FromTheBalcony
FromTheBalcony is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this
publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following
Tomatometer-approved critic(s):
Bill Clark
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
C
The Commuter (2018)
Like many recent entries to Neeson's canon, The Commuter is fairly involving until it comes time to explain what's going on.
Posted Jan 11, 2018
2
F
Downsizing (2017)
Downsizing thinks it's playing with fire but is really just rubbing two twigs together and hoping for the best.
Posted Dec 22, 2017
3
A-
The Disaster Artist (2017)
The Disaster Artist is an enormously entertaining look at film making dreams and the legacy that comes with making a truly terrible one.
Posted Dec 8, 2017
4
B
While certainly not a new classic, The Man Who Invented Christmas is an enjoyable experience that succeeds in rousing the Christmas spirit.
Posted Nov 21, 2017
5
A-
Lady Bird (2017)
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person. Lady Bird does just that.
Posted Nov 17, 2017
6
B+
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
No one will ever call this series high art, but it does aim to please and built-in fans will find a lot to like in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
Posted Sep 22, 2017
7
B
Good Time (2017)
Good Time is thematically spare, but the savvy, energetic direction of the Safdie brothers and Pattinson's wide-eyed, intense performance keep it afloat.
Posted Aug 25, 2017
8
C
Dunkirk (2017)
Given little context and even less character arc, Dunkirk emerges as an emotionally hollow exercise in wartime spectacle.
Posted Jul 20, 2017
9
B-
47 Meters Down (2017)
47 Meters Down is an impressive picture from a technical perspective. It's a shame the dialogue isn't given the same consideration.
Posted Jun 16, 2017
10
B
It Comes At Night (2017)
It Comes at Night is a relentlessly bleak exercise in paranoia and distrust that taps into some of the deepest fears within the human condition.
Posted Jun 9, 2017
11
A-
Jackie (2016)
The opening frames of Jackie lead one to believe they're about to see a horror film. One wouldn't be far off.
Posted Nov 30, 2016
12
B-
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
Fans of the original know what to expect here. If you can't get enough of Bad Santa's mean streak, you'll find plenty to enjoy in Bad Santa 2.
Posted Nov 22, 2016
13
B-
The Girl on the Train (2016)
It's hardly high art, but director Taylor and screenwriter Wilson make The Girl on the Train work just well enough to warrant a look.
Posted Oct 9, 2016
14
B-
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
While not nearly as unforgettable as the events on which it's based, Deepwater Horizon works well enough as a spectacle and tribute to the fallen.
Posted Sep 30, 2016
15
C+
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Overlong and often struggling to balance action and comedy, The Magnificent Seven is an uneven effort with some sensational action.
Posted Sep 22, 2016
16
D+
Blair Witch (2016)
Padded by too many lame jump scares to count, Blair Witch becomes a near-literal remake of its predecessor once the group enters the fateful woods.
Posted Sep 15, 2016
17
C+
Free State of Jones (2016)
Free State of Jones features a handful of moderately powerful moments that don't add up to a powerful overall experience.
Posted Jun 24, 2016
18
D
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
Like most contemporary comedy sequels, Neighbors 2 is essentially the same film as Neighbors, minus the freshness and purpose of existence.
Posted May 20, 2016
19
D+
How To Be Single (2016)
How To Be Single is unfocused, horrifically shot and edited, and not nearly as raunchy as it thinks it is.
Posted Feb 12, 2016
20
B+
Deadpool (2016)
Profane, hyper-violent, and never hesitant to take things a step or two beyond overkill, Deadpool is just the swift kick to the junk the genre needs.
Posted Feb 7, 2016
21
D
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
With Hail, Caesar!, it's baffling to see the Coens deliver something with next to nothing at stake and zero involvement from a character perspective.
Posted Feb 5, 2016
22
B-
13 Hours is a visceral, pounding experience that works as a vintage Bay action film even as it skirts the bigger overall picture.
Posted Jan 15, 2016
23
A-
Anomalisa (2015)
Anomalisa embodies what we've come to expect from Kaufman: a venture into the strange while somehow staying grounded in reality. Just like life.
Posted Dec 30, 2015
24
B-
Joy (2015)
Joy doesn't resonate as a hard-hitting, memorable biography, but as a lightweight, ultimately charming slice of entrepreneurial spirit, it works.
Posted Dec 23, 2015
25
A-
45 Years (2015)
Led by two first-rate performances, 45 Years is an intimate, introspective work that ranks among 2015's best.
Posted Dec 22, 2015
26
B-
The Big Short (2015)
The Big Short is a crackling, live entertainment that elicits as many laughs as jaws agape that this could happen.
Posted Dec 21, 2015
27
B
Sisters (2015)
Though light on plot and in need of a runtime haircut, Sisters is as rapid fire, energetic, and raunchy as any comedy this year.
Posted Dec 18, 2015
28
B
Concussion (2015)
Though overly melodramatic at times and absent the full details of the toll CTE really takes, Concussion is at its best when operating as an underdog story.
Posted Dec 17, 2015
29
B+
99 Homes (2015)
99 Homes is a timely topical drama that packs real punch the deeper it goes into the rabbit hole of lawless capitalization on destroyed lives.
Posted Dec 14, 2015
30
B-
Where to Invade Next (2016)
Though still worth a look, Where to Invade Next falls in the bottom half of the Moore canon, neither as organized or potent as previous offerings.
Posted Dec 8, 2015
31
A
Room (2015)
Watching Room is essentially the act of barely breathing and nearly crying for two hours.
Posted Dec 7, 2015
32
A-
The Revenant (2015)
The Revenant is another sweeping accomplishment for Iñárritu and one of 2015's best films. Just make sure you know what you're in for.
Posted Dec 4, 2015
33
A-
Amy (2015)
Amy is a celebration of all she accomplished as well as a cautionary tale about the grave price to be paid for not getting an addict the help they need.
Posted Dec 1, 2015
34
A
Spotlight (2015)
Spotlight is one of the great journalism films; compelling, flawlessly acted, and successful in its invitation to join in the hunt for the truth.
Posted Nov 30, 2015
35
B+
Brooklyn (2015)
Brooklyn is a fine serving of comfort food, innocent and successfully operating at a deeper level when exploring the difficulties of leaving home.
Posted Nov 25, 2015
36
A-
Secret in Their Eyes (2015)
Secret in Their Eyes, a remake of the 2009 Oscar-winning Argentinian film of the same name, is an old-school, taut, and endlessly involving thriller.
Posted Nov 20, 2015
37
D
Love the Coopers (2015)
Love the Coopers is as much a comedy as a Christmas movie, in that it's neither and more a drama taking place around Christmas that eeks out a few laughs.
Posted Nov 13, 2015
38
B+
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead serves as the perfect time capsule of National Lampoon's run and the influence it has on comedy to this day.
Posted Nov 11, 2015
39
B+
The Wolfpack (2015)
While plenty of questions permeate the air as the end credits roll, The Wolfpack is a compulsively watchable, borderline hypnotic experience.
Posted Nov 9, 2015
40
C-
Spectre (2015)
Spectre, despite its lush locales and trademark superb action set pieces, is a mostly downtrodden, robotic exercise in wild goose chase plotting.
Posted Nov 6, 2015
41
B
San Andreas (2015)
San Andreas is lightweight, crowd-pleasing summer entertainment that knows its place and delivers the goods.
Posted May 29, 2015
42
B+
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
What the films have going for them are fun characters and clever writing, both of which keep Pitch Perfect 2 from being a lazy rehash of the original movie.
Posted May 15, 2015
43
D
Hot Pursuit (2015)
There's "paying the bills," then there's something this lazy, uninspired, and hackneyed.
Posted May 8, 2015
44
D
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
The law of diminishing returns strikes big-time in Avengers: Age of Ultron, an overstuffed mess of one-note characters, gaudy CGI, and bad one-liners.
Posted May 1, 2015
45
D+
The Age of Adaline (2015)
For all its melodramatic mopey-ness, The Age of Adaline mostly treads water to its anti-climactic conclusion.
Posted Apr 24, 2015
46
C-
Unfriended (2015)
Unfriended is a by-the-numbers, scare-free slasher package that will likely test your patience for watching people yell at each other on Skype.
Posted Apr 17, 2015
47
B
McFarland USA (2015)
McFarland USA won't win any awards for originality, but it's a prime example of a proven formula done right.
Posted Feb 20, 2015
48
F
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Fifty Shades of Grey may be the first film in history made specifically for the purposes of hate-watching.
Posted Feb 13, 2015
49
B
Still Alice (2015)
As films about people with devastating diseases go, Still Alice is understated, thought-provoking, and written and directed with a steady hand.
Posted Feb 12, 2015
50
D
Jupiter Ascending (2015)