Jon Niccum
Tomatometer-approved critic
I am currently a full-time writer and frequent contributor to the Kansas City Star. Prior to that I spent 10 years as Entertainment Editor at the Lawrence Journal-World and seven years as music/film editor at Kansas City's The Pitch. I joined the Kansas City Film Critics Circle in 1994. I was the president of the organization from 2003-2007. I have a degree in film criticism from the University of Kansas.
The Godfather, Shane, 12 Angry Men, Alien, Almost Famous, Taxi Driver, Aguirre, Wrath of God, Run Lola Run, Unforgiven, Once, The Incredibles, The Conversation, Psycho, Blowup
Lawrence, KS
Movies reviews only
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(undefined) |
Fine TV production, marked by an exceptional first episode - Lawrence Journal-World
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| Posted Feb 21, 2021
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Annabelle: Creation (2017) |
"Annabelle: Creation" carries no forward momentum. There's no ticking clock. No kidnapped victim to save. No mystery to solve. The characters snoop around and then wait for something bad to happen. Then they do it again. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Aug 10, 2017
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Dunkirk (2017) |
The finest war movies examine the personal struggles within the larger framework of a battle: the eye-level conflict. That's the strategy of "Dunkirk," an ambitious, evocative (but at times too aloof) World War II epic. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jul 20, 2017
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War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) |
"War" functions as both a payback Western and a road movie before settling into an "Avatar"-style death match pitting nature versus technology. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jul 13, 2017
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Despicable Me 3 (2017) |
A restless movie that gets distracted as easily as the Minions themselves. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 28, 2017
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Rough Night (2017) |
Instead of merely being a noisy showcase for the cast's improv comedy background, the story sticks to a linear plot that often finds room for more personal moments. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 15, 2017
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Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) |
With animation and superheroes overcrowding the multiplex, the burnout factor looms large for an animated superhero. Fortunately, "Captain Underpants" flies to the rescue of both genres. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 31, 2017
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Wonder Woman (2017) |
... the lone DC Comics project this century not directed by Christopher Nolan that delivers on its advance expectations. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 31, 2017
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Baywatch (2017) |
Too bad Johnson's formidable powers don't extend to resuscitating the rest of "Baywatch," a film soon revealed to be dead on arrival. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 23, 2017
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Everything, Everything (2017) |
They're interesting as a romantic couple when a glass barrier separates them. Without it, these teens are just as dull as any others. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 18, 2017
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Snatched (2017) |
Schumer may dispense the raunchier punchlines, but Hawn grounds the movie, preventing an exaggerated situation from succumbing to its own silliness. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 11, 2017
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) |
Like the classic rock soundtrack powering this picture, the hits outweigh the misses, yet there are times when one is tempted to press the fast-forward button. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 04, 2017
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The Fate of the Furious (2017) |
It hardly matters anymore that nothing of actual substance can be found under the hood of "The Fate of the Furious." Despite themes of brotherhood and redemption, this souped-up vehicle is built for speed, not comfort. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Apr 13, 2017
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Colossal (2016) |
Vigalondo ... keeps this wacky premise from self-destructing by virtue of his patience. Each new plot beat gets doled out slowly so that the viewer can savor the mystery en route to what exactly is going on. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Apr 13, 2017
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The Boss Baby (2017) |
As the title character, Baldwin capitalizes on delivering harsh truths with a kind of matter-of-fact detachment, which helps carry this imaginative animated comedy beyond its wobbly premise. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Mar 30, 2017
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Wilson (2017) |
an uneven, often aggressively unlikable tale of awkward folks making rotten decisions. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Mar 23, 2017
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Kong: Skull Island (2017) |
A metaphor for America's involvement in foreign wars? A contrast between the majesty of nature and the limitations of man? An argument that big is indeed better? Sort of. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Mar 09, 2017
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Get Out (2017) |
... layered with racial subtext regarding slavery, master-race ideology and liberal guilt that weaves throughout the movie in unexpected callbacks. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Feb 23, 2017
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Fist Fight (2017) |
One more vehicle in which filmmakers rely on the improvisational skills of their cast to fill out a one-note idea. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Feb 16, 2017
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John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) |
The fringe details save the project from degenerating into homicidal overkill. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Feb 09, 2017
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A Dog's Purpose (2017) |
Hallstrm and screenwriter Cathryn Michon's adaptation may not contain the subtext of the best-selling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, yet it does capture the sentiment. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jan 26, 2017
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Split (2016) |
For all its genre trappings, "Split" comes from a cerebral perspective. Or at least one more concerned with psychology than gory physiology. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jan 19, 2017
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Patriots Day (2016) |
An engrossing procedural that immerses us within the tragedy that killed three and injured hundreds more. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jan 12, 2017
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A Monster Calls (2016) |
... a moving story that supplies genuine life lessons. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jan 05, 2017
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Why Him? (2016) |
If the movie's climax relies on conning your famous friends to make an appearance, it might be better to shift those funds toward a rewrite. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Dec 22, 2016
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Jackie (2016) |
The film instead becomes preoccupied with trendy period detail and the mannered performance of its star, rather than in finding deeper truths about the subject. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Dec 20, 2016
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Sing (2016) |
The plucky and hummable flick finds its own voice, so to speak. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Dec 20, 2016
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Office Christmas Party (2016) |
Like most workplace parties, the film functions better when expectations aren't too high. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Dec 08, 2016
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Allied (2016) |
good enough to pass the time but generic enough to be directed by anybody. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Nov 22, 2016
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Trolls (2016) |
It's the cinematic equivalent of a glitter bomb, right down to a troll who literally squirts glitter like a defense mechanism. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Nov 03, 2016
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Doctor Strange (2016) |
Cumberbatch grounds the material even while levitating. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Nov 03, 2016
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Inferno (2016) |
You'll feel as if you were punched in the face, locked into one of those escape rooms and forced to watch other people solve cryptic clues you can't possibly understand - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Oct 27, 2016
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American Honey (2016) |
Like the youth culture it centers on, "American Honey" embraces episodic, wandering rawness that often resonates deeply and distinctively. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Oct 13, 2016
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Deepwater Horizon (2016) |
This is one of those blockbusters where authenticity propels the action. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Sep 29, 2016
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The Magnificent Seven (2016) |
Antoine Fuqua hardly tightens the reins on his adaptation, which stretches 90 minutes of entertainment across a 132-minute frame. Too bad the gang didn't recruit an eighth member who was an expert at editing. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Sep 22, 2016
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Audrie & Daisy (2016) |
The documentary scrutinizes the "blame the victim" mentality that has seemingly gotten worse in the internet era. But the film also offers a redemptive message of compassion via a network of survivors. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Sep 22, 2016
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Blair Witch (2016) |
Nausea-provoking camerawork, cacophonous sound design and incoherent editing assault the senses nonstop. The only thing that could make watching this movie more unpleasant is if ushers tasered viewers at random intervals. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Sep 15, 2016
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Don't Breathe (2016) |
How refreshing to see fight scenes that pivot on panicked opportunism rather than martial arts skills or mutant powers. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Aug 25, 2016
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War Dogs (2016) |
Director Todd Phillips of "The Hangover" hopes to do what Adam McKay did with "The Big Short," mining the humor from greedy manipulation of the Bush-era system. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Aug 18, 2016
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Sausage Party (2016) |
At its best, the movie offers in-your-face raunch in the spirit of the superior "Team America: World Police" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut." At its worst, it comes across like stoners playing with their groceries in between bong hits. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Aug 11, 2016
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Ghostbusters (2016) |
In trying to appease nostalgic fans, Feig seems hesitant. Defensive. But whenever his new flick relies on its own merits, it's quite amusing. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jul 14, 2016
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The Infiltrator (2016) |
It's Cranston's finest film performance. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jul 12, 2016
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The Secret Life of Pets (2016) |
Edgy comedian C.K. commits wholly to this family-friendly gig, and his lack of snark seems refreshing. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jul 07, 2016
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Central Intelligence (2016) |
It's certainly Johnson's all-time funniest performance. But it offers the same old Hart, who mugs throughout the movie, even when he's theoretically playing the straight man. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 16, 2016
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Finding Dory (2016) |
"Finding Dory" ranks with "Toy Story 3" as the animation studio's strongest sequel. The underwater tale manages to be both immersive and buoyant. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 16, 2016
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Now You See Me 2 (2016) |
This sequel exhibits all the subtlety of Criss Angel directing a boy band video. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 09, 2016
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Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) |
There's a real knack to composing a song that is intentionally, elaborately terrible. The Lonely Island guys spent 15 years mastering the skill and contribute some of their best work in 'Popstar.' - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Jun 02, 2016
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The Angry Birds Movie (2016) |
a chaotic yet amusing tale of animated avians battling plundering pigs - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 19, 2016
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The Nice Guys (2016) |
The nefarious plot at the core of "The Nice Guys" doesn't hold up to the most casual scrutiny. Fortunately, about everything else does in this entertaining crime comedy, from the look to the tone to the throwaway details. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted May 19, 2016
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Green Room (2015) |
"Green Room" sustains a bleak intensity unrivaled in recent thrillers - or horror movies, for that matter -- that gains potency from its pure plausibility. - Kansas City Star
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| Posted Apr 28, 2016
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