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Film Scouts

Film Scouts is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): David Sterritt, Eleanor Ringel Cater, Jason Gorber, Joe Leydon, Leslie Rigoulot, Lisa Nesselson.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
The Portrait of a Lady (1996) Leslie Rigoulot As director of Henry James' classic novel, [Campion] gives no true understanding of how the bold, independent Kidman is not someone that would be admired at that time for those qualities especially when she turns down suitors to do some globe trotting.
Posted Oct 26, 2018  Edit critic review
To Die For (1995) Eleanor Ringel Cater In this wickedly funny look at TV-spawned celebrity-obsession, Nicole Kidman gives a breakthrough performance as a psychopathic Jane Pauley wannabe.
Posted Oct 26, 2018  Edit critic review
D-
Ex Drummer (2007) Jason Gorber Ex Drummer is a mess of a film, a tawdry, bizarre tale that has enough visual style to set it apart, barely, from being a complete waste of several hours of your life.
Posted Sep 08, 2007  Edit critic review
A+
My Winnipeg (2007) Jason Gorber Part documentary, part autobiography, part psychotherapy, Maddin's smooth narration and pithy asides take us in his inimitable style on a journey through what he dubs "the coldest city in North America".
Posted Sep 08, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Jason Gorber With an almost aching restraint in the performances and storytelling, Assassination makes for a quite enjoyable film if you give yourself over to its pacing and style.
Posted Sep 08, 2007  Edit critic review
A+
No Country for Old Men (2007) Jason Gorber This is a film that pulls no punches - it's brutal, violent and at times perverse. It is almost sadistic in how it removes all sense of catharsis from the audience, yet does so with such grace and efficiency that you're constantly shaking your head in ama
Posted Sep 08, 2007  Edit critic review
A
Juno (2007) Jason Gorber It's a thinking person's teen flick, a feel-good film that earns its earnestness. It's got the-little-film-that-could spirit that could see it succeed like Little Miss Sunshine, but for my money it's the better of the two...
Posted Sep 07, 2007  Edit critic review
B
Michael Clayton (2007) Jason Gorber A story rich in ideas that doesn't blow valuable time proselytizing its message.
Posted Sep 07, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
Lust, Caution (2007) Jason Gorber It's a film to admire, but not an easy one to fall in love with.
Posted Sep 07, 2007  Edit critic review
C
The Brave One (2007) Jason Gorber In the end it's a film that doesn't know what it wants to be - on the one hand it's visceral entertainment (B-thriller?), and on the other hand it tries for some arch conservative, Reaganesque view of conflict resolution.
Posted Sep 07, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Chicken Rice War (2000) Jason Gorber The Montagues and Capulets are replaced by the Wong's and Chan's, as an age-old rivalry between two Chicken Rice sellers has dragged on for generations.
Posted Jun 25, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Satan (2006) Jason Gorber Kids-in-the-country vibe mixes teen horror with Deliverance
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
Lights in the Dusk (2006) Jason Gorber Another weird, frigid tale by Kaurismaki.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C+
Amazing Grace (2006) Jason Gorber While the subject matter is ripe for investigation, the film isn't quite up to the challenge.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
D+
Invisible Waves (2006) Jason Gorber The story of betrayal, poisoning, karaoke and manky cruise ships is often convoluted despite the deliberate pace.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Flirting (1990) Jason Gorber Animation is used here clearly to allow the story to be told with a certain amount of distance, yet the constant shift in tone and introduction of video elements keeps the film intensely unsettling.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
Tales of the Rat Fink (2006) Jason Gorber Bubble cars and air-brushed flames abound...Interesting and accessible.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
(undefined) Jason Gorber The classic reggae of the soundtrack (interspersed with MOR 70s schmaltz) keeps the film chugging along.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A+
Severance (2006) Jason Gorber A slasher film with a brain, cleverly constructed with strong performances and storyline....The Office meets Deliverance....
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006) Jason Gorber It's pretentious, arch, and often times ridiculous (as well as being philosophically incoherent, trying to sound smarter than it actually is), but it's in the end a lot of fun.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
Sharkwater (2006) Jason Gorber Pretty, if polemical look at Sharks, the illegal harvesting of fins, and one man's journey into radical activism.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C-
The Banquet (2006) Jason Gorber A beautiful, if incomprehensible and interminable film with fest-fav Zhang Zi-Yi.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
D-
Bonneville (2006) Jason Gorber This is Pablum masking as a tragi-comic chick flick, and should be avoided by all thinking people.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Black Book (2006) Jason Gorber Carice van Houten is an astonishing find, and if someone were on the ball she'd be world famous sooner rather than later.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
Breaking and Entering (2006) Jason Gorber A convoluted plot of break-ins, architectural redevelopment and mid-30s life crises mask a fairly standard tale of a love triangle.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C-
Remembering Arthur (2006) Jason Gorber Overly long, with stories that end up going nowhere, the filmmaker is clearly to close to the subject (his friend Arthur), and this eulogy does little but hold up his closest friends to scrutiny that is not sustainable.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Jason Gorber A film with vision...
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
D
Trapped Ashes (2006) Jason Gorber A horrible mess of horror movie cliches...
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Rescue Dawn (2007) Jason Gorber A very accomplished film, and Bale continues to impress with his craft.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
...So Goes the Nation (2006) Jason Gorber The star of the show is Paul Bagala, who in no uncertain terms points out the foibles of his own side's defeat.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
F
Copying Beethoven (2006) Jason Gorber A horrid mess of a film, only the music elevates it from being a total dud.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Shortbus (2006) Jason Gorber Incredibly sexy without being titilating, this is a very well crafted flick that deserves a bigger audience than it will inevitably receive.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Death of a President (2006) Jason Gorber The talking head interviews and other elements make for an intelligent analysis of our reactions and prejudices about such a situation. A must see.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
The Abandoned (2006) Jason Gorber A weird and wicked tale further emphasizing that you can never go home again, especially if you never lived at home in the first place
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B
Renaissance (2006) Jason Gorber The inky blacks and bright whites make for a really interesting, printed look that's unique...
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (2006) Jason Gorber It's a quirky mix of incompetent bureaucrats and small time gangsters trying to carve a life in the new Russia.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
The Fountain (2006) Jason Gorber It will no doubt find itself aging quite well, appreciated long after its (inevitably short) theatrical run.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A
Black Sheep (2006) Jason Gorber The film is fabulous, perfectly capturing the sense of silly horror while bloodying the meadows of NZ with gore.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B
For Your Consideration (2006) Jason Gorber While they do pull a few punches (to the detriment of the story), there are enough laughs and great performances to rescue the film from the dustbin.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C
Bunny Chow (2006) Jason Gorber The story puts the pot in "melting pot", as we watch these stoner dudes take a road trip to a festival in search of fame, fortune and laughs. It's got the trappings of a better film, but unfortunately the jokes land flat.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A+
Lake of Fire (2006) Jason Gorber This is the most impressive, most honest and most brutal account of the abortion issue I have ever seen. With breathtaking scope and access (shot over a 14 year period) Kaye has crafted a film that could easily be the subject of an ethics graduate course.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
Penelope (2006) Jason Gorber A sweet lollipop of a film, a fable told with charm and whimsy. It does get overly saccharine as it goes on, losing its shape and novelty as it clambers towards its (supremely unsurprising, and in many ways disappointing) conclusion.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) Jason Gorber A silly, generic teen slasher/stalker move with a twist!
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C+
All the King's Men (2006) Jason Gorber A "shouty" film... a bit too long, a bit heavy handed with the rhetoric.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C+
Catch a Fire (2006) Jason Gorber ...as the credits rolled, I did hope for more.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
C+
Time (2006) Jason Gorber With the raised expectations brought from his last films it's certainly a disappointment that Time doesn't rise to the level I hoped for.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B-
The Host (2006) Jason Gorber I was disappointed what started out as a very promising genre pic became weighted down by its own pretensions.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006) Jason Gorber The breadth of interviews was quite good, and the film goes to great pains to situate Lennon within the wider political framework of the day. Everyone from G. Gordon Liddy to Geraldo are trotted out to either decry or justify the treatment that the Nixon
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
A-
Brand Upon the Brain (2006) Jason Gorber The film is a bizarre mess of monster movie, teen detective novel and coming of age, cross-gendered romance film....one I am extremely pleased to have attended.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
B+
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) Jason Gorber A literate, literary film with a Hollywood high-concept hitch.
Posted Jun 21, 2007  Edit critic review
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