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Christopher James
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Fall Guy (2024) |
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are a delight to watch in the otherwise sweet, but standard, action-romance-comedy The Fall Guy. - The Film Experience
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| Posted May 05, 2024
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The Summer with Carmen (2023) |
There’s a sweet story of friendship at the center of the film, which the movie sometimes loses in its plot machinations. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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The End We Start From (2023) |
While Jodie Comer leads the movie with a committed, subdued and surprising performance, it’s not enough to keep this sparse movie afloat. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Four Daughters (2023) |
Four Daughters is unlike any film that I’ve seen, documentary or otherwise. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Terrestrial Verses (2023) |
The latest film by directors Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari may be short in length, but it packs a biting punch, and with humor no less. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Oct 29, 2023
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Quiz Lady (2023) |
Quiz Lady is chock full of talent, but even the strongest of filmmakers can’t elevate a weak script. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Oct 29, 2023
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The Bikeriders (2023) |
Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders delights in its cadre of rugged bikers and the dramas that come from their riding club. Yet, the joy of the film comes from seeing this world through Kathy (Jodie Comer), the wife of renegade rider Benny (Austin Butler). - The Film Experience
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| Posted Oct 29, 2023
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Saltburn (2023) |
Saltburn expertly dramatizes the intoxication of lust and the limits we all blow past while under its influence. Fennell’s live-wire pacing is perfectly complemented by the committed cast, particularly Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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The Holdovers (2023) |
Mixing Goodbye Mr. Chips with Rushmore, The Holdovers is, like its protagonist, gruff yet sweet. For those looking for a Holiday coming-of-age comedy with a spike of melancholy, it'll be the feel-good, feel-bad movie of the fall season. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Oct 01, 2023
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
Not to give damning praise, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie sets its narrative sights refreshingly low. ... It trusts the cultural cache of Mario and decides to jump straight into the fun of what people love about the games. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Apr 07, 2023
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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022) |
It’s a rocking good time with two and a half hours packed with Whitney music, Lifetime level overacting and just buckets of charisma. It’s not right, but it’s OK. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Jan 04, 2023
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A Man Called Otto (2022) |
If so much doesn’t work, then how does it make you cry by the end? Let’s just say, there’s a reason why Tom Hanks has two Oscars. His movie star charisma is in maximum overdrive here, even with a character as ornery as Otto. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Dec 29, 2022
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) |
The film blends childlike mania with poignant themes of belonging to make this perfect programming for families looking for a movie this holiday season. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 29, 2022
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Aline (2021) |
Aline is a conundrum and a contradiction. More than any other recent biopic, Aline soldiers through all of the cliches and plot devices we’ve seen repeated ad nauseum. Yet, there’s a bizarre core that spins every scene on the axis. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) |
The large ensemble is all smiles as they sip tea and gossip. Penelope Wilton and Maggie Smith land every sassy remark with a knowing grin. Girls just want to have fun, and my is Downton Abbey: A New Era low thrills fun! - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
Most of the sins of Jurassic World Dominion would be forgivable if the movie were more fun. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) |
It’s broad, loud and frantic, barely stopping for a minute to craft a story. At 107 minutes, the energy sputters out, particularly in a rushed third act. Yet, the movie gives exactly what it promises, a fun ride full of antics galore. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) |
What takes it from a watch-on-a-plane movie to a must-see matinee is a galvanizing and endearing performance by Manville. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Mack & Rita (2022) |
Rita feels less exciting than online Diane Keaton. Yes, the actress has great fun in the role attending influencer events throughout the movie. But none of the set pieces feel outlandish or inspired enough to be more fun than Keaton’s own personal feed. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Ticket to Paradise (2022) |
Ticket to Paradise hardly reinvents the wheel, but it is a breezy excuse to reunite the Ocean’s Eleven co-stars for an incredibly fun and funny trip to Bali. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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The Good Nurse (2022) |
Our titular “Good Nurse,” Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is what we call a trope magnet. She’s a single mother who works too hard, who loves her kids and never stops, with gentle hands and the heart of a fighter. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) |
Director Edward Berger doesn’t reinvent the story, but his 2022 re-telling of All Quiet on the Western Front is loaded with enough technical panache to make it a worthy, additive remake and a great time at the movies. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Piaffe (2022) |
While stylistic, the color flares and quick cuts that Oren chooses obfuscate and frustrate, more then draw us into this world. There’s skill here, but it feels misguidedly deployed. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Nanny (2022) |
Nanny made me excited for the emerging talent that is writer/director Nikyatu Jusu. She clearly has an evocative visual eye and can marry it to clear, wrenching, understandable emotions.
- The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Alcarràs (2022) |
Alcarràs understands that familial fractures are less about big blowups and more about observed slights, decades long resentment and golden age thinking. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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The Son (2022) |
The Son telegraphs every motif and flourish with the grace of a rampaging bull. What a disappointment. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Women Talking (2022) |
Yes, it’s women talking to each other. However, it’s less of a dry retelling of an event and more of a fully alive conversation showing how solidarity, community, and debate can lead women out of violence and into a promised land of sorts. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Bones and All (2022) |
Perhaps the journey lies in the contradictions. Luca Guadagnino’s latest film is a perfect example of execution not quite meeting intention. What makes the film interesting might also be its great misfire. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Living (2022) |
As good as it is to see Bill Nighy get the starring role he deserves, Living is on life support just moments past its delightfully retro opening credits. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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The Eternal Daughter (2022) |
The Eternal Daughter is a beautifully contemplative work that perfectly dramatizes the relationship between child and parent and how, no matter you age, you can't shake these formative roles and dynamics. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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The Menu (2022) |
The Menu serves up a lot of expected jokes and twists, but does so in a fun and engaging package. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) |
Glass Onion improves on the original, taking a character we know and love and thrusting him into a funnier and more zany mystery. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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The Tender Bar (2021) |
Despite an impressive pedigree, iThe Tender Bari is too slight in most regards to be memorable. If anything, its a Hallmark movie with A-list talent, meant to make you feel good while you forget about it moments later. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2022
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Scream (2022) |
The laughs could have poured out as much as the blood did, but there are many ways this new chapter delivered for the franchise. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2022
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Death on the Nile (2022) |
iDeath on the Nilei is far from the most memorable movie of the year. Yet, there are worse ways one can spend two hours out at the movies. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2022
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The Lost City (2022) |
Its the Bullock & Tatum show, which is exactly what the doctor ordered. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2022
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Don't Look Up (2021) |
Satire is a precise tool, not a blunt object. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Dec 15, 2021
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King Richard (2021) |
To talk about King Richard, one must start and end with Will Smith's towering performance. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 16, 2021
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Petite Maman (2021) |
At just 72 minutes, the film zips by, almost like a sweet little dream. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 16, 2021
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Red Rocket (2021) |
While Baker cares for many of his characters, it's a strange treat to get into the mind of someone as deliciously narcissistic and awful as Mikey. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 16, 2021
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Parallel Mothers (2021) |
Parallel Mothers is top-tier Almodóvar, particularly because it subverts one's own expectations and becomes a much more emotional, haunting and political picture. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 16, 2021
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The First Wave (2021) |
What makes The First Wave worth watching is the way it chronicles the nurses' hard work in the face of insurmountable challenges. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 16, 2021
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Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2021) |
The pains of slavery are alive and well in American culture because of our willed ignorance. One might say, it's who we are. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 12, 2021
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The Worst Person in the World (2021) |
The Worst Person In the World might just earn an equally lofty superlative - the best movie of the year. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 12, 2021
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Paris, 13th District (2021) |
While Merlant's performance suggests a more robust film, Paris 13th District feels all too generic and slight to make an impression. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Nov 12, 2021
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Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) |
Sometimes saccharine is just sweet enough. Everybody's Talking About Jamie piles it on thick, but what else are drag queens supposed to do when applying their makeup. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Sep 18, 2021
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Thunder Force (2021) |
There's no superpower in their arsenal that can save this comedy, which is completely devoid of laughs. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Apr 09, 2021
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Violet (2021) |
Thanks to great performances by Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux, Violet has emerged as the standout film of this year's SXSW festival so far. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2021
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Alien on Stage (2020) |
The climactic performance combines the crafty ingenuity of Be Kind Rewind and the earnest fun of Waiting for Guffman. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2021
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How It Ends (2021) |
After spending a year inside, there was something comforting about watching people accept and enjoy the end of the world. - The Film Experience
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| Posted Mar 30, 2021
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