 24, 2020
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Jojo Rabbit (2019) |
Waititi wisely chooses to stay with Jojo's path of growth for the majority of the time, wherein he deftly mixes humor with the struggle of growing up and the occasional note of tragedy. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Feb 18, 2020
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Greener Grass (2019) |
...it feels overlong, purposeless, and designed to make you squirm in your seat. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Feb 11, 2020
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Pain and Glory (2019) |
In his assemblage of the film, Almodóvar imbues "Pain & Glory" with a wonderfully lyrical lilt. He weaves the film's many themes gracefully, with the measured contemplation of a musician putting together an album. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Feb 04, 2020
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Joker (2019) |
To celebrate "Joker" as the best of the year is akin to telling your friends of all the celebrities you met while walking through Madame Tussauds. It isn't and you didn't. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jan 14, 2020
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Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) |
The result is that "Between Two Ferns: The Movie" ends up feeling like a knock-off of "The Muppet Movie," with a darker and angrier sense of humor and none of the charm of the muppets themselves. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Sep 20, 2019
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Sword of Trust (2019) |
Maron's performance as Mel is wonderful, delicate and dirty, and it elevates the film in every way, feeling like something only Maron could deliver. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 12, 2019
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Stuber (2019) |
"Stuber" floats by on its own predictability, seemingly having no desire to do something special or new. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Jul 12, 2019
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Good Boys (2019) |
While it begins to sag near its end, mostly due to its penchant to repeat itself, it still manages to feel like something both familiar and fresh. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 20, 2019
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Villains (2019) |
There is an almost delightfully breezy humor to "Villains" that helps to propel it through its darker moments. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 18, 2019
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The Beach Bum (2019) |
While "The Beach Bum" does have the guise of a plot, it isn't entirely concerned with doing all that much with it. Instead, it prefers to flit about, hopping from idea to idea looking for whatever could be the best time. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 13, 2019
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Long Shot (2019) |
While it is loaded with Rogen's typical raunch, this time it is used as a cover for what is essentially a gender-swapped 90s-era romantic comedy. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 12, 2019
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Us (2019) |
"Us" blasts out of the gate and then refuses to let up for its two-hour runtime. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 12, 2019
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Go Back to China (2019) |
Anchored by Anna Akana's effervescent lead performance, "Go Back to China" is enjoyably consumable, if ultimately a little generic and predictable. - Edge Media Network
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| Posted Mar 12, 2019
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