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Ted Shen

Tomatometer-approved critic
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Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The Lover (1992) 28% 2/4 EDIT “By stripping away the voluptuous veneer of her language and the gauze of her memory, Annaud’s adaptation has reduced her artful tale...” – Chicago Reader May 26, 2022 Full Review Raise the Red Lantern (1991) 97% 3/4 EDIT “Zhang seems to suggest, the price for rebellion and transgression is still death or madness.” – Chicago Reader May 26, 2022 Full Review The Runner (1984) 100% EDIT “Like Bunuel, Naderi shows a keen understanding of children's camaraderie and determination.” – Chicago Reader Jul 21, 2021 Full Review Chutney Popcorn (1999) 87% EDIT “The film runs out of comic situations after the first hour and resorts to too many senseless montages” – Chicago Reader May 29, 2020 Full Review Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1981) 100% EDIT “This celebratory 1980 documentary by Robert Mugge presents [Sun Ra] as both philosopher and inspired leader of his most famous band, the Arkestra.” – Chicago Reader Apr 8, 2020 Full Review ABCD (1999) 70% EDIT “Despite the familiar story, both kids are three-dimensional characters, and first-time director [Krutin] Patel embraces their generational dilemmas with feeling and wit.” – Chicago Reader Feb 14, 2020 Full Review Love for All Seasons (2003) EDIT “If Hong Kong comedy's infinite capacity for outlandish plot turns, lowbrow humor, and shameless consumerism doesn't wear you out, then you might be fitfully amused by this goofball item...” – Chicago Reader Aug 19, 2019 Full Review Salome (1922) 67% EDIT “Though the direction is attributed to Charles Bryant, the auteur was clearly Nazimova, with Natacha Rambova patterning the set and costumes after the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations that accompanied one edition of the play.” – Chicago Reader May 29, 2019 Full Review History Lessons (2000) 33% EDIT “Devoid of voice-over commentary but still remarkably lucid, her gleeful reconstruction of the past also serves to celebrate the more progressive climate today.” – Chicago Reader Mar 21, 2019 Full Review Sholay (1975) 95% EDIT “The plot is formulaic, the camerawork is slapdash, the male bonding borders on camp.” – Chicago Reader Oct 20, 2017 Full Review Salaam Bombay! (1988) 93% EDIT “Like Hector Babenco's Pixote the film is unsparingly gritty, but with a woman's tenderness it also grants the characters an occasional moment of grace.” – Chicago Reader Sep 29, 2015 Full Review My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 94% EDIT “Sheer enchantment.” – Chicago Reader Dec 8, 2014 Full Review Insomnia (2002) 92% EDIT “Nolan uses visual pyrotechnics to pump up the tension and add to Pacino's sense of disorientation, but the feeling he evokes isn't as forlorn, creepy, or ambiguous as in the original (though the mountain wilderness is just as forbidding).” – Chicago Reader Aug 5, 2013 Full Review Marketa Lazarová (1968) 100% EDIT “Episodic in structure, the film proceeds like a folk saga, but its flashbacks, flash-forwards, and abrupt cuts give it a hallucinatory quality.” – Chicago Reader Jun 17, 2013 Full Review Stuart Little 2 (2002) 82% EDIT “The film is fairly formulaic, though some of its puns and wisecracks are hilarious, especially those delivered by the Littles' lazy and cynical Persian cat.” – Chicago Reader Aug 14, 2012 Full Review Spirited Away (2001) 96% EDIT “Enchanting and impressively crafted.” – Chicago Reader Oct 25, 2011 Full Review Beautiful (2000) 17% EDIT “ally Field's direction is pedestrian, though she does manage to get shamelessly winning performances out of Driver and Eisenberg.” – Chicago Reader Apr 12, 2010 Full Review Beast Cops (1998) EDIT “Unfortunately, the acting is wildly uneven, from Michael Wong's irremediably wooden performance as the clean cop to Anthony Wong's insightful portrayal of the dirty one, a man who treats the mobsters on his watch like blood brothers.” – Chicago Reader Apr 7, 2010 Full Review Barbershop (2002) 82% EDIT “Some of the verbal jousts are hot, and a Laurel and Hardy routine involving a stolen ATM is fitfully hilarious, but this reminds me of a pilot for a cable sitcom.” – Chicago Reader Mar 23, 2010 Full Review The Barbarian Invasions (2003) 81% EDIT “Despite an uneven cast, Arcand finds a tonal balance between sentimental and cynical that keeps the conversations real and heart wrenching.” – Chicago Reader Mar 23, 2010 Full Review Baran (2001) 89% EDIT “The film is remarkable for the naturalistic acting of its cast, particularly the tender performances of the two leads, Hossein Abedini and Zahra Bahrami.” – Chicago Reader Mar 23, 2010 Full Review Backroads (1997) EDIT “Director Shirley Cheechoo (who also plays one of the sisters) captures the dead-end existence of the insular community as well as the humor, the anxieties, and the resilience of her protagonists.” – Chicago Reader Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) 80% EDIT “This hour-long feature, edited down from 900 hours of footage, is both a technical marvel and a heartfelt memorial to those who died when the ship sank in 1912.” – Chicago Reader Dec 11, 2009 Full Review Lilo & Stitch (2002) 86% EDIT “Smart, poignant, and utterly beguiling.” – Chicago Reader Nov 16, 2009 Full Review The Women (1939) 94% EDIT “The catty banter and Wildean aphorisms (some of them contributed by Anita Loos) are delivered with impeccable timing by a cast only MGM could have mustered.” – Chicago Reader Sep 11, 2008 Full Review
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