The Patriot Ledger
Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
A
Drive My Car (2021)
Hamaguchi more than compensates by eliciting heartfelt performances from Nishijima and Miura that leave you breathless.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
2
A-
The choices they must make are agonizing and the conviction with which Cruz and Smit deliver Almodovar's words is transcending.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
3
A-
A Hero (2022)
Jadidi is superb at conveying frustrations with a legal system utterly inconducive to upholding integrity.
Posted Jan 12, 2022
4
C
The 355 (2022)
A lack of intrigue dooms the movie from the get-go.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
5
A-
Red Rocket (2021)
It gets to you, likely because there's never been a rogue as dazzling as Mikey Saber or a film as cocky and uncompromising as Red Rocket.
Posted Dec 23, 2021
6
A-
Licorice Pizza (2021)
If you came of age in the 1970s like yours truly, it's a lovely walk down memory lane, from the period costumes to the cars, and especially the music.
Posted Dec 23, 2021
7
C+
The Tender Bar (2021)
By the end, this dramedy had me chortling, which would be OK, if that were Clooney's intent.
Posted Dec 22, 2021
8
C-
Don't Look Up (2021)
McKay and journalist David Sirota use their poisoned pens to spear fish jammed into a tiny barrel.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
9
A-
C'mon C'mon (2021)
"C'mon C'mon" is shot in gorgeous black and white, but the story - like life - thrives in shades of gray.
Posted Nov 24, 2021
10
B+
House of Gucci (2021)
A bargain-rack page-turner ...
Posted Nov 23, 2021
11
B-
Red Notice (2021)
The three leads have chemistry to burn, but even that fails to justify the somewhat presumptuous ending suggesting a sequel.
Posted Nov 19, 2021
12
A-
tick, tick...Boom! (2021)
The title implies a bomb, but Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut.
Posted Nov 19, 2021
13
B
Mayor Pete (2021)
Given the current political climate, it's refreshing to spend 90 minutes with a guy motivated by nothing more than a love for his husband and his country.
Posted Nov 19, 2021
14
B
Julia (2021)
Ultimately, it's slight and under-cooked, but Child and her tantalizingly photographed creations (soufflé, anyone?) will leave you hungry for more.
Posted Nov 19, 2021
15
A
The Power of the Dog (2021)
A gorgeous work of art.
Posted Nov 19, 2021
16
C+
Finch (2021)
17
A-
Passing (2021)
An unflinching character study of women longing to walk with ease between two separate but unequal realms.
Posted Nov 5, 2021
18
B-
The Harder They Fall (2021)
That it even remotely works is due entirely to a killer cast featuring Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield and Oscar winner Regina King.
Posted Nov 2, 2021
19
B+
Mass (2021)
[Ann Dowd] is outstanding, rendering a performance built from the inside out, restrained yet wrenching.
Posted Oct 14, 2021
20
A-
The Velvet Underground (2021)
[A] fascinating, involving documentary.
Posted Oct 14, 2021
21
B
Lamb (2021)
22
C-
The Addams Family 2 (2021)
Even at a compact 92 minutes, The Addams Family 2 overstays its welcome, largely because of time wasted on blah characters.
Posted Oct 1, 2021
23
A-
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Alessandro Nivola has the gabagool and eats it, too.
Posted Oct 1, 2021
24
B-
The Guilty (2021)
It's trite, but Gyllenhaal is all-in.
Posted Sep 30, 2021
25
C
Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
Dripping with phony sentiment and enough garish platitudes to provoke nausea, the film version of the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is utterly bereft of lyricism.
Posted Sep 23, 2021
26
B
The Nowhere Inn (2021)
Albeit undeniably entertaining, too often what we witness is too clever for its own good, too on the nose and too predictable.
Posted Sep 17, 2021
27
B-
Cinderella (2021)
What it lacks in heart and conviction it compensates handsomely via eye-popping costumes by Ellen Mirojnick and dazzling choreography by Ashley Wallen and Jenny Griffin.
Posted Sep 1, 2021
28
B
Vacation Friends (2021)
Making it watchable - and even laugh-out-loud funny - is a game-for-anything cast.
Posted Aug 30, 2021
29
B+
Candyman (2021)
Manages to both pay homage and steering the story in thrilling new directions.
Posted Aug 27, 2021
30
B
Together (2021)
It's clumsy, yes, but it provides a valuable glimpse at where we stand, and where we're headed, by bravely ripping off all our masks.
Posted Aug 26, 2021
31
B+
Free Guy (2021)
By the end, you can't help but smile, and suddenly want to race home to be with your Xbox.
Posted Aug 12, 2021
32
B
CODA (2021)
In pleading her case for the deaf, [Sian] Heder is mostly effective. You only wish she'd made a film as gritty as the people and places she's championing.
Posted Aug 12, 2021
33
B+
Annette (2021)
34
A-
Although what Neville uncovers won't surprise you; it definitely moves you.
Posted Aug 3, 2021
35
A-
Gregory's story [is] both inspiring and fascinating.
Posted Aug 3, 2021
36
C
Old (2021)
It's "Cocoon" in reverse with good actors doing bad work in service of a beach day gone fatally awry.
Posted Aug 1, 2021
37
B+
Val (2021)
"Val" renders you empathetic toward a man who "had it all" one minute and lost it all the next.
Posted Aug 1, 2021
38
B-
Jungle Cruise (2021)
For the most part, the movie's two luminous stars share just enough wattage to light the screen with cheeky banter and faint touches of a potentially sizzling romance.
Posted Aug 1, 2021
39
B+
Black Widow (2021)
Johansson does wonders revealing her hardened character's human side, peeling away at Romanoff's backstory and motivations.
Posted Jul 8, 2021
40
A-
41
C-
Zola (2021)
42
A
43
B
F9 (2021)
"F9" is a fun but bumpy ride.
Posted Jun 24, 2021
44
C
Fatherhood (2021)
Some, no doubt, will slurp this sap up. Not me. It gave my jaded ticker nothing but heartburn.
Posted Jun 21, 2021
45
B+
Luca (2021)
46
D
Infinite (2021)
47
A
In the Heights (2021)
Welcome to the neighborhood. It was worth the wait.
Posted Jun 12, 2021
48
B
Spirit Untamed (2021)
A smooth ride for moviegoers hungering for an animated tale unburdened by strained pop-cultural references and scatological humor.
Posted Jun 5, 2021
49
B+
A Quiet Place Part II (2021)
Blunt makes messy braids and dirty bare feet look apocalyptic chic.
Posted Jun 1, 2021
50
C--
Cruella (2021)
This clogged-up mess doesn't need two Emmas. It needs an enema.
Posted May 30, 2021