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Daniel Bayer

Daniel Bayer's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Biography:

Daniel Bayer has been in love with movies all his life, in love with the theater since he could sit still, and in love with tap dance since seeing Singin’ in the Rain at nine years old. A nationally-ranked dancer in his teens, his theater credits are many and varied, both behind and on the stage. He now spends his days as a non-profit database manager and the rest of his time seeing, writing about, and talking about movies and theater. He is a proud member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. You can find him on the AwardsWatch and Next Best Picture podcasts, and on Twitter @dancindanonfilm.

Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Regretting You (2025) 29% D+ EDIT “The only thing Regretting You is missing is a good case of amnesia, but perhaps that’s on the audience to provide for themselves, considering the amounts of liquor needed to survive this film.” – AwardsWatch Oct 22, 2025 Full Review The Choral (2025) 67% B EDIT “The storytelling beats of Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral may be overly familiar, but the restraint in the performances and direction make it comfort food cinema at its finest.” – AwardsWatch Sep 6, 2025 Full Review Disney's Snow White (2025) 39% C+ EDIT “Webb gets the job done with minimal muss and fuss, and whenever Zegler is onscreen, the film manages to conjure up some of that good old Disney magic.” – AwardsWatch Mar 19, 2025 Full Review Better Man (2024) 89% B EDIT “Better Man pretty much adheres to standard music biopic formula, because it’s a sad but true fact that Williams’s life hit all the standard rise-and-fall beats we’ve come to expect. ” – AwardsWatch Sep 18, 2024 Full Review Heretic (2024) 90% A- EDIT “Perfectly blending his undying charm with the dark side that has marked the latter half of his career, Grant sinks his teeth into the meaty role of Mr. Reed with the ferocity of a hungry tiger, always ready to pounce on anything the girls say.” – AwardsWatch Sep 10, 2024 Full Review On Swift Horses (2024) 53% C+ EDIT “Despite the film’s lack of sexual spark, the combined charisma of the performers can sometimes make the film feel more involving than it is.” – AwardsWatch Sep 9, 2024 Full Review Abigail (2024) 83% B- EDIT “Weir has the titular role, though, and she owns the film effortlessly. Equally believable as a frightened child and as a cunning, sadistic vampire, the young actress has the ability to turn her smile from friendly to creepy in a snap.” – AwardsWatch Apr 18, 2024 Full Review Smugglers (2023) 88% A- EDIT “Smugglers is as entertaining as they come, further proof that Bong Joon-ho was right: If you can get over the one-inch barrier of subtitles, you will find so much to love here.” – AwardsWatch Mar 12, 2024 Full Review Imaginary (2024) 25% C+ EDIT “For a film about imagination, it doesn’t have nearly enough of its own.” – AwardsWatch Mar 8, 2024 Full Review The Color Purple (2023) 81% B EDIT “Despite all the things working against the film’s success, however, the core of Walker’s story is so strong that it still basically works. The film may have the brightness and lushness of its namesake hue, but it lacks its full-bodied depth.” – AwardsWatch Dec 19, 2023 Full Review Dear Jassi (2023) 89% A- EDIT “In the hands of such a gifted storyteller as Tarsem, Dear Jassi transcends its genre, both as romance and as true-story tragedy. It’s also his most powerful film to date.” – AwardsWatch Sep 17, 2023 Full Review Poolman (2023) 24% B EDIT “Pine is a versatile comedian, as talented at taking pratfalls as he is at escalating emotions to comically absurd levels, and his sense of timing is flawless. ” – AwardsWatch Sep 13, 2023 Full Review One Life (2023) 91% B+ EDIT “One Life is a relatively simple story, told simply. Instead of that leading to something that is simply dull, however, it leads to something simply touching, one that will leave your face just as tear-stained as Winton’s own...” – AwardsWatch Sep 11, 2023 Full Review Dicks: The Musical (2023) 68% B EDIT “[Bowen] Yang is a hoot as the very pro-gay God, and Megan Thee Stallion is a ball of bad-bitch charisma in a supporting role as the twins’ boss – it’s impossible to look at anything else when she’s onscreen. ” – AwardsWatch Sep 9, 2023 Full Review Renfield (2023) 58% C+ EDIT “Whenever [Cage is] on screen Renfield is a deranged delight, but whenever he’s not, it mostly sags.” – AwardsWatch Apr 12, 2023 Full Review Cocaine Bear (2023) 65% B EDIT “It really only has one joke, and it’s right there in the title.” – AwardsWatch Feb 23, 2023 Full Review Stage Fright (2014) 37% EDIT “This Canadian indie is rough around the edges, but if you’re not on board by the end of the hilarious camp arrival song, then you will be by the time our kabuki-masked killer starts singing heavy metal...” – them. Oct 27, 2022 Full Review Stranger by the Lake (2013) 94% EDIT “Alain Guiraudie’s hypnotic film captures the hazy heat of summer and the naughty thrill...” – them. Oct 27, 2022 Full Review Psycho (1998) 40% EDIT “Van Sant knows what he’s doing with the source material. ” – them. Oct 27, 2022 Full Review The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) 94% EDIT “Its durability is in large part due to Wilde’s sneaky indictment of the repressive culture that forced Dorian to keep his true self hidden, locked away in a closet. ” – them. Oct 26, 2022 Full Review Mama's Boy (2022) 88% B- EDIT “The problem is that, in the film, this is all told in the most straightforward way possible, and mostly from the mouth of Black himself. This gives Mama’s Boy the perhaps unavoidable feel of a vanity project...” – AwardsWatch Oct 18, 2022 Full Review The Inspection (2022) 88% B EDIT “Bratton strikes a near-perfect tonal balance all the way through the film, finding the right scenes to play at a higher pitch and the right scenes to tone it down. ” – AwardsWatch Sep 12, 2022 Full Review
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