Boston Phoenix
Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
This sequel doesn't just borrow plot ideas and gags from the first movie; it outright lifts entire sequences.
Posted Jan 24, 2022
2
Sidewalk Stories (1989)
[Sidewalk Stories] has the feel of a whim carried through to its wrongheaded conclusion.
Posted Jan 24, 2022
3
3/4
The Watermelon Woman (1997)
Seldom have cultural analysis and sexual/racial politics been so entertaining.
Posted Jan 21, 2022
4
Excalibur (1981)
5
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Wyatt Earp has few "things" happening; it's merely a series of events. And in the end, the hero's descent into mindless killing makes him both unsympathetic and unreadable.
Posted Dec 22, 2021
6
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
7
Searching for Paradise (2002)
Noth has great fun playing the self-involved, pretentious star, and Pratt is touching as a young woman confused and consumed by grief.
Posted Oct 20, 2021
8
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
9
Julia (1977)
10
Staying Alive (1983)
Staying Alive isn't just a disappointment -- it's a disgrace.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
11
So Fine (1981)
Part of the fun of So Fine is the way it plays fast and loose with comic modes; since you're never sure what's coming next, every scene provides a surreal twist.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
12
True Confessions (1981)
13
Rich and Famous (1981)
It's been so long since we've had a really enjoyable trashy film that Rich and Famous comes as a pleasant surprise.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
14
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973)
Somewhere in the middle of an inebriating stream of blood, poured like the free, flow of cheap wine, someone has worked some roots and conjured up some genuine artistry.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
15
Manson (1972)
It's not exploitative, exactly, but it's dumb and tawdry and cheap-looking.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
16
The Harrad Experiment (1973)
It's more or less tailored to the suburban set who don't feel up to Last Tango in Paris.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
17
Paper Moon (1973)
18
The Way We Were (1973)
Pollack's direction, sure and precise when shooting his stars alone in a room, collapses to the extent that he loses his narrative line.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
19
The Last American Hero (1973)
Suffice it to say that it's real good.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
20
Charley Varrick (1973)
21
Day for Night (1973)
Truffaut's Day For Night is a wonderfully funny evocation of the psychic netherworld in which film crews operate.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
22
Mean Streets (1973)
23
Wajda's lovers are arrogantly inarticulate, neither beautiful nor expressive. And their relationship is completely tangential to the findings of his modern investigators.
Posted Oct 8, 2021
24
The Story of Us (1999)
Banal and maddeningly cliched.
Posted Apr 6, 2020
25
The Cable Guy (1996)
This is a darker film for Carrey, but he's still Jim Carrey. His shenanigans keep even the blackest moments goofy.
Posted Mar 10, 2019
26
Backcountry (2015)
No film in recent memory better depicts how adventurous urbanites get into trouble outdoors than Backcountry, a tense Canadian thriller from Andrew MacDonald.
Posted Feb 8, 2019
27
The Lost Prince (2003)
The Lost Prince is a gorgeously filmed, bittersweet study of family dysfunction and the resiliency of the spirit in the face of loneliness and rejection.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
28
The best and most complete introduction to recorded blues available.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
29
Julius Caesar (Caesar) (2002)
Crackling good entertainment, terrific acting... richly handsome cinematography, and a piquant script.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
30
The archival footage alone justifies the entire enterprise.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
31
Wyle's geeky charm and the story's glorification of book learnin' are enough to keep the good vibes aloft.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
32
The film makes you care so little for its subject that you might be compelled to turn it off were it not for Rush's valiant mimicry.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
33
Everyday People (2004)
It's Spike Lee with no special effects, Blue in the Face without the celebrity cast... There are no epic disasters here, but there is real tragedy.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
34
Something the Lord Made (2004)
Moving without being maudlin; it doesn't over-inflate the inherent drama of the two men's relationship or the era in which they lived.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
35
Each moment makes its demands and gives way to the next. Everything is worthy of our attention.
Posted Jul 2, 2018
36
Quote not available.
Posted Oct 18, 2016
37
2/4
Quantum of Solace (2008)
38
The Last Emperor (1987)
One of the most provocative and stunningly beautiful films of the past 20 years.
Posted Feb 21, 2015
39
3.5/4
40
2/4
Coraline (2009)
41
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
This film adaptation of his James and the Giant Peach, though capturing Dahl's comic brilliance, does not shy away from the tale's surreal grimness.
Posted Nov 11, 2014
42
Unfortunately, The Wedding Director itself is a major comedown from Bellocchio's miraculous classic movies (Fist in His Pocket, The Eyes, the Mouth, etc.).
Posted Oct 22, 2014
43
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
Pretty darned good.
Posted Oct 17, 2014
44
The Royal Tenenbaums (2002)
Anderson may yet be the heir to the screwball-comedy throne, but his creative blood needs a fresh infusion.
Posted Oct 1, 2014
45
3/4
The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
Not that The GirlfriendExperience rises to the level of Godard's Vivre sa vie, but it does provoke a host of issues that, wisely, it makes no attempt to resolve.
Posted Oct 1, 2014
46
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)
47
The film is a vindication of bad taste, and of the principle that mocking well is the best revenge.
Posted Sep 2, 2014
48
Level Five (2014)
This film demands every cell of your cerebellum, but its compelling surreality is hard to shake off.
Posted Aug 13, 2014
49
4/4
WALL-E (2008)
Can Earth be reclaimed? The answer's a hopeful one (more Spielberg, less Kubrick), perfectly in toon (ahem) with the tale of a rickety old PC who wins the heart of a Mac.
Posted Aug 13, 2014
50
The Iron Giant (1999)