Kristen Lopez
Movies reviews only
Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Pain Hustlers (2023) |
“Pain Hustlers” entertains thanks to its strong leads but it’s hard not to find it a derivative look at a tough topic that relies on tropes from far superior movies. - TheWrap
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| Posted Sep 13, 2023
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A Haunting in Venice (2023) |
“A Haunting in Venice” is a moody Gothic horror feature that feels completely refreshing in a landscape of jump scares and gore. - TheWrap
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| Posted Sep 10, 2023
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The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) |
There’s just nothing about this interpretation of the character that makes him stand out as Count…Dracula versus just another standard vampire - TheWrap
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| Posted Aug 10, 2023
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Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story (2023) |
“Gran Turismo” works best because it eschews its video game origins quickly before settling into a standard race car film. - TheWrap
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| Posted Aug 08, 2023
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Haunted Mansion (2023) |
“Haunted Mansion” is a fun summer throwback to the likes of 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Inventive fun for every member of the family with a phenomenal lead performance by Stanfield. - TheWrap
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| Posted Jul 25, 2023
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Cobweb (2023) |
“Cobweb,” ultimately would have worked better as a short or even an installment in an anthology series. At a certain point Starr and Caplan take a backseat, leaving the last half hour of the movie to feel interminably long. - TheWrap
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| Posted Jul 19, 2023
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Every Body (2023) |
“Every Body” is a must-watch for anyone from a marginalized community or anyone looking at the current political landscape we’re in. - TheWrap
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| Posted Jun 11, 2023
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The Listener (2022) |
What Buscemi and screenwriter Alessandro Camon craft with “The Listener” feels like a throwback to the features of the 1970s. It’s a character study, a moody atmospheric piece of contemplation... - TheWrap
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| Posted Jun 11, 2023
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) |
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is a fantastic entry. Heartfelt, compassionate, funny, and frank it has the makings of becoming a new classic in the film canon. - TheWrap
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| Posted Apr 20, 2023
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Renfield (2023) |
“Renfield” is a great example of how Universal could resurrect its Dark Universe. Take tangential characters or questions audiences have wondered about and find a way to actually explore them. - TheWrap
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| Posted Apr 10, 2023
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The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic (2021) |
There’s certainly enough charm to spare from the film’s leads, but the storytelling too often relies on disabled people in peril and other tropes that simply regurgitate what we’ve seen. - TheWrap
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| Posted Feb 03, 2023
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The Lady Eve (1941) |
A solid film with phenomenal performances that’ll leave you thinking amongst the slapstick. It’s certainly a film I’d recommend, but it’s far from one of my favorites like I’d anticipated. - Ticklish Business
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| Posted Dec 28, 2022
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Blonde (2001) |
Chopra’s movie isn’t interested in the gruesomeness of Marilyn’s death, or the sordid sex life we’ve come to identify with her. The portrayal of Marilyn is easily the best we’ve seen, for her perspective especially. - Ticklish Business
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| Posted Sep 19, 2022
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Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel (2022) |
The film presents a contemplative elegy for a hotel whose history is being eroded, but by focusing on the literal walls only further removes the voices of the very people who live (and dream) inside of them. - indieWire
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| Posted Aug 22, 2022
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BEAUTY (2022) |
Dosunmu’s airless directing and Waithe’s thin script only amount to loud allegory that never goes anywhere and drowns out any compelling ideas that might be worth singing. - indieWire
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| Posted Aug 22, 2022
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Subject (2022) |
"Subject" is a great place to start for getting at the heart of why audiences’ love the truth of documentary, and what that truth really means. - indieWire
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| Posted Aug 22, 2022
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Good Girl Jane (2022) |
It’s hard to shake how hollow everything feels within “Good Girl Jane.” For all the individual performances, the feature never comes off as more than a supersized short film. - indieWire
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| Posted Jun 16, 2022
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Allswell (2022) |
It feels like a Lifetime series pilot, with the women adhering to one stereotype each. These aren’t characters reconciling with their past; it’s three disparate characters forced to be in one movie. - indieWire
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| Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Sansón and Me (2022) |
A melancholy experience. As Reyes tells Andrade early in the process, this documentary won’t exonerate him or get him released from prison, but for Andrade, the opportunity to tell his story and have a living example of his memories saved is enough. - indieWire
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| Posted Jun 13, 2022
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Adrienne (2021) |
Adrienne is a beautiful testament to the power of Adrienne Shelly and will hopefully inspire fans, new and old, to revisit her work. Bring tissues. - indieWire
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| Posted Feb 07, 2022
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Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022) |
The Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Reunion Special is essentially a long bonus feature youd probably find on a DVD or Blu-ray box set. I wasnt convinced a time or two that old interviews werent just reused. - indieWire
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| Posted Feb 07, 2022
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Encanto (2021) |
The Colombian setting and casita are lush and inviting but, more importantly, the distinction in the characters and their facial expressions is wonderful. - indieWire
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| Posted Nov 15, 2021
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Bruised (2020) |
"Bruised" isn't breaking any new ground from a narrative standpoint, but it does show the strength of Halle Berry as a director, boasting a powder keg of dominating performances within a simplistic story. - indieWire
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| Posted Nov 15, 2021
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Snakehead (2021) |
Because it's not saying anything particularly new, when it does fall into a gangster narrative, it has a vibrancy that you'll want more of. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 23, 2021
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Bitterbrush (2021) |
With "Bitterbrush," Mahdavian announces herself as a filmmaker with a keen eye for capturing the contradictions and complexities of outsider women's lives. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 23, 2021
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Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over (2021) |
"Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" is a fun and sweet look into the life of the performer. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 12, 2021
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America Latina (2021) |
Despite Germano's valiant attempts to hold this movie together, it becomes silly watching him attempt to get at the heart of a mystery that is anything but. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 11, 2021
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Becoming Cousteau (2021) |
"Becoming Cousteau" is a dazzling dive into the depths of an undersea world. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 03, 2021
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Cinderella (2021) |
The flaws in the narrative are nothing in comparison to the vibrancy and energy on display with each and every musical number, worth dancing for, maybe even in a pair of glass slippers. - indieWire
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| Posted Sep 01, 2021
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Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed (2021) |
This Bob Ross doc isn't just messy, it one that paints a mixed portrait that's hard to decipher. - indieWire
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| Posted Aug 24, 2021
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Searching for Mr. Rugoff (2019) |
"Searching for Mr. Rugoff" often feels like inside baseball for film buffs, but if you're of that group you'll be charmed by it. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Aug 17, 2021
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Best Summer Ever (2020) |
By not acknowledging differences, "Best Summer Ever" takes a generic premise and makes it feel spunky and fresh. - indieWire
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| Posted Apr 27, 2021
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Hysterical (2021) |
Andrea Blaugrund Nevins' documentary is a fierce, frustrating, and utterly amazing look at the strength of women comics. - indieWire
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| Posted Apr 01, 2021
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Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words (2019) |
There is a tendency to overly explain things as opposed to letting Ginsburg's words flow, but if you've enjoyed the previous looks at the notorious RBG, this is a new one offers a different angle to her remarkable story. - indieWire
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| Posted Mar 06, 2021
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The Go-Go's (2020) |
"The Go-Go's" is an entertaining and well-put together package on a musical group who should command the respect of their male peers. - indieWire
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| Posted Dec 03, 2020
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AKA Jane Roe (2020) |
One of the most significant figures in the 20th Century is divisive, but it would have been great to narrow the focus to her feelings about that divisiveness and not the people who profited. - indieWire
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| Posted May 27, 2020
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Memories of a Penitent Heart (2016) |
A heartwrenching story of familial flaws and the mythologizing of people deceased, there's enough memories and heart to entice you. - Cinema Sentries
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| Posted May 21, 2020
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Night Warning (1981) |
A kooky little 80s movie worth seeking out if you want to know what William Asher was directing during the decade. - AwardsCircuit.com
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| Posted May 21, 2020
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Lovesick (2014) |
Lovesick plays fast and loose with the term, and it never finds that balance where love becomes sick. - AwardsCircuit.com
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| Posted May 06, 2020
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Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) |
Considering how sanitized "What Remains Behind" is with regards to Wood's rebellious tendencies it's a strawman argument to situate Wood against famous self-destructive stars. - indieWire
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| Posted May 05, 2020
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EMMA. (2020) |
Its composition leads to a stark formality that's overall cold in tone, with the question of just whom this new version is meant to appeal to left lingering like a light spring breeze. - FanSided
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| Posted Feb 19, 2020
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Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) |
Birds of Prey is a colorful and rollicking story that puts women front and center seeking autonomy, not just from their comic book origins but the fandom seeking the same old thing. - FanSided
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| Posted Feb 05, 2020
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The Lodge (2019) |
A contender for most haunting feature of the year. - The Movie Isle
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| Posted Feb 05, 2020
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The Rhythm Section (2020) |
The Rhythm Section lacks any rhythm of its own. - FanSided
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| Posted Jan 31, 2020
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The Gentlemen (2020) |
The Gentlemen is a rollicking and biting look at everything from international relations to filmmaking, wrapped up in a veneer of polished elegance. - The Movie Isle
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| Posted Jan 24, 2020
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Bad Boys for Life (2020) |
The ending certainly implies there's more gas in the tank for these characters. Smith and Lawrence remain wonderful. - The Movie Isle
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| Posted Jan 16, 2020
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Like a Boss (2020) |
A comedy whose laughs come from men who don't know how women and business are operating in the modern world, Like a Boss is as expired as five-year-old mascara. - FanSided
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| Posted Jan 14, 2020
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The Grudge (2020) |
At 93 minutes, what is perceived as a slow burn is drawn out and painfully dull. The Grudge is another remake no one asked for, and the characters imply that as well. - Culturess
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| Posted Jan 06, 2020
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Cats (2019) |
Cats is a jellicle disaster (I'm using that term about as well as the movie does). The actors appear to enjoy embarrassing themselves, but that's the only enjoyment derived from this musical hellscape. - FanSided
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| Posted Dec 20, 2019
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) |
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is made for one specific fan, and to appease them, it limits its storytelling and characterization to a sloppy degree. - FanSided
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| Posted Dec 18, 2019
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