Hammer to Nail

Hammer to Nail is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Chase Whale, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Don R. Lewis, Jessica Baxter
Rating Title/Year Author
The Fight (2020) Christopher Llewellyn Reed While I am (mostly) a pacifist, this is one fight I can truly get behind. EDIT
Posted Feb 11, 2020
Big Fur (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed We may question the truth of Sasquatch, but never the intriguing specificity of Walker and his world. EDIT
Posted Feb 6, 2020
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed The wages of fine cinema is life, in all its vital glory. EDIT
Posted Feb 4, 2020
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Eternity lives within us, cinematically and beyond. EDIT
Posted Feb 3, 2020
Taylor Swift: Miss Americana (2020) Christopher Llewellyn Reed If someone like me, with no prior interest in superstar Taylor Swift, can find ... Miss Americana ... both fascinating and inspiring, then imagine what her fans will think. EDIT
Posted Jan 31, 2020
The Painter and the Thief (2020) Christopher Llewellyn Reed It's cinema as profound emotional catharsis. You will be moved. EDIT
Posted Jan 30, 2020
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Nature is fragile, nature is resilient ... Maybe it's enough to gaze in awe. Certainly, there is wonder aplenty in this sumptuous work. Savor and enjoy. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Acasă, My Home ... may pose more questions than it answers, but those questions lead us towards understanding the complexities of our world, and so are well worth asking. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
Film About a Father Who (2020) Christopher Llewellyn Reed This gripping documentary ... speaks its truth and speaks it beautifully. Let it be heard. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
The Edge of Democracy (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed We would all do well to watch and learn, lest our own fragile democracies, no matter where we are or what we think of them, fall off their crumbling edges into the abyss. EDIT
Posted Jan 23, 2020
Speed of Life (2019) Jessica Baxter It speaks to [director Liz Manashil's] talents that she can make something so resonant whilst being forced to dance around the emotional core of the film. EDIT
Posted Jan 16, 2020
Les misérables (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Ferocious, bracing and profoundly illuminating, Les Misérables showcases revolt against misery, in all its glory. EDIT
Posted Jan 10, 2020
South Mountain (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Life is complicated, and deserves complex cinema such as this. EDIT
Posted Jan 8, 2020
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Press play and be amazed. EDIT
Posted Jan 7, 2020
Kraben rahu (2018) Christopher Llewellyn Reed I am still unsure of what it all means, but I remain deeply intrigued. EDIT
Posted Dec 23, 2019
The Kingmaker (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Imelda holds our attention, throughout, even as we marvel at her constitutional inability (or, more likely, unwillingness) to think critically about her misdeeds. EDIT
Posted Dec 19, 2019
63 Up (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Watching people age and reflect on that process is something all of us can relate to, and is at the heart of the movie's appeal. EDIT
Posted Dec 13, 2019
Most Likely to Succeed (2019) Jessica Baxter Most Likely to Succeed depicts real lives, unscripted tragedies, triumphs, roadblocks and boons. Littky's film exposes the lie that we're told: That everyone has an equal shot in this country. EDIT
Posted Dec 12, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Thanks to director Mark Landsman's wildly entertaining new documentary ... everyone can now learn the history of this once popular rag. EDIT
Posted Dec 12, 2019
In Fabric (2018) Christopher Llewellyn Reed If one lets logic go and allows the texture of the movie's fabric to gently envelop one's mind ... then In Fabric wears itself nicely. EDIT
Posted Dec 7, 2019
ANYA (2019) Jessica Baxter An excellent first effort into narrative storytelling for Okada and Taylor. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed The Queen of Lapa is a most just ruler, indeed! EDIT
Posted Nov 25, 2019
Narrowsburg (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Comedy and tragedy make excellent bedfellows in this fast-paced take on what happens after ... grifters move to a small community and sell it on a seemingly impossible dream. EDIT
Posted Nov 25, 2019
Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl (2018) Christopher Llewellyn Reed What emerges is a comprehensive, thoroughly engaging portrait of a woman who has made it on her own terms and is back for more. EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2019
Lifeline: Clyfford Still (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Like its own ... lifeline thrown back into the past, [the film] takes us on a journey into the roots of our present, leaving us with a wealth of satisfying knowledge by its end. EDIT
Posted Nov 20, 2019
I Know I Am Not Alone (2005) Christopher Llewellyn Reed The magnificent I Am Not Alone is a call to action to all of us, for none of us are alone when we stick together. It's a comforting thought in these perilous times. EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Run, leap and jump, snapping pictures all the way. Freedom is a state of mind. EDIT
Posted Nov 14, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed It's a disturbing movie, unless, of course, one is pro-dystopia EDIT
Posted Nov 12, 2019
Mother (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Mother may be many things at once, but is always most directly about the bonds of love, however frayed they become. EDIT
Posted Nov 11, 2019
Human Nature (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Exciting, but also scary. EDIT
Posted Nov 4, 2019
Parasite (2019) Don R. Lewis Parasite is a brilliant film and one of the best films of the year, and not just best foreign films. It's heartfelt and funny. Mean spirited and sad. EDIT
Posted Nov 1, 2019
In Search of Greatness (2018) Christopher Llewellyn Reed In Search of Greatness is extremely watchable and a strong tribute to the athletes at its center. EDIT
Posted Oct 31, 2019
Markie in Milwaukee (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Who is Markie? A human being, in all their marvelous complexity. That's all we need to know. EDIT
Posted Oct 29, 2019
Fantastic Fungi (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Magic mushrooms, be my guide. EDIT
Posted Oct 24, 2019
The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Like his modern-day namesake, this David Copperfield delivers plenty of magic. EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed It's a profound experience, and by the end of Coming Home Again, we feel at home, ourselves, and transported by the visit. EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2019
Tell Me Who I Am (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Cinema as revelation, and thereby purification, is a powerful thing. EDIT
Posted Oct 18, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed In The County ... the director keeps the grandeur of the scenery at a distance, but it is always there, nonetheless, a reproach to the rot at the center of the tale. EDIT
Posted Oct 17, 2019
Heimat is a Space in Time (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Out of great specificity come universal truths, and Heimat Is a Space in Time is as specific as it needs to be to be universally true. EDIT
Posted Oct 11, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed A work of art both formally and technically accomplished, The Audition passes the entrance exam, and more. Applause, please. EDIT
Posted Oct 9, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed In This Is Not a Movie, Fisk's life history is paired with a director up to the task of presenting the facts in a compelling, cogent manner. EDIT
Posted Oct 7, 2019
Freaks (2018) Jessica Baxter Maybe these stories will seem tired if we ever find ourselves in a world where they're no longer thematically relevant. For now, I think there's value in all of them. Especially if they make an effort to find new ways to deliver them. EDIT
Posted Oct 4, 2019
Ready for War (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Overall, the movie offers hope, but a hope tinged with deep sadness that this situation could arise in the first place. EDIT
Posted Oct 1, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Making her first ... return to her homeland since Wadjda ... al-Mansour shows the best kind of tough love a prodigal offspring can, offering honor and criticism, intertwined. EDIT
Posted Sep 25, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed Thanks to Eva Mulvad and her dedicated fellow filmmakers, Love Child is a testament, in all its observational glory, to the triumph of the best of our common humanity. EDIT
Posted Sep 24, 2019
() Christopher Llewellyn Reed It happened in Romania, but it could probably happen everywhere, the title encompassing all of us. Watch and wonder at the splendor and misery of the human race. EDIT
Posted Sep 17, 2019
Synonyms (2018) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Bracingly poignant, touching, moving, as well as profound, penetrating, perceptive and astute ... Synonyms redefines the personal journey of discovery. EDIT
Posted Sep 16, 2019
Hope (2017) Christopher Llewellyn Reed It's not easy to make a film about a life-threatening illness that is as rich and joyous as this one can be, perfectly balanced at other times by the very real stakes. EDIT
Posted Sep 15, 2019
Guest of Honor (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed Still at the top of his game, Egoyan proves, yet again, that no one does lamentation quite like him. EDIT
Posted Sep 13, 2019
The Whistlers (2019) Christopher Llewellyn Reed If certain parts are outlandishly conceived (such as a hotel with an opera theme), the mise-en-scène is mostly up to the task of stitching them together into a satisfying whole. EDIT
Posted Sep 12, 2019