North Shore News (Vancouver, B.C.)

North Shore News (Vancouver, B.C.) is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Julie Crawford
Rating Title/Year Author
8/10 Light of My Life (2019) Julie Crawford Affleck and Pniowsky find a genuine, easy rapport onscreen. EDIT
Posted Aug 16, 2019
6/10 Vita & Virginia (2018) Julie Crawford Alas, we don't quite believe it. EDIT
Posted Jul 12, 2019
8/10 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Julie Crawford Holland continues to be a top-notch web-slinger, bringing nuance to a role that's evolved only slightly over the years. EDIT
Posted Jul 3, 2019
Late Night (2019) Julie Crawford It's a film about feminism, inclusivity, mentorship, reinvention. Such consideration is given to peripheral characters that we lament the restrictive time frame of a feature film. EDIT
Posted Jun 20, 2019
7/10 Always Be My Maybe (2019) Julie Crawford Much of the angst and romance revolves around food: pretentious, minimalist meals; hearty, evocative food... Wong and Park get the recipe just right. EDIT
Posted Jun 7, 2019
5/10 The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) Julie Crawford Insert the obligatory you-can't-teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks reference here, and even at 83 minutes, the three mini movies that are The Secret Life of Pets 2 struggle to keep the laughs going. EDIT
Posted Jun 7, 2019
9/10 All Is True (2018) Julie Crawford A beautiful, melancholy film about the last three years of Shakespeare's own story. EDIT
Posted May 24, 2019
The White Crow (2018) Julie Crawford The White Crow captures the rigors, sweat and rewards of a life lived in pursuit of art but the human connection is absent. EDIT
Posted May 14, 2019
4/10 Long Shot (2019) Julie Crawford Long shots lose a lot more often than they pay out, and Levine's film is no exception. EDIT
Posted May 3, 2019
7/10 Teen Spirit (2018) Julie Crawford Fanning does all her own singing and convincingly plays a young woman on her way to superstardom, if only it doesn't consume her first. EDIT
Posted Apr 26, 2019
The Grizzlies (2018) Julie Crawford Who doesn't love a rousing underdog sports drama? Better yet, one based on a true story. And how about one in which team practice takes place in between seal hunts? EDIT
Posted Apr 23, 2019
5/10 October Gale (2014) Julie Crawford A portrait of grief quickly evolves into a cabin-in-the-woods thriller in October Gale, which shows just how strong - and silly - lone women can be. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 The Face of Love (2013) Julie Crawford The absence of a thorough backstory will either leave you feeling as though the film is a throwback to less convoluted storytelling, or a soap opera, depending on your taste. With the electric Bening and Harris at the helm, it hardly matters... EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Cake (2014) Julie Crawford Aniston's performance is the essential ingredient that makes the film worth watching even as other elements prove half-baked. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
5/10 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) Julie Crawford If last year's hit The Maze Runner was the first child in the family - ambitious, concise - bridge film Maze Runner: Scorch Trials is very much the middle sibling in that it is changeable, desperate to please and generally all over the map. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) Julie Crawford Francis Lawrence nicely balances stunts and spectacle with the growth of Katniss, who goes from teenaged girl to young woman with a wider worldview. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Tomorrowland (2015) Julie Crawford Those who complain that the movie's message of conservation and push for innovation is less-than-subtle need reminding that Tomorrowland is a children's film, after all. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Philomena (2013) Julie Crawford Ultimately, Philomena is a film about faith, family and and forgiveness, making it perfect holiday viewing. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Ant-Man (2015) Julie Crawford Despite the suit and the Lilliputian size, Rudd manages to be his likeable self, which compensates when the action lags. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
4/10 Ride Along (2014) Julie Crawford When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object you get Ride Along, the seldomfunny buddy movie starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Force majeure (2014) Julie Crawford Acting is uniformly great, the players conveying as much of their struggles using body language as with words, while Ostlund's white-out scenery is both majestic and alienating. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Inside Out (2015) Julie Crawford Inside Out should be required viewing for the parents of pre-teens, just as those embarrassing "What's Happening To Me?" books are must-reads for growing minds and bodies. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 The Other Woman (2014) Julie Crawford Cameron Diaz may have top billing but Leslie Mann is the real star of The Other Woman, a sisterhood revenge pic sure to be a big hit with women everywhere. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
— Fury (2014) Julie Crawford A spare, unromanticized score by Steven Price only heightens the gravity of the men's circumstances. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014) Julie Crawford ...ultimately Part One will go down as the film you sat through while you waited for the more exciting main event, the conclusion, due out this time next year. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Lucy (2014) Julie Crawford I know what you're thinking, but this is no Limitless (Bradley Cooper). As the cells multiply and Lucy taps into more and more of her brain, it's new thrills-new skills with each passing hour. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Anomalisa (2015) Julie Crawford Fun, no. Compelling, yes. Anomalisa is filled with more longing and palpable loneliness than many other live action films registered this year. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Backcountry (2014) Julie Crawford Lascivious Irishmen, poor communication, lonely park rangers and bears: armed with these few devices MacDonald gamely shows us how a romantic camping trip gone wrong is no walk in the woods. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
4/10 Paranoia (2013) Julie Crawford There's no character to root for, no heart, and all else feels like window dressing. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Now You See Me 2 (2016) Julie Crawford The story hardly matters; as the lazy title suggests, we're just here to have a good time, and director Jon M. Chu knows how to make two hours of your life disappear. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 Muppets Most Wanted (2014) Julie Crawford Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the gang are as sweet as ever, but as far as the human actors go, cutesy has been replaced by snarky in Disney's newest Muppets film, Muppets Most Wanted. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
5/10 Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) Julie Crawford You would've put the book down after reading the character's name on the third page: Anastasia Steele? Puh-lease! EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 American Sniper (2014) Julie Crawford Cooper nails the Texas drawl and makes a compelling patriot, elevating the film beyond ordinary. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 The Calling (2014) Julie Crawford The Calling is not strictly a connect-the-dots thriller: we see some plot twists coming, but not all, and some mysteries are left unsolved. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 Bang Bang Baby (2014) Julie Crawford Mutants, musical numbers and a roadkill beaver supper: welcome to the wacky world of Nova Scotia-born filmmaker Jeffrey St. Jules. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
9/10 Goodnight Mommy (2014) Julie Crawford Ripped straight from the pages of your therapist's notebook, Goodnight Mommy is a thoroughly terrifying fairy tale with a killer twist. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 The Daughter (2015) Julie Crawford The Daughter is further elevated by excellent, natural performances from veterans and newbies alike. Leslie, in particular, delivers a standout portrayal: everyman optimism shattered by unthinkable betrayal. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Court (2014) Julie Crawford There's no outright villain here: it's the system that fails its people. Tamhane capably and quietly condemns the system with little drama and nary a "you can't handle the truth!" outburst. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) Julie Crawford Writer-director Matthew Brown keeps it simple, but even those of us who barely skated through high school math are left wanting more explanation of Ramanujan's influence. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
8/10 A Most Violent Year (2014) Julie Crawford Chandor's screenplay is taut and understated, complemented by superb acting, and creates an immersive experience of time and place. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 The Angels' Share (2012) Julie Crawford The morality may be murky, the language somewhat shocking, but Loach's underdogs win us over nonetheless, and just might win over new whisky lovers, to boot. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
The Longest Ride (2015) Julie Crawford It's a tried-and-true formula that works, and given the right romantic pairing, works wonders. And admit it, you love it. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 Lavender (2016) Julie Crawford Extra points to Gass-Donnelly for setting most of his scares during the daytime; even some of the familiar conventions of the genre (mazes, kids' lullabies, terror-fraught cornfields) seem fresh in the light of day. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Deadpool (2016) Julie Crawford Reynolds makes it work. Sneering superheroes are a new breed, but Reynolds' inherent charm and first-time director Tim Miller's light touch keep the ultra-gory film from veering into gratuitously snarky territory. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
3/10 The Intruders (2015) Julie Crawford Formulaic can be fun but things are downright sleepy until the big reveal, which is mostly silly, not scary. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 American Pastoral (2016) Julie Crawford McGregor can't quite pull off the cockishness and larger-than-life zeal of a young Swede: he seems already beaten somewhat when we meet him, meaning that his fall into ignominy is less jarring than it should be. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
6/10 Max (2015) Julie Crawford Yakin may let Max may meander a little, thematically, but any filmmaker who takes the time to craft a family film (only a smattering of language and "peril") wedgied in the same week as an R-rated movie about a degenerate stuffed bear is OK in my book. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Lion (2016) Julie Crawford Much hinges on the performance coaxed from Pawar, the year's littlest big star, who is ridiculously adorable and natural in the role. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 The Monuments Men (2014) Julie Crawford The Monuments Men is a buddy movie, an adventure film, and a throwback to less cynical times. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019
7/10 Moneyball (2011) Julie Crawford A great film about the business of baseball. EDIT
Posted Apr 17, 2019