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Nicole Ackman
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Nicole Ackman is a North Carolina-based critic, writer, and public historian. She writes for AwardsWatch, FF2 Media, Culture Cabinet, and her history-themed Substack, A Historian in the Public Sphere. You can find her on social media @NicoleAckman16.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Inside Out 2 (2024) |
Inside Out 2 is an all-around impressive directorial debut from Kelsey Mann...It more than lives up to the legacy of Inside Out, giving a much more nuanced and well-developed exploration of its genius concept. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Jun 15, 2024
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Nowhere Special (2020) |
Nowhere Special is a beautiful testament to the love between a father and son, the lengths that a parent will go to for their child even while suffering themselves...while Norton’s performance is a perfect centerpiece for the story. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Apr 26, 2024
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Wicked Little Letters (2023) |
What Sharrock and the writer, comedian Jonny Sweet, do well is translate the story in a way that maintains all of its raucous humor while also highlighting the ways in which it exposes the misogyny that women lived through in this time period. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Apr 08, 2024
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The Beautiful Game (2024) |
The Beautiful Game is a rare film that the whole family can enjoy, that features great performances, and shares information about a worthy but under-recognized organization. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Mar 24, 2024
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One Life (2023) |
One Life is, in many ways, your typical British biopic. However, it’s elevated by strong performances and the important, largely forgotten story it tells. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Mar 17, 2024
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Out of Darkness (2022) |
Out of Darkness is an unconventional survival thriller, but one that has much to offer between its conception of a Paleolithic world, the compelling performances, and the unique craftwork. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Feb 26, 2024
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Argylle (2024) |
The first section of the movie is rather entertaining. It’s nice to see Howard in the spotlight again, even though the movie doesn’t fully know how to use her talents. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Jan 31, 2024
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Freud's Last Session (2023) |
It’s a shame to take such an interesting imagined meeting between two of the most interesting figures of the early twentieth century and squander it by not delving deeply enough into either of their lives or their thoughts. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Jan 22, 2024
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Mean Girls (2024) |
What happens when you take the watered-down Broadway adaptation of a cult classic film and make a new film from it? In the case of the recently released Mean Girls, it’s a near-disaster of a film that is only kept afloat by its talented cast. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Jan 17, 2024
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Strange Way of Life (2023) |
If [it] had been a feature film...it could easily have been one of my favorites of the year. But in its actual state, it leaves the audience unsatisfied, like a too-small dessert that whets your appetite for more instead of leaving you feeling satiated. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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The Creator (2023) |
[Gareth] Edwards and Chris Weitz have co-written a story that pulls inspiration from wildly different classics like Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, and E.T., yet still feels fresh. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 26, 2023
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A Haunting in Venice (2023) |
Based on the rest of Branagh’s filmography, you wouldn’t expect him to be skilled as a thriller director, but he effectively morphs this Poirot film from a mystery into a ghost tale. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 10, 2023
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The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) |
Øvredal might not have created something that will completely define vampire cinema for years to come, but he did create something unique, born out of a novel over a hundred years old, and that’s worth celebrating. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Aug 10, 2023
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The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders (2023) |
This documentary tells an interesting story but doesn’t offer anything particularly meaningful to the genre. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Jul 31, 2023
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Dream (2023) |
Dream is really neither great nor terrible; it’s completely average. The performances aren’t anything particularly spectacular, but they are enough to keep the audience engaged. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Jul 26, 2023
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Haunted Mansion (2023) |
If you’re a fan of the Haunted Mansion (as many, many Disney fans are), you’ll appreciate all the little nods to the ride. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Jul 25, 2023
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Oppenheimer (2023) |
Oppenheimer’s story is a complicated one, and I’m still not entirely certain that Nolan was the best person to tell it. Though still fettered by some of his usual issues, he creates what is almost certainly his best work in Oppenheimer. - Culture Cabinet
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| Posted Jul 21, 2023
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King of Clones (2023) |
King of Clones is undoubtedly worth a watch if you’re interested in learning more about cloning, stem cell research, and the ethical concerns around them. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Jun 25, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
From the colorful animation to the impressive voice performances to the diverse and heartfelt characters, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse manages to recapture all of the magic that made the first film such a hit. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Jun 11, 2023
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Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) |
Peter Pan & Wendy shows the usefulness of the concept of the Disney live-action remake; it updates the racial and gender politics of the original 1953 animated film while also drawing further from the story upon which that story was based. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted May 04, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is, in some ways, the strongest of its trilogy, but it suffers from being too much. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Apr 28, 2023
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A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023) |
Despite its flaws, A Tourist’s Guide to Love is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. It has all the breeziness that makes romantic comedies a comfort genre for many people, but also provides a lovely introduction to Vietnam’s culture and landscapes. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Apr 24, 2023
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Ghosted (2023) |
So Apple TV+’s Ghosted is in good company, as a combination romantic comedy and action film. It’s just unfortunate that it’s not particularly good at being either one. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Apr 21, 2023
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Renfield (2023) |
Chris McKay’s Renfield takes an interesting premise and squanders it, abandoning the most interesting relationship at the heart of it for lots of therapy rhetoric and a romance plot line that never seems to work. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Apr 18, 2023
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) |
Shazam! Fury of the Gods feels like a blatant attempt to recapture the financial success of the first Shazam film without any solid concept for a new storyline for the superheroes. It manages to lose what was great about the first one... - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Mar 19, 2023
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Boston Strangler (2023) |
[Keira] Knightley, [Carrie] Coon, and [Chris] Cooper are a formidable cast, and it’s exciting to see another addition to the small canon of films about female journalists. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Mar 16, 2023
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65 (2023) |
65 is at its best when it’s a survival story of a man trying to save the life of the little girl who effortlessly melts his stern exterior. Largely, the film is a reminder that I need to start watching The Last of Us. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Mar 11, 2023
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) |
Despite a nice family dynamic between the Langs and Pyms, the lack of clarity around new villain Kang and the subpar visual effects make the film a lackluster addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Feb 18, 2023
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Dear David (2023) |
Netflix certainly has plenty of teen dramas to pick from, so you can skip Dear David. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Feb 12, 2023
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True Spirit (2023) |
It’s the sort of film that encourages young women, in particular, to go after their dreams – and those are always worth seeing. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Feb 04, 2023
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The Drop (2022) |
The Drop ultimately flops because it’s a comedy without enough humor. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Jan 15, 2023
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Stuck With You (2022) |
While there are some interesting ideas in Stuck with You and Bellocq’s attempts to explore the “stuck in an elevator” trope creatively, ultimately, the film flounders. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Dec 29, 2022
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Holiday Harmony (2022) |
If you’re looking for a basic Christmas rom-com to watch, then Holiday Harmony isn’t a terrible choice. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Nov 25, 2022
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Love, Lizzo (2022) |
Throughout the whole 90-minute documentary, Lizzo’s voice rings through and it’s hard not to get swept up in her big dreams and plans. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Nov 25, 2022
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She Said (2022) |
She Said makes us believe in the importance of this story – and the movement it sparked – all over again by reminding us of the impacts of these assaults on the women who lived through them. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Nov 21, 2022
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) |
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the most impressive films in the entire MCU and a fitting end to a chapter exploring grief and how it can transform us. - Offscreen Central
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| Posted Nov 15, 2022
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God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty (2022) |
Director Billy Corben doesn’t shy away from the salacious but also is keen to connect Falwell Jr.’s corruption to the rise of Donald Trump. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Nov 02, 2022
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Rosaline (2022) |
Dever is delightful in the lead role and even though it trends too far into a sort of girl-boss-feminism at times – stressing that Rosaline is different from other girls because she wants a career and her father lets her speak at the dinner table. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Oct 11, 2022
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My Father's Dragon (2022) |
Twomey and LeFauve have created something special, and this friendly little dragon will surely delight children and adults for years to come. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Raymond & Ray (2022) |
It may not be anything remarkable, but McGregor and Hawke heighten the simple premise of “Raymond & Ray” to be a gutwrenching tale of family trauma. - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Oct 05, 2022
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The Wonder (2022) |
Pugh gives some of the best work of her already impressive career, reminding audiences how excellently well-suited she is for period dramas as she was in “Lady Macbeth” and “Little Women.” - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Oct 04, 2022
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The Good Nurse (2022) |
“The Good Nurse” might be worth seeing just for Chastain and Redmayne’s performances, but it’s far from the film it should have been. - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Sep 27, 2022
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The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (2022) |
Netflix documentary The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone is impressive in how much it is able to do in its short runtime. It provides a portrait of an impressive young woman who has already achieved much, though the odds were often against her. - Ready Steady Cut
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| Posted Sep 23, 2022
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Catherine Called Birdy (2022) |
Ramsey excellently imbues Birdy with a precociousness that never steps over the line into grating, showing that there’s real emotion and vulnerability behind her mischievous ways. - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Sep 22, 2022
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What's Love Got to Do with It? (2022) |
The film has a sweet nod towards Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron’s classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, showing the interviews that Zoe has done with couples in Kazim’s family about their own relationships. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 21, 2022
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The Woman King (2022) |
It’s this combination of the softer quiet moments and the large-scale blockbuster action-type sequences that makes The Woman King a film that will sweep audiences of all kinds into its tale. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 16, 2022
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Corsage (2022) |
“Corsage” makes us feel the constriction around its heroine but never fully delves into why it’s there. - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Sep 14, 2022
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Chevalier (2022) |
Chevalier is not only an important film because of the way that it sheds light on a Black artist whose legacy was robbed from them, but it’s also a top-notch period romance with a fantastic ensemble cast. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) |
In the same way that Rocketman was the perfect biopic for Elton John, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" is as absurd, funny, and satirical as a Weird Al Yankovic biopic should be. - Next Best Picture
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| Posted Sep 12, 2022
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Emily (2022) |
It’s an incredibly impressive directorial debut for Frances O’Connor, who is herself no stranger to starring in period dramas in her career as an actress. - AwardsWatch
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| Posted Sep 11, 2022
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