Randy Shulman
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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M3GAN (2022) |
Director Gerard Johnstone pours every ounce of lighter fluid he has at his disposal on the final 30 minutes and simply lights a match. The resulting bonfire is a blazing (and guilty) pleasure to behold. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jan 07, 2023
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The Matrix Resurrections (2021) |
The cinematography resembles a warm, cozy commercial for Betty Crocker Cake Mix, and the action is downright messy, a clumsy clutter of over-editing and half-assed punches. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Dec 27, 2021
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The World to Come (2020) |
The characters...speak in an affected, irritating manner, tossing out words like "asperity" as though engaged in some kind of crossword battle. It grates on you. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Feb 14, 2021
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Nora Highland (2020) |
There's a carefully planned authenticity to the set-ups. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the remarkable Facetime chat... It's a stunning, almost athletic sequence. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Feb 14, 2021
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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) |
Reyes and Davis make fantastic additions, with Davis, resembling a young Robin Wright, flinging open the door to a promising career. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 06, 2019
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Jojo Rabbit (2019) |
Just when you think cinema is getting routine, something like Jojo Rabbit hops along and perks it right back up, reminding us that, indeed, the medium is very often the message. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 06, 2019
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Working Girls (1986) |
- Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Aug 27, 2019
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The Kitchen (2019) |
The Kitchen won't harm the careers of its stars.... But it should stop the directing career of Andrea Berloff in its tracks. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Aug 08, 2019
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Toy Story 4 (2019) |
Watching the gang...hide the fact that they're living beings coexisting in our world is exhausting. You want them to exclaim, 'We're here! We're dear! Play with us!' - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jun 21, 2019
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Aladdin (2019) |
Ritchie is a director in constant search of a top to go over.... You wonder if walking open-mouthed through a sandstorm wouldn't be slightly more enjoyable than Aladdin. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted May 24, 2019
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Us (2019) |
Jordan Peele has more on his mind than to merely offer up a scary ride. He wants audiences engaged on every possible level. He wants his horror films to mean something. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Mar 21, 2019
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Captain Marvel (2019) |
It's not going out on a limb to say Goose the cat is reason enough to see the movie multiple times. But there are other joys in Captain Marvel. An abundance of them. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Mar 07, 2019
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Halloween (2018) |
It winks at itself so much, you'd think it had something it its eye. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 18, 2018
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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) |
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again aims for the sewage system, where it gleefully cavorts for nearly two stupefying hours. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jul 19, 2018
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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) |
Where Harrison Ford brought humor, sex appeal, and depth to Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich brings an arched eyebrow, an idiot's grin, and the sex appeal of seaweed. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted May 24, 2018
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Isle of Dogs (2018) |
But the real heroics come from the team of animators who bring the stop-motion "puppets" to life. They are astonishing, rich, masterfully unique creations. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Mar 23, 2018
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) |
The Last Jedi deserves nothing but acclaim, and Johnson, an incredibly adept director, deserves to be handed as many future Star Wars films as he can manage. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Dec 13, 2017
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Justice League (2017) |
For all the money poured into Justice League, the effects have a slapdash, unfinished quality. Perhaps the talented FX people were too busy working on Thor. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2017
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God's Own Country (2017) |
The actors bring the authenticity of first love to the screen in a way that is exceedingly rare for any movie, Hollywood or otherwise. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 12, 2017
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Blade Runner 2049 (2017) |
Blade Runner 2049 is, hands-down, the greatest sequel in the history of cinema. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 04, 2017
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Alien: Covenant (2017) |
Scott has seen fit to include a gay couple and it's a pleasure to watch how quietly and matter-of-factly they're revealed. They're here. They're queer. They're alien food. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted May 18, 2017
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The Queen (2006) |
Helen Mirren gives perhaps her most remarkable performance in an already remarkable career. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jan 30, 2017
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) |
Gareth Edwards tries to generate suspense by using well-worn movie cliches that display a lack of imagination and point to the flaws of telling this tale in the first place. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Dec 14, 2016
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Nocturnal Animals (2016) |
In only his second motion picture...Ford exhibits a flair for detail and narrative drive that often daunts the most accomplished filmmakers. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 18, 2016
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Arrival (2016) |
Arrival should be required viewing of every living person on the planet. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 18, 2016
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Moonlight (2016) |
Perhaps other great films will be released between now and the end of the year, but I honestly can't imagine any being as worthy as Moonlight for every top prize. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 28, 2016
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) |
To remake Rocky Horror with slavish nod after nod to the original film is an exercise in redundancy. Why not reinvent the pig instead of just throwing more glitter on it? - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 20, 2016
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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) |
Asa Butterfield is flat, vacant, unappealing, with less energy that a sloth during its morning nap. He murders the film with every blandly spoken utterance. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Sep 30, 2016
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Sausage Party (2016) |
Rogan and company frequently mistake an overabundance of four-letter words for genuine humor. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Aug 18, 2016
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Star Trek Beyond (2016) |
By constantly reminding us of previous Treks, the new Star Trek can never fully claim triumph of its own accord. It's a mimicry of the original, lost in its own nebula. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jul 27, 2016
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Crimson Peak (2015) |
Crimson Peak gets under your skin and crawls away with abandon. It leaves you alarmed, unsettled and in a giddy state of cringe-in-your-seat squirm. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 14, 2015
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Into the Woods (2014) |
Rob Marshall opens the musical up for the screen without going too far. It's grounded, replacing razzle-dazzle with full-on emotion. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jan 09, 2015
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The Imitation Game (2014) |
You can't help but walk out feeling as though you've just seen one of the more important stories about one of the more important people - gay or straight - of our time. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Dec 11, 2014
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) |
Every so often there's a sign of the old Katniss - a hint of anger, a moment of resolve - but mostly she spends the movie with a very bad case of the blahs. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 26, 2014
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Interstellar (2014) |
For all its sci-fi trappings...Interstellar comes down to one thing, and one thing alone: the notion of following your heart. Yes, it really is that simple. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 07, 2014
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) |
A spider monkey could have written a less obvious screenplay. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jul 17, 2014
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X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) |
Singer keeps tight narrative control over a complicated plot, showcasing his directorial gifts in a magnificent climax that shuttles between two timelines with artistry. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted May 22, 2014
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Godzilla (2014) |
More than once, it leaves you impatient...as Edwards revs up some good old-fashioned monster mashing and then abruptly cuts to the aftermath. It's like having sex withheld. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted May 15, 2014
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) |
The Russos raise the stakes on each successive action sequence, until they arrive at [a] thundering, brutal, intensely suspenseful climax. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Apr 07, 2014
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It Came From Kuchar (2009) |
Fun, frisky, ceaselessly enjoyable documentary froth. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 17, 2009
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An Englishman in New York (2009) |
Falls somewhere between unbearable and fascinating. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Oct 17, 2009
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The September Issue (2009) |
One is forced to admire Wintour's decisiveness, her unwavering faith in her own instincts, as well as her ability to keep a multitude of creatives in check. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Sep 10, 2009
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Brüno (2009) |
A giddy mash-up of social, sophomoric and shocking humor. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Jul 12, 2009
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The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) |
A blasé horror cocktail that has one or two good scares but mostly is a way to lay waste to time you never really wanted back anyway. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Apr 05, 2009
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The Life of Reilly (2006) |
The schmaltzy surface-nature of the show, however, is redeemed by Reilly's performance... and by a final story... - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Mar 10, 2009
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Watchmen (2009) |
An engrossing, full embrace of the superhero form. Original, psychologically and intellectually rich and, more frequently than not, profoundly disturbing. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Mar 05, 2009
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Coraline (2009) |
The animation is just plain jaw-dropping, and the implementation of 3D gives the film an added boost of visual splendor. You feel like you're living it. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Feb 05, 2009
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Milk (2008) |
Van Sant's innate stylistic detachment keeps Milk from attaining its full potential as a rousing, rich drama. It's 2 percent when it should be whole. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Nov 26, 2008
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Tropic Thunder (2008) |
There are some people it will offend. To them I say, go bask in some Happy Days reruns. To the rest of you: Go see it and delight in laughing until your sides split. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Aug 14, 2008
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Pineapple Express (2008) |
The guns-blazing, body-count-mounting final act is a wasted opportunity -- and not in a good wasted way. - Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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| Posted Aug 14, 2008
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