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Beyond Hollywood

Beyond Hollywood is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Brian Holcomb.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Che: Part One (2008) Brian Holcomb Formally, it demonstrates the power of the aspect ratio in deciding our relationship to the story. Dramatically, the film is at once fascinating and completely annoying
Posted Dec 22, 2008  Edit critic review
The Black Dahlia (2006) Brian Holcomb DePalma is like a magician who dazzles us with a trick only to show us, alas, it really was only a trick, and in the meantime he's stolen our watch.
Posted Apr 26, 2008  Edit critic review
Street Kings (2008) Brian Holcomb Movies like "Street Kings" are sitting ducks in a shooting range for film critics who laugh all through the movie only to condemn it for being so damn entertaining.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
The Backwoods (2006) Brian Holcomb Lots of questions are left unanswered, like a movie you fell asleep watching on late night TV and were never able to find again.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Lady in the Water (2006) Brian Holcomb What is most annoying about "Lady" is that no one ever considers the possibility that nothing magical is actually occurring.The film starts out silly and just gets sillier.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Spring Break Shark Attack (2005) Brian Holcomb Amid the sound and fury of most TV, the filmmakers deserve credit for simply having sly fun with a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing more than what it promises.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Forbidden County (2007) Brian Holcomb The budget seems so charmingly low, you actually feel that after Bauer and Hastings share a bottle of wine they might have to pour it back into the bottle to reuse later.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
The Woods (2005) Brian Holcomb "The Woods" plays like a classic Lewton film of the '40's, where the emphasis was on telling a good yarn without much ado and wrapping it up in a tightly wound 70 minutes.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
The Grudge 2 (2006) Brian Holcomb Seven films later, with the conventions of throat croaking and neck cracking having moved into camp, it's amazing that Shimizu can still find new ways to turn the old screw.
Posted Apr 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Abominable (2006) Brian Holcomb To say that "Abominable" is the best movie ever to premiere on a basic cable channel is degrading both to the movie and to Bigfoot.
Posted Apr 19, 2008  Edit critic review
Bubble (2005) Brian Holcomb "Bubble" is paced very deliberately, like a slowly dripping faucet. Scenes do not seem to be performed, but rather captured like surveillance videos.
Posted Apr 19, 2008  Edit critic review
The Omen (2006) Brian Holcomb If you thought Van Sant's "Psycho" reshoot was weird, check this out. It's a community theater version of that old classic "The Omen", filled with all your favorite scenes.
Posted Apr 19, 2008  Edit critic review
Halloween (2007) Brian Holcomb Some may think it isn't fair to compare Zombie's film to the original. Too bad. It's called "Halloween" and I'm pretty sure it's a remake of a movie called "Halloween".
Posted Apr 19, 2008  Edit critic review
The Invasion (2007) Brian Holcomb This has to be the lamest alien invasion movie since the killer tomatoes attacked.
Posted Apr 19, 2008  Edit critic review
Hostel Part II (2007) Brian Holcomb The lasting effect of all three of Eli Roth's films is a certain kind of Grand Guignol "Punk'D", in which the "mark" is not only embarrassed, he's also cut to pieces.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Black Book (2006) Brian Holcomb A slick, thrilling, trashy, melodramatic and serialesque soap opera adventure which conceals the complex tale of moral ambiguity beneath.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Grindhouse (2007) Brian Holcomb A mediocre attempt to play with exploitation fire without getting burned. A pair of anti-septic fakes that miss the entire point of exploitation.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
The Lookout (2007) Brian Holcomb Most noirs are coming of age stories where an innocent learns how vicious and cruel the world can be. Only he usually learns it while a hunk of hot lead burns in his gut.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Messiah of Evil (1975) Brian Holcomb The entire film builds up a dreamlike tension and somnambulant paranoia unlike any film since Carl Dreyer's "Vampyr".
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Dead Silence (2007) Brian Holcomb "Dead Silence" is not going to reinvent the genre. It's actually a big pile of nonsense, but that doesn't stop it from being fun nonetheless.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Salvage (2006) Brian Holcomb A throwback to the salad days of regional horror filmmaking, when a Romero in Pittsburgh, or a Herk Harvey in Utah could create a movie that was not easily forgotten.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Casino Royale (2006) Brian Holcomb The last words onscreen read: "James Bond Will Return!" Of course he will. The difference is that for the first time in years, we actually want him back.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
The Return (2006) Brian Holcomb Built from spare parts left over by American remakes of Japanese copies of "Ringu", "The Return" is at least two steps removed from the first generation copy.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
The Departed (2006) Brian Holcomb Scorsese has made an incredible cover version of the original, imbued with every ounce of his artistic personality transforming it into something both familiar and new.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
Rescue Dawn (2007) Brian Holcomb At first glance, "Rescue Dawn" might seem like Herzog gone Hollywood, but it's still very much the man's work. Herzog has his cake and eats it too.
Posted Apr 18, 2008  Edit critic review
The Prestige (2006) Brian Holcomb "The Prestige" is a cinematic trick, nothing more, and the deadpan seriousness is part of the effect, and not an end in itself.
Posted Apr 17, 2008  Edit critic review
Inland Empire (2006) Brian Holcomb A crazy midnight roller coaster ride to Lynchland. A movie you might half dream through an all night marathon of noir and slasher films, your heart pumping with caffeine.
Posted Apr 13, 2008  Edit critic review
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Brian Holcomb Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham-Carter have made so many films together that they're starting to resemble each other.
Posted Apr 09, 2008  Edit critic review
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