The Vine

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
La La Land (2016) Tara Watson It may not be a masterpiece, but it's a refreshing and unabashed joy-filled escape, and after such a woeful year, there is nothing wrong with that. EDIT
Posted Dec 14, 2016
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) Melina Piakis Ultimately, what the film lacks in narrative, it makes up for in its ability to simultaneously explore whimsy and tenderness in its characters. EDIT
Posted Oct 13, 2016
Deadpool (2016) David Ross An entertaining, refreshing action flick with enough genuine laughs to fill out the forgiving 108-minute run time. EDIT
Posted Oct 7, 2016
My Scientology Movie (2015) Tara Watson What Theroux's film really drives home is the performative nature of the church; everyone is acting, following a script, and only Miscavige knows the ending. EDIT
Posted Aug 4, 2016
Ghostbusters (2016) Tara Watson The chemistry between Bridemaids alumni Wiig and McCarthy is still comedy gold, SNL's McKinnon is one to watch... and Jones provided the biggest laughs of the night. EDIT
Posted Jul 12, 2016
Inception (2010) Annie Fox Inception is dark, thrilling and bold, and most importantly, it will reach well beyond your highest expectations and wildest dreams. EDIT
Posted Jul 20, 2015
4.5/5 District 9 (2009) Sebastian Cordoba In a film season full of bombastic, over-the-top and insultingly stupid fare, District 9 proves that there is still life in the science fiction genre. EDIT
Posted Jun 17, 2015
While We're Young (2014) Jaymz Clements Struggles as it weaves anachronistic 'Look! Hipsters ride bikes! And watch video tapes!' commentary. EDIT
Posted Apr 2, 2015
Furious 7 (2015) Anthony Morris If it turns out that this really is the last Fast & Furious film, it's a good note to go out on. EDIT
Posted Apr 2, 2015
The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015) Anthony Morris Woodley's performance is strong enough to carry everything else here: maybe being Divergent is just another word for star power. EDIT
Posted Mar 18, 2015
Chappie (2015) Matt Shea A film about a machine gaining sentience is going to live or die on selling that central idea, and when it comes to the Turing test, Chappie fails miserably. EDIT
Posted Mar 12, 2015
Seventh Son (2014) Anthony Morris Seventh Son often feels like the kind of film that would work better with even less plot... if they'd simply outlined the story as "we got to stop that witch" and then just rattled through the action sequences as quickly as possible. EDIT
Posted Mar 6, 2015
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Simone Mitchell You know those films that suck you in? The ones where you cower when the hero is in danger and cheer when they come up trumps? Slumdog Millionaire is one of those movies. EDIT
Posted Feb 22, 2015
The Gambler (2014) Anthony Morris But every single scene of this film features a man treating everyone around him like dirt while pissing their money up against a wall and acting like the world owes him a living. EDIT
Posted Feb 17, 2015
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Anthony Morris The Birdman/ Batman thing is a cool hook that ties in well with the public perception of Keaton's career. EDIT
Posted Jan 16, 2015
Interstellar (2014) Paul Verhoeven I urge you to stop seeking out information on this film, and instead wait until this Thursday and see it, on the biggest screen within reach. You won't be sorry. EDIT
Posted Jan 5, 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) Anthony Morris Every time the film cuts to Martin Freeman as Bilbo, the nominal central character now stuck on the sidelines with next to nothing to do, it's clear how wrong all this has gone. EDIT
Posted Dec 20, 2014
Men, Women & Children (2014) Anthony Morris It's a comedy without laughs, a satire that takes two hours to make a two minute point; if you're reading this online, it's already too late. EDIT
Posted Nov 26, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) Anthony Morris This is a movie best enjoyed on a scene-by-scene basis, because the overall story is really a bit of a mess. EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2014
John Wick (2014) Anthony Morris It's awesome, watch it at your earliest possible opportunity. EDIT
Posted Nov 5, 2014
Gone Girl (2014) Anthony Morris It's one of those rare films that actually gets more fun to watch the longer it goes on. EDIT
Posted Oct 1, 2014
Wish I Was Here (2014) Anthony Morris From a guy in his 20s this kind of sappy feel-good pap seemed at least kind of appropriate... From the same guy ten years later it just feels false. EDIT
Posted Sep 22, 2014
Predestination (2014) Anthony Morris [Sarah] Snook's performance makes this story more than just a collection of clockwork turns; her tenderness at the story's core makes Predestination into a real movie, and it in turn makes her a star. EDIT
Posted Sep 3, 2014
The Expendables 3 (2014) Anthony Morris This is slightly more of a disappointment than the previous instalments, largely because (Banderas aside) it never gives any of the cast anything to do. EDIT
Posted Aug 14, 2014
A Most Wanted Man (2014) Anthony Morris Every glance and line of dialogue pushes the scene forward, every scene pushes the story forward, and if your attention wanders, there's a good chance the ending will just pass you by. EDIT
Posted Jul 30, 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Anthony Morris If Guardians of the Galaxy is just the latest burger off the fast food conveyor belt, it's awfully hard to deny that it's an extremely tasty burger. EDIT
Posted Jul 30, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Anthony Morris Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a thrilling, compelling action spectacle that won't make you feel stupid for watching it. EDIT
Posted Jul 8, 2014
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) Anthony Morris Presumably there's some kind of story going on here but director Michael Bay doesn't seem all that interested in it so why should you be? But more often things just happen because EXPLOSIONS! EDIT
Posted Jun 27, 2014
22 Jump Street (2014) Anthony Morris It's the easy chemistry between Tatum - who gets funnier the dumber he acts, and here he's playing a character who can't remember what a library is called - and Hill that makes sure this is never less than entertaining. EDIT
Posted Jun 19, 2014
Blended (2014) Anthony Morris Blended is awful. It's the kind of awful film where it's hard to resist the temptation to just list all the awful things that happen in it and pass that off as a review. EDIT
Posted Jun 19, 2014
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Anthony Morris Smarter and funnier about its central conceit that you might expect and with a pair of great performances, [its] only serious flaw is a final act that ditches all the science-fiction stuff for a murkily shot and relatively unimpressive conclusion. EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2014
The Fault in Our Stars (2014) Anthony Morris Talking about performances or anything else traditionally associated with film is beside the point here, because the entire story is just a laundry list of scenes meant to make the audience bawl. EDIT
Posted Jun 4, 2014
Maleficent (2014) Anthony Morris The good news is, once Maleficent goes full evil Jolie really lets loose, sweeping through the film as a force of nature. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2014
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) Matt Shea A Million Ways to Die in the West will satisfy a lot of cinemagoers. It's fine, really. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2014
Under the Skin (2013) Anthony Morris Being forced to engage with the material just to try and make sense of what we're seeing is part of what makes this so compelling. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2014
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Paul Verhoeven The film is unfailing in its attention to detail, brutally unforgiving in its fan-service, and riddled with genuine moments of exultant joy. EDIT
Posted May 19, 2014
Godzilla (2014) Anthony Morris Stunning, reverential and awe-inspiring in the best way, Godzilla hammers home the insignificance of individuals in the face of such forces. EDIT
Posted May 19, 2014
The Zero Theorem (2013) Anthony Morris The story he's [Terry Gilliam] telling is kind of muddled, drags on a lot of the time, and has an ending that fails to pull it all together. It's definitely something worth considering, but still; this is a theorem that doesn't quite add up. EDIT
Posted May 19, 2014
Neighbors (2014) Anthony Morris Actually, while the script is strong -- the episodic structure means everyone can improv away without derailing the overall plot, which is just about the two sides going nuts anyway -- it's the four lead performances that lift this up and over. EDIT
Posted May 12, 2014
Chef (2014) Anthony Morris Like all good food porn, the story here is wafer-thin at best. EDIT
Posted May 7, 2014
The Other Woman (2014) Anthony Morris You might start to get the feeling that this whole thing wasn't so much scripted as fished out of the lint filter of a busted washing machine. EDIT
Posted May 2, 2014
Transcendence (2014) Anthony Morris Transcendence is a film where, when the world's first ever human brain upload doesn't work, the people responsible fix it by turning the computer off and on again. EDIT
Posted May 2, 2014
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Anthony Morris This is about as fun as movie-going gets. Fans of Anderson's work should love it; those who've disliked the artifice and nostalgia of his earlier films will find those elements put to more entertaining use here. EDIT
Posted Apr 9, 2014
The LEGO Movie (2014) Anthony Morris It's fast, smart, really funny, full of great action and contains a song, 'Everything is Awesome', with the single catchiest hook in the history of songwriting. Seriously, in this movie at least, everything really is awesome. EDIT
Posted Apr 4, 2014
Nymphomaniac: Volume II (2014) Anthony Morris Part two is where things start to get more serious, and the film suffers for it. EDIT
Posted Mar 28, 2014
Pompeii (2014) Anthony Morris There's nothing meaningful or insightful going on here. It's a silly, trashy romp that throws a bunch of stuff at the wall and just hopes that some of it sticks. EDIT
Posted Mar 26, 2014
Need for Speed (2014) Anthony Morris All this needed was one really good chase, or two less pointless subplots, or three less superfluous sidekicks; this is a speed no-one needs. EDIT
Posted Mar 13, 2014
The Monuments Men (2014) Anthony Morris Clooney has too much reverence for his story, and as a result he does it about the biggest disservice possible: he makes it boring. EDIT
Posted Mar 11, 2014
300: Rise of an Empire (2014) Anthony Morris The result is a film that does everything it's meant to without doing any of it all that well. EDIT
Posted Mar 7, 2014
All Is Lost (2013) Anthony Morris This works just fine viewed as a stripped back tale of survival against the odds. The ending is the only moment where the metaphorical comes to the fore, and even then it's really just a matter of how literally you want to take the title. EDIT
Posted Mar 5, 2014