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Jennie Punter
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Mothering Sunday (2021) |
An exquisite expression of the female gaze that sifts through the memories, reveries, and revelations of a writer, and exploresin a story that captures the whole feeling of life, as one character puts it how she became one. - Original Cin
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| Posted Apr 08, 2022
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Learn To Swim (2021) |
Thomas Antony Olajide delivers an intense yet tender and nuanced performance as Dezi Williams. At a time when venues are opening again, and music fans are once again experiencing live music, Dezi and his saxophone sounds a note of hope. - Original Cin
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| Posted Mar 25, 2022
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Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022) |
A Kodachrome-hued shaggy-dog tale, Apollo 10 : A Space Age Childhood is definitely Linklater's most granular film, rich in the small details and moments of daily life that unite to power the biggest stories of our times. - Original Cin
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| Posted Mar 25, 2022
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A Small Fortune (2021) |
Prince Edward Island writer-director Adam Perry's well plotted finders-keepers tale moves at a steady trot from warm-and-cozy to dark-and-desperate, as plans unravel and menace rolls into town. - Original Cin
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| Posted Mar 18, 2022
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Dog (2022) |
Billed as a buddy comedy filled with the kinds of crazy hijinks that lead to bonding, Dog is actually a road movie, propelled by traumas of the past and the sadness of moments at hand. While this is not a bad thing, Dog does feel tonally wonky at times. - Original Cin
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| Posted Feb 18, 2022
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Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (2021) |
While mother and daughter reconcile, Poly Styrene: I Am A Clich feels like a deepening of that process. The film adds emotional resonance to a story about an exceptional human who sang her mind at a pivotal moment in 20th-century pop-culture history. - Original Cin
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| Posted Feb 04, 2022
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Who Loves the Sun (2006) |
A gentle, often funny chamber piece in which his wonderful cast works out family problems against the stunning backdrop of Canadian cottage country. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Oct 15, 2021
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Bridge to Terabithia (2007) |
Bridge to Terabithia is not only faithful to the novel but also stands to become a beloved family movie. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Dec 05, 2014
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Outside the Law (2010) |
- Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jan 22, 2013
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Step Up Revolution (2012) |
Delivers plenty of spectacular fancy footwork in what is otherwise a flat-footed fantasy. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jul 26, 2012
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First Position (2011) |
It does a great job developing its characters through its visuals - these are superphysical kids - and honing in on family dynamics. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jul 19, 2012
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Moving Day (2012) |
In the end, Moving Day wavers too much between dark and light and doesn't quite deliver the populist package Clattenburg seems to be going for. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jul 19, 2012
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Kivalina vs. Exxon (2011) |
Addelman takes us deep into complex community life. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jun 15, 2012
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Lola Versus (2012) |
Lola Versus is all Greta all the time, a bonanza for fans and proof that Gerwig's easy offbeat charm, obvious smarts and physical comedy gifts can carry a film. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jun 15, 2012
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Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) |
The clever lines and themes of friendship and finding home are almost completely overwhelmed here by the breathless pace and sensory overload... - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jun 08, 2012
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Last Call at the Oasis (2011) |
It's one of the best in a recent array of cinematic docs looking at such hot topics as oil, water, food production, climate change, the economy and telling us, as scientist Jay Famiglietti so succinctly puts it in Yu's film, "We're screwed." - Globe and Mail
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| Posted May 25, 2012
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What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012) |
It's a sitcom-y ensemble film (complete with product placement) that feels like you're flipping around the TV dial. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted May 18, 2012
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Bernie (2011) |
Propelled by a perfectly cast trio of stars whose eccentricities shine in singular character roles, Bernie is charmer. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted May 18, 2012
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The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) |
Designed to please all generations of irreverent humour-lovers, The Pirates! Band of Misfits may not be heart-warming (it is about nasty, scurvy pirates!) but it's breezy rollicking fun. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Apr 27, 2012
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To the Arctic (2012) |
A children's choir sings and a graphic of the movie title explodes into ice shards to heighten the dramatic impact. Corny? You bet... - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Apr 20, 2012
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Think Like a Man (2012) |
While using the book as a plot catalyst is certainly not a bad approach to constructing a fictional story from the material, the movie is bogged down from the get-go with too many bits of business and a very lengthy setup. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Apr 20, 2012
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StreetDance 2 (2012) |
So slapped together it feels less like a movie than an extended montage... - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Apr 13, 2012
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Lovers in a Dangerous Time (2009) |
Rough around the edges but delivered straight from the heart, Lovers in a Dangerous Time revels in the inarticulate and the unresolved, reminding us that romance doesn't always have to mean happily ever after. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Apr 06, 2012
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Wake Up Sid (2009) |
- Globe and Mail
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| Posted Mar 02, 2012
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Dr. Seuss' the Lorax (2012) |
It's puffed up with lots of extraneous stuff - Super fun for the kids but for grown-ups? Just fluff. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Mar 02, 2012
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The Vow (2012) |
The kind of featherweight fare that is enjoyed in the moment and forgotten soon after the end credits roll. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Feb 10, 2012
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Monsieur Lazhar (2011) |
An exquisite, humanistic and subtly topical work of cinema art that manages to keep the intimate, revelatory sensibility of a one-man play intact while fleshing out the characters and creating a very realistic and richly detailed school community. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jan 27, 2012
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Joyful Noise (2012) |
An unholy mess. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jan 13, 2012
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Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
The 3-D pops out to enhance the drama or energy of scenes in which settings are large and integral to the action. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jan 13, 2012
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The Devil Inside (2012) |
While it doesn't exactly reinvent the inverted cross, The Devil Inside definitely puts a nifty indie spin on the demonic possession genre. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jan 06, 2012
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) |
The obvious nods to Castaway, Lost and other pop culture references are barely worth a grin. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Dec 16, 2011
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Tomboy (2011) |
Tomboy reveals a side of pre-adolescence rarely (if ever) depicted on the big screen, yet it never feels like a curiosity piece, nor is Laure (Zo Hran), the titular character, portrayed as an outsider from a troubled home. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Dec 02, 2011
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Happy Feet Two (2011) |
The film reminds viewers young and old that to make a positive change, sometimes the little guy at the bottom of the food chain needs to stomp his feet. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Nov 18, 2011
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Jack and Jill (2011) |
It's cruel and creepy, not funny. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Nov 11, 2011
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Mysteries of Lisbon (2010) |
A sumptuous unravelling of secrets wrapped in tantalizing stories that gradually interconnect the lives of an ensemble of characters who seduce, betray and defend each other in the years surrounding the Peninsular War. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Nov 11, 2011
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Puss in Boots (2011) |
It's the morally-cracked Humpty who provides the film's emotional trajectory. Puss in Boots is a fun feline frolic -- with just a little egg on its face. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Oct 28, 2011
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Revenge of the Electric Car (2011) |
Given Paine's penchant for B-movie-sounding titles, let's hope he gets to make it a trilogy that concludes with The Electric Car Lives! - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Oct 14, 2011
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Footloose (2011) |
Footloose drags its heels to the senior prom and, when it finally gets there, shoves in one last punch-up that puts an odd spin on what should be an upbeat display of happy feet. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Oct 14, 2011
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Benda Bilili! (2010) |
Benda Belili! reminds us that we need to look beyond The X Factor to discover musical talent that strikes a deeper chord. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Oct 14, 2011
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Bellflower (2011) |
Bellflower revs the engine of an exciting new maverick. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Sep 30, 2011
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Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011) |
Fascinating, accomplished and surprisingly emotional. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Sep 23, 2011
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I Don't Know How She Does It (2011) |
The main problem is that this Boston-set flick quite unselfconsciously presents itself as if it were a pop-culture first to express ideas about the working-mom balancing act. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Sep 16, 2011
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Sarah's Key (2010) |
Scott Thomas's portrayal of her character's emotional transition ensures Sarah's Key will keep your heart open. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 19, 2011
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The Whistleblower (2010) |
In Canadian director Larysa Kondracki's gripping based-on-a-true-story debut feature The Whistleblower, Rachel Weisz delivers a subtle yet riveting performance. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 12, 2011
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El Bulli: Cooking in Progress (2010) |
El Bulli barely registers a pulse stronger than a book's. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 05, 2011
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The Devil's Double (2011) |
Although The Devil's Double lacks political insight into the times it portrays, it does fashion riveting entertainment from a truly horrifying real-life story. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 05, 2011
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The Change-Up (2011) |
Freaky, yes, but definitely not Freaky Friday. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 05, 2011
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Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011) |
A combination of timing, access, a visual aesthetic that reflects ATCQ's Afrocentric "surface philosophy" (as the crew's look is described) and, most importantly, story-conscious editing elevates the doc above the norm. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Aug 05, 2011
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Attack the Block (2011) |
It's a mash up of Gremlins, E.T., a stoner comedy and a monster B-movie, delivered with a visual nod to 1970s teen gang films and reflecting the comedy smarts of, well, Joe Cornish. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jul 29, 2011
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The Smurfs (2011) |
The Smurfs mostly takes place in a grown-up world of cosmetics advertising and expectant parents. Without a child character to interpret and join the action, it's a pretty dull way to introduce young viewers to the new blue crew. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Jul 29, 2011
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