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Michael Calleri

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

I have been reviewing movies in metropolitan Buffalo for three decades. I have written for weeklies as well as my current daily newspaper, the Niagara Gazette. I have been with the daily Niagara Gazette for almost six years. For ten years, I was the movie critic on the CBS television affiliate in Buffalo. I also currently appear on the radio doing a weekly review segment. I am a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. When not watching movies, I collect, study and write about art glass paperweights.

Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The Mastermind (2025) 90% EDIT “Josh O’Connor’s performance is exceptional and the production values are outstanding in "The Mastermind," a very good art heist movie. The mechanics of the planning and actual theft are delivered with an accomplished, albeit cleverly distanced, style.” – Niagara Gazette Jan 4, 2026 Full Review Jay Kelly (2025) 75% EDIT “The cast, from Clooney to the delightful extras, is exceptional. Beautiful Tuscan villages play themselves. "Jay Kelly" is an invaluable movie about feeling fulfilled by one’s accomplishments and how to come to terms with any regrets.” – Niagara Gazette Dec 27, 2025 Full Review Marty Supreme (2025) 93% EDIT “The exhilarating movie races through its phases of determination, disappointment, hope, redemption, and retribution with ceaseless energy. What’s especially terrific about the film is how it maintains its surprises and holds the audience’s interest.” – Niagara Gazette Dec 27, 2025 Full Review Train Dreams (2025) 95% EDIT “The remarkable film reveals itself to be about the power and goodness of which humankind is capable. Bentley and Kwedar have written a wonderfully acted, beautifully photographed ode to the possibilities of America.” – Niagara Gazette Dec 27, 2025 Full Review Bugonia (2025) 88% EDIT “It’s a darkly comic thriller rooted in the cinema of the absurd. Some visual moments are nerve-wracking, some are strangely lyrical. A hint of danger is all-pervasive. The crackling dialogue offers a sense of menace that you don’t find in most thrillers. ” – Niagara Gazette Nov 28, 2025 Full Review Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) 61% EDIT “We are submerged in soggy cliches about a musician’s life. The familiar tropes keep on coming. White, Strong, and the supporting players are good, but everyone is mostly in service to a flat film that ultimately feels dull and derivative.” – Niagara Gazette Nov 28, 2025 Full Review Blue Moon (2025) 90% EDIT “"Blue Moon" is a scintillating movie about creativity, friendship, and romance. It’s filled with huge egos, delightful gossip, and fierce name-dropping. The smartly structured story is told at a party at Sardi’s, and it comes together perfectly.” – Niagara Gazette Nov 28, 2025 Full Review Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) 92% EDIT “The fun is in the build-up, which allows the audience to choose the villain, and showcases Blanc’s classic spin of the verbal wheel when he reveals all. One of the pleasures of watching the film is admiring his cleverness. ” – Niagara Gazette Nov 28, 2025 Full Review Barry Lyndon (1975) 78% EDIT “The film’s beautiful Academy Award-winning cinematography still retains its power to dazzle an audience. The scenes lit with candlelight are breathtaking, proving once again the director’s genius at revealing small truths with optical excellence.” – Niagara Gazette Nov 2, 2025 Full Review A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE (2025) 75% EDIT “Bigelow and Oppenheim have constructed a real-time thriller, which is tense, taut, and occasionally terrifying. If there is a single word to describe the director’s keen-eyed approach to the material, it’s that she is extraordinarily efficient.” – Niagara Gazette Nov 2, 2025 Full Review Frankenstein (2025) 85% EDIT “A thrilling work of entertainment with a grandeur that is mesmerizing. Victor is the quintessential mad scientist, and this new characterization is fresh and invigorating. Del Toro is a visionary filmmaker, who triumphantly delivers a movie for grown-ups.” – Niagara Gazette Nov 2, 2025 Full Review The Roses (2025) 64% EDIT “As much as I usually like Colman and Cumberbatch, sadistic sight gags do not make for a successful comedy, even one involving a battle of the sexes. The movie runs only 105 minutes, but it feels much longer. “The Roses” wilts before your very eyes.” – Niagara Gazette Oct 16, 2025 Full Review Caught Stealing (2025) 85% EDIT ““Caught Stealing” held my undivided attention throughout. A terrific Austin Butler gives his all. There is also a superb supporting cast that includes Tonic, a very talented cat. He is excellent as Bud, who is a film-length delight. ” – Niagara Gazette Oct 16, 2025 Full Review Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) 91% EDIT “American audiences have long proven that they draw immense pleasure from watching wealthy Brits go about their well-heeled business. This is a comedy that respects its characters and is willing to honor traditions. There is a lot going on in this edition.” – Niagara Gazette Oct 16, 2025 Full Review One Battle After Another (2025) 94% EDIT “Anderson establishes that he doesn’t fear delivering a fiercely paced story. The acting by all is superb, and DiCaprio, as Anderson’s guiding light, is so good, he is now untouchable as a talent. ” – Niagara Gazette Oct 16, 2025 Full Review The Day of the Jackal (1973) 91% EDIT “It may be fiction, but Fred Zinnemann’s “The Day Of The Jackal” feels like a great documentary. The masterful movie proceeds with the precision of a Swiss watch. There is a terrific cinematic beauty to the film’s foundational realism. ” – Niagara Gazette Jul 21, 2025 Full Review Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) 50% EDIT ““Jurassic World Rebirth” doesn’t live up to its title. Although the three leads’ acting is good, the best that could have been done regarding the film wasn’t carried out. This is unfortunate because it’s a long slog to the ultimate goal of the picture.” – Niagara Gazette Jul 21, 2025 Full Review Superman (2025) 83% EDIT “This “Superman” unreels as a parody of the superhero genre. There is no magic in the new version. There is a lot of irreverence and far too much fudging of past realities that made the character interesting. Superman is no longer a moral avatar. ” – Niagara Gazette Jul 21, 2025 Full Review Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) 80% EDIT “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” is a good summer action movie, although most assuredly not a great one. Too often, it inches forward in fits and starts. Two extended, attention-getting action set-pieces absolutely do stand out. ” – Niagara Gazette Jun 12, 2025 Full Review The Phoenician Scheme (2025) 77% EDIT ““The Phoenician Scheme” doesn’t deliver on its promise. It’s a sketch show lacking energy. Sometimes when watching a weak movie, you will still understand why the director wanted to make it. I don’t know what appealed to Anderson about his latest effort. ” – Niagara Gazette Jun 12, 2025 Full Review Nosferatu (2024) 85% EDIT “Robert Eggers earns a much-deserved crown of greatness for his brilliantly directed and superbly acted film. It sets a new standard for the genre. This visual and kinetic haunted masterpiece of the moviegoing year is the greatest horror movie I’ve seen. ” – Niagara Gazette Jun 6, 2025 Full Review Queer (2024) 77% EDIT “Queer” is a film about solitude, self-knowledge and searching. Luca Guadagnino and Justin Kuritzkes, working with their remarkable cast and production team, have created a motion picture that is utterly unique in the best possible way.” – Niagara Gazette Jun 6, 2025 Full Review The Friend (2024) 84% EDIT “Ultimately, “The Friend” is an engaging examination of mutual support and the act of making beneficial changes to one’s life. Naomi Watts leads a superior troupe of performers. Apollo is played by a dog actor named Bing, and he’s terrific. ” – Niagara Gazette Jun 6, 2025 Full Review The Alto Knights (2025) 40% EDIT “Robert De Niro is one of the greatest screen actors of all time, and at 81 years old, he delivers a tour de force performance, which elevates what director Barry Levinson accomplishes with this well-written fast-paced film.” – Niagara Gazette Jun 6, 2025 Full Review The Amateur (2025) 62% EDIT “With its intelligent direction and smart script, as well as sharp editing by Jonathan Amos, perfect music, and wonderfully atmospheric cinematography, the well-acted “The Amateur” is as tense and believable as a successful spy movie should be.” – Niagara Gazette Jun 6, 2025 Full Review
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