Tim Grierson
Tomatometer-approved critic
Tim Grierson is the Senior U.S. Critic for Screen International and a film critic for The New Republic.
Los Angeles
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Beau Is Afraid (2023) |
A film with meticulously executed tonal command and emotional nuance. - Screen International
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| Posted Apr 21, 2023
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Air (2023) |
A crowd-pleaser made with panache and smarts. Matt Damon is immensely appealing as a middle-aged basketball guru who bets everything on landing Michael Jordan, and director Ben Affleck produces one of his most irresistibly entertaining dramas. - Screen International
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| Posted Mar 29, 2023
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A Compassionate Spy (2022) |
The documentary doubles as a mournful reflection on the age of nuclear proliferation — and a tribute to those who opposed the buildup. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 27, 2023
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Cocaine Bear (2023) |
Director Elizabeth Banks' third feature leans into the material's trashy B-movie qualities, treating this oddball crime saga as a dark comedy that is only sporadically as clever as it thinks it is. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Past Lives (2023) |
Making an utterly assured feature debut, writer-director Celine Song modulates the delicate tonal balance of this wise, wistful film perfectly. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 20, 2023
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A Thousand and One (2023) |
This modest drama resists easy happy endings that are far out of reach for this luckless but resilient family. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Knock at the Cabin (2023) |
Instead of pulling the rug out from under the viewer, Shyamalan goes in a direction that proves more disquieting, examining the nature of sacrifice and the bond between parents and children. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023) |
The often-euphoric Magic Mike trilogy ends on a muted note, de-emphasizing the ecstatic dancing to follow the titular former stripper as he ponders the next chapter of his life. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) |
"Quantumania" has greater stakes and a grander canvas than the more lighthearted previous chapters of the Ant-Man saga, and the film mostly negotiates the tricky tonal shift -- even if the results are more predictable than spectacular. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Nothing Compares (2022) |
Nothing Compares doesn’t spend much time on Classic Albums-style deep dives into how this guitar riff came together or what inspired that ballad, preferring an emotional snapshot to a traditional rock-doc portrait. - Slate
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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Descendant (2022) |
Boasting a wealth of vivid subjects, this new picture illustrates in clear terms how the country’s past sins still stain communities, the damage perhaps permanent. - Screen International
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022) |
Imbecilic but (mostly) harmless, Mike Judge’s creations have long epitomized adolescent boys’ horny, awkward phase. The new movie proves there’s still plenty to find funny about it - MEL Magazine
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| Posted Dec 14, 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
An extraordinary visual spectacle that can’t compare on the narrative side — although, to be fair, that’s a mighty high bar. - Screen International
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| Posted Dec 13, 2022
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Thirteen Lives (2022) |
When Thirteen Lives directs its energies toward illustrating the impossibility of the divers’ mission, the film is solidly compelling. - Screen International
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| Posted Dec 02, 2022
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A Bunch of Amateurs (2022) |
A slight, wistful shrug of a picture that’s filled with resignation but also a lot of fondness. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 13, 2022
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) |
Wakanda Forever proves poignant in two ways: the film is often quite thoughtful in its exploration of grief, but it struggles to overcome what the actor's loss means to the future of this series. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 08, 2022
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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) |
Unlike Yankovic's best songs, this spoof's inspired goofiness eventually runs out of gas, growing more and more outrageous without coming up with comparably choice gags. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 31, 2022
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Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues (2022) |
A graceful overview of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists, Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues puts politics, musical appreciation and personal history into one attractive package. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 31, 2022
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Halloween Ends (2022) |
Who ultimately survives Michael's rumble with Laurie ends up not mattering, since the film itself shows such little signs of life. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 19, 2022
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Black Adam (2022) |
The latest installment in the DC Extended Universe too often succumbs to the conventions of its genre, but some compelling performances and director Jaume Collet-Serra's ebullient B-movie flourishes prove to be sufficient compensation. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 19, 2022
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Eternal Spring (2022) |
Featuring vivid animation inspired by Daxiong’s drawings, the film is somber and hushed, able to stir emotions without resorting to manipulative tricks. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 10, 2022
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Tár (2022) |
TÁR’s engrossing spell starts to dissipate over its final third, and yet this is that rare film about a creative person that feels neither self-pitying nor self-aggrandising. - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 07, 2022
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Don't Worry Darling (2022) |
Led by Florence Pugh's redoubtable performance, this glossy thriller draws unfavorable comparisons to a whole swath of different bygone films, cribbing their unsettling undertones without adding much new to the mixture. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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Barbarian (2022) |
Much like the luckless main characters, audiences will be left off-balance by "Barbarian," an inventive, nerve-shredding horror film whose greatest shock is its unpredictability. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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The Woman King (2022) |
Prince-Bythewood celebrates these women warriors through impressive fight scenes that are athletic but realistic, eschewing the sort of CGI overkill that has run rampant in recent action films. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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Bros (2022) |
A winning romantic comedy about two men whose emotional intimacy issues may jeopardize the good thing they’ve got going, "Bros" is frequently funny but also quite touching, spearheaded by the dynamite chemistry between its two costars. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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The Fabelmans (2022) |
The film is a potent memory piece guided by remarkable performances from Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, who are asked to walk a delicate tonal tightrope, delivering a portrait of an imperfect marriage that's heartbreaking in its tenderness. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) |
Zac Efron does his best to exude everyman charm, but the film feels manipulative and glib, reducing the complexity of the United States' ill-advised involvement in the Vietnam War to a would-be heartwarming tale of a callow regular dude who wises up. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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Amsterdam (2022) |
Although stuffed with ambition and the occasionally arresting moment, this 1930s mystery flaunts a freewheeling spirit that far outpaces its convoluted story and dramatically thin protagonists. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 29, 2022
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Good Night Oppy (2022) |
The film may not be especially probing, but anyone awed by humanity’s ingenuity and technology’s potential to enrich our lives may end up with stars in their eyes. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 16, 2022
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Pearl (2022) |
This new installment stands on its own unsettlingly odd merits. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Rebel (2022) |
This drama can be heavy-handed, but its stylistic flourishes and deep sense of sorrow underline directors Adil & Bilall’s sincerity in telling a story that hits close to home for them. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 08, 2022
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Beast (2022) |
Whether it's the so-so CGI or the threadbare character development, 'Beast' frustratingly refuses to aspire to be more than a competent, disposable actioner. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 18, 2022
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Neon Spring (2022) |
Kaza travels familiar terrain, avoiding melodramatic flourishes and cautionary-tale handwringing, and yet the film ends up being so muted that the story can’t quite distinguish itself among the many entries in this well-worn genre. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 18, 2022
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Whina (2022) |
The film opts for a sweeping overview, which gives the narrative scope but suffers by not always capturing the inner world of a woman who experienced myriad heartbreaks without losing a sense of herself. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 16, 2022
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Country Gold (2022) |
What’s potentially entrancing about Country Gold is that it transcends the ordinary, crafting a fanciful new reality where anything could happen — sadly, though, not enough worthwhile does. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 02, 2022
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Bullet Train (2022) |
This lumbering locomotive proves to be neither hilariously amoral nor liberatingly violent --- it makes quite a commotion, but mostly just spins its wheels. - Screen International
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| Posted Aug 02, 2022
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DC League of Super-Pets (2022) |
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart have a likeable rapport as bickering pooches, but ultimately "Super-Pets" is dogged by a feeling that it's just another comic-book picture, albeit one with furrier, cuter protagonists. - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 26, 2022
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Small Town Wisconsin (2020) |
This low-key drama has lovely interludes and some nicely understated performances, although director Niels Mueller doesn’t glean too many new insights from Jason Naczek’s familiar story... - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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The Gray Man (2022) |
The film is adrenalized but familiar, sporting a sarcastic sense of humor in an attempt to mitigate what's so threadbare about the premise and increasingly over-the-top fight sequences. - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Nope (2022) |
"'Nope' finds the Oscar-winning writer-director boldly expanding his canvas, aspiring to Spielberg-ian levels of popcorn spectacle without sacrificing the emotional and thematic heft of his previous work." - Screen International
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| Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Lightyear (2022) |
Despite its interstellar setting, the story stubbornly refuses to take flight -- a situation not helped by Chris Evans' dutiful voice performance as the titular Space Ranger, who isn’t nearly as funny or compelling as he is in the "Toy Story" series. - Screen International
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| Posted Jun 13, 2022
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Showing Up (2022) |
Like the distinctive artwork made by Showing Up's sculptor protagonist, Kelly Reichardt's eighth feature is beautifully crafted, a modest gem that grows in impact the more one examines it. - Screen International
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| Posted Jun 01, 2022
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Broker (2022) |
By Kore-eda's gentle standards, "Broker" is a more suspenseful, plot-driven affair than usual, but the enormity of his compassion and melancholy air remain undiminished. - Screen International
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| Posted Jun 01, 2022
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Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind (2022) |
This archival documentary presents its subject as an enigma and a force of nature, a rock ’n’ roller whose passion and demons fueled his volcanic music. - Screen International
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| Posted Jun 01, 2022
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) |
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' clearly bears the fingerprints of director Sam Raimi, who infuses the material with the same trippy, giddy spirit which has guided his best work. - Screen International
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| Posted May 03, 2022
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Father Stu (2022) |
"Father Stu" fails to make Long's saga resonate, capturing the remarkable elements of his life without locating the transcendence within the biographical details. - Screen International
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) |
A satire of Hollywood ego, a loving tribute to Cage's hair-trigger intensity and a consistently funny bromance, "Massive Talent" doesn't overstay its welcome or ever get too pleased with its premise - Screen International
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) |
Three installments in, "Fantastic Beasts" can't shake the impression that it is merely a footnote in comparison to Harry Potter's coming-of-age saga. - Screen International
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| Posted Apr 05, 2022
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Morbius (2022) |
A monster movie with a little bite, "Morbius" is elevated by some spirited performances and director Daniel Espinosa's sure hand with familiar comic-book material. - Screen International
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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