Cinematical

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
The Joy of Life (2005) Kim Voynar Jenni Olson draws a stark portrait of loneliness and despair, tinged with hope, in The Joy of Life. EDIT
Posted Nov 7, 2014
Shivers (1975) John Gholson I'm shocked no one else has tried 'sex zombies' as a horror film device since this one -- they're terrifying. EDIT
Posted Mar 26, 2014
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) John Gholson It's not only an amazing piece of animation, but an incredible work of science-fiction as well. EDIT
Posted Mar 26, 2014
Revenge of the Creature (1955) John Gholson There's nothing particularly remarkable about it, and it plays out almost exactly how you expect it to, but as a monster matinee, you could do a lot worse. EDIT
Posted Mar 26, 2014
Dracula (1931) John Gholson It's a case of lightning-in-a-bottle casting and there's no way of telling if anyone else as Dracula would've become the model for every single Dracula that followed. EDIT
Posted Mar 26, 2014
Spring Breakers (2012) Todd Gilchrist ...an objective portrait of the way that popular culture has virtually obliterated the possibility for American youth to experience something without a numbing deluge of media references and contexts. EDIT
Posted Mar 28, 2013
A- Fightville (2011) Eugene Novikov An exhilarating sports documentary and a levelheaded, piercingly intelligent treatment of a touchy subject. EDIT
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Transylmania (2009) John Gholson This is dinosaur stuff. A rubber chicken and a squirting flower would've really capped things off. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Shutter Island (2010) John Gholson Story quibbling aside, Shutter Island is high on atmosphere, in large part due to the visuals, and the collaboration between Scorsese and (Cinematographer) Robert Richardson actually feels like the two men having a blast with their craft. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) John Gholson Were they always this boring? EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The Spy Next Door (2010) John Gholson If the lazy filmmakers don't care enough about their movie to offer at least one single original idea, then you shouldn't care enough to go see it. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
44 Inch Chest (2009) John Gholson A deliberately stagy rumination on the price of revenge. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The Wolfman (2010) John Gholson It truly is a modern spin on a classic, in almost all of the worst ways. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The Crazies (2010) John Gholson Don't be afraid of the horror remake stigma here; be afraid of The Crazies' constant, electric hum of dread. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009) John Gholson A grimy slice of low-budget depravity that's as entertaining as it is completely ridiculous. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The People vs. George Lucas (2010) John Gholson For disillusioned fans like myself, it's a unnecessary reminder of the things you hate about a thing you used to love. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Life 2.0 (2010) John Gholson Life 2.0 cuts deep into its subject of with laser precision, getting right to the emotional heart of the matter, exploring a problem no one had to deal with even ten years ago, in a fascinating and very human way. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) John Gholson If you're a parent who's been forced to sit through a barren desert of painfully unfunny family comedies, Diary will feel like an oasis. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
() John Gholson It's mumblecore in space, and If that sounds like your thing, then Mars can be a rewarding experience. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The Last Song (2010) John Gholson It's an entire season's worth of a teen soap opera crammed into a feature film. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
The Back-up Plan (2010) John Gholson Yes, you will get to see Lopez eat chili with her bare hands, but that's only half as disgusting as a close-up on a pregnancy test sinking into a pile of fresh dog vomit. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Robin Hood (2010) John Gholson Ridley Scott brings his usual keen cinematic eye and pain-staking attention to period detail to Robin Hood, bringing an uninspired script to life without a grander purpose than to just exist as a typical Summer movie. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Knight and Day (2010) John Gholson It's a calculated, artificial formula for box office success barely disguised as a story. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Final Flesh (2009) John Gholson Chatman is a skilled surrealist, juxtaposing images and thoughts to create a comedy nightmare that manages to feel familiar, even through all of its absurdity. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010) John Gholson And, dare I say it, Cats & Dogs: TROKG is a well-made parody film, sinking its canines into spy genre cliches with gleeful abandon, in a way that its predecessor never quite did. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2012
Flipped (2010) John Gholson Has my heart grown so cold and battle-scarred that I can't allow myself to be completely won over by Flipped, or is Flipped such a load of flavorless mush that there's not enough charm for me to embrace? EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Vampires Suck (2010) John Gholson There are few things worse than watching a comedy flatline for over an hour, tossing its "funny parts" into a vacuum of uncomfortable silence. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
The Last Exorcism (2010) John Gholson Its mature focus on characterization really sets the film apart. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
The Virginity Hit (2010) John Gholson The tricky chemistry of a likable, funny ensemble cast is the biggest thing The Virginity Hit has going for it. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Primal (2010) John Gholson As monster movies go, 'Primal' ends up being worthwhile through its own simplicity. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Kidnapped (2010) John Gholson If you need to challenge your personal threshold for watching realistic human suffering, then look no further than this nihilistic Spanish home invasion thriller. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Heartless (2009) John Gholson While ambitious, 'Heartless' derails in a big way, stacking the deck with weird moments intended to give it some kind of cult status, without considering that films specifically designed to be "cult" are rarely the ones that actually are. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
I Spit on Your Grave (2010) John Gholson It's intentionally, efficiently ugly, through and through. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
The Eagle (2011) John Gholson 'The Eagle' will likely find a future life on the video shelves of high school history teachers looking for a semi-educational way to kill a couple of days worth of classes. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Hall Pass (2011) John Gholson Have the Farrellys lost their touch? Once adept at crafting trashy, lowbrow gags way too funny to be ignored, they seem totally tin-eared with 'Hall Pass.' EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Becoming Santa (2010) John Gholson It's charming, informative, and, best of all, really funny. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) John Gholson It's a very dumb comedy made by very smart folks. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011) John Gholson The pre-teen cast seems rudderless, without an interested hand guiding them into worthwhile comedic performances. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
Your Highness (2011) John Gholson If Green wanted to make an awesome fantasy film, he should have, and if he wanted to make a great stoner comedy, well, he already did once. EDIT
Posted Feb 9, 2012
3/5 Superheroes (2011) Christopher Campbell Humorous and well-rounded. More about the problems of the world ... that lead to the necessity for these [superheroes] to pop up in cities across the nation. EDIT
Posted Nov 17, 2011
The Lie (2011) Erik Davis An under-the-radar gem that may hit you in ways you never expected long after the credits roll. EDIT
Posted Nov 14, 2011
4/5 Dragonslayer (2011) Christopher Campbell Gorgeous ... see this one on the big screen if you get a chance. EDIT
Posted Nov 8, 2011
The Hammer (2007) Patrick Walsh The Hammer is one of the year's nicest surprises. EDIT
Posted Oct 5, 2011
The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010) John Gholson The limitations of a low budget and the relative inexperience.of the cast and crew don't mean much when they've crafted something this emotionally authentic. EDIT
Posted Jul 20, 2011
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress (2010) Jette Kernion I enjoyed watching the chefs at work, both researching and preparing a meal with dozens of courses... but afterwards I felt oddly unsatisfied and in need of something a little more filling. EDIT
Posted Jun 3, 2011
Like Crazy (2011) Erik Davis It's a film about how it feels to be in love; how beautiful, intense, addictive and debilitating love can be, but how necessary it is for us to experience as we get older and start sorting out our lives. EDIT
Posted May 23, 2011
Lebanon, Pa. (2010) Eugene Novikov An intriguing, beautiful film by a promising young director. EDIT
Posted May 11, 2011
Kill List (2011) William Goss Kill List works, whether as a domestic drama, a hitman thriller or something more sinister than either of those. EDIT
Posted Apr 5, 2011
Margin Call (2011) Jenni Miller What could have been a dynamic narrative instead ends up as baffling and quite often as boring as an Economy 101 textbook. EDIT
Posted Apr 4, 2011
Sucker Punch (2011) Todd Gilchrist where Snyder failed was in using too much to do too little, even though he had the right balance between the two in his grasp the whole time. EDIT
Posted Mar 24, 2011