Joe Williams
Tomatometer-approved critic
I am the film critic for the daily St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It's a Wonderful Life, Quadrophenia, Lost in America, The Graduate, Days of Heaven, The Heartbreak Kid, Apocalypse Now, Gangs of New York, Love with the Proper Stranger, The Party, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, Memento, Waking Life, Amelie
St. Louis, MO
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) |
There are so many levels of nostalgia piled onto Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that it’s hard to unearth a nugget of new inspiration; but the golden oldies that are doled out should dazzle those who cheer for the familiar. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 13, 2023
|
|
|
|
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) |
The "Star Wars" franchise has become what the marketing executive always thought: an excuse to steal money from children. The Lucas empire has finally succumbed to the Dark Side. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jan 04, 2018
|
|
|
|
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) |
The technical wizardry of the action scenes are ultimately more important than the story and reason enough for nonbelievers to see and enjoy the movie. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Dec 14, 2015
|
|
|
|
Pixels (2015) |
Long before you've gotten a nickel's worth of entertainment out of this dumb, unfunny flick, you'll be wishing for the flashing sign that says "Game over." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2015
|
|
|
|
Southpaw (2015) |
Although "Southpaw" has some punch, it's not exactly coming from left field. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2015
|
|
|
|
Trainwreck (2015) |
This is a fully fleshed-out movie, the funniest of the year. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 16, 2015
|
|
|
|
Ant-Man (2015) |
Everyone involved can proudly declare, "Honey, I shrunk the Marvel Cinematic Universe." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 16, 2015
|
|
|
|
Minions (2015) |
"Minions" is product, pure and simple. Little kids will love it, but grown-ups will feel like they're being held hostage in a Fisher-Price test laboratory. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Testament of Youth (2014) |
As a story, it evokes a word that no battlefield nurse would ever apply to her experiences: sterile. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Gemma Bovery (2014) |
Director Anne Fontaine eroticizes her porcelain-skinned star but also adds some subversively feminist flourishes. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Magic Mike XXL (2015) |
With stingy portions and plenty of filler, "Magic Mike XXL" is the worst sausage party ever. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 30, 2015
|
|
|
|
Terminator Genisys (2015) |
This mash-up movie is like a greatest-hits collection for obsessive collectors. On its own terms, Terminator Genisys makes virtually no sense. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 30, 2015
|
|
|
|
Ted 2 (2015) |
Because one man's mirth is another man's poison, this critic can only consult his belly as the barometer. On a gut level, "Ted 2" is a funny film. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 25, 2015
|
|
|
|
Max (2015) |
As a bite-size lesson in loyalty and courage, it's a nice alternative to the too-many movies about a dog-eat-dog world. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 25, 2015
|
|
|
|
Live From New York! (2015) |
Apparently, the focus of the movie was determined by whomever answered Nguyen's invites. Well, isn't that special? - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 11, 2015
|
|
|
|
Jurassic World (2015) |
Even without world-class smarts or amusing mutations, the next generation of "Jurassic" is an enjoyable ride. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 11, 2015
|
|
|
|
Spy (2015) |
With the overlong, limp and lazy "Spy," Feig has lost his mojo. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2015
|
|
|
|
Love & Mercy (2014) |
Pohlad has surrounded himself with award-worthy talent on both sides of the camera, from music supervisor Atticus Ross to the art department to the stellar cast. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2015
|
|
|
|
Entourage (2015) |
On that vicarious-pleasure level, the movie version delivers. Yet for anyone with a sense of irony or social justice, it's also frustratingly soft around the edges. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Jun 02, 2015
|
|
|
|
Aloha (2015) |
Blessed with a stellar cast and idyllic locale, Crowe seems reluctant to waste anything, including his own half-baked themes. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 28, 2015
|
|
|
|
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013) |
It seems destined for a Hollywood remake, which is likely to be more polished but not nearly as weirdly charming. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 28, 2015
|
|
|
|
Good Kill (2014) |
We need to have a dialogue about the wages of war in the remote-control era. But it's hard to spark a good dialogue with movies whose dialogue is so bad. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2015
|
|
|
|
Tomorrowland (2015) |
Not even a baby Einstein could follow this nonsensical plot, and even if your kids stay awake, the payoff is paltry. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2015
|
|
|
|
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) |
This is analog filmmaking at its most daring. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 14, 2015
|
|
|
|
Felix and Meira (2014) |
"Felix and Meira" raises the question: Are we happiest with a twin spirit - or with a reverse image that completes the picture? - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 14, 2015
|
|
|
|
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) |
Second verse, not as good as the first. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 14, 2015
|
|
|
|
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) |
Mulligan uses her beguiling smile to defuse the dramatic underpinnings of the story, and Sheen adds another shading to his gallery of great performances. But it's Belgian actor Schoenaerts who will leave the target audience atwitter. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 07, 2015
|
|
|
|
The D Train (2015) |
While Black is painfully effective as the dork who drops slangy kudos on his new BFF, Marsden is a revelation. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 07, 2015
|
|
|
|
Welcome to Me (2014) |
This is Wiig's show, and connoisseurs of the comedy craft will flip for her. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 07, 2015
|
|
|
|
Lambert & Stamp (2014) |
The two fellows who managed the Who aren't so well known, but what they represent about their era - and the extent to which they documented it - makes "Lambert & Stamp" the cinematic equivalent of an ambitious double album. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted May 07, 2015
|
|
|
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) |
"Age of Ultron" has self-aware laughs, grandiose themes and the best effects that money can buy. But at this point, it will take true vision to plot the umpteen sequels without getting trapped in a time loop. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 30, 2015
|
|
|
|
The Water Diviner (2014) |
Crowe is effectively restrained in his acting, but in his debut as a director, he overdoes the manipulative music and the pretty images from cinematographer Andrew Lesnie. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 23, 2015
|
|
|
|
Ex Machina (2014) |
With a stellar cast and seductive look, "Ex Machina" is a sleek contraption for capturing our imagination. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 23, 2015
|
|
|
|
The Age of Adaline (2015) |
Starved of sufficient comedy or drama, "The Age of Adaline" is a pipsqueak. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 23, 2015
|
|
|
|
True Story (2015) |
While the movie sometimes seems like faux Fincher, the symbiotic acting, artful imagery and punchline ending turn "True Story" into credible entertainment. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 16, 2015
|
|
|
|
Monkey Kingdom (2015) |
"Monkey Kingdom" tugs our heartstrings to the top of the trees. With a lot of patience, and perhaps a little trickery, directors Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill have produced a simian "Cinderella." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 16, 2015
|
|
|
|
While We're Young (2014) |
Only an artist at the midpoint between the maypole and maturity could concoct a comedy as potent as "While We're Young." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Seymour: An Introduction (2014) |
Hawke's cinematic etude may not unlock all the mysteries of music, but "Seymour: An Introduction" is universal enough to be understood by a bananafish. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Merchants of Doubt (2014) |
A movie about manufactured consensus would be a vital public service. But "Merchants of Doubt" isn't quite that movie. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Woman in Gold (2015) |
Despite a debatable focus and dubious moralizing -money plays a pivotal role in the final outcome - "The Woman in Gold" works, largely because of the odd-couple chemistry between Mirren and Reynolds. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 09, 2015
|
|
|
|
Danny Collins (2015) |
The lesson of this likable little movie is that it's never too late to reclaim your integrity. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 02, 2015
|
|
|
|
Furious 7 (2015) |
The grunted catch-phrases, the implausible escapes, the plot holes the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats - it's all pitched at a particular audience like a dog whistle that fully grown humans can't hear. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Apr 02, 2015
|
|
|
|
Serena (2014) |
Although the film got stuck in editing limbo for two years, no amount of cutting could rid the project of a diseased premise. Nor is it erotic or violent enough to be an effective critique of human nature. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 26, 2015
|
|
|
|
Home (2015) |
When we scratch beneath the sugary surface, there's something tart inside that's difficult to digest. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 26, 2015
|
|
|
|
Deli Man (2014) |
The audience gets a crash course in kreplach, pastrami and matzo-ball soup. Nothing fancy here - no tarragon top notes, says one of the interviewees - but big portions and good company. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 25, 2015
|
|
|
|
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) |
As Viviane laments, this kind of thing wouldn't happen in America. True, but there's not an actress in America who wouldn't twist her hair into a bun for the chance to play this role. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 19, 2015
|
|
|
|
Timbuktu (2014) |
Director Abderrahmane Sissako, a Muslim from neighboring Mauritania, has made a movie that is worthy of comparisons on several levels to Terrence Malick's wheat-field tragedy "Days of Heaven." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 19, 2015
|
|
|
|
The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015) |
Were it not for the five lines of recognizably human dialogue spoken by Miles Teller, this whole thing would implode into a black hole. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 19, 2015
|
|
|
|
The Gunman (2015) |
A well-executed thriller that leaves us stirred but not shaken. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 19, 2015
|
|
|
|
Run All Night (2015) |
If you're a fan of the "Taken" movies and tend to give action-hero Neeson the benefit of the doubt, our advice here is simple: Run away! - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read More
| Posted Mar 12, 2015
|