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Paul Arendt
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Cass (2008) |
Cass has more heart than your average hooligan flick, but it's a clumsy, compromised film, hamstrung by its own redemptive structure and too infatuated with its protagonist to take an objective point of view. - Film4
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| Posted Jul 31, 2008
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Iron Man (2008) |
Is it summer already? The first of the big budget superhero blockbusters has arrived, and it's a roaring success, thanks to a combination of superb special effects and canny casting. - BBC.com
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| Posted May 02, 2008
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Strange Wilderness (2008) |
There's nothing in this lame, low budget stoner flick that even peeps above the parapet of the ordinary. - BBC.com
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| Posted Apr 11, 2008
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Lonesome Jim (2005) |
Steve Buscemi's third film as a director is a low key affair delivered with a wry sense of humour. - BBC.com
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| Posted Apr 11, 2008
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Drillbit Taylor (2008) |
Leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. - BBC.com
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| Posted Mar 28, 2008
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The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) |
Unexpectedly gripping. - BBC.com
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| Posted Mar 25, 2008
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10,000 B.C. (2008) |
Take the kids along; unless you want them to grow up to be palaeontologists. - BBC.com
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| Posted Mar 14, 2008
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The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) |
Ravishing frocks and heaving bosoms are the main constituents of The Other Boleyn Girl, an entertaining bodice ripper lightly disguised as historical fiction. - BBC.com
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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Vantage Point (2008) |
The stories are cleverly interwoven, with a couple of unexpected twists, and the patient viewer is rewarded with a doozy of a car chase in the last reel. - BBC.com
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| Posted Mar 07, 2008
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The Bank Job (2008) |
The tone is strangely erratic, aiming for the breezy high-jinks of Ealing comedy in the first half, then collapsing into dead-eyed sadism, then back to cheeky cockney chappies for a reasonably rousing climax. - BBC.com
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| Posted Feb 28, 2008
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GamerZ (2005) |
It would be easy enough to mock the insulated world of Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts, but Robbie Fraser's debut movie takes a gentler and more sympathetic path. - BBC.com
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| Posted Feb 22, 2008
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Black Water (2007) |
Short, sharp and refreshingly nasty, it's a light antidote to all those heavy Oscar hopefuls clogging up the multiplex. - BBC.com
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| Posted Feb 22, 2008
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Jumper (2008) |
Important plot points are left unexplored, and there's no killer climax, so you leave the cinema deflated rather than thrilled. - BBC.com
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| Posted Feb 19, 2008
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Definitely, Maybe (2008) |
A romantic comedy that manages to be cute without sending viewers barrelling into the bathroom to toss their cookies. - BBC.com
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| Posted Feb 12, 2008
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) |
A grimy concoction from Hell's own kitchen, laced with black humour and seasoned with hauntingly beautiful music. Tuck in. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jan 24, 2008
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No Country for Old Men (2007) |
The Coen brothers have once again placed themselves at the very forefront of American cinema. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jan 18, 2008
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Half Moon (2006) |
Surprisingly gripping despite its whimsical subject matter and often very funny. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jan 04, 2008
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Lust, Caution (2007) |
A mesmerising study in emotional cruelty. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jan 04, 2008
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Man in the Chair (2007) |
Man In The Chair feels a bit like a high school movie project, which is appropriate since that's exactly what it's about. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jan 01, 2008
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Balls of Fury (2007) |
It's good natured enough, but laughs are thin on the ground. - BBC.com
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| Posted Dec 25, 2007
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We Own the Night (2007) |
Heartfelt performances from all the leads, certainly. Top 80s tunes and a thrilling car chase in the pouring rain. - BBC.com
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| Posted Dec 13, 2007
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Bee Movie (2007) |
What Bee Movie really lacks is a compelling hero. Seinfeld is essentially playing himself, so what we get is a stand-up comedian in a black and yellow sweater. - BBC.com
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| Posted Dec 11, 2007
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Southland Tales (2006) |
There's too much sizzle and not enough steak. - BBC.com
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| Posted Dec 07, 2007
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Hitman (2007) |
Hitman continues the grand Hollywood tradition of completely failing to turn a computer game into a decent movie. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 29, 2007
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Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006) |
Dark subject matter, but Goran Dukic's film is whimsical and determinedly optimistic about life. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 23, 2007
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Talk to Me (2007) |
A traditionally handsome biopic bursting with 1960s period detail and firecracker performances, Talk To Me tackles one of the most volatile periods in American history, but tragically finds nothing interesting to say about it. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 23, 2007
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Anna M. (2007) |
For a film that presents itself as a case-study, Anna M has no trouble in chucking plausibility out of the window - would she really get a job as a nanny with that loony smile and no references? - and suffers from a mystifying and unsatisfactory ending. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 15, 2007
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The Band's Visit (2007) |
The kind of film that will appeal to patient viewers: charming, low-budget whimsy with a soupcon of political relevance. The music is lovely too. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 09, 2007
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The Brothers Solomon (2007) |
Direction is undistinguished, and the editing leaves far too much room for laughs that never arrive. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 02, 2007
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In the Shadow of the Moon (2006) |
The heart of Sington's film is the dry humour and boundless humility of his interviewees. - BBC.com
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| Posted Nov 02, 2007
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Sicko (2007) |
Moore's commentary can grate, but his most brilliant prank - escorting a group of 911 workers to Cuba for free healthcare - manages to be political gelignite and intensely moving at the same time. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 23, 2007
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The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) |
A terrible bodge. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 19, 2007
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The Invasion (2007) |
Having established an effectively creepy mood in the first half, the film eventually degenerates into a muddled mess, with Nicole and Daniel Craig dodging zombies while popping amphetamines in a desperate effort to stay awake. We know how they feel. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 16, 2007
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Ratatouille (2007) |
The animation is superb, the vocal work flawless, the script witty, the central conflict between family ties and the pursuit of excellence subtly handled. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 10, 2007
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Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) |
Director Russell Mulcahy, a veteran of sci-fi tat, knows well enough to keep his camera firmly focussed on the exploding heads, and of course, there's the semi-naked Milla. One for Saturday night DVD rental, really. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 09, 2007
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Day Watch (2006) |
The film undeniably has buckets of style, aided and abetted by some extremely funky animated subtitles. - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 05, 2007
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War (2007) |
All together now: 'War! Hurgh! What is it it good for?' - BBC.com
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| Posted Oct 02, 2007
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Mr. Woodcock (2007) |
Mr Woodcock offers one or two glorious moments of slapstick comedy, separated by a tumbleweed-strewn tundra of tedium. - BBC.com
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| Posted Sep 28, 2007
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Hot Rod (2007) |
Though it's as disposable as a plastic razor, Hot Rod is not without a few good yuks. - BBC.com
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| Posted Sep 25, 2007
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Superbad (2007) |
It's as if Mike Leigh decided to make a gross-out comedy. - BBC.com
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| Posted Sep 14, 2007
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Disturbia (2007) |
Take an Alfred Hitchcock classic, remix it for generation youtube and you've got Disturbia, a smart and involving thriller about the perils of voyeurism. - BBC.com
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| Posted Sep 11, 2007
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December Boys (2007) |
Based on a novel by Michael Noonan, this sentimental tale of Australian orphans coming of age by the seaside has little to distinguish it except for the presence of Daniel Radcliffe. - BBC.com
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| Posted Sep 11, 2007
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Knocked Up (2007) |
It's so funny that you'll be snorting popcorn out of your nose before the end. - BBC.com
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| Posted Aug 24, 2007
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The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |
A heart-pounding, merciless thrill ride that will leave you gasping for breath. - BBC.com
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| Posted Aug 14, 2007
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Rush Hour 3 (2007) |
Two hours of non-stop, ear-shattering, humourless shrieking. It's simply unbearable. You soon find yourself begging for him to die. - BBC.com
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| Posted Aug 10, 2007
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Buy It Now (2005) |
Punches well above its weight. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jul 20, 2007
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Transformers (2007) |
It's outrageous, stupid fun and you should see it on the biggest screen you can find. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jul 17, 2007
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) |
Order of the Phoenix is entertaining enough, but it feels like a stopgap, a stepping stone to later, greater thrills. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jul 13, 2007
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Shrek the Third (2007) |
Great animation and good jokes. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jun 26, 2007
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Paris, je t'aime (2006) |
Taken as a whole, Paris Je T'Aime slips down easily enough and offers a few whimsical smiles, but you may find yourself craving more substantial nourishment before the end. - BBC.com
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| Posted Jun 26, 2007
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