J Hurtado
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Pizza (2012) |
[A]n Indian horror film that succeeds without qualification. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 15, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Vol. 3 shifts the tonal balance away from the free-wheeling fun in an effort to give us a Return of the King-style victory lap, wrapping up a dozen stories all at once.
It's heavy. Really heavy. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 03, 2023
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Satan Wants You (2023) |
Terrifying, frustrating, hilarious, and occasionally infuriating, Satan Wants You is a gripping and entertaining look at a not-so-entertaining point in history - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 20, 2023
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Tetris (2023) |
Though it doesn’t work one hundred percent of the time and we do get a bit in the weeds with the legal jargon from time to time, the lulls are few and far between, and the film’s two hour run time mostly breezes by. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 20, 2023
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Furies (2023) |
I expect a lot of very solid clips to hit the action film fandom to great fanfare, but a feature isn’t just clips, it is the story, the settings, the themes, and the execution that make it work, and this one fails to connect. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Chronicles of a Wandering Saint (2023) |
Saint is easily among my top tier favorites of a very successful SXSW this year, and I expect it to hover near the top of my year end list when the time comes. What a debut for Gómez Bustillo, and what a performance from Mónica Villa! - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Monolith (2023) |
Monolith is an intelligent, exquisitely mounted creeping nightmare of a film - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Aberrance (2022) |
Though incredibly messy in terms of narrative – by design, I should add – Aberrance is nevertheless a fascinating and riveting first feature from Baatar Batsukh. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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Brooklyn 45 (2023) |
Brooklyn 45 is a stunning film that is sure to win over fans who go in with open minds. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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Evil Dead Rise (2023) |
Both recognizably bound by the rules and expectations of the Evil Dead universe and deadly determined to blaze a new trail, Evil Dead Rise is exactly the film that this franchise needed. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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It Lives Inside (2023) |
It Lives Inside combines the immigrant experience, the ties that keep us connected to our heritage (whether we like it or not), and a good, old-fashioned creature feature in a way that feels both authentic and entertaining in all the right ways. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023) |
Writer/director Bomani J. Story’s debut outing makes for a strong calling card, utilizing the flexibility of the origin story to fit the present moment without sacrificing atmosphere. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Late Night With the Devil (2023) |
It’s a tricky tonal tightrope the film walks, but it really nails the balance between dread and outrageous visceral horror elements that few films do well. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Molli and Max in the Future (2023) |
While the age of the classic romantic comedy seems to have passed us by, [...] Molli and Max in the Future remind us that there is still magic [...] if the filmmaker can manage to skew the lens just so to give the audience a new angle on old stories. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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The Wrath of Becky (2023) |
If the first film was Home Alone, this one is a bit more John Wick, only with less martial arts and more exploding fascist rednecks, and that is totally cool with me. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Cocaine Bear (2023) |
A gory gutbuster that more than earns a place in the pantheon of deliriously fun horror comedies. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Soft & Quiet (2022) |
Once the veneer of civility fades in the first twenty minutes of Soft & Quiet, it truly becomes something to behold. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Oct 14, 2022
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Halloween Ends (2022) |
While it definitely outshines the abysmal Halloween Kills, it’s far from successful in fulfilling its own ambitions. This Halloween Ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Oct 13, 2022
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Pearl (2022) |
This is the Ti West we’ve been waiting for, a filmmaker who knows his history, understands style, and exploits both to his and the audience’s benefit. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Sep 15, 2022
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Clerks III (2022) |
For fans of the series, there are bits and pieces to enjoy, but as a film it leaves a lot to be desired. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Sep 14, 2022
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Liger - Saala Crossbreed (2022) |
Liger fails to live up to the standards of either star or director and instead winds up as a below average potboiler too reliant on local tropes to feel fresh for Telugu film veterans or welcoming for newcomers. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Aug 26, 2022
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Out in the Ring (2022) |
A balanced and nuanced look at a century of victories and defeats with inspiring stories, cautionary tales, and plenty of high-flying action to punctuate the strength and power of the movement. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Aug 15, 2022
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Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) |
Laal Singh Chaddha is Forrest Gump for people who thought the original film was too edgy, and that’s not a good place to be. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Aug 10, 2022
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The Artifice Girl (2022) |
[S]ets a new template for speculative fiction on screen... the fact that this is Ritch's debut feature is absolutely astonishing - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Aug 05, 2022
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Relax, I'm from the Future (2023) |
[D]oesn’t rewrite the rules of time travel... certainly comes at them with a new angle that is more than enough to keep the audience guessing. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 31, 2022
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Detective vs. Sleuths (2022) |
Wai Ka-Fai came to play, and Detective Vs. Sleuths is a big ball of outlandish fun that will hit a sweet spot with lovers of outrageous Hong Kong action thrillers. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 26, 2022
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La Pietà (2022) |
[T]ragicomic to an extreme perhaps only comparable to the best work of Todd Solondz, a high bar that also serves as a kind of reference that will take the temperature of the viewer considering entering Casanova’s absurdist reality. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 26, 2022
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The Harbinger (2022) |
For those weary of Covid stories, this will serve as a reminder that the subject isn’t always the substance, that new stories can be told, even when topic fatigue sets in. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 25, 2022
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Glorious (2022) |
McKendry’s Glorious is a fun, gooey, occasionally mean-spirited, but very creative cosmic horror that brings a new level of grossness to a location already thought of as super gross by most who are forced to use it. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 23, 2022
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All Jacked Up and Full of Worms (2022) |
Viewers with more delicate sensibilities would do well to steer clear, but if experimental trash is your thing, All Jacked Up and Full of Worms could be just the thing to scratch that very gross itch. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jul 19, 2022
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The Black Phone (2021) |
The Black Phone is a definite winner. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jun 23, 2022
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Elvis (2022) |
[An] overstuffed ode to a pop culture icon is just as sparkly and blisteringly paced as you’d expect... somehow still manages to paint only the shallowest portrait of a deeply complicated man with a very conflicted existence. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Jun 23, 2022
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Vikram (2022) |
A whole lot of really big guns turn Vikram into a crowd-pleaser for Tamil film fans and not a bad entry point for international action lovers. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jun 09, 2022
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The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) |
The Bob's Burgers Movie welcomes its audience with open arms... devotees will leave feeling sated, and neophytes will have a new favorite show and an exciting journey ahead of them catching up on what they’ve missed. What more can you ask for? - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 23, 2022
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Men (2022) |
Men is a mess, as men often are, so maybe that’s a metaphor in itself? Who even knows. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 19, 2022
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Firestarter (2022) |
Firestarter barely manages a spark when it should be an inferno. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 17, 2022
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Thar (2022) |
[F]ans of bloody revenge thrillers should be on notice... Thar is definitely a film not to miss. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 06, 2022
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Acharya (2022) |
What it does, it does just fine, at least if you’re willing to endure quite a bit of very culturally specific pontificating on dharma and Naxalite rebels. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted May 04, 2022
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) |
It was a joy to watch Raimi exert his vision in this highly conscripted universe, especially when it felt just slightly out of control and anarchic. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted May 03, 2022
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K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022) |
With a big, domineering performance from Yash front and center; a love of bonkers action and unrelenting brutal violence; stunning camerawork from Bhuvan Gowda; and a director with flair to spare, crime and action lovers would do well to give it a chance. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Apr 19, 2022
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Beast (2022) |
Lackluster performances, confusing tonal shifts, and limp action sequences leave Beast in a kind of crossover purgatory. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Apr 14, 2022
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2.0 (2018) |
2.0 is here, and while it most definitely delivers the goods in terms of off-the-chain action sequences, it also shows serious signs of fatigue from writerdirector Shankar. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Apr 11, 2022
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Nanban (2012) |
For those people out there who haven't seen 3 Idiots, I can see Nanban being a whimsical diversion, for everyone else, well... - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Apr 11, 2022
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Hypochondriac (2022) |
There’s enough new here to warrant a recommendation, even when all the pieces don’t quite fit. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Apr 05, 2022
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RRR (2022) |
Those unfamiliar with Indian history might find themselves lost for a moment here and there, but those instances are fleeting, as the universal language of action speaks clearly throughout RRR. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Mar 28, 2022
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Raquel 1:1 (2022) |
Raquel 1:1 may be missing that little bit of oomph that would make it more of a buzz title at this years SXSW, but it is a damn good film that sheds light on feminist issues plaguing Brazil and the surrounding region in a novel way. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 18, 2022
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The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic (2021) |
A stunningly powerful experience and an example of the ways in which form can help to convey emotion. I dont know that Ill see a more exciting, empathetic film this year - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 17, 2022
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Jethica (2022) |
Jethica delivers a fresh and empathetic look at the lingering trauma that victims of stalking endure, even when the actual experience is supposedly over. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 17, 2022
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X (2022) |
X is a barn burner of a movie; sexy, bloody, funny, poignant in a way, and non-stop fun. Dont miss out on seeing this one with a crowd, youll be glad you did. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 16, 2022
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Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) |
Fun, funny, surprising, and occasionally even scary, Bodies Bodies Bodies will definitely scratch the itch for genre film fans looking for something to keep them guessing. - ScreenAnarchy
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| Posted Mar 15, 2022
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