Niagara Gazette - Rotten Tomatoes

Niagara Gazette

Niagara Gazette is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Michael Calleri
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
The Last Vermeer (2020)

Michael Calleri

[Claes] Bang and a realistic supporting cast are very good, but it's Guy Pearce as van Meegeren that you really want to see.
Posted Nov 24, 2020
2
The Life Ahead (2020)

Michael Calleri

Rosa has her methods and her mannerisms. Momo has the things he prefers to do. She shares the stories of her heartbreaking life and tells him about the promise all humans are allowed
Posted Nov 24, 2020
3
The Birds (1963)

Michael Calleri

Suzanne Pleshette, as forlorn school teacher Annie Hayworth, shines. Jessica Tandy is perfect as Mitch's brittle, suspicious mother.
Posted Nov 11, 2020
4
Rope (1948)

Michael Calleri

"Rope" is a wonderful exercise in technique and the party guest characters are performed deliciously. Pay attention to the spectacular panorama of Manhattan's gleaming skyline.
Posted Nov 11, 2020
5
Psycho (1960)

Michael Calleri

For a report on what audiences experienced while watching "Psycho" when it was first released, listen to my own mother. My mom, Geraldine Calleri enjoyed seeing Hitchcock's films. You couldn't have found a more appreciative audience.
Posted Nov 11, 2020
6
Us Kids (2020)

Michael Calleri

Snyder shows the students turning the horrific event into a call for voter activism. Every single day of their post-Feb. 14 lives was a day the students had to re-visit the past, and then move forward.
Posted Oct 29, 2020
7
On The Rocks (2020)

Michael Calleri

Coppola, who is extraordinarily capable of placing attention-getting storyline accents that will expand and contract as needed, keeps us interested because she turns her film into a clever adventure in suspicion.
Posted Oct 29, 2020
8
David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)

Michael Calleri

[Byrne] understands ritual and routine, and enjoyed these aspects of living, but he also talks about too much sameness and the isolation of so many lives crying out for, and in need of, new energy and vision.
Posted Oct 27, 2020
9
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Michael Calleri

Director-writer Aaron Sorkin's wickedly Marxian (as in Groucho, Harpo, and Chico) "The Trial Of The Chicago 7" has a bit of the prankster in it.
Posted Oct 18, 2020
10
The Boys in the Band (2020)

Michael Calleri

The vibrant, good-looking film jolts and surprises in many ways.
Posted Oct 18, 2020
11
The Glorias (2020)

Michael Calleri

Steinem's biography, "My Life on the Road," has been turned into a time-hopping film that glows like a pop art daydream.
Posted Oct 18, 2020
12
The Gunfighter (1950)

Michael Calleri

"The Gunfighter" is an early example of a new style of dark, nihilistic westerns, which examined the deeper mythology of the outlaw. The infamous Ringo returns to his hometown to reclaim a sense of morality and calm.
Posted Oct 8, 2020
13
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (2020)

Michael Calleri

There are enough highlights to make Wright's documentary worthwhile. I think it may serve as an inspiration for girls to learn stunt work.
Posted Oct 8, 2020
14
12 Hour Shift (2020)

Michael Calleri

Keep the kids out of the room when you watch the film. It may be wickedly funny, but there's also a monumental amount of madness, which equals mayhem.
Posted Oct 8, 2020
15
A Chef's Voyage (2020)

Michael Calleri

The message in the movie is this: Let your children cook. There is great joy, and there's a grand feeling of accomplishment, in the process. You see this in the eyes of Manresa's extraordinary cooking talent.
Posted Sep 19, 2020
16
Alone (2020)

Michael Calleri

[Alone] becomes something better than merely being a "woman on the run picture." It turns into a terrific study of survival.
Posted Sep 19, 2020
17
The Burnt Orange Heresy (2020)

Michael Calleri

Mick Jagger plays manipulative art dealer Joseph Cassidy, a man of wealth and fame, in "The Burnt Orange Heresy," an elegant thriller that carefully builds to a rather surprising conclusion.
Posted Sep 12, 2020
18
Mulan (2020)

Michael Calleri

I think I know why Disney decided to stream the movie rather than wait for theaters to open across the country. There had to have been a recognition that for all its $200,000,000 budget and promotional possibilities, this "Mulan" is remarkably ordinary.
Posted Sep 4, 2020
19
Desert One (2020)

Michael Calleri

The movie is riveting because there is a legitimately great director behind the camera. Putting the pieces of the historical puzzle together is documentarian Barbara Kopple, who's a living legend in the field.
Posted Aug 28, 2020
20
Enter the Forbidden City (Jin Jing Cheng) (2018)

Michael Calleri

The sweep of the movie and its epic production values, with its breathtaking cinematography and gorgeous costuming, are astonishing.
Posted Aug 28, 2020
21
Tesla (2020)

Michael Calleri

"Tesla" is one of the quirkiest movies I've seen. Ethan Hawke is absolutely wonderful as a Nikola who believes in sharing.
Posted Aug 23, 2020
22
Unhinged (2020)

Michael Calleri

What follows is an extended road rage movie that never quite finds its reason for being. "Unhinged" is overwhelmingly cruel for the sake of cruelty.
Posted Aug 22, 2020
23
Made in Italy (2020)

Michael Calleri

Made In Italy is the feature directing debut of actor James D'Arcy, who also wrote the screenplay. In choosing to frame the story around the relationship between father and son, he takes the so-called "Tuscan villa" movie to a welcome new level.
Posted Aug 17, 2020
24
You Never Had It: An Evening With Bukowski (2020)

Michael Calleri

"You Never Had It" is an evening well-spent for fans of the iconoclastic novelist, poet, and essayist Charles Bukowski.
Posted Aug 9, 2020
25
Marley (2012)

Michael Calleri

When "Marley" was originally released, the rare concert footage and previously unheard music tracks were an exuberantly received revelation.
Posted Aug 9, 2020
26
The Fight (2020)

Michael Calleri

This is a movie for everyone who believes in the law, who appreciates the complex American legal system, and who relishes judicial combat.
Posted Aug 9, 2020
27
The Painted Bird (2020)

Michael Calleri

The movie version of "The Painted Bird" is a journey through a shock corridor the likes of which has rarely been seen in a film.
Posted Aug 1, 2020
28
The Rental (2020)

Michael Calleri

The setting for the relaxing weekend is magical, but there has to be a fly in the ointment. That fly exists in the guise of the caretaker of the property.
Posted Jul 23, 2020
29
Amulet (2020)

Michael Calleri

[Romola] Garai's greatest success regarding "Amulet," which she wrote, is to take some traditional horror tropes (literary and cinematic) and play with them, thus toying with the audience's expectations. The screenplay is carefully constructed.
Posted Jul 23, 2020
30
Waiting for the Barbarians (2020)

Michael Calleri

The beautifully photographed movie - double Academy Award-winner Chris Menges is the cinematographer - has a tight screenplay by [J. M.] Coetzee himself and is well-directed by Ciro Guerra. It's superbly acted.
Posted Jul 19, 2020
31
The Outpost (2020)

Michael Calleri

The film is so well-constructed that you can't help but be swept up by the fierce action.
Posted Jul 7, 2020
32
The King of Staten Island (2020)

Michael Calleri

The film doesn't reveal to us why Davidson wanted his seriously conflicted life to be fodder for laughter - truth be told, there isn't much of that.
Posted Jun 28, 2020
33
Artemis Fowl (2020)

Michael Calleri

"Artemis Fowl" has acceptable visual appeal, but regarding its story, pacing, and sense of adventure, it falters.
Posted Jun 28, 2020
34
Tommaso (2020)

Michael Calleri

This is a movie about one man's shattering anxieties. The good news is that to play Tommaso, Ferrara has cast one of my favorite actors, Willem Dafoe, who is, in a word, brilliant.
Posted Jun 9, 2020
35
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2019)

Michael Calleri

"What She Said" is a scintillating visual class in cinema studies.
Posted Jun 9, 2020
36
Land of Little Rivers (2019)

Michael Calleri

Fly fishing also has secrets. And long-time friendships. The camaraderie is astonishing. The bonds seem unbreakable. To a person, these are true conservationists. They want their cold waters clean and filled with trout.
Posted May 24, 2020
37
Robert the Bruce (2019)

Michael Calleri

In "Robert The Bruce," which is directed by Richard Gray and written by Eric Belgau and Angus Macfadyen, the story being told is less about myth and more about reality.
Posted May 19, 2020
38
Our Mothers (Nuestras Madres) (2019)

Michael Calleri

Ernesto's journey in this well-made, dramatic, and uncompromising movie reveals facts he believes all Guatemalans need to know. [Director Cesar] Diaz's story is personal and drawn from what happened to his own family.
Posted May 6, 2020
39
The Wretched (2020)

Michael Calleri

The strong screenplay is rich in character development. The audience is following Ben, the fellow holding their flashlight, and because he's relatable, the movie is given an extra layer of believability. "Peter" isn't crying wolf here.
Posted May 6, 2020
40
True History of the Kelly Gang (2020)

Michael Calleri

[George] MacKay's manically vibrant performance is startling at times. Kelly's gang is pursued by a relentless constable (a superb and borderline deranged Nicholas Hoult) who is up to the challenge of matching Kelly cruelty for cruelty.
Posted Apr 24, 2020
41
Beyond the Visible - Hilma af Klint (2020)

Michael Calleri

Astonishing shapes draw your attention as you look at the paintings of Hilma af Klint, the Swedish artist who rejected her beginnings in the school of naturalism and invented - yes, you read that correctly - invented abstract art.
Posted Apr 17, 2020
42
The Other Lamb (2020)

Michael Calleri

The females are all under the control of a mesmerizing, highly sexualized, and youngish father figure who calls himself The Shepherd. He's both spiritual leader and solo decision maker. His numerous off-spring include the youngest members of his enclave.
Posted Apr 12, 2020
43
Resistance (2020)

Michael Calleri

"Resistance" is a gripping thriller with a very unique main character at its core. Jesse Eisenberg, a watchable actor who shines at performing a quiet nervousness, is excellent as Marcel.
Posted Apr 3, 2020
44
Wendy (2020)

Michael Calleri

Is this all a dream? Or is it merely the imaginative manifestation of the nighttime story the mom has been telling her children? We are in the land of magical realism. We are compelled to follow the adventure, but things begin to fragment.
Posted Mar 15, 2020
45
Onward (2020)

Michael Calleri

Ian and Barley then do what alluring adventurers must do best. They go on an extended quest. We're watching an appreciation of magic and magical spells, as well as a road movie.
Posted Mar 6, 2020
46
Seberg (2020)

Michael Calleri

There is literally no sense of who Jean Seberg was. No understanding of her vitality and importance. Her passion for acting is given lean brushstrokes.
Posted Feb 27, 2020
47
The Assistant (2020)

Michael Calleri

From the lowest worker bee to production executives, there is a sliver of fear emanating from all of them. They don't quite cower, but they do shiver. This is a film about a culture of dread.
Posted Feb 20, 2020
48
Buffaloed (2020)

Michael Calleri

I've seen movies set on Mars that are more in touch with their location than "Buffaloed."
Posted Feb 13, 2020
49
The Gentlemen (2020)

Michael Calleri

This brings me to the scalawag in the syrup ( ... ) Fletcher, a curious sort with a gleam in his eye, who pops about taking photographs of everybody we're watching. [Fletcher] is acted by a terrific Hugh Grant.
Posted Jan 30, 2020
50
The Song of Names (2019)

Michael Calleri

Drama isn't supposed to be comfortable. Comedy is comfort food. Drama is for adults who can handle a few roadblocks.
Posted Jan 24, 2020