Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes
Publications list

MLive.com

Tomatometer-approved publication.

Prev Next
Rating Title | Year Author Quote
2/4
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) John Serba It aims for maximum impact, but is vaguely dissatisfying on both dramatic and spectacular levels.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Ready Player One (2018) John Serba Even though these heroes are simplistic... Spielberg makes sure their motives and goals are transparent, the force driving us breathlessly to the movie's climax.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Isle of Dogs (2018) John Serba Maybe when dogs become less doglike, especially through an esoteric lens like Anderson's, it compromises the unconditional loyalty we sense from the real thing.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Rampage (2018) John Serba To its credit, it doesn't take itself seriously, and when you need a movie to not take itself seriously, you cast Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as your lead.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
The Death of Stalin (2017) John Serba a ruthless livewire comedy... It tempts and teases the rigidly ideological portions of our minds to step into the light and laugh.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Love, Simon (2018) John Serba It's a funny movie, but not an uproarious one. It's not overstated or understated, but clearly and honestly stated, and anchored by strong performances from its young cast.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
A Wrinkle in Time (2018) John Serba There's a sense of deeper meaning in the movie that never crystallizes beyond its base emotional hooks.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
2/4
Red Sparrow (2018) John Serba It's quite the emotional journey, going from peering through our fingers to derisive chuckles.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Mute (2017) John Serba "Mute" is by no means unwatchable, but ultimately inspires us to re-watch the movies that inspired it.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Death Wish (2018) John Serba (The orignal 'Death Wish') at least illustrated the ugly internal and external consequences of such brutality. Eli Roth's remake... shows no such focus.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Annihilation (2018) John Serba A potent and suspenseful trek into heady sci-fi.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Black Panther (2018) John Serba It's truly elevating to watch "Black Panther" reveal itself as Marvel's most ambitious movie to date.
Posted Apr 19, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Hostiles (2017) John Serba Scott Cooper uses the Native American genocide as a springboard to show that aggression begets aggression, and only unity can transcend it. It's an obvious statement, but a noble one.
Posted Feb 16, 2018  Edit critic review
2/4
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) John Serba The movie's solid first and second acts fail to yield dividends, and the film crumbles into a confusing, poorly edited mess in the third.
Posted Feb 14, 2018  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Fifty Shades Freed (2018) John Serba We're officially witnessing the cultural denouement of a trilogy that, if my math is correct, adds up to roughly 150 shades of embarrassment.
Posted Feb 14, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Escanaba in da Moonlight (2000) Lorilee Craker Stamp is so funny as the dim bulb brother Remnar, and Cain's Reuben is hapless in a deer blind but wants a buck so badly you can truly relate to him and his quest.
Posted Jan 24, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Molly's Game (2017) John Serba Chastain is one of the day's heavyweight screen presences, capable of counterbalancing Sorkin's bulldozer storytelling methods with her charisma.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Darkest Hour (2017) John Serba Oldman's superlative work prohibits the movie from fading into the hedges like dozens of other dehydrated period pieces.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Greatest Showman (2017) John Serba Do not expect deep insight into (Barnum)... he surely deserves the statues built in his honor, and, even more surely, a better movie someday.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
4/4
The Shape of Water (2017) John Serba It is at the same time many things that came before it, and something altogether new. To experience it is to love it.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
2/4
Downsizing (2017) John Serba The movie is a scattershot collection of large-scale ideas framed by the irony of its premise, but never reaches its potential for satire or commentary.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
2/4
Wonder Wheel (2017) John Serba There are moments where Winslet's depth and charisma cuts through Ginny's jittery mannerisms and neuro-psycho-bric-a-brac, and we sense something real, but they're fleeting.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
4/4
The Post (2017) John Serba Spielberg's work is an expository blast of energy, a vital, vibrant and often humorous dramatization of the journalistic process.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
3.5/4
I, Tonya (2017) John Serba The movie (is structured) as purposefully corrupt, darkly comic storytelling, boldly bridging the vast gap between soapy trash and an Akira Kurosawa cinema classic.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Commuter (2018) John Serba I enjoyed it more than the recent reiteration of 'Murder on the Orient Express'... Given the option, I'd choo-choo-choose 'The Commuter' any day.
Posted Jan 15, 2018  Edit critic review
4/4
The Disaster Artist (2017) John Serba Please savor the irony that one of the worst movies ever made has inspired one of the best movies of 2017.
Posted Dec 13, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) John Serba The first half of the movie works in fits and starts, but Johnson makes up for it in the second, when the bundle of subplots intertwine tighter, and the narrative rockets forward, its action fleet of foot and tightly tied to its emotional highs.
Posted Dec 12, 2017  Edit critic review
3/4
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) John Serba McDonagh's "In Bruges" is one of the great cinematic works of the new century. "Three Billboards" doesn't come close, even though it traffics in similar crackling dialogue and tremendous performances.
Posted Dec 04, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Last Flag Flying (2017) John Serba Like Linklater's most significant work, "Last Flag Flying" is a heavyweight drama that's light on its feet.
Posted Dec 04, 2017  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) John Serba A goofy movie that feels relatively fresh, and freshness is a valuable commodity in a franchise that's now nine years and 17 movies deep.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Daddy's Home 2 (2017) John Serba A weird, misshapen conglomeration of innocuous juvenile yuks, politically incorrect humor and self-aware comedy punches aimed at the fourth wall.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Lucky (2017) John Serba It's bittersweet without being sentimental, striking a remarkable tonal balance which, I reckon, can be credited to Stanton.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
2/4
Justice League (2017) John Serba Where "Man of Steel" and "BvS" were like root canals, and "Suicide Squad" a brick in the face, and "Wonder Woman" a sweet, sweet rainbow, "Justice League" is merely a squandering of time and talent.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
2/4
Murder on the Orient Express (2017) John Serba Branagh embraces a corny, old-fashioned tone that should make it stand out at the modern cineplex, but he's disappointingly inconsistent in rendering the movie lively.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) John Serba I'm not certain exactly what Lanthimos is trying to say, but the language of his visuals and script is vigorous and confrontational.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
4/4
The Florida Project (2017) John Serba One of those films that makes you feel like you're eavesdropping on others' lives. It's raw and authentic, heartbreaking and funny, profoundly humane.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Coco (2017) John Serba It's no exaggeration to say it shows us things we've never seen before, something that happens so rarely in modern cinema.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) John Serba It's not all that ambitious, but it is upbeat and occasionally clever.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Suburbicon (2017) John Serba The movie spikes with broadly comic or grisly violent extremes, but smooths out for dull stretches, and is oddly deaf to the tones of its thematic ambitions.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Thank You for Your Service (2017) John Serba Cuts close to the bone, and never stoops to waving a flag for cheap sentiment.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
4/4
Lady Bird (2017) John Serba The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity.
Posted Nov 27, 2017  Edit critic review
1.5/4
The Snowman (2017) John Serba 'The Snowman' made me laugh when it probably shouldn't have.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Geostorm (2017) John Serba 'Geostorm' is exactly what we expect it to be: an aggressively mediocre display of expensive digital effects.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017) John Serba (Baumbach) pens parallel discordant comedic harmonies that sometimes come together, at the point where his characters, finally, at last, are talking about the same thing.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
American Made (2017) John Serba Cruise is terrific and entertaining, freewheeling and funny, and many years into his career, he still carries himself like one of Hollywood's top guns.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) John Serba A masterful progression from the original film.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3/4
Battle of the Sexes (2017) John Serba Stone's signature blend of breezy charm and deep empathy is so winning, it eclipses the screenplay's broader strokes, and the more heavily affected performances of her co-stars.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3/4
It (2017) John Serba The young cast's uniformly strong acting is a boon for "It" - they easily shift from comic to earnest, handling the raunchy bickering and heavy dramatic moments with equal conviction.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Brad's Status (2017) John Serba Stiller's performance is funny and substantive, a subtle portrait of middle-age, middle-class, white-guy anxiety existing somewhere between his best commercial comedy roles and prickly indies.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
3/4
Patti Cake$ (2017) John Serba Credit Danielle Macdonald for an emotionally authentic performance - one wrong turn, and she could be a caricature or, gulp, a Movie Character, fulfilling the screenplay's many familiar tropes.
Posted Oct 23, 2017  Edit critic review
Prev Next