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James Berardinelli

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

I was born in September 1967 in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey (USA). I started writing when I was about 9 years old, and suffered through the traumatic experience of reading chapters from my stories in front of my entire fourth grade class. However, although my "first love" was writing, too many tales of starving authors scared me off that path, so I decided to become an engineer instead. I attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 through 1990, obtaining both a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. Putting my education to use, I went to work for a company called Bellcore, which pays well enough for me to keep up the mortgage, maintain a home theater, finance film festival trips, and buy the 25-30 gallons of gasoline I need each week to attend screenings. As for my "film history"... As a child, I did not attend many movies. In fact, the first one I remember going to was JAWS, at a drive-in. During my junior high and high school years, I rarely ventured into a theater, but my interest in movies escalated while I was at college. In 1991, the year before I started reviewing, I saw about 30 films. The number jumped up to 180 in 1992, when I wrote capsule reviews for my own use. Starting in 1993, the year I "went public" on the Usenet newsgroups, I began seeing between 220 and 250 theatrical releases per year.

Publications:
Location:

New Jersey, US

Official Website:

http://www.reelviews.net

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Mercy (2026) 24% 1.5/4 EDIT “The biggest problem with Mercy, aside from its somnambulant pacing, is that the background and storyline are simply too thin. Aside from the hook of a man engaging in a real-time trial for his life, there's not much here.” – ReelViews Jan 23, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 92% 3/4 EDIT “The Bone Temple doesn't work entirely well as a stand-alone, but as part of a larger whole, it is a very good continuation of the ongoing tale. ” – ReelViews Jan 20, 2026 Full Review Train Dreams (2025) 95% 3.5/4 EDIT “Train Dreams is a lyrical film—a movie concerned more with emotional impact, nostalgia, and powerful imagery than rigid plotting. It is the kind of cinema where a state of reverie is not merely encouraged, but required.” – ReelViews Jan 15, 2026 Full Review No Other Choice (2025) 97% 3.5/4 EDIT “Park shows an almost uncanny ability to switch from tragedy to comedy at the flip of a coin, a tonal tightrope walk that few directors can manage. Lee Byung-hun anchors this madness with a performance of subtle gradations.” – ReelViews Jan 12, 2026 Full Review Primate (2025) 79% 3/4 EDIT “This is a solid horror film that delivers pretty much everything a fan could want or expect (especially considering that it’s January). It doesn’t feel fresh, but neither is it stale. ” – ReelViews Jan 12, 2026 Full Review Greenland 2: Migration (2026) 51% 2/4 EDIT “The special effects are solid and Waugh gives us the beginnings of an intriguing world order, but any genuinely interesting ideas are quickly shunted aside just so the poorly defined characters can trudge toward their pre-ordained conclusion.” – ReelViews Jan 12, 2026 Full Review Sentimental Value (2025) 97% 3.5/4 EDIT “Sentimental Value is serious without being oppressive. It succeeds as a character study because it treats its characters as people rather than symbols.” – ReelViews Dec 27, 2025 Full Review Marty Supreme (2025) 93% 3/4 EDIT “Driven by Chalamet’s fearless performance and a directorial style that refuses to blink, the film leaves an impression. It can be a challenging watch, but in the landscape of late-2025 cinema, it is electrifyingly alive.” – ReelViews Dec 27, 2025 Full Review The Housemaid (2025) 74% 2/4 EDIT “Made well, this sort of material has the potential for a deliciously lurid two hours. But Feig's lack of aptitude with the material results in a cheap and artificial product...” – ReelViews Dec 27, 2025 Full Review Song Sung Blue (2025) 78% 3/4 EDIT “...Song Sung Blue is a good story—heartwarming, uplifting, tear-jerking, and chock full of a beautiful noise.” – ReelViews Dec 19, 2025 Full Review Is This Thing On? (2025) 86% 3/4 EDIT “The best aspects of the film, aside from Arnett's performance, are the stand-up sequences. These have all the authenticity one might expect from someone getting his feet wet and having more than a few jokes fall completely flat. ” – ReelViews Dec 18, 2025 Full Review Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) 66% 3.5/4 EDIT “Fire and Ash is an experience unlike anything else released this year: immersive, exciting, and visually stunning.” – ReelViews Dec 18, 2025 Full Review Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) 92% 3/4 EDIT “Although Wake Up Dead Man isn't quite on the same level as its immediate predecessor, Glass Onion, or the progenitor of the series, Knives Out, it remains entertaining, if a little long. ” – ReelViews Dec 10, 2025 Full Review Rental Family (2025) 87% 3/4 EDIT “or viewers open to embrace the oddball premise—and willing to read more than a smattering of subtitles, since only about half the dialogue is in English—Rental Family offers roughly 105 minutes of solid, character-driven entertainment. ” – ReelViews Dec 3, 2025 Full Review Zootopia 2 (2025) 91% 3/4 EDIT “It’s an enjoyable diversion, working better as a family film than as something with the depth or complexity suitable for adult-primary entertainment. ” – ReelViews Dec 1, 2025 Full Review Eternity (2025) 77% 3.5/4 EDIT “Although unquestionably playing by the rom-com rulebook, it nevertheless wanders just enough off the beaten path to forge its own way. It's quirky, a little unpredictable, and never feels like warmed-over leftovers. ” – ReelViews Dec 1, 2025 Full Review Hamnet (2025) 86% 3/4 EDIT “Shakespeare scholars will likely find details to quibble over, but strict historical accuracy was never the film’s mission. Instead, Hamnet plays like a 1990s-style arthouse drama—one made for viewers with a general knowledge of Shakespeare...” – ReelViews Nov 24, 2025 Full Review Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025) 95% 3/4 EDIT “The experience isn’t as fresh as the original, but no one involved is phoning it in. The actors are committed, and Helander has staged some deliciously outlandish sequences that have to be seen to be believed.” – ReelViews Nov 24, 2025 Full Review Wicked: For Good (2025) 66% 2.5/4 EDIT “...those who love the play will sit enraptured through Wicked for Good and not think it’s a minute too long. Those without the same depth of connection may leave wishing Chu had hired a less generous editor and made better use of his pruning shears.” – ReelViews Nov 19, 2025 Full Review Nouvelle Vague (2025) 91% 3/4 EDIT “Although I didn’t find the film particularly noteworthy, I enjoyed visiting Paris in the late 1950s and appreciated the behind-the-scenes tour. ” – ReelViews Nov 17, 2025 Full Review Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025) 60% 1.5/4 EDIT “The word “dumb” doesn’t begin to cover how moronic this would-be caper is. From its incessant, excessive exposition to its cringe-worthy dialogue to its saccharine and ineffective dramatic beats, almost nothing works.” – ReelViews Nov 14, 2025 Full Review The Running Man (2025) 62% 2.5/4 EDIT “There really isn't much that feels new, and the film's themes about societal rot resulting from obsessive media consumption now seem almost dated because that's simply our reality.” – ReelViews Nov 14, 2025 Full Review Frankenstein (2025) 85% 3/4 EDIT “Del Toro's filmmaking instincts are solid and he makes this an engaging 150-minute journey, but when it was over, I never felt I had truly explored something fresh, and that was a mild disappointment.” – ReelViews Nov 10, 2025 Full Review Christy (2025) 67% 3/4 EDIT “It’s messy, painful, and deeply human, which makes it far more compelling than the average true-life sports drama.” – ReelViews Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Die My Love (2025) 74% 3/4 EDIT “Die My Love isn’t a movie one “enjoys.” It’s grueling, uneven, and occasionally pretentious—but it’s also riveting in its commitment. Ramsay’s commitment to discomfort is admirable, even if it borders on self-indulgence. ” – ReelViews Nov 7, 2025 Full Review
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