Kathi Maio
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) |
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is undeniably a watershed in animation and a truly classic film. How he adapted the story is a topic that has been critiqued and debated with almost as much passion as the original folktale. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Dec 19, 2022
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Mission to Mars (2000) |
...despite the repeated sentimental trope of true loves lost, the film loses its simple humanity along the way, and it never fills the void with either the action or humor that have long been the saving grace of filmic space operas. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Red Planet (2000) |
There are plenty of elements to the story, and it even manages to throw in a shipboard romance before the credits roll. But more plot frippery does make for a more hospitable Red Planet. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Zootopia (2016) |
If you only want to view Zootopia as a cheery little feature cartoon, full of the frolicking anthropomorphic critters Disney excels in creating, it works perfectly well on that level... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Lobster (2015) |
The Lobster is like nothing you have ever seen before. I predict that your response will be an intense one. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Eye in the Sky (2015) |
The debate is passionate and intelligent, and it is punctuated with tense on-the-ground action to contain the danger... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) |
The suspense of 10 Cloverfield Lane would never have worked without the subtle performance of John Goodman in the role of Howard. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Mars Attacks! (1996) |
Mars Attacks! plays its loony action for intentional laughs. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) |
...a low-budget throwback to the gorefest action sf of the sixties. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Martian (2015) |
The Martian is a story about people working together but thinking for themselves. It is also a first class piece of cinematic entertainment... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) |
The Incredible Shrinking Man is definitely a film designed to appeal to thoughtful adult viewers, as well as pure escapism science fiction fans. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Interstellar (2014) |
Interstellar is, all in all, a very fine science fiction film. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) |
...this is one film that deserves the descriptor of tour de force. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Starry Eyes (2014) |
Equal parts occult horror and slasher flick, Starry Eyes is definitely a B movie, but fairly well done, as such. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Downsizing (2017) |
Downsizing fails because it is neither fish nor fowl. It can't commit as a science-fiction film and it never becomes the biting social satire the first act seems to intimate. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Arrival (2016) |
[The] movie-one of the best and brainiest sf films in recent memory-depicts the linguistic and scientific challenge of human scholars to understand and be understood by creatures from another world. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Merchants of Doubt (2014) |
Mr. Kenner knows how to keep his films visually interesting, as well as intellectually stimulating. And the story he tells in Merchants of Doubt is about as important as they come. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Self/less (2015) |
I do wonder what Singh and writers Alex and David Pastor might have done if they had avoided the trite, explosive tropes of an action film for something that actually touched upon the many issues raised by their basic body swap plot... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Advantageous (2015) |
Advantageous is a quiet and affecting film that contains a good bit of (not too pointed) social commentary. But it is primarily a meditation on human identity and the delicate nature of familial relationships. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Seconds (1966) |
There is a lot to think about while watching Seconds, and that is the point. The acting, photography, and editing (by Ferris Webster and David Newhouse) all help make for a most unsettling film experience, but ultimately a very satisfying one. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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About Time (2013) |
...one of the ways in which the filmmaker defuses the questionable gender politics of his primary love relationship is by widening the focus of his movie... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Hunger Games (2012) |
Although the casting of a relative unknown like Jennifer Lawrence in the crucial role of Katniss was a bit controversial, in the hindsight of her Oscar win and status as hottest young thing in Hollywood, the choice seems brilliant. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) |
The story is more complex, and director Francis Lawrence did an even better job of integrating taut action and convincing special effects into a developing plot... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Divergent (2014) |
Divergent suffers in comparison to Hunger Games. But when judged alone, Divergent makes a strong case for the entertainment value of an empowered young female hero attempting to survive and resist in a dystopian society. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Free Birds (2013) |
Much can be overlooked if such a movie is rollicking good fun. But Free Birds isn't even that. That's right, I'm going to say it. It's a turkey-and not one of the time-traveling freedom-fighter species, either. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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Snowpiercer (2013) |
It is a big, complex, bloody, noisy and quite sophisticated motion picture. It was meant to be seen on a large screen with surround-sound rumbling and roaring around you. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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How I Live Now (2013) |
How I Live Now is a simpler tale about a young girl who finds her own power in a hostile world. In the battle-scarred world that is the movie business, this film deserves to find a place. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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I Origins (2014) |
A quieter and more cerebral science fiction film, it will probably satisfy many a viewer who discovers it through a recommendation algorithm at a movie streaming service... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 11, 2020
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The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) |
...the nadir of the Oz adaptations... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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Life of Pi (2012) |
...in the end, we must abandon ourselves to the storytelling. With a gorgeous film like Life of Pi, that's not hard to do. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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(undefined) |
The Library of Congress has called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz "America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairy tale." That tale has not been well-served by its latest adaptation. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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GasLand (2010) |
GasLand shows ordinary Americans setting their formerly potable kitchen tap water on fire, it looks like a special effect, but sadly isn't. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) |
One wonders what L. Frank Baum would think of movies like Oz the Great and Powerful. He'd appreciate the technical innovations of modern cinema, most likely. But I doubt that he'd appreciate how his characters have been "updated." - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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Pacific Rim (2013) |
Pacific Rim goes those classic B-movies one better, with giant, pilot-driven, twenty-five-story robots specifically designed to do battle with the mega-monsters. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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The Bay (2012) |
I wouldn't call The Bay a great piece of filmmaking. But as found-footage eco-terror thrillers go, it both entertains and delivers its intended message. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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R.I.P.D. (2013) |
R.I.P.D. is a movie that suffers from a passel of lost opportunities. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 10, 2020
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Outbreak (1995) |
Outbreak isn't a terrible film, but it doesn't trust that relative realism has enough power to hook and hold a movie audience. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 07, 2020
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Melancholia (2011) |
Lars Von Trier's elegantly arty Melancholia...despite the fact that Kirsten Dunst spends the first half of the movie in a wedding gown, there is no romantic love (new or old) to be found in this particular film. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 07, 2020
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Contagion (2011) |
Although the filmmakers certainly make use of the life and death struggles of their story, they do so with a kind of naturalism that renders the spiraling crisis even more chilling. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 07, 2020
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Love in Space (2011) |
Love in Space is a crosscultural diversion of the first order. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 07, 2020
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Miracle Mile (1988) |
...it is filled with energy, quirky humor, and a colorful cast of characters. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Last Night (1998) |
A gem of a small Canadian film... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Armageddon (1998) |
...more macho and jingoistic action... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) |
Casting is one of the shortcomings of Snow White and the Huntsman. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Mirror Mirror (2012) |
...not even a delightful Bollywood number that caps off the final wedding scene and ushers in the final credits can keep you from feeling confused and cheated after watching Mirror Mirror. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011) |
I'm not quite sure when 4:44 moves from serious to silly, but for me it was early on. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) |
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World sought but never found a cineplex audience. Even so, I would personally advise that you add it to your queue of movies to see before the asteroid hits. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Another Earth (2011) |
Here we have a quiet and sometimes surprising drama, which is something you can rarely say about a modern sf movie... - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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Chronicle (2012) |
Although the crashing climax left me cold, I was generally impressed by the youthful enthusiasm of the filmmaking in Chronicle. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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The Island (2005) |
The Island was not a particularly good movie. In fact, it is a perfect case study of everything that is overblown (as in, blown-up) and emotionally empty about so many Hollywood films. - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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| Posted Mar 06, 2020
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