Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes
Critics list

Barbara Ellen

Barbara Ellen's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
State of Statelessness (2024) EDIT “The final story, about a son’s discovery of a family secret in Dharamshala following the death of his father, is the most intriguing and accomplished.” – Observer (UK) Jan 27, 2026 Full Review Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (2026) 100% EDIT “This is a robust documentary... The miracle is not only that Elizabeth managed to survive her ordeal, but that she went on to become an impressive spokesperson for survivors of sexual violence.” – Observer (UK) Jan 26, 2026 Full Review Unforgivable (2025) EDIT “A deft, intricate drama that dares to cut through hysteria and make viewers think. You can’t help but wonder if McGovern will be forgiven for that.” – Observer (UK) Oct 9, 2025 Full Review Mountainhead (2025) 74% EDIT “At its best, it delivers robust dissections of big ego masquerading as big humanity, of the philosophy-washing (“creative destruction”) of big-bucks greed and immorality. ” – Observer (UK) Oct 8, 2025 Full Review What They Found (2025) 4/5 EDIT “Mendes, who has Jewish ancestry, keeps the film raw, stripped back, allowing the footage of the camp and witness testimonies to own every charged, terrible moment.” – Observer (UK) Apr 15, 2025 Full Review Eternal You (2024) 90% 4/5 EDIT “If grief is a heartbreaking but necessary process, won’t this just stall it? One of the documentary’s experts sagely likens the technology to a proxy for religion and eternal life. It makes for a riveting but highly disturbing watch.” – Observer (UK) Nov 3, 2024 Full Review Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (2024) 88% 3/5 EDIT “It’s all so sincere and devoid of celebrity noise, it becomes touching. This is a no-frills tour doc made for the fans – and they will love it.” – Observer (UK) Oct 30, 2024 Full Review A Storm Foretold: Roger Stone and Die (2023) 100% 5/5 EDIT “At one point, Guldbrandsen is shown on CCTV suffering a cardiac arrest in the gym, seemingly induced by the myriad pressures of making the documentary. The result of his sacrifice is a jaw-drop of a watch.” – Observer (UK) Aug 12, 2024 Full Review Atomic People (2024) 100% 4/5 EDIT “While Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer sought to capture the crushing horror of causing mass death, Atomic People gives voice to those at the sharp end.” – Observer (UK) Aug 5, 2024 Full Review Four Hours at the Capitol (2021) 89% EDIT “Vivid and meticulous, Four Hours emerges as a cautionary tale about the might of the mob, with a pathetic sidebar of teargas-stained Maga hats kept as souvenirs.” – Observer (UK) Oct 27, 2021 Full Review Reclaiming Amy (2021) 92% EDIT “This, you felt, was about trying to salvage something of "their Amy" from the gilded wreckage of her public persona.” – Observer (UK) Jul 30, 2021 Full Review Together (2021) 71% EDIT “You believed McAvoy and Horgan as they dangled from their psycho-emotional barbed wire, torn, battered but somehow still together at the end.” – Observer (UK) Jun 28, 2021 Full Review Diana (2021) 80% EDIT “This was a valiant attempt to cast fresh light, with less obvious interviewees and material... Otherwise, this was largely standard Diana-fare, chiefly striking for how certain key moments have aged.” – Observer (UK) Jun 28, 2021 Full Review Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn (2021) EDIT “Sending and receiving intimate images is now part of the modern sexual landscape. McDermott is right. It's not about the images, it's about consent.” – Observer (UK) Mar 9, 2021 Full Review Max Clifford: The Fall of a Tabloid King (2021) EDIT “Clifford came across as a grandiose narcissist, and sad creep, who relished abusing his position and wielding power over others.” – Observer (UK) Mar 9, 2021 Full Review The Day Mountbatten Died (2019) 100% EDIT “Gruelling, affecting.” – Observer (UK) Aug 26, 2019 Full Review X2 (2003) 85% EDIT “X-Men 2 remains a decent enough sci-fi effort, which delivers on most of the levels fans could expect. Too bad it's hampered by a plot that wouldn't get green-lit for an average episode of Buffy.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review The Heart of Me (2002) 50% EDIT “How, one wonders, do movies like this still get made? Does everyone just turn up one day, and refuse to go home until a cameraman arrives?” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Anger Management (2003) 42% EDIT “What is fundamentally wrong with Anger Management is that, try as they might, the two stars have absolutely no comedic or dramatic chemistry together, and so eventually the audience gets slightly bored with them.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Dark Water (2002) 84% EDIT “It's flawed, but you should see Dark Water, a decent little chiller that brings a whole new meaning to rising damp.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Daddy Day Care (2003) 28% EDIT “Even allowing for genre limitations, this is a very bad movie indeed.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review The In-Laws (2003) 33% EDIT “What we are left with is a movie that carefully aims to be all-family entertainment, but you can't imagine any family member particularly wanting to watch it.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) 41% EDIT “The sequel to Charlie's Angels is a bit like being spritzed in the face with all the bad teenage perfume ever made.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Wrong Turn (2003) 40% EDIT “This could have been a half decent cross between a Romero zombie movie and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but in the end the gore is so ridiculously overdone and the script so lame, that it undermines all sense of suspense.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review Bruce Almighty (2003) 48% EDIT “There are enough goofball touches in Bruce Almighty to carry the movie to a certain extent... However, when the time comes for Bruce to "share and learn", the effect is trite and embarrassing.” – The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018 Full Review
No Reviews Yet
Load More