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Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Jeffrey Westhoff.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Misery (1990) Jeffrey Westhoff The result is a film both unnerving and thought-provoking. It's what a horror film ought to be.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
True Lies (1994) Jeffrey Westhoff All the thrills and stunt work can't erase the indignities Cameron puts Curtis through.
Posted Dec 10, 2025  Edit critic review
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Jeffrey Westhoff This is the "Gone With the Wind" of action films; it's Indiana Jones on amphetamines.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Casper (1995) Jeffrey Westhoff With a skillful balance of wit, action and pathos, "Casper" succeeds where "The Flintstones" failed. Forgive the pun, but "Casper" fleshes out the friendly ghost, brining new emotional strength to an old cartoon character.
Posted Sep 30, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Requiem for a Dream (2000) Jeffrey Westhoff [By the end of the film,] all [Darren Aronofsky] can do is hammer the audience with his characters' pain orchestrating a crescendo of desperation that mistakes sadism for art.
Posted Aug 22, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Babe (1995) Jeffrey Westhoff "Babe" imaginatively brings a storybook world to life with a memorable barnyard cast and a script that is equally smart, funny, and inspiring.
Posted Jul 29, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Jeffrey Westhoff The Lost World may be T. rex redux, but not all the thrills are gone. Not while raptors find blundering scientists so appetizing.
Posted Jun 30, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Final Destination (2000) Jeffrey Westhoff The film has an intelligence and reflectiveness atypical for the genre.
Posted May 22, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Mission: Impossible II (2000) Jeffrey Westhoff If the first Mission: Impossible was confusing because the plot moved too fast, this one is confusing because the plot hardly moves.
Posted May 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Mission: Impossible (1996) Jeffrey Westhoff After an hour or so, DePalma's icily precise control of his images and the beautifully fog-shrouded Prague locations no longer can cover up the lack of a coherent story.
Posted May 06, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Jeffrey Westhoff This special edition boasts a soundtrack worthy of a place in an aural hall of fame. John Williams' famous score, an epic in itself, echoes into your soul.
Posted Apr 22, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Jeffrey Westhoff "The Phantom Menace" doesn't rank with "Star Wars" or "The Empire Strikes Back," but it is less of a disappointment than "Return of the Jedi." The brisk story is fun and the sights are always wonderful.
Posted Apr 16, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Scream 3 (2000) Jeffrey Westhoff Scream 3 is certainly entertaining, but for all the talk that "all bets are off" in a trilogy's final part, it sticks surprisingly close to the rules the first two films delighted in breaking.
Posted Feb 20, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Scream 2 (1997) Jeffrey Westhoff The most impressive thing about Scream 2 is that Craven and Williamson reach into the same bag of tricks and pull out a film even more clever than Scream.
Posted Feb 06, 2025  Edit critic review
The Lion King (1994) Jeffrey Westhoff The true reason to see The Lion King is the awe-inspiring animation. So lifelike and yet so expressive, it defies description.
Posted Dec 19, 2024  Edit critic review
3.5/4
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Jeffrey Westhoff Disney's most powerful animated film since Bambi. Add a dose of the dash and sass that made Aladdin soar and you have a film that 20 years from now should be considered an authentic masterpiece.
Posted Dec 18, 2024  Edit critic review
Beauty and the Beast (1991) Jeffrey Westhoff While Beauty and the Beast is a fine holiday diversion, it hardly ranks among the pantheon of Disney's finest animated features. It's much better than, say, The Aristocats, but it's no Pinocchio, either.
Posted Dec 16, 2024  Edit critic review
3/4
Scream (1996) Jeffrey Westhoff Scream doesn't get too complicated, which is as much a weakness as a strength.
Posted Oct 15, 2024  Edit critic review
3/4
Alien Resurrection (1997) Jeffrey Westhoff Teamed again with cinematographer Darius Khondji, Jeunet finds a perfect home in the dark, dank Alien universe.
Posted Aug 06, 2024  Edit critic review
3/4
Twister (1996) Jeffrey Westhoff This is a summer movie, and the thrill is the thing. Twister delivers those at a windspeed of 250 mph.
Posted Jul 16, 2024  Edit critic review
Seven (1995) Jeffrey Westhoff A spectacular piece of cinema -- a vision of evil triumphant, distilled into deadly psychic poison by a world that is itself corrupt and fallen. After Alien 3, Fincher shows himself a real artist of the medium.
Posted Mar 29, 2024  Edit critic review
3/4
Quiz Show (1994) Jeffrey Westhoff Redford, known as an actor's director, draws remarkable performances from his cast. With ice-blue eyes that seem to gaze into another dimension, Fiennes creates a strong emotional core for this tale of ethical dilemmas.
Posted Feb 10, 2024  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Heat (1995) Jeffrey Westhoff It may sound cynical for an action film to condemn violence, but Mann gets away with it. Heat is a powerful, fine film. It's just too much of one.
Posted Dec 19, 2023  Edit critic review
3/4
Moulin Rouge (2001) Jeffrey Westhoff Moulin Rouge is a one-of-a-kind experiment, a glamorous old Hollywood musical seen through an MTV lens. The opening material is bravura, but the fun fades before the final note.
Posted Sep 05, 2023  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Magnolia (1999) Jeffrey Westhoff Though it can be enjoyed on many levels, Magnolia is foremost an exhibition in great acting.
Posted Jul 14, 2023  Edit critic review
Patriot Games (1992) Jeffrey Westhoff Ford simply fails to command the film as he usually does. Unsure where to take the character, Ford performs very much like an understudy called in to take over for the star in the second act.
Posted Jun 06, 2023  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Godzilla (1998) Jeffrey Westhoff All at once, Godzilla becomes Jurassic Park 3 and Alien 5 with a dash of Scooby-Doo. The one thing it doesn't resemble is a Godzilla movie.
Posted Feb 14, 2023  Edit critic review
3.5/4
The Big Lebowski (1998) Jeffrey Westhoff What makes The Big Lebowski great is the sheer insanity of its drive. The disconnected parts come together as a hilarious whole, cemented by Bridges' loopy, stuck-in-the-'70s performance.
Posted Jan 19, 2023  Edit critic review
3/4
Titanic (1997) Jeffrey Westhoff Titanic contains moments so astounding they deserve to be seen. And to DiCaprio and Winslet's credit, they outshine their material. But before Titanic delivers the goods, be prepared to tread a lot of water.
Posted Mar 17, 2022  Edit critic review
3/4
Beloved (1998) Jeffrey Westhoff This is a horror movie that means something. This is Sophie's Choice blended with The Exorcist.
Posted Feb 02, 2022  Edit critic review
3/4
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) Jeffrey Westhoff Walter Mosely's character Easy Rawlins survives the transition from page to screen in Devil in a Blue Dress, thanks largely to the perfect casting of Denzel Washington.
Posted Oct 20, 2021  Edit critic review
3/4
The Wolverine (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff Even if 'The Wolverine' ultimately can't avoid its comic book roots, the movie is still powered by the morose soul of Jackman's performance.
Posted Jul 25, 2013  Edit critic review
2/4
Red 2 (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The sight of Helen Mirren wearing an evening dress and combat boots may be funny once. Try to build a second movie around such gags, though, and it quickly becomes apparent they weren't exactly riotous in the first place.
Posted Jul 18, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Pacific Rim (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The deliriously demented 1960s Japanese show 'Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot' proves to be a stronger influence on 'Pacific Rim' than any Godzilla movie.
Posted Jul 11, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Despicable Me 2 (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff Almost as much fun as the riotous original.
Posted Jul 02, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
The Heat (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff So outrageously funny it makes up for a disappointing third act.
Posted Jun 27, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Monsters University (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The only reason to be disappointed with 'Monsters University' is that Pixar used to be capable of so much more
Posted Jun 21, 2013  Edit critic review
2/4
Man of Steel (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff Oh Superman, what did you do to deserve Zack Snyder?
Posted Jun 12, 2013  Edit critic review
1.5/4
The Internship (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The Google logo appears so often you shouldn't have to pay to see this movie. Google should pay you.
Posted Jun 09, 2013  Edit critic review
2.5/4
After Earth (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff At least Shyamalan has clawed his way from terrible back to so-so.
Posted May 30, 2013  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff This series keeps chugging away on a sly attitude. Although the cast plays every scene with straight faces, it becomes increasingly obvious the actors know these films are a load of malarkey.
Posted May 24, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
The Great Gatsby (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff As the warning goes, Luhrmann's 'Gatsby' is no substitute for the novel, but it is way more entertaining than reading the CliffsNotes.
Posted May 09, 2013  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Iron Man 3 (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff "Iron Man 3' has a different feel from its predecessors, and that makes it as surprising as it is exuberant.
Posted May 01, 2013  Edit critic review
2/4
Pain & Gain (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff 'Pain & Gain' is still a bad movie. It's just not the same bad movie Bay has been making for the past 15 years, and that has to count for something.
Posted Apr 25, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Oblivion (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The ending is overlong and disappointing, but for an impressive stretch of time 'Oblivion' is a wonder to behold.
Posted Apr 19, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
42 (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff It's in the details and the performances that '42' rises above a script that tends to be too calculated and academic and a tone too indebted to 'The Natural.'
Posted Apr 12, 2013  Edit critic review
1.5/4
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff In the end, the heroes collect their medals and smile as if good has triumphed over evil, not sparing a thought to the allied nation across the ocean whose people will be grieving for decades to come.
Posted Mar 28, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Admission (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff Once Weitz makes up his mind, 'Admission' finds its voice as a drama in time to reach a satisfying conclusion.
Posted Mar 22, 2013  Edit critic review
2/4
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff The 'Burt Wonderstone' script is credited to Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who took on the arduous task of going through the 'Talledega Nights' script, crossing out all references to NASCAR and replacing them with references to magic.
Posted Mar 16, 2013  Edit critic review
3/4
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) Jeffrey Westhoff Raimi's prequel is a beautiful diversion, a colorful and clever homage to perhaps the most loved film of all time. But for all the technical wizardry that goes into it, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' does not live up to its adjectives.
Posted Mar 07, 2013  Edit critic review
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