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Cleveland Plain Dealer

Tomatometer-approved publication.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
My Bloody Valentine (1981) Michael Ward Its weak plot, its disjointed story and its predictable panic are covered by a coating of enough blood to satisfy the needs of a large hospital in a national disaster.
Posted Jan 29, 2026  Edit critic review
North (1994) Joanna Connors Written by a former "Saturday Night Live" staff writer, it is little more than a series of sketches, most of them as smug and lame as any current "SNL" bit.
Posted Jan 24, 2026  Edit critic review
The American President (1995) Joanna Connors This movie is as much a tribute to seamless, mainstream, middle-of-the-road Hollywood moviemaking as it is to Capra. Here is that rare big-budget movie where all the money has gone to buy major stars, lavish sets, and an army of hairstylists.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
Misery (1990) Joanna Connors Lacking both a sense of escalating tension and a sense of comic relief, the movie feels inert.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) W. Ward Marsh A good story, abetted by a moral these foolish mortals here below can take home with them, keeps this new thriller at top pitch throughout its telling.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
The Magnificent Seven (1960) W. Ward Marsh ...the major laurels still go to Sturges who has handled his situations and cast with a power and glory tending to create a major western movie.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
Bite the Bullet (1975) Emerson Batdorff "Bite the Bullet" is usually good fun.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
A
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Joanna Connors Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King upends all trilogy expectations. It is a spectacular movie, the best of the three, offering both a grand, fight-to-the-death climax and an intimate, emotional summing up of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy classic.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
Stand by Me (1986) Roxanne T. Mueller It's a rare, deeply moving look at boyhood camaraderie, beautifully acted by everyone involved.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
A Place in the Sun (1951) W. Ward Marsh It is quite the most moving, most disturbing and most nearly realistic melodrama I have seen in years.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
B
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Joanna Connors It's a filmmaking feat, all right. But huge and accomplished as The Two Towers is, it fails to delight the way the first film did.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
A
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Joanna Connors I'll leave it to others to report on how faithfully Jackson has stuck to Tolkien's novel; frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn. What I do know is that he has made a grand movie-movie.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
Gaslight (1944) W. Ward Marsh All cheers lead back to Miss Bergman, who delivers the most accurate and sensitive screen performance I have ever seen in years.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
Out of the Past (1947) W. Ward Marsh As case-hardened melodrama and an exciting study in violence, "Out of the Past" is a pretty gripping picture.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
Alice in Wonderland (1951) W. Ward Marsh The color is a constant and steady visual thrill. The depths achieved in many scenes are greater than I remember in "Disney" before and all the major characters are not only voiced but given proper emotion, temperament and personification.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
The Sure Thing (1985) Roxanne T. Mueller Not only does [Reiner] show the main characters trying to cope with the cultural quirks and pressures of modern life, but he's got a healthy appreciation for the offbeat.
Posted Jan 07, 2026  Edit critic review
A Few Good Men (1992) Joanna Connors Aaron Sorkin should get down on the his knees for hourly and thank the gods for Jack Nicholson. He should throw in Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon and Keifer Sutherland and Kevin Pollack occasionally. Tom Cruise, too, I guess. Rob Reiner, definitely.
Posted Jan 07, 2026  Edit critic review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) W. Ward Marsh Litvak's direction is unfalteringly sure.
Posted Dec 31, 2025  Edit critic review
Hook (1991) Joanna Connors The star personalities, the money, the effects and especially the sets overwhelm Spielberg's fragile magic. The magic appears, but only fleetingly, like fairy dust thrown on a two-ton gorilla that will never, ever fly.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
Christine (1983) Roxanne T. Mueller Horror of any kind works on the mind, with the imagination of the film maker heightening that of the viewer. In "Christine," the only thing that the director successfully works on is the funny bone.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) Joey Morona No matter how well intentioned the effort, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" can’t change the reality that for all its cinematic bluster, the franchise has become overstuffed and exhausting, forcing you into submission until you’re… wait for it… blue in the face.
Posted Dec 16, 2025  Edit critic review
The Abyss (1989) Joanna Connors Cameron lacks originality and vision, but his craft as a director is to pump up the conventions of the action-adventure genre, to make them more intense than anybody else makes them.
Posted Dec 10, 2025  Edit critic review
True Lies (1994) Joanna Connors As troubling as Cameron's military-hardware celebration is, far more troubling is his treatment of his heroine.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Joanna Connors The sequel maintains the nihilistic humor of the first...but it never gets the soul. It isn't the characters; it is about how much Cameron and his special effects team can cook up in explosions, car crashes, shoot-outs and fights.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
The Terminator (1984) Roxanne T. Mueller It's junk, but good junk.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
Wicked: For Good (2025) Joey Morona Despite all its detours, "Wicked: For Good" ends up exactly where it needs to be. It might not defy gravity in quite the same way, but it still soars.
Posted Nov 19, 2025  Edit critic review
The Wiz (1978) Michael Ward It is a pity that director Sidney Lumet could not get the story moving down that Yellow Brick Road a little faster.
Posted Nov 18, 2025  Edit critic review
Lost & Found in Cleveland (2024) Joey Morona The film’s sincerity and sentimentality go a long way, giving it a warmth that feels like your favorite sweater.
Posted Nov 04, 2025  Edit critic review
Predator (1987) Roxanne T. Mueller John McTiernan's pedestrian direction emphasizes pyrotechnics, blood, gore and singular determination to avoid fleshing out his characters.
Posted Oct 30, 2025  Edit critic review
Dracula (1979) Donna Chernin "Dracula" is a good try at giving the legend a classy and stylish interpretation through modern techniques.
Posted Oct 21, 2025  Edit critic review
Born Yesterday (1950) W. Ward Marsh Born Yesterday is one of those rare pictures which belts the spectator with continuous laughs while telling him seriously that no little guy in America will stand for a continued pushing around.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Desert Hearts (1985) Roxanne T. Mueller Desert Hearts is a cut above the rest because it deals with recognizable people and their hang-ups and prejudices... It's a lovely movie full of feeling.
Posted Oct 12, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Roxanne T. Mueller Some may view the light Kureishi sheds on his characters as harsh, but beneath the cynicism lies a streak of compassion. That turns out to be the saving grace of My Beautiful Laundrette.
Posted Oct 10, 2025  Edit critic review
Farewell, My Lovely (1975) Emerson Batdorff It's a fine evening for Chandler buffs, Mitchum enthusiasts and probably people in general.
Posted Oct 08, 2025  Edit critic review
The Celluloid Closet (1995) Joanna Connors See it, and you will never, ever, look at Ben Hur in quite the same way again.
Posted Oct 08, 2025  Edit critic review
TRON: Ares (2025) Joey Morona The tone can be all over the map — from neon-drenched sci-fi parable to winking camp. But when it focuses on spectacle, it hums.
Posted Oct 08, 2025  Edit critic review
Tron (1982) Donna Chernin "Tron" is technically engaging but emotionally numbing.
Posted Oct 03, 2025  Edit critic review
Casper (1995) Joanna Connors Most of the movie lives up to the spirit of its own afterlife - as, of course, a fun-house ride.
Posted Oct 01, 2025  Edit critic review
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975) Emerson Batdorff A grabbing movie.
Posted Sep 26, 2025  Edit critic review
Hard Times (1975) Emerson Batdorff "Hard Times" is so predictable that a man can get lulled to sleep and when he awakes, refreshed by his 40 winks, pick up the story without a gap.
Posted Sep 26, 2025  Edit critic review
Boogie Nights (1997) Joanna Connors A sprawling, exuberant movie with a rather odd but grand dream of its own: It aims to be nothing less than the Nashville of the '70s porno scene... If you're going to dream, you might as well dream big, and Boogie Nights very nearly pulls it off.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
A
Spider-Man (2002) Joanna Connors Spider-Man is us On the outside, we might be buff and super-confident, swinging as effortlessly through our days as Spider-Man through the city. But underneath it all, we're all protecting that poop, secret Inner Dork that is the real us.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
To Sleep With Anger (1990) Joanna Connors "To Sleep With Anger" is one of those rare movies that is genuinely mysterious.
Posted Sep 23, 2025  Edit critic review
Hard Eight (1996) Sheila Simmons Anderson is the son of late Cleveland television icon Ernie "Ghoulardi" Anderson. And he has made an intriguing, captivating film noir steeped in mood and dread.
Posted Sep 22, 2025  Edit critic review
Night of the Living Dead (1990) Joanna Connors The new version not only retains the original's claustrophobic, dreadful tone, but despite the color, it's often subtler in its horror effects.
Posted Sep 17, 2025  Edit critic review
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Roxanne T. Mueller It's satire at its absolute best.
Posted Sep 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Darkman (1990) Joanna Connors You sense Raimi struggling to keep up the funny stuff, and the movie inevitably devolves into a tedium of pyrotechnics, stunts and fake blood. Still, "Darkman" is often amusing.
Posted Aug 25, 2025  Edit critic review
Eenie Meanie (2025) Joey Morona Too often, Eenie Meanie's pulpy, B-movie flourishes feel performative, as if the movie is trying to convince itself that it’s edgier than it actually is.
Posted Aug 22, 2025  Edit critic review
Requiem for a Dream (2000) Joanna Connors ..."Requiem" is both deeply, deeply depressing and - oddly - exhilarating.
Posted Aug 20, 2025  Edit critic review
Cooley High (1975) Emerson Batdorff “Cooley High” stacks up as a fairly entertaining movie.
Posted Aug 15, 2025  Edit critic review
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