Scott Von Doviak
Tomatometer-approved critic
I am a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. My book Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema was published in December 2004 by McFarland Press.
Taxi Driver, Sunset Blvd., M*A*S*H, Brazil, Dr. Strangelove, Manhattan, Slacker, Chinatown, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Blue Velvet, Jaws, Apocalypse Now, The Wizard of Oz
Austin, TX
http://www.culturevulture.net/movies/movieindex.htm
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Real Women Have Curves (2002) |
Ontiveros works hard to invest the stock nagging-mother role with humanity and sly humor Unfortunately, her character is far from the only clichéd element in the story. In fact, most of the movie has been assembled from spare parts. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Sep 10, 2021
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Chelsea Peretti: One of the Greats (2014) |
Peretti's special doesn't quite live up to its tongue-in-cheek title, but don't let that stop you from adding it to your queue. - AV Club
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| Posted Jul 12, 2019
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Sorry to Bother You (2018) |
It's a gleeful kitchen sink throwback to the satiric, absurdist, wildly inventive indies of the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s... - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Jul 09, 2018
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Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011) |
Fans should enjoy Campbell's performance, but Sam Axe deserved a more interesting fall. - AV Club
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| Posted Mar 06, 2018
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The Leisure Class (2015) |
You can see the vague outlines of what Mann was going for here-the sort of lighthearted farce that deepens into nightmarish black comedy as the night progresses... He doesn't come close to pulling it off, though. - AV Club
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| Posted Nov 02, 2015
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Hood to Coast (2011) |
An engaging slice of Americana that almost manages to make back-breaking physical exertion look like a hell of a good time. - AV Club
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| Posted Aug 02, 2011
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The Adjustment Bureau (2011) |
I think I would have liked it better had it been made in the '70s and starred Charlton Heston, but it's a hard movie to hate. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Mar 03, 2011
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The Green Hornet (2011) |
Gondry's film does have its goofy charms, even though it never quite decides what kind of movie it wants to be. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Jan 13, 2011
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Inception (2010) |
Plays like Ocean's 11 on Elm Street as written by Philip K. Dick, and that's mostly a good thing. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Jul 15, 2010
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Greenberg (2010) |
Baumbach proves he's as good as anyone at producing the kind of laughter that sticks in your throat. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Mar 26, 2010
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Green Zone (2010) |
The pacing is intense without being frenetic, and the chases and gun battles are served up with Greengrass's trademark jittery fervor. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Mar 12, 2010
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Alice in Wonderland (2010) |
Tim Burton seems to have completely misinterpreted his source material, but that's hardly a surprise at this point. It's more like his trademark. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Mar 05, 2010
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The Ghost Writer (2010) |
The element of paranoia Polanski wove so well through movies like Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby is on full display here. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Feb 26, 2010
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Shutter Island (2010) |
A supremely well-crafted thriller from an elder statesman whose love of cinema still burns through every frame. - Nerve.com
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| Posted Feb 19, 2010
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The Wolfman (2010) |
Stuffy and old-fashioned, taking itself way too seriously even at its silliest moments. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Feb 12, 2010
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Dear John (2010) |
The film's second half is a steep descent into the depths of movie hell, as one pathetically heart-tugging twist follows another. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Feb 05, 2010
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Edge of Darkness (2010) |
In the end, all the plotting is basically thrown out the window anyway to focus on a gun-toting Gibson hunting down the people who've wronged him. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Jan 29, 2010
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Extraordinary Measures (2010) |
All the usual landmarks along the inspirational-movie highway. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Jan 22, 2010
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Youth in Revolt (2009) |
The heavy lifting falls to Cera, who can't quite carry the weight of his dual performance. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Jan 08, 2010
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Avatar (2009) |
Like staring at the world's most expensive screensaver. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Dec 18, 2009
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Invictus (2009) |
Is there even any point in mentioning that Freeman gives a dignified performance? He's practically playing the concept of Dignity. - NERVE.COM - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Dec 11, 2009
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Serious Moonlight (2009) |
Plays out like a sitcom version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Dec 04, 2009
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Planet 51 (2009) |
Plays to the cheap seats rather than exploring its admittedly clever premise to the fullest. - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Nov 20, 2009
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2012 (2009) |
This isn't disaster porn, it's a disaster gang-bang. - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Nov 13, 2009
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The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) |
At its best, Goats maintains a giddy Dr. Strangelove-via-the-Coen-Brothers vibe. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Nov 06, 2009
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The House of the Devil (2009) |
More concerned with stretching nail-biting suspense to the breaking point than finding new ways of making heads explode. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Oct 30, 2009
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Antichrist (2009) |
On a narrative level, it's gobbledygook, as if von Trier has dredged up the details of a nightmare and filmed them in an attempt to get at some primal truths. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Oct 26, 2009
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Where the Wild Things Are (2009) |
Aimlessly trudging through woods or desert, sniping and clawing at each other, Carol and his fellow wild things come to resemble the H.R. Pufnstuf crew on downers. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Oct 16, 2009
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Couples Retreat (2009) |
The whole production just comes off as a paid vacation at Club Med for Vaughn and friends. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Oct 09, 2009
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Zombieland (2009) |
It's hard not to be entertained (assuming your definition of entertainment includes exploding skulls and spattered intestines). - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Oct 02, 2009
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The Informant! (2009) |
Closer to a Coen Brothers farce than A Civil Action or North Country. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Sep 18, 2009
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9 (2009) |
There's no denying that Acker has a knack for bleak landscapes and an inventive salvage-yard approach to character design, but his narrative skills are less developed. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Sep 11, 2009
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Extract (2009) |
A "sympathy for the boss" comedy could conceivably work, but Judge has neglected to supply the laughs this time around. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Sep 04, 2009
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Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
For anyone who has been hoping to see Tarantino back at the top of his game, the must-see movie of the summer has finally arrived. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Aug 21, 2009
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A Perfect Getaway (2009) |
Doesn't want to be anything more than a ninety-minute thrill ride, and unlike most of the bloated blockbusters of late, it succeeds on its own terms. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Aug 07, 2009
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Funny People (2009) |
Funny People isn't exactly a chore to sit through, but it's awfully slack and self-indulgent. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jul 31, 2009
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Brüno (2009) |
a hit-and-miss brand of humor, as likely to leave you squirming from embarrassment as howling with laughter. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jul 10, 2009
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Public Enemies (2009) |
Even the bank jobs and prison breaks feel perfunctory and enervated. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jul 03, 2009
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The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) |
I can think of worse ways to while away a hot, sticky summer afternoon than ducking into the air-conditioned comfort of the multiplex for a couple of hours worth of jacked-up, seat-rattling, subway-heisting action. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jun 11, 2009
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After Last Season (2009) |
"Intensely boring, thoroughly disorienting and so technically incompetent it achieves several deeply unnerving effects entirely by accident." - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jun 07, 2009
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Land of the Lost (2009) |
A soulless special effects flick crossed with a tired gross-out comedy. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Jun 04, 2009
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Drag Me to Hell (2009) |
Entertaining enough in its squishy-squirmy way, and the payoff delivers a little jolt of that old time Raimi magic. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted May 27, 2009
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Star Trek (2009) |
As unlikely as it once seemed, it looks like the ol' Enterprise has a few more light-years left in it after all. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted May 06, 2009
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Adventureland (2009) |
The plot mechanics are a drag because Adventureland is at its best when it's in laid-back, hanging out mode. - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Apr 02, 2009
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Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) |
Monsters vs. Aliens tries very hard to entertain every demographic in the audience, although it's at its most enjoyable when it's not trying quite so hard. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Mar 26, 2009
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Watchmen (2009) |
The approach is depressingly literal, and none of the scenes build on what has come before -- they're just meticulously reconstructed Scenes From Watchmen. - culturevulture.net
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| Posted Mar 04, 2009
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Coraline (2009) |
For a movie that rarely leaves the house, Coraline takes a number of inspired detours. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Feb 05, 2009
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Yes Man (2008) |
No comedy classic, but it packs enough laughs into 104 minutes to justify the price of admission (or at least a matinee ticket) - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Dec 18, 2008
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Doubt (2008) |
Award-worthy performances aren't enough to keep Doubt from falling flat in the end. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Dec 11, 2008
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Four Christmases (2008) |
To say that Vaughn is phoning it in these days would be an insult to telecommuters everywhere. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
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| Posted Nov 26, 2008
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