John Monaghan
John Monaghan's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
Detroit Free Press
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Patch Adams (1998) |
Only inspires me to steer clear of both hospitals and any movie that casts Robin Williams as a lovable clown. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 05, 2023
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House (1977) |
A silly, surreal cross of Japanese horror, anime and just plain weirdness, this 1977 fever dream of styles makes you wonder: How did this ever get made? - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Sep 27, 2022
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Rear Window (1954) |
Sure, Vertigo is more personal, Psycho more bizarre, North by Northwest more thrilling. But Rear Window shows the Master of Suspense at his most spare, sophisticated and sinisterly clever a movie that is essentially about watching movies. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jun 08, 2021
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Modern Times (1936) |
Corny or not, Chaplin keeps his sights set on the audience that initially embraced him and made him a superstar. In the swan song that is Modern Times, the Little Tramp displays the silliness, but also dignity, of the common man. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted May 06, 2021
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The Apple (1998) |
[The Apple] hits upon simple, yet all-important human emotions that movies rarely capture. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Mar 31, 2021
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Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) |
Comedies have survived with looser scenarios, but few prove as brain-dead as this one. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 30, 2018
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Heart of a Dog (2015) |
The film is often notable for Anderson's honesty. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 10, 2017
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Raiders! (2015) |
The joy of the Raiders! remake (and the doc about its making) is the ingenuity with which the kids face filmmaking challenges, from borrowing snakes from the local pet shop to creating a wall of flame in one of their basements. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 31, 2016
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The Fits (2015) |
What the movie lacks in narrative it makes up for in mood and invention. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 29, 2016
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Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010) |
What makes this better than the usual Behind the Music-style doc is the frankness of its subjects and the fun way the filmmakers intersperse Fat Albert-style animation to tell their story. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 16, 2011
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Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010) |
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a Canadian-made horror spoof that delivers both comedy and gross-out thrills. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Sep 29, 2011
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Died Young Stayed Pretty (2008) |
The poster makers... mine the outer limits of violence and misogyny with a garish, pop art palette. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Oct 21, 2009
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Gran Torino (2008) |
Ultimately, Gran Torino is not recommended for its moralizing or its scenery, but for Eastwood's compelling performance. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 09, 2009
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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) |
This new Narnia has more of everything, especially action and top-notch effects, but loses some of its soul in the process. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted May 15, 2008
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One Week (1920) |
In 1920's One Week, the silent comedian known as the Great Stone Face attempts to assemble the build-it-yourself home he received as a wedding present. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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Let's Get Lost (1989) |
There are moments in Let's Get Lost when, if you squint just a little, [Chet] Baker is a ghost image of his former self, the 1950s musical equivalent of James Dean. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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The Blacksmith (1922) |
As The Blacksmith, [Buster Keaton] bungles horse grooming and auto repair with slapstick finesse. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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The Violin (2005) |
The film from first-timer Francisco Vargas puts a human face on universal suffering. It is also about the power of music, as the title instrument saves (for a while anyway) three generations of peasant men in their roles as guerrilla fighters. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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Billy the Kid (2007) |
The best documentaries take you places you don't normally have access to. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Feb 29, 2008
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Charlie Bartlett (2007) |
Tone is everything in a movie like this, and director John Poll spends the entire running time trying to find it. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Feb 22, 2008
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Honeydripper (2007) |
It's best to forget the story here and focus on those small moments that shine in any Sayles film. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Feb 08, 2008
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The Rape of Europa (2006) |
As thorough as the movie is, it could easily devote another hour to cases like this. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Feb 01, 2008
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Persepolis (2007) |
More than just the first film in recent memory to be considered a must-see, Persepolis begs for a second viewing, if only to chart the way it so delicately weaves together the different stages of Marjane's life. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 25, 2008
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27 Dresses (2008) |
Sorry, Sandra. Too bad, Meg. The mantle of movie cute queen has just been passed to Katherine Heigl, starring as the romantically challenged New Yorker of 27 Dresses. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 18, 2008
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Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains (2007) |
Demme says he entered the project expecting 'fireworks,' and he gets them time and again... - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 11, 2008
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One Missed Call (2008) |
Another mediocre remake of a Japanese horror film in which flashes of computer-generated ghosts are meant to compensate for lousy acting and a banal storyline. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Jan 04, 2008
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The Savages (2007) |
The Savages not only boasts Oscar-worthy performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as a self-absorbed brother and sister, its attention to detail makes it sweetly funny and genuine. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 26, 2007
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The Great Debaters (2007) |
The Great Debaters has value, to be sure, especially for teenage viewers. But serious moviegoers, especially those attracted by the movie's aggressive Oscar campaign, will likely find the package gorgeously wrapped but intellectually empty. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 26, 2007
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The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007) |
You can't deny the solid performances, the meticulous period detail and, most importantly, the way it refuses to talk down to young audiences. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 25, 2007
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The Kite Runner (2007) |
The filmmakers go by the book in The Kite Runner, a literate, if occasionally listless adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 21, 2007
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Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) |
This smart new spoof works because its makers...obviously love the genre they have so much fun sending up. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 21, 2007
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National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) |
This National Treasure sequel, like its 2004 original, is a dumb movie about smart people that uses just enough historical trivia to make you feel like you're bettered by the experience. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 21, 2007
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P.S. I Love You (2007) |
Tone is everything in a movie like this, but writer-director Richard LaGravanese, working from a novel by Cecelia Ahern, can't decide between quirky indie dark comedy and laugh-a-minute TV sitcom. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 21, 2007
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) |
One of the most memorable films of the year. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 20, 2007
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The Walker (2007) |
This is no masterpiece, but a fine-tuned little thriller packed with meticulously chosen details of character and place. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 14, 2007
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Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
Young viewers will enjoy the slapstick, while parents will relate to Lee's amiable frustration as the trio's surrogate dad. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 14, 2007
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I Am Legend (2007) |
All the effort that went into the spectacle of destroying Manhattan in flashbacks could have been better spent on developing the claustrophobic, creepy present. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 13, 2007
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The Perfect Holiday (2007) |
Dear Santa: Please leave better scripts under her Christmas tree. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 12, 2007
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The Page Turner (2006) |
This must be what a French movie-of-the-week look like, deemed art here because of the subtitles. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 07, 2007
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The Magic Flute (1975) |
Using the opera's timeless whimsy and inventiveness, the movie replicates a performance on the stage that is so good that it almost makes you forget the participants' ABBA-like hairstyles. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 07, 2007
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The Magician (1958) |
The movie has elements of Gothic horror and philosophy, along with lusty, low comedy rolls. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 07, 2007
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The Seventh Seal (1957) |
Its view of a seemingly godless landscape in the grip of plague is still bold and frightening. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Dec 07, 2007
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12:08 East of Bucharest (2006) |
12:08 East of Bucharest is easier to admire than enjoy, funnier to describe than actually watch. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 30, 2007
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Enchanted (2007) |
What could have been an epic Disney misfire is saved by the charming Adams. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 21, 2007
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Summer '04 (2006) |
What better way to spend 97 minutes in November than trying to sort out romantic complications in shorts and sailboats? - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 16, 2007
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Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) |
Hopelessly misguided. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 16, 2007
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I'll Believe You (2007) |
Cult movies have been made with a lot less, but this one, harmless enough, doesn't have enough originality or personality to get it off the ground. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 09, 2007
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Mr. Untouchable (2007) |
Does the movie glorify Barnes and his nefarious profession? Probably, but show me a movie about the drug trade that doesn't hook us first with guts and glamour before the moralizing fall. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 09, 2007
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P2 (2007) |
Even by the low standards of the horror subgenre playfully nicknamed "torture porn," P2 is scraping the bottom of the movie barrel. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 09, 2007
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Fred Claus (2007) |
The eggnog quickly turns sour as the movie alternates between moments both heartwarming and bizarre. - Detroit Free Press
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| Posted Nov 09, 2007
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