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Ted Murphy
Tomatometer-approved critic
Raised in New England. Graduated from Boston University; for one year worked as a theater and filmcritic for student newspaper. Got sidetracked into working as an archivist specializing in theater and film before heading to NYC. Worked for a time as assistant to former screenwriter Helen Deutsch, then spent years working with writer Helen Rayburn on an unsold biography of the Astaire family. Spent nine years toiling in electronic publishing before serving another seven at Baseline as editor of the BIOS and REVIEWS databases. Am now freelancing and overseeing my own website.
My taste is rather eclectic. Everything from screwball comedies (My Man Godfrey, The Awful Truth) to sweeping epics (Out of Africa, The English Patient) to the standard great films (Citizen Kane, All About Eve). Among my guilty pleasures are The Big Chill, Gallipoli and Babe.
Massachusetts
http://www.murphysmoviereviews.net
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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All the Pretty Horses (2000) |
What is on screen is impressive, even with the sense of something missing. - Hollywood.com
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| Posted Dec 13, 2009
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All About My Mother (1999) |
This film is as close to a masterpiece as the director has ever produced. - Hollywood.com
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| Posted Dec 13, 2009
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Billy Elliot (2000) |
- Hollywood.com
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| Posted Sep 08, 2009
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The Contender (2000) |
- Hollywood.com
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| Posted Sep 08, 2009
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Down to You (2000) |
Both Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze Jr. deserve better. - Hollywood.com
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| Posted Sep 08, 2009
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Sleepy Hollow (1999) |
Burton piles on the artistic gore for this rendition. He just forgets to add the terror. - Hollywood.com
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| Posted Feb 18, 2009
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But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) |
Babbit fouls when tugging at the heartstrings but hits home runs when the humor is at its broadest. - Hollywood.com
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| Posted Nov 20, 2008
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Tell No One (2006) |
... a superb and entertaining thriller. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jun 28, 2008
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Cashback (2006) |
CASHBACK is a likable film that is bolstered by Ellis' terrific eye for composition. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 20, 2007
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Hairspray (2007) |
One of the best movie musicals in recent times and it only gets better on repeated viewings. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 18, 2007
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The Girl Next Door (2007) |
The film is quite disturbing and some scenes are difficult to watch. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 16, 2007
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Road to Victory (2007) |
... hopefully what I write might encourage someone to seek out a film. Such is the case with Road to Victory, the debut feature of writer-director-actor Mike Reilly. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 16, 2007
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The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) |
Laverty's screenplay is not a simple-minded exercise, although there is a schematic aspect to it. He and Loach want to be fair to both sides of the Irish debate ... - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Wendell Baker Story (2005) |
just a shaggy dog story dressed up in cowboy boots and a cool belt. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Vitus (2006) |
In addition to the rich classical music on its score (with piano solos played by Gheorgiu who is a real-life musical prodigy), the film boasts strong performances by Ganz as the understanding grandparent and Jenkins and Jucker as the boy's parents. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Valet (2006) |
Except for a slightly misguided final scene, LA DOUBLURE (THE VALET) is a great dessert movie: a brisk and breezy romp that will leave audiences smiling. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Vacancy (2007) |
It's only in the last act that things begin to get a bit flaky but up till then VACANCY does what it sets out to do without any pretenses. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Two Weeks (2006) |
TWO WEEKS offers some positive views on hospice care and tackles head-on a theme that few American features do, but it lacks the gravitas of something like the European drama THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Triad Election (2006) |
tackles big ideas like the preservation of tradition and the overall reach of destiny, but also slyly suggests that the Triad of the 21st Century has evolved into something like a giant corporation. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Treatment (2006) |
The three main performances are what carry the film - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Syndromes and a Century (2006) |
If you allow the film to wash over you, it can be appreciated as an essay on the power of memory. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Stephanie Daley (2006) |
not a great deal that is dramatic happens in the film, but it is that accrual of small details that fleshes out who these people are. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Starter for 10 (2006) |
enjoyable if lightweight entertainment - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Soap (2006) |
While I might want to applaud Fischer Christensen for attempting to say something pertinent about gender roles and stereotypes, there is something curiously lacking in the characters. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Snow Cake (2006) |
in the end, it's as viable as its titular confection: pretty to look at but cold. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace (2006) |
The cast veers from overly theatrical (Rogers) to amusing (Molly Shannon as Ted's wife Shannon, a woman who speaks her mind without thinking about the consequences) to spot on (Harbour, DeWitt, Basche, and several others). - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
a trippy movie that doesn't make it easy for the audience to follow. The story is complex and confusing and theanimation keeps the viewer from entering the tale emotionally or intellectually. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Sacco and Vanzetti (2006) |
Surprisingly, this is the first nonfiction film to tackle the subject and Miller manages to find the parallels to contemporary times without being too pedantic or heavy-handed. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Rock Bottom (2006) |
... a frank look at the devastation that addiction can cause. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Private Fears in Public Places (2006) |
Resnais and his superb cast have poured their hearts into this film adaptation and anyone seeking mature entertainment should search for this gem. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Pride (2007) |
Howard anchors the film with a charismatic turn. He doesn't turn Ellis into a plaster saint but portrays a complex and complicated man. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Premonition (2007) |
This film wants to be a twisty thriller but ends up something of a misogynistic mess which leaves its leading lady stranded. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Les Amities Malefiques (2006) |
There are some schematics at work in the screenplay, but the film proves to be an entertaining, if frustrating, experience. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Paprika (2006) |
PAPRIKA adds quite a dash of spice to the anime genre and offers a fun ride. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Over the Hedge (2006) |
I watched the film with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by its heart and its humor. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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One to Another (2006) |
I found the film to be engrossing and fairly well done and would recommend it. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Offside (2006) |
a gem that should not be missed. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Number 23 (2007) |
THE NUMBER 23 starts off promisingly but quickly devolves into an uneven mess. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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My Country, My Country (2006) |
Part of the problem with the film, though, is that some of the scenes with the doctor and his family and the doctor and his patients have a staged feel to them -- as if, they were also putting on a "show." - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Miss Potter (2006) |
There's nothing inherently wrong with MISS POTTER. It's just a throwback to the biopics of the 1930s and 40s and in some ways it may seem progressive to contemporary audiences. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Gronholm Method (2005) |
Undoubtedly some enterprising American film company will either undertake a remake or will pitch it as a new reality show ... - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Memory (2007) |
There's an intriguing premise buried in MEMORY ... [but] he execution leaves something to be desired. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Marie Antoinette (2006) |
Coppola successfully has made a period film that doesn't feel like a museum piece. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Lookout (2007) |
My interest waxed and waned. The set up for the film seemed to take eons. Frank overstuffed the script with exposition, multiple subplots and some seemingly unnecessary sequences. Just as I was ready to dismiss the movie, he switched gears. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) |
Watching the film, I had admiration for what Eastwood and his writers were attempting, but I remained at arm's length. I'm not entirely sure why I could not buy into the film. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) |
Not unlike the sleeper hit Little Miss Sunshine, this breezy and engaging documentary has a great deal to say about the American fixation on winning and losing. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Joshua (2007) |
I'm reluctant to give away too much about this terrifically tidy thriller as I think an audience should be able to watch a film without knowing the twists and surprises that the filmmakers intend. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Introducing the Dwights (2007) |
If you want a blowsy, overprotective British mother, the choice would be Brenda Blethyn ... who gets to tear up the screen as [a] self-centered force of nature ... - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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Harsh Times (2005) |
HARSH TIMES is a portrait of a male-dominated world and inChristian Bale's fierce performance, Ayer has found the perfect actor. It's just unfortunate that the screenplay feels like a left-over from an era that has passed. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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The Good German (2006) |
The final verdict on this movie is that for all its attempts to replicate the great movies of the 1940s, it fails miserably. - Murphy's Movie Reviews
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| Posted Jul 14, 2007
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