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John R. McEwen
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Someone Like You (2001) |
I don't use the word "tripe" very often. But for some reason, during most of the running length of Tony Goldwyn's sappy romantic comedy Someone Like You, that word kept running through my mind. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Oct 30, 2018
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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) |
For the 6th time in a row, George Lucas has done it again. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jun 25, 2005
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Ocean's Twelve (2004) |
Jeez, this seems like a lot of talent for such a so-so movie. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Dec 16, 2004
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I Heart Huckabees (2004) |
This movie is definitely geared toward blue-staters. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Dec 07, 2004
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The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) |
The first half hour is unequivocally hysterical...[but] there's no doubt that for those of us over 12, the appearance of the closing credits is not an unwelcome sight. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 23, 2004
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The Polar Express (2004) |
While the scenic visuals are incredible... the character animation, presumably intended to be realistic and yet have a storybook feel, is at times somewhat creepy. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 18, 2004
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The Incredibles (2004) |
A hilariously fun romp through the everyday lives of comic-book superheroes. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 11, 2004
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Shark Tale (2004) |
...not exactly original, not terribly witty, and definitely not adult-oriented. But it's still a good movie. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Oct 20, 2004
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Spider-Man 2 (2004) |
Go, Tobey, go! - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jul 22, 2004
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I, Robot (2004) |
Maybe we should start having robots write movie scripts. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jul 20, 2004
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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) |
Let me make it simple: IT IS THE CIVIC DUTY OF EVERY ADULT AMERICAN TO SEE THIS FILM. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jul 07, 2004
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The Terminal (2004) |
I think I'll go watch Saving Private Ryan. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jun 23, 2004
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) |
Cuarn has imbued this film with his own style and dramatically changed the look and feel of the Potter universe...which I see as a marked improvement. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jun 10, 2004
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The Day After Tomorrow (2004) |
- Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jun 04, 2004
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Shrek 2 (2004) |
...it is a rewarding experience just to play "spot the hilarious movie reference" even if you don't care about the exploits of Shrek et al. But you do care. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted May 27, 2004
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Troy (2004) |
This movie makes it look like there haven't been any advances in dialogue and acting technique since Charlton Heston's day. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted May 20, 2004
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The Cooler (2003) |
Macy performs this familiar role as adroitly as ever...but [doesn't] exactly break any new ground. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Apr 08, 2004
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21 Grams (2003) |
21 Grams...is intelligent, well-written, and told with a unique style, and it features some of the best acting presently available. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Mar 31, 2004
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Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003) |
Webber's film drips with art, but it doesn't exactly inspire deeply felt emotion. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Mar 18, 2004
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In America (2002) |
In America is another gem from this great Irish director, and it deserves to be seen no matter what country you're from. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Mar 11, 2004
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Seabiscuit (2003) |
One of those real-life dramas that seems to be tailor-made for the silver screen. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Mar 06, 2004
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The Passion of the Christ (2004) |
...up there with the greatest films of the genre, [although] the director's approach may be somewhat excessive in terms of violence. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 26, 2004
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Monster (2003) |
Theron's attitude, her walk, her body language are totally different from anything she's done before... [this is] an acting tour-de-force. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 19, 2004
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Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) |
...succeeds adequately enough at the lower expectations it establishes. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 12, 2004
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) |
...Full of colorful visuals, amazing special effects, and plenty of silly fun for the whole family. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 10, 2004
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House of Sand and Fog (2003) |
[A] mixture of excellent acting and inept storytelling, with plot elements that contradict, characters that are difficult to like, and dialogue that is sometimes unrealistic. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 05, 2004
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Lost in Translation (2003) |
Coppola somehow gets to the essence of human wanting with an amazing efficiency of style. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Feb 02, 2004
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Calendar Girls (2003) |
Mirren again shows us why she is still able to obtain leading vehicles at age 58. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jan 28, 2004
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Cold Mountain (2003) |
Cold Mountain is an engaging story ... It is unfortunate that it occasionally takes itself too seriously for its own good. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jan 21, 2004
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Big Fish (2003) |
Big Fish is the cinematic equivalent of a big fish story-fun, entertaining, too crazy to be true, and all the more enjoyable for it. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jan 14, 2004
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Peter Pan (2003) |
The film is most enjoyable in that setting, of course; Hogan's treatment of Never Land is fairly bursting with wonder and magic. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jan 10, 2004
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) |
Jackson and his company have set the bar so high for 21st-century filmmaking, it may be another millennium before it is surpassed. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Dec 23, 2003
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Something's Gotta Give (2003) |
I have loved Jack and Diane in so many things I've seen them in, I hate to admit I don't love them in this. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Dec 17, 2003
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) |
...A good seafaring yarn, not romanticized like the cartoons or summer action pictures, but simply told with honesty and verisimilitude, the way it really must have happened. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Dec 04, 2003
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Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (2003) |
To paraphrase Woody Allen, if Dr. Seuss were alive to see this production, he would never stop throwing up. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 24, 2003
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Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) |
I take issue with the whole concept of humans interacting with these characters. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 19, 2003
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Elf (2003) |
...innocuous, child-friendly fare with some truly enjoyable elements sprinkled into a healthy batch of Christmas mediocrity. Kinda like cinematic fruitcake. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 12, 2003
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Mystic River (2003) |
I can admit it's a well-made film, but that doesn't mean I approve. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Nov 06, 2003
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Expiration (2003) |
...exudes raw talent on both sides of the lens and serves as an unwitting document of the kind of purity of vision embodied by artists at the beginnings of their careers... - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Oct 31, 2003
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Intolerable Cruelty (2003) |
Watching Clooney and Zeta-Jones interact is suitably fun, and neither of them is exactly hard on the eyes. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Oct 23, 2003
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The School of Rock (2003) |
This should really be a fish-out-of-water role, but Black will have none of that: he's a fish in the water, and he swims around in it with abandon. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Oct 16, 2003
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Le Divorce (2003) |
While Le Divorce does not attain the excellence of [previous Merchant/Ivory films'] interpersonal relationships, it certainly features an intelligent story complemented by fine work by a dizzying array of gifted actors... - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Sep 25, 2003
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Matchstick Men (2003) |
...ultimately a slightly tarnished treasure; with the combined talent of its production team, it could have been great, but because of its clumsy writing style it has to settle for just being good. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Sep 18, 2003
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Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) |
Goes down easily without a hint of tedium...still, this short length contributes to an overall feeling that it's not as Earth-shatteringly fabulous as some other cartoon features of the last several years. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jul 09, 2003
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Finding Nemo (2003) |
Finding Nemo is undoubtedly another jewel in the Pixar crown and another example of the Disney conglomerate's ability to ride that company's coattails to success. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Jun 03, 2003
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Identity (2003) |
The actors are good; the writing is clever and risky, but it's Mangold's excellent sense of just what to bring out and just when that makes this movie so effective. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted May 13, 2003
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X2 (2003) |
After about 1 1/2 hours, I thought, 'This has been a great movie!' When the 2:00 mark came and went, I was saying, 'Is this ever going to end?' - Film Quips Online
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| Posted May 06, 2003
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Confidence (2003) |
Confidence may have plenty of cojones, but there are frankly too many similarities to better movies to make it more than a footnote in the con caper genre. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Apr 30, 2003
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Holes (2003) |
Although some of the narrative meanderings seem overly complex, it all ties together nicely at the end, bringing about an unexpectedly satisfying conclusion to the present-day story. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Apr 22, 2003
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About Schmidt (2002) |
Nicholson is fantastic. - Film Quips Online
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| Posted Apr 17, 2003
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