Louis Black
Louis Black's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at the following Tomatometer-approved publication(s):
Austin Chronicle
Movies reviews only
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- Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 26, 2019
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Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (2016) |
Arguing that those with different beliefs are evil, corrupt, and aggressively un-American is really the most un-American position one can take. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 21, 2016
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The Wedding Ringer (2015) |
The film is so flat and tired it really doesn't deserve the vehemence of this review. It's like chastising a completely airless tire for not rolling. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 23, 2015
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Blackhat (2015) |
Blackhat plays a surprisingly flat and ever-flatter cinema texture against the careful roll-out of an elaborate plot. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 15, 2015
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Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) |
Nice effects work, a relatively swift-moving narrative, sweet performances, and, by now, a well-worn premise prove inspiring this time out, and not deadening. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Dec 18, 2014
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Point and Shoot (2014) |
The film is entirely fascinating but made me feel somehow deeply unclean. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Dec 11, 2014
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Before I Go to Sleep (2014) |
This is 50 First Dates-dark, but lacking that film's humor, characterizations, dramatic interest, and consistency. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Nov 06, 2014
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The Green Prince (2014) |
This is very powerful stuff, but what you ultimately make of it will have a lot to do with the politics you bring to watching it. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 23, 2014
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Last Days in Vietnam (2014) |
Powerful and terrifying. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 02, 2014
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The Liberator (2013) |
Without sufficient context, the films swirls grandly but without making much meaning. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 02, 2014
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The Equalizer (2014) |
I'd argue that Fuqua is evolving into one of the most interesting and ambitious mainstream action film directors currently working. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Sep 25, 2014
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Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt? (2014) |
In 1949, when Warner Bros. filmed The Fountainhead, Rand threatened to burn down the studio if they compromised her novel. I'd like to think that if she were alive she'd be looking for lighter fluid for this one. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Sep 18, 2014
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Cantinflas (2014) |
To the uninitiated, such as myself, apart from the familiar landmarks of a career's trajectory, a lot of what is going on is too lightly sketched. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Sep 04, 2014
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The Last of Robin Hood (2013) |
The Last Days of Robin Hood combines shredded bits of biography, scandal-sheet gossip-mongering, and philosophical retrospective into an unsightly and, unfortunately, uninteresting mess. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Sep 04, 2014
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I Travel Alone (2013) |
So slow-moving, the narrative takes forever to gain momentum, and when it finally does, it deliberately undercuts it. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Aug 28, 2014
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The Fluffy Movie (2014) |
Inherently funny, with a terrific sense of timing, an amazing gift for mimicry, and an ability to perfectly imitate all kinds of everyday sounds, Iglesias is always charming and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 31, 2014
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Persecuted (2014) |
Persecuted matches its conservative beliefs to an anachronistic narrative structure and dated cinematic execution. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 24, 2014
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Lucy (2014) |
A daring, giddy joy ride of an adventure, Lucy races along, leaves a swirlingly confused trail behind it, as it tracks a single intelligence that's rapidly evolving from human to universal. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 24, 2014
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Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) |
The best intentions clearly resulted in the creation of a largely unimaginative, if still mildly entertaining, work. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 17, 2014
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Life Itself (2014) |
Appropriate to this man who lived his life for films is this movie that transcends subject and form to get at a portrait that is not just intimate and revealing, but cinema-loving, life-affirming, and inspiring. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 10, 2014
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Korengal (2014) |
Remarkably frank, Korengal espouses no one clear sentiment towards war. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 07, 2014
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America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014) |
This is an unusually odious effort because it is so hugely hypocritical and ultimately self-serving. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jul 06, 2014
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Jersey Boys (2014) |
Jersey Boys is entertainingly told, yet is a more traditional film than are many Eastwood-directed works. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jun 19, 2014
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22 Jump Street (2014) |
The creative team behind this, including the two leads, end up giving far more than the minimum they could have gotten away with -- which results in an unusually fun and funny film. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jun 12, 2014
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Maleficent (2014) |
Imaginatively, it places all the known elements of the story in different contexts, completely recasting this familiar fairy tale into a more poignant and resonant work. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jun 05, 2014
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Chinese Puzzle (2013) |
Chinese Puzzle is a charming, rambling, modern romantic comedy is so sloppy that it should be done in by its excesses, yet the large, excellent ensemble cast manages to make it all work. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted May 29, 2014
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Rio 2 (2014) |
All singing, all dancing, all color: Rio 2 is a modern, studio animation blockbuster spilling all over the place, rather than arching into the sky. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Apr 17, 2014
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Sabotage (2014) |
Ugly and mean-spirited, Sabotage starts off badly, only to get dumber as it progresses. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Mar 27, 2014
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Son of God (2014) |
There is little cinematic about the film. Instead, it is a series of figurative illustrations. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Mar 06, 2014
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Endless Love (2014) |
Much of the film is told in mystifying and occasionally disturbing close-ups, suggesting parody more than evoking emotional resonance. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Feb 13, 2014
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The Monuments Men (2014) |
This film is a collection of vignettes in search of a narrative center. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Feb 07, 2014
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The Saratov Approach (2013) |
In so many ways the film would be more interesting if it were more ambitious, but on its own terms it is surprisingly strong. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 30, 2014
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Labor Day (2013) |
The tortured yet growing familial relations, explanatory flashbacks, and too swiftly moving story shouldn't really work. Somehow they all do, and the whole is even more than the sum of the parts. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 30, 2014
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Gimme Shelter (2014) |
An exercise in very serious and meaningful young-adult drama, Gimme Shelter is so overloaded with simplistic good intentions that are matched with equally bland ambitions that it drowns under its own excesses. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 23, 2014
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The Legend of Hercules (2014) |
This origin story of the great hero Hercules (Lutz) of Greek mythology lacks even one semi-decent action piece. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 16, 2014
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47 Ronin (2013) |
47 Ronin is about magic, the fantastic, a witch, and CGI monsters that adorn a muddled and confused plot. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 03, 2014
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Mama (2013) |
Haunting and extremely atmospheric, Mama is a horror film imbued with an unsettling and affecting power. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Jan 01, 2014
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Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (2013) |
Rather than rising above the fray, Madea is very much the fray itself. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Dec 19, 2013
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Walking With Dinosaurs (2013) |
Obviously, I'm not even close to the intended audience for this film, but it was maddening and frustrating to watch so much ambition wasted on delivering such lame junk. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Dec 19, 2013
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The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) |
There is redemption in the chemistry between the two lead characters, their passions and complexity, as well as in the grace of the music as it is performed and how it is used. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Dec 06, 2013
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Homefront (2013) |
The film is mostly predictable, but throws a few curveballs and ends up being surprisingly entertaining, if not at all outstanding. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Nov 27, 2013
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Diana (2013) |
Yes, Diana is the poor little rich girl, but the opulent settings, private jets, yachts, and chauffeured cars prove peculiar and distracting affectations. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Nov 22, 2013
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The Christmas Candle (2013) |
Although at times it seems to be building emotional momentum, by the end it falls flat -- tripped by its conflicting ambitions, overload of metaphoric events, and lack of powerful catharsis. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Nov 22, 2013
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Free Birds (2013) |
Bad history is a meaningless criticism to lob at an animated film, but the film really has no other outstanding attributes. This one is just for the kids. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Nov 01, 2013
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The Fifth Estate (2013) |
Tthe film finally falls short, an explosive beginning leading to a pedestrian end. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 25, 2013
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Escape Plan (2013) |
The most surprising thing about this movie, outside of its length, is just how unsurprising it really is, especially regarding its tired climax. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 25, 2013
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Grace Unplugged (2013) |
Don't suspect any surprises: It is a Christian film and demonstrates melodramatic TV strategies. Still, on its own terms it is entertaining. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 11, 2013
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Pulling Strings (2013) |
Ultimately, the film is absolutely charming if a bit too predictable and glued more to sit-com narrative strategies and aesthetics than is healthy. Still, Pulling Strings works on a number of levels. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 04, 2013
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Generation Iron (2013) |
The film ends up being about much more than itself, much more than just bodybuilding or bodybuilders. Although a bit overlong, it is really a triumph of intelligent, strategic filmmaking. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Oct 04, 2013
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Battle of the Year (2013) |
In particular, as mentioned, the dance sequences are a mess, which is the kiss of death for a film in this genre. - Austin Chronicle
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| Posted Sep 27, 2013
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