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The Script Lab

The Script Lab is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Nguyên Lê, Valerie Kalfrin.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Valerie Kalfrin The cinematography, editing, and sound pack a surprising amount of suspense, no small feat considering audiences know the outcome.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
Passengers (2016) Valerie Kalfrin The considerable charisma and chemistry of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence keep the sci-fi adventure Passengers afloat, even if the script easily fixes its most fascinating problems.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
La La Land (2016) Valerie Kalfrin [Stone and Gosling] might not have the fancy footwork of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but they're radiant together nonetheless, zinging through their rapport as well as their steps.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
Captain America: Civil War (2016) Valerie Kalfrin It's also packed with stellar action sequences, flashes of humor, and chemistry among the characters that are sheer fun to watch.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Valerie Kalfrin [Keanu] Reeves's Zen-like cool serves him well here. He's like an athlete resorting to muscle memory, lethal and lightning quick as he automatically falls into what he's done best.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Valerie Kalfrin It's a wonderfully rollicking adventure populated with beloved, familiar characters and intriguing new ones, all with earnest performances and striking chemistry.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
Spotlight (2015) Valerie Kalfrin The script... is a marvel of conveying a dense amount of information and characterization with intelligence, grace, and a surprising amount of tension.
Posted Jan 14, 2020  Edit critic review
xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017) Nguyên Lê It's strange to see Cage here ... parading around in action sequences that feels so detached from the franchise's roots.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) Nguyên Lê We're taken it upon ourselves to warn travelers that this hotel has become the sort of soulless castle Dracula fears.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Crimson Peak (2015) Nguyên Lê Gorgeous, if unsurprising, waltz of crime and blood courtesy of Guillermo del Toro.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Passengers (2016) Nguyên Lê There is a rush to get to Imagine Dragons' new song and the accompanying nebula-laden credits.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
The Finest Hours (2016) Nguyên Lê Like the sea itself, [the film] is uneven and choppy at certain points, and it's at its worst when it's ashore ... Even the direction seems eager to get to the ocean.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) Nguyên Lê The film could have been more, given the talent involved, but tough it is to control a ship with a poorly-designed rudder.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Brooklyn (2015) Nguyên Lê An ode to homesickness and longing that also serves as an essential destination for theater-goers this Holiday season.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
The Jungle Book (2016) Nguyên Lê A jungle that honors Kipling's work (and Disney's adaptation) to the fullest extent and translates it into the most visually lush film of 2016 so far.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Logan (2017) Nguyên Lê Bless director James Mangold and crew ... [for understanding that] for Logan's journey to end on an appropriately high note, all leashes must be taken off.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Kong: Skull Island (2017) Nguyên Lê With a banquet of beasts, stylish beasts-versus-humans set pieces and gruesome deaths on both sides, Kong: Skull Island is a creature feature hell bent on thrilling its audience.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Goodnight Mommy (2014) Nguyên Lê The experience is slow, but every dose of discomfort will seep into your skin.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Chi-Raq (2015) Nguyên Lê By seemingly sidelining narrative coherence to bring forth its themes, the film offers an experience that is both special and irritating (and often at the same time).
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
A Cure for Wellness (2016) Nguyên Lê In spite of the self-indulgent length, audiences are unlikely to find themselves dozing off - not when Verbinski is serving the imagery.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) Nguyên Lê [An] exercise that revels in thwarting expectations and turning knuckles white.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
The Red Turtle (2016) Nguyên Lê The finest love letter imaginable to what is quickly becoming an obsolete art.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Silence (2016) Nguyên Lê It's through this simplicity that depictions of love for Jesus ... subtly stir while the shoguns' brutality ties knots in stomachs.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Big Eyes (2014) Nguyên Lê Margaret [Keane] might have experienced her awakening, but those expecting for Tim Burton's have to wait for the next round.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Foxcatcher (2014) Nguyên Lê As with the approach settled on by Miller, the writers and the performers, the fancy and the high-strung have no place in Foxcatcher. Just raw, as is, cold served style.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Southpaw (2015) Nguyên Lê There's a heavy suggestion that a list with every cliché of sports dramas and personal dramas might have been within arm's reach at all times.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Jurassic World (2015) Nguyên Lê To realize that [Jurassic Park] has humans interacting with dinosaurs and [this] is all about the creatures, one can't help feeling rather incomplete despite being constantly entertained.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Jupiter Ascending (2015) Nguyên Lê This is a crash landing of the most mesmerizing kind.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Into the Woods (2014) Nguyên Lê After an hour or so being spoiled by the light-speed storytelling when we go through the tales, the film drags a little bit.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Maggie (2015) Nguyên Lê Maggie has the necessary ingredients to draw itself away from being a typical undead outing, but they turn out to be the very thing that wounds it.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Spy (2015) Nguyên Lê Bond, Bourne, Hunt and Bauer, time to back off and watch out.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Run All Night (2015) Nguyên Lê Think of Run All Night as an average prime-time boxing match: two recognizable fighters, an elaborate venue, but not all that exciting fighting.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) Nguyên Lê The material might be fantastical, yet due to the universal themes of womanhood and true happiness, Princess Kaguya's story is exceptionally grounded.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
A Most Violent Year (2014) Nguyên Lê Though this classily directed and compellingly acted film won't be everyone's cup of tea, what it's trying to communicate about success ... is definitely worth thinking about.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Predestination (2014) Nguyên Lê In a way, Snook is the heart of Predestination... and by the time the film ends, you'll realize it is a strong and beautiful one.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Freetown (2015) Nguyên Lê As a film with a religious message, Freetown scores. As a film, this genuine effort has a few rough edges.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Dope (2015) Nguyên Lê A coming-of-age tale as vibrant and whimsical as it is overstuffed and fragmented.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
No Good Deed (2014) Nguyên Lê The film doesn't even deserve the title 'poor man's Panic Room.' As for the twist - really, that is the surprise Screen Gems is withholding?
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
As Above, So Below (2014) Nguyên Lê Dowdle has the skills to bring the best out of an enclosed setting à la Neil Marshall's fantastic The Descent. Shame the similarities end there.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Hercules (2014) Nguyên Lê If you really do have a choice, read up the Greek mythology.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Snowpiercer (2013) Nguyên Lê The right ticket to spend on is the one that will get you onto a train, this train. All aboard!
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Fury (2014) Nguyên Lê Fury displays bravery and an unyielding attitude towards being an excellent war film - but certain drawbacks park it at some miles away from its destination.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) Nguyên Lê Controversy and constant déjà-vus aside, the latest telling sure is gorgeous but can leave you feeling empty. Might be acceptable, if all you need is pretty sights.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
The Possession of Michael King (2014) Nguyên Lê If it isn't the love child of Paranormal Activity and The Last Exorcism! On paper it's interesting, but the end result is anything but.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Into the Storm (2014) Nguyên Lê Like tornadoes themselves, the next 89 minutes is jaw-dropping to look at but there's nothing but mess within.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) Nguyên Lê Lawrence Block's novel [adaptation] is the most layered and poetic journey for Neeson's tough-guy persona yet, too bad some rough spots have to be there to trip his steps.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Nguyên Lê With better projects in the future - not another Need for Speed or the studio-botched Robocop remake - I'd say Birdman is the start of a "Keatonaissance."
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Annabelle (2014) Nguyên Lê What could have been a companion piece to The Conjuring is instead a yawn-inducing show.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Boyhood (2014) Nguyên Lê Boyhood may be about Mason's life, but it's also telling mine, and perhaps yours too; it may revolve around a boy, but no child, or adult, is excluded.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
Ouija (2014) Nguyên Lê Don't wait for the planchette to move, form questions or play it - go ahead and burn the damn thing.
Posted Oct 10, 2018  Edit critic review
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