Movie Mom

Movie Mom is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Nell Minow
Rating Title/Year Author
A- Toy Story 4 (2019) Nell Minow You know you're not going to get out of a Pixar movie without tears, because we care about these characters and we care about the way they care about and for each other. EDIT
Posted Jun 18, 2019
C Shaft (2019) Nell Minow Cheerfully retro past the point of winking at us, through the point of smirking at us, up to the point of pushing back in favor of toxic masculinity. EDIT
Posted Jun 13, 2019
A- The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) Nell Minow The film creates a poetic, dreamlike mood that almost floats over the story, an astonishingly assured debut that trusts the story and trusts the audience. EDIT
Posted Jun 13, 2019
B- Men in Black: International (2019) Nell Minow It has an awkward twist that indicates some rewrites, and so blandly conceived that even two of Hollywood's most versatile and appealing performers can't make them vibrant. EDIT
Posted Jun 13, 2019
C Dark Phoenix (2019) Nell Minow All of Chastain's lines are recited in the same monotone and her superpower is primarily striding around in stilettos without mussing her impeccably shaped blonde hair. EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2019
B+ Late Night (2019) Nell Minow In essence a rom-com about a work relationship between two women, one hopelessly optimistic, one relentlessly cynical. EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2019
B+ The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) Nell Minow A vast improvement over the original, colorful, exciting, and a lot of fun, with great new characters voiced by Tiffany Haddish and Harrison Ford at his Harrison Fordiest. EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2019
B+ Rocketman (2019) Nell Minow We see the energy and magnetism of Sir Elton as a performer, and as the person, vulnerable, scared, and longing to be truly accepted. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2019
B Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Nell Minow Co-writer/director Michael Dougherty knows why we're here and boy, does he deliver, with the help of outstanding special effects and design crew. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2019
A- Booksmart (2019) Nell Minow "Booksmart" is the movie you hope for... fresh, funny, and a bunch of instant favorite performers from booksmart and smart-smart debut director Olivia Wilde. EDIT
Posted May 23, 2019
B- Aladdin (2019) Nell Minow Colorful and tuneful, but for much of its just over two hours running time it lumbers along, despite its best efforts to entertain. EDIT
Posted May 23, 2019
B+ A Dog's Journey (2019) Nell Minow There are plenty of "awwww" moments to go around, with reconciliation, support, and reunion, and plenty of human and canine characters to care for. EDIT
Posted May 17, 2019
B+ The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) Nell Minow Melton and Shahidi make a graceful transition from television to the big screen, with charisma and chemistry to spare. EDIT
Posted May 15, 2019
B- Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) Nell Minow Smith interacts believably with the CGI characters and even manages a genuine character arc as we see him become less isolated and more vulnerable and authentic. EDIT
Posted May 9, 2019
B Tolkien (2019) Nell Minow Hoult and Collins made the Ronald/Edith relationship vital and romantic. EDIT
Posted May 9, 2019
B+ Long Shot (2019) Nell Minow It's funny and occasionally even sharp, but most of all it is really quite sweet. EDIT
Posted May 2, 2019
A- Avengers: Endgame (2019) Nell Minow A completely satisfying conclusion...with a deep understanding of the characters and a truly remarkable ability to find a nuanced balance between canon and innovation. EDIT
Posted Apr 24, 2019
B+ Penguins (2019) Nell Minow If there's anything cuter than an Adelie penguin, it has to be a penguin voiced by Ed Helms. EDIT
Posted Apr 18, 2019
B- Breakthrough (2019) Nell Minow We may not agree on why John recovers. This cast makes us glad and relieved that he does, even if the story veers into smugness that undermines its message. EDIT
Posted Apr 18, 2019
B+ Missing Link (2019) Nell Minow Spectacularly gorgeous settings and characters so subtly expressive that the animators are as much a part of the performances as the outstanding voice talent. EDIT
Posted Apr 12, 2019
B+ The Best of Enemies (2019) Nell Minow A thoughtful, sincere drama, beautifully performed with a touching conclusion. EDIT
Posted Apr 4, 2019
B+ Shazam! (2019) Nell Minow Wildly entertaining, downright delightful, and, yes, adorable. EDIT
Posted Apr 3, 2019
B+ The Mustang (2019) Nell Minow Actress turned first-time director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre has a real eye for lyrical images and a gift for casting actors of exceptional skill. EDIT
Posted Mar 29, 2019
B- The Aftermath (2019) Nell Minow A soapy wartime melodrama with a disturbing whiff of both sides-ism. EDIT
Posted Mar 21, 2019
B The Highwaymen (2019) Nell Minow The pace of the film is slow and deliberate because what these men are doing is slow and deliberate. The filmmaking is straightforward but thoughtful. EDIT
Posted Mar 21, 2019
B+ Wonder Park (2019) Nell Minow The character design is bland...bit the Wonderland is indeed wonderful and the message of imagination as a sustaining source of comfort is wonderful as well. EDIT
Posted Mar 14, 2019
B+ Captain Marvel (2019) Nell Minow A couple of clever twists that keeps it involving, with some pointed but never pushy references to refugees and how we learn who to trust as we learn who we are. EDIT
Posted Mar 7, 2019
B Isn't It Romantic (2019) Nell Minow It will leave you smiling, and maybe a little bit hopeful about romance. EDIT
Posted Feb 14, 2019
B+ Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Nell Minow The world they have created is immersive and wildly imaginative and the action scenes are staged are dynamic and compelling. There's heart to it as well. EDIT
Posted Feb 14, 2019
B Cold Pursuit (2019) Nell Minow A frozen whiteness shimmers throughout the film, but the grim humor of the story is very, very dark. EDIT
Posted Feb 8, 2019
B+ The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) Nell Minow It deals subtly but frankly with three of the most annoyingly painful human experiences: fighting with siblings, adolescent moodiness, and stepping on LEGOs in bare feet. EDIT
Posted Feb 8, 2019
B- Miss Bala (2019) Nell Minow It goes so far it becomes cartoonish. EDIT
Posted Jan 31, 2019
B+ Aquaman (2018) Nell Minow It's a hoot. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2019
B The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) Nell Minow Joe Cornish (the cheeky "Attack the Block") keeps things lively, with plenty of humor to balance the action and a rousing finale with the entire school joining the fight. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2019
D Serenity (2019) Nell Minow Even by the very low standards of January movies, "Serenity" is a dreary, dumb mess that makes the ultimate mistake of thinking it is smart. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2019
B+ A Dog's Way Home (2019) Nell Minow I laughed and I cried and I said, "Aww," and that is not a bad way to begin the year. EDIT
Posted Jan 10, 2019
B- The Upside (2018) Nell Minow The three performers bring a lot of luster to a formulaic screenplay. EDIT
Posted Jan 10, 2019
A- If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Nell Minow The highest level of every aesthetic element, Baldwin's lyrical words, luscious cinematography, gorgeous score, and performances of infinite sensitivity and humanity. EDIT
Posted Dec 27, 2018
B Bumblebee (2018) Nell Minow If the series is not completely transformed, it does remind us why we liked the Transformers to begin with, and that's a good start. EDIT
Posted Dec 20, 2018
A- Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Nell Minow Practically perfect in every way. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2018
B+ Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018) Nell Minow Their unabashed boosterism makes it impossible to be snarky or condescending, leaving us entertained, and perhaps a little wistful. EDIT
Posted Dec 16, 2018
A- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Nell Minow An all-around terrific new animated film that perhaps more than any superhero movie I've seen translates the jubilant experience of comic books to the screen. EDIT
Posted Dec 14, 2018
B- Mortal Engines (2018) Nell Minow It's just another derivative post-apocalyptic story about utter catastrophe and corruption, where the only hope is a small group of hot teenagers. EDIT
Posted Dec 14, 2018
B+ Ben Is Back (2018) Nell Minow Roberts, who has always been one of the most expressive of actors, gives one of her all-time best performances here. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2018
B Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Nell Minow If the substance of the story matched the look of it, this movie could have done justice to two of history's most fascinating and transformative characters. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2018
B- Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) Nell Minow Like the boy himself, the movie is not able to resolve its conflicting dualities. EDIT
Posted Nov 29, 2018
B+ Instant Family (2018) Nell Minow This story could have been cloying or it could have been soap opera. But Anders and his cast make it into a genuinely heartwarming experience. EDIT
Posted Nov 15, 2018
A- Green Book (2018) Nell Minow Before I tell you how good this movie is, let me tell you how many ways it could have gone wrong. EDIT
Posted Nov 15, 2018
B Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Nell Minow Instead of a missing puzzle piece in a complex, thoroughly imagined world, it is more like fan service, much to look at and enjoy but I can't say that it's fantastic. EDIT
Posted Nov 15, 2018
B- The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) Nell Minow Your basic run with a gun stuff, ably staged if not particularly gripping, until the crying. As Tom Hanks could have said, "There's no crying in Dragon Tattoo movies." EDIT
Posted Nov 8, 2018