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Marsha McCreadie

Marsha McCreadie's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Biography:

Marsha McCreadie has written four books on women and film before becoming pleasantly obsessed with the documentary form and writing Documentary Superstars, interviews with prominent documentary filmmakers. She was the staff film critic at the Arizona Republic for many years, currently reviews for Film Journal International, and her film articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles times, Film Comment, sensesofcienma, and many other Googleable publications. Her interest in film started as a child when her mother, a disappointed actress, took her to Saturday double features as a child in a tiny village in upstate New York, reminding her to always comb her hair before going to the ladies room, because a producer might be in the lobby. It?s been a push-pull between cinematic fantasy and reality ever since.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Stand by Me (1986) 88% EDIT “Stand by Me is a particularly strong disappointment because it promises so much yet makes few strides, even within its small terrain.” – Arizona Republic Jan 12, 2026 Full Review The Princess Bride (1987) 93% EDIT “The problem with the movie, though it has some fine fillips and witty asides, is that it is predictable, overall. The Princess Bride is corny. And it's simply not as touching as it might be.” – Arizona Republic Jan 7, 2026 Full Review The Sure Thing (1985) 84% EDIT “the central idea of The Sure Thing is a cute one. ” – Arizona Republic Jan 7, 2026 Full Review Big Top Pee-wee (1988) 31% 1/4 EDIT “Though there are moments of fine silliness, Big Top collapses. ” – Arizona Republic Dec 11, 2025 Full Review Predator (1987) 64% EDIT “Taking some elements from Commando and some from The Terminator, Schwarzenegger has stripped down the films to their pertinent, crowd-pleasing parts and simply repeated those parts.” – Arizona Republic Oct 30, 2025 Full Review Desert Hearts (1985) 77% EDIT “Add Desert Hearts to the current crop of gay films, which are hip, honest and knowing about the gay world without being either preachy or self-conscious.” – Arizona Republic Oct 10, 2025 Full Review My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) 95% EDIT “It shows that no matter how particular or localized a story line may be, if it's handled with charm and perspicacity it can fan out to capture intelligent viewers.” – Arizona Republic Oct 10, 2025 Full Review This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 98% EDIT “Satire is tough to do. But the best thing about Spinal Tap is that it's able to scrawl a fuzzy, loving line around the things it's sending up.” – Arizona Republic Sep 9, 2025 Full Review Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988) 10% EDIT “The movie is cheaply made.” – Arizona Republic Aug 29, 2025 Full Review Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) 78% EDIT “A little of Pee-Wee goes a long way and one wonders why they didn't make the movie a wee bit shorter.” – Arizona Republic Jul 30, 2025 Full Review Supergirl (1984) 19% EDIT “Slater is bland instead of bold and trembly where she should be tender.” – Arizona Republic Jun 27, 2025 Full Review Return to Oz (1985) 59% EDIT “This cruel, cold world, where natural phenomena are mechanized has none of the wonderful terror of the first Oz or the warm lovingness of the characters to whom the first Dorothy became attached.” – Arizona Republic Jun 19, 2025 Full Review The Karate Kid (1984) 81% EDIT “Morita's sense of comic timing is excellent, and he also has some of the better lines of the film. ” – Arizona Republic May 27, 2025 Full Review Starman (1984) 83% EDIT “Starman is a happy surprise... Messianic without being preachy, cute without being cloying.” – Arizona Republic May 14, 2025 Full Review C.H.U.D. (1984) 43% EDIT “C.H.U.D. is a hastily thrown together and obviously cheaply made thriller.” – Arizona Republic May 10, 2025 Full Review Shampoo (1975) 75% EDIT “The broad, funny strokes of these escapades -- the three ladies playing their parts with consummate skill -- show no winners.” – FilmsInReview.com Mar 3, 2025 Full Review Back to School (1986) 81% EDIT “...it is one of those movies that, with seemingly nothing going for it, turns out to be one of the best. It will speak to all kinds of people.” – Arizona Republic Feb 26, 2025 Full Review The Breakfast Club (1985) 87% EDIT “For what it is -- which isn't everything -- The Breakfast Club is quite good. The script isn't bad. The plot is nothing. The Breakfast Club is about the acting.” – Arizona Republic Feb 14, 2025 Full Review Blue Velvet (1986) 91% EDIT “It's as if Fellini were suddenly taking on the punk world of '50s memorabilia. It makes no sense, but it sticks in your mind. Lynch may be brilliant, but I bet he's a little bonkers, too.” – Arizona Republic Jan 22, 2025 Full Review Aliens (1986) 94% EDIT “Weaver does a terrific job of showing extreme anxiety. You can't blame her.” – Arizona Republic Jul 30, 2024 Full Review Birdy (1984) 84% EDIT “Not all of the film's metaphors work; a few seem predictable and overdone. And the theme of identity interchange, or the doubling aspect between the two heroes, is a bit trite. Yet the film is still an emotional sledgehammer.” – Arizona Republic Dec 16, 2023 Full Review Cocoon (1985) 82% EDIT “The most improbable success of a film, implausible not in the sci-fi, special effectsy way that is so common nowadays, but in the fantastic melange of themes, personalities and even settings it incorporates.” – Arizona Republic Nov 12, 2023 Full Review Moscow on the Hudson (1984) 74% EDIT “Mazursky and the script... seem confused rather than purposefully ambivalent about America, the Soviet Union, and freedom. ” – Arizona Republic Aug 17, 2023 Full Review Back to the Future (1985) 92% EDIT “Remember how Huck Finn daydreamed about going to his own funeral? Back to the Future does an inverse, witty turnabout on this theme.” – Arizona Republic Jun 28, 2023 Full Review The Great Outdoors (1988) 42% 1/4 EDIT “Like an early-summer fly, it can be brushed off easily.” – Arizona Republic Jun 16, 2023 Full Review
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