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Critics list

Lawrence Toppman

Tomatometer-approved critic

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
North (1994) 12% 2/4 EDIT “"North" is an undercooked confection that leaves almost no taste on the tongue.” – Charlotte Observer Jan 24, 2026 Full Review The American President (1995) 90% 3/4 EDIT “A spun-sugar romance in the grandest Hollywood style, as polished and graceful as it is unprovocative and superficial. It's a near-masterpiece of its delicate, artificial, lightweight kind.” – Charlotte Observer Jan 22, 2026 Full Review Misery (1990) 87% 1.5/4 EDIT “Kathy Bates plays Annie as a loony from the get-go; there's never a chance she'll do anything but flip out.” – Charlotte Observer Jan 22, 2026 Full Review A Few Good Men (1992) 85% 2.5/4 EDIT “It's a guilty pleasure for anyone who values individuality or creativity but a pleasure nonetheless, with its crackling courtroom scenes and bravura acting. Its motto ought to be "Semper Feelgoodis."” – Charlotte Observer Jan 7, 2026 Full Review Hook (1991) 37% 2.5/4 EDIT “People have rightly criticized Spielberg for portraying adult emotions simplistically, but they may eat their words after seeing the real-world segments of this movie... Yet the picture turns into a banal thrill ride when Peter lands in Neverland.” – Charlotte Observer Dec 19, 2025 Full Review Big Top Pee-wee (1988) 31% 3/5 EDIT “"Big Top Pee-wee" has a few things in it for older people, but it's definitely a kids' movie at heart -- and as such, intermittently funny.” – Charlotte Observer Dec 11, 2025 Full Review The Abyss (1989) 76% 3/4 EDIT “Mastrantonio gives a superb performance, the kind that will be overlooked in a movie full of intriguing machinery. ” – Charlotte Observer Dec 10, 2025 Full Review True Lies (1994) 77% 2.5/4 EDIT “Excessiveness has always been Cameron's greatest virtue in action sequences and greatest weakness in characterization. True Lies takes both to extremes. And because it's a comedy, it seems groaningly silly in spots. ” – Charlotte Observer Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 91% 3.5/4 EDIT “The violence is still gratuitous, although Terminator Arnold doesn't kill anybody. ...But for a whopping adrenalin rush that feels like a dozen straight rides on a corkscrew rollercoaster, "Terminator II" can't be surpassed.” – Charlotte Observer Dec 8, 2025 Full Review To Sleep With Anger (1990) 93% 3/4 EDIT “The actors keep the electricity flowing with sharp performances.” – Charlotte Observer Sep 23, 2025 Full Review Hard Eight (1996) 82% 3/4 EDIT “It's a world of moral grays, and Sidney's the walking embodiment of that ambiguity: gray hair, gray suit, even a gray-blue car. Yet through that grayness, if you peer long enough, colors will emerge that reward your patience. ” – Charlotte Observer Sep 22, 2025 Full Review Darkman (1990) 80% 3/4 EDIT “Watching the bravura direction and playing "Spot The Reference" yields pleasure enough, but the action has weight, too.” – Charlotte Observer Aug 25, 2025 Full Review Waterworld (1995) 60% 3/4 EDIT “What did reach the screen... will jolt action fans pleasurably and provide enough exoticism to satisfy anybody jaded by the genre. ” – Charlotte Observer Jul 28, 2025 Full Review The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) 88% 3/5 EDIT “"The Naked Gun" is puerile, infantine, featherbrained, preposterous -- so far beyond silly that I had to consult a thesaurus to find proper synonyms. Also funny.” – Charlotte Observer Jul 24, 2025 Full Review The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) 77% 3/4 EDIT “Dopey? Of course. But with every other serious competitor out of the field, ZAZ-Profit are the kings of juvenile humor. To give them their due, they do it well.” – Charlotte Observer Jul 22, 2025 Full Review Jurassic Park (1993) 91% 4/4 EDIT “About the time the earth begins to move, when Tyrannosaurus rex unleashes a roar like the gates of hell swinging wide, you'll know you're watching a rarity: The first Hollywood "event" picture in years to transcend its press.” – Charlotte Observer Jul 1, 2025 Full Review The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) 57% EDIT “On a technical level, The Lost World is a jaw-dropping, eardrum-thumping, bone-rattling amusement park ride in two dimensions, as accomplished and well-designed as Jurassic Park. On an imaginative level, it's sound and fury signifying nothing.” – Charlotte Observer Jun 30, 2025 Full Review Apollo 13 (1995) 94% 3.5/4 EDIT “Director Ron Howard, who has built a career on easygoing, reassuring movies from Night Shift to The Paper, finally achieves true drama.” – Charlotte Observer Jun 25, 2025 Full Review Mission: Impossible II (2000) 58% D EDIT “This movie is straw that refuses to be spun into gold. ” – Charlotte Observer May 8, 2025 Full Review Mission: Impossible (1996) 67% 3/4 EDIT “The grand finale takes place within the Chunnel Tunnel, and is so silly and preposterous that it reminded me of a Chuck Jones "Roadrunner" cartoon. At least the TV show held on to some semblance of reality.” – Charlotte Observer May 7, 2025 Full Review Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) 94% EDIT “So seamless is the blend between old and new footage that casual fans won't notice. For them, the four extra minutes in Star Wars will seem like tiny new ornaments on one of the grandest cinematic Christmas trees.” – Charlotte Observer Apr 22, 2025 Full Review The Wedding Banquet (1993) 94% 3/4 EDIT “Director and co-writer Ang Lee puts a witty spin on his modern version of old Hollywood screwball comedies.” – Charlotte Observer Apr 15, 2025 Full Review Do the Right Thing (1989) 92% 3/4 EDIT “"Do the Right Thing" is the most provocative drama on the summer horizon. To a moviegoer wandering in a desert of sequels and special effects, it looks like a multilayered mirage.” – Charlotte Observer Mar 13, 2025 Full Review Scream 2 (1997) 83% B- EDIT “It's just as sarcastically glib, funny and shrewd in commenting on horror-film conventions, which it gleefully skewers throughout. ” – Charlotte Observer Feb 5, 2025 Full Review Mulan (1998) 91% B+ EDIT “[Mulan] is often spontaneous and spectacular. When it is, it's as good as '90s animation gets. When it follows rigid company dictates, it occasionally goes flat. But stimulating moments outnumber stale ones about 3 to 1.” – Charlotte Observer Dec 20, 2024 Full Review
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