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Critics / Authors Reviews and Articles
ROSSITER DRAKE
PUBLICATION(S)
San Francisco Examiner

STATS
Total Reviews: 104

OTHER INFO
• Location: San Francisco, CA


SECTIONS
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Worst Reviewed Films
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Unquoted Reviews/Articles
 
HOME ABOUT MOVIES BEST WORST OTHER
LISTING OF ALL REVIEWS & ARTICLES
A SAMPLING OF THIS CRITIC'S CINEMATIC TASTE
 
BEST TO WORST SAMPLING
----------------------------------
4/4  Zodiac
3.5/4  Hot Rod
3/4  Street Kings
2.5/4  Be Kind Rewind
2/4  Transformers
1.5/4  30 Days of Night
1/4  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
.5/4  Alone in the Dark
0/4  Good Luck Chuck
 
 
BEST REVIEWED
----------------------------------
4/4  W.
4/4  The Wind That Shakes the Barley
4/4  Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4/4  WALL-E
4/4  Iron Man
4/4  The Bourne Ultimatum
4/4  3:10 to Yuma
4/4  Zodiac
 more...
 
 
WORST REVIEWED
----------------------------------
0/4  Good Luck Chuck
.5/4  Alone in the Dark
1/4  Saw V
1/4  Righteous Kill
1/4  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
 more...
 
This critic agrees with the Tomatometer 70% of the time.

Genre:   # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Results for All Genres ... (1-50 of 104) Next »
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/
3.5/4
 
" Van Damme delivers a devastating performance as a downtrodden caricature of himself, infusing the role with such emotional complexity that he seems at times almost unrecognizable."
Posted Nov 14, 2008
 
JCVD (2008)87%
/
3/4
 
" 'Role Models' is what you might expect, a juvenile farce that celebrates a sort of nihilistic, anything-goes raunchiness before revealing its heart of gold. There's nothing wrong with a formula like this when it works. Here it does."
Posted Nov 13, 2008
 
Role Models (2008)76%
/
2/4
 
" While the rejuvenation of the franchise has been put on temporary hold, be assured that 'Quantum of Solace' sparkles with all the wit and heart-pounding excitement of a movie that takes its name from an Ian Fleming story about cocktail-party chitchat."
Posted Nov 13, 2008
 
Quantum of Solace (2008)66%
/
2/4
 
" There are a few laughs, courtesy of King Julien, a self-aggrandizing lemur who comes off as a pint-sized parody of Dubya. But this isn't a movie concerned with engaging hearts and minds so much as bombarding the ears with Top 40 sing-alongs."
Posted Nov 7, 2008
 
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)60%
/
3/4
 
" It's smooth and competently crafted, an efficient thriller punctuated by startling bursts of violence and nuanced performances from Norton, whose tough-cop routine masks a sort of cerebral tenderness, and the ever-reliable Noah Emmerich."
Posted Oct 27, 2008
 
Pride and Glory (2008)34%
/
1/4
 
" Jigsaw has seen better days. That's saying a lot, considering he was last spotted on a mortuary slab, his rotting flesh a sickly shade of gray as a medical examiner nonchalantly sliced open his stomach."
Posted Oct 26, 2008
 
Saw V (2008)14%
/
3.5/4
 
" It's not so much that his film defies description as that none could adequately prepare you for the experience of watching it. Kaufman's existential musings are sometimes self-indulgent, but they are also heartfelt and wickedly funny."
Posted Oct 25, 2008
 
Synecdoche, New York (2008)65%
/
1.5/4
 
" Taken as an argument for better living through hedonism, 'Filth and Wisdom' is unconvincing. In the end, it begs the question posed by a pop sensation of a different era: Is that all there is?"
Posted Oct 23, 2008
 
Filth and Wisdom (2008)27%
/
3/4
 
" There is considerable anguish in Eastwood's storytelling, and an almost palpable sense of moral outrage - understandable, given the indignities Christine Collins was made to suffer."
Posted Oct 21, 2008
 
Changeling (2008)57%
/
3/4
 
" It's a classic love story dressed up as something a bit racier, and not only do we know where it's going, we know just how it plans to get there. That's okay, in the end, because Smith and his leads make Zack and Miri a couple worth knowing."
Posted Oct 19, 2008
 
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)64%
/
3/4
 
" Give 'Max Payne' the modest credit it deserves. It's a gloriously dumb, over-the-top slice of convoluted pulp fiction, and far more entertaining than I would have expected."
Posted Oct 17, 2008
 
Max Payne (2008)18%
/
4/4
 
" A bold, thought-provoking and utterly fascinating character study that reveals the kinder, gentler side of a man previously defined by his disastrous policies and bumbling malapropisms. One of the year's best."
Posted Oct 16, 2008
 
W. (2008)58%
/
3/4
 
" Just because something has been done before doesn't mean it can't be done again, and well. 'The Express' is formula-driven entertainment of an uncommonly high order."
Posted Oct 10, 2008
 
The Express (2008)62%
/
3.5/4
 
" 'Body of Lies' is a tense, deftly paced meditation on America's role in the Middle East, and if it's not quite a war movie, it offers somber insights into the Bush administration's campaign against terror that recent thrillers like 'The Kingdom' have not."
Posted Oct 9, 2008
 
Body of Lies (2008)50%
/
2.5/4
 
" There are moments of such indescribable beauty in 'Miracle at St. Anna' that they move you to tears. There are also moments that leave you shaking your head in bewilderment and frustration."
Posted Oct 2, 2008
 
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)33%
/
3.5/4
 
" 'Nick and Norah' has an ear for dialogue that doesn't sound contrived. It's sweet - disarmingly so, without seeming saccharine - and it feels effortlessly genuine. The best love stories always do."
Posted Oct 1, 2008
 
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)72%
/
3/4
 
" Maher's Michael Moore-style ambushes, though staged with less panache than the master's, are incisive and often laugh-out-loud funny, even if his targets often seem more like kooks and dimwits than serious theologians."
Posted Sep 30, 2008
 
Religulous (2008)71%
/
3/4
 
" As the story of a fierce, beleaguered individualist, 'Trumbo' is stirring and informative, though perhaps not as thorough as it could be."
Posted Sep 28, 2008
 
Trumbo (2008)77%
/
2.5/4
 
" 'Lakeview Terrace' begins as a tense, compelling tale of ideological opposites headed for an ugly clash and ends in contrived melodrama as Abel completes his transformation from badge-waving bully to bogeyman."
Posted Sep 17, 2008
 
Lakeview Terrace (2008)44%
/
3/4
 
" Rockwell, who brought a sense of desperate unease to his roles in 'The Assassination of Jesse James' and 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,' does the same here, with results that are at once frightening and pathetically sad."
Posted Sep 17, 2008
 
Snow Angels (2008)67%
/
3/4
 
" Mamet's dialogue is crisp, invigorated by supporting players (particularly Mantegna and Jay) who relish his acerbic wordplay. But for a movie that aims to do for jujitsu what 'Rocky' did for boxing, 'Redbelt' taps out before the final bell."
Posted Sep 12, 2008
 
Redbelt (2008)69%
/
1/4
 
" 'Righteous Kill' is a tired pastiche of genre clichés and ideas borrowed from other D-grade thrillers, a story without style, energy or any discernible respect for narrative logic."
Posted Sep 11, 2008
 
Righteous Kill (2008)22%
/
1.5/4
 
" Here, the brothers weave an elaborate, misanthropic web of desperation and betrayal around a group of characters so jaded they take no real pleasure from their artless deceptions and sordid affairs. Imagine how we feel."
Posted Sep 11, 2008
 
Burn After Reading (2008)79%
/
2/4
 
" 'Babylon A.D.' has ideas, but they are hopelessly lost in a story with no interior logic."
Posted Sep 4, 2008
 
Babylon A.D. (2008)7%
/
2.5/4
 
" Wilson's amiably wild-eyed performance hits all the scripted notes in a comedy that is mostly tone-deaf."
Posted Aug 22, 2008
 
The Rocker (2008)39%
/
3/4
 
" Faris' ability to turn an otherwise mediocre exercise into a charming farce may not earn her any awards, but it gives us something to look forward to - namely, her next movie."
Posted Aug 21, 2008
 
The House Bunny (2008)40%
/
2/4
 
" Anderson - not to be confused with Paul Thomas Anderson, the fearlessly ambitious director of 'Magnolia' and 'There Will Be Blood' - has created a movie worthy of its own video game."
Posted Aug 20, 2008
 
Death Race (2008)41%
/
3/4
 
" If you can forgive its stale dialogue, which at times seems so egregiously leaden that it might have been better suited to a Mad magazine parody, 'Street Kings' is a tense, aggressively absurd thriller."
Posted Aug 13, 2008
 
Street Kings (2008)36%
/
2.5/4
 
" The outcome is never in question, but for fans of the game, even simulated action is preferable to perfunctory drama."
Posted Aug 13, 2008
 
Deal (2008)0%
/
3.5/4
 
" Allen's latest is a comedy of refreshing depth that finds the 72-year-old filmmaker invigorated by the picturesque backdrop of the Mediterranean coast and a perfectly matched cast."
Posted Aug 11, 2008
 
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)81%
/
3/4
 
" The good news: I Want to Believe plays like a solid, albeit unexceptional stand-alone episode, broad enough to ensnare the uninitiated without alienating the show's loyal base."
Posted Jul 25, 2008
 
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)32%
/
2.5/4
 
" Does everyone fall in love after the third date? In his world, they do."
Posted Jul 19, 2008
 
Hitch (2005)68%
/
3/4
 
" While it's hardly Romero's scariest achievement, it is a thrilling, disturbing commentary on a man-eat-man world that hits just close enough to home to give viewers an uncomfortable pause."
Posted Jul 19, 2008
 
George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (2005)75%
/
2/4
 
" Why would Frank drop everything to embark on this lunatic mission? Well, the answer is simple. If he didn't, there would be no movie - and perhaps that wouldn't have been such a bad thing."
Posted Jul 19, 2008
 
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2006)24%
/
1.5/4
 
" At no time does director Stephen Hopkins give us reason to care."
Posted Jul 19, 2008
 
The Reaping (2007)9%
/
4/4
 
" Loach delivers a moving and often beautiful story that captures the essence of the conflict, with all its unintended consequences and personal tragedies."
Posted Jul 19, 2008
 
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2007)88%
/
3.5/4
 
" Aattou plays his role with the supreme self-confidence of a man in control, his deep blue eyes radiating calm, but Argento seems to know better. She is a wild, physical force, a primal fury who could only be resisted if she were to allow it."
Posted Jul 18, 2008
 
The Last Mistress (2008)76%
/
3/4
 
" It's not pretty, and the humor is sometimes embarrassingly puerile, but for those with a passion for subversive trash, Troma Entertainment is still serving it on a bile-covered platter."
Posted Jul 17, 2008
 
Poultrygeist (2008)65%
/
3.5/4
 
" From the start, it drags us down to the fiery pits of Gotham's anarchic hell and never lets us up for air; it is a bruising, unrelenting slice of sensory overload, a captivating spectacle as likely to dazzle the eyes as fray the nerves."
Posted Jul 16, 2008
 
The Dark Knight (2008)94%
/
2/4
 
" Acting is hardly of great consequence in a movie where everyone involved seems a little too in on the joke, as if distancing themselves from material that would simply be vile if it weren't so outrageously over the top."
Posted Jul 16, 2008
 
Zombie Strippers (2008)41%
/
2.5/4
 
" It is an artfully crafted exercise in high-octane style, bolstered by a stronger cast than most horror films could ever hope to assemble, but it's a bitter, sleazy little pill that leaves an ugly aftertaste."
Posted Jul 15, 2008
 
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)49%
/
1/4
 
" The original "Chain Saw Massacre" spoke, in unsettling terms, to middle America's growing contempt for the '60s counter-culture, but no deeper meaning can be ascribed to this mayhem. It's just a joyless technical exercise."
Posted Jul 15, 2008
 
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)13%
/
4/4
 
" Clearly, del Toro has a deep affection for both his characters and the world of gods and fairy-tale monsters, and it translates into a rich, sophisticated sequel that actually improves on the original."
Posted Jul 9, 2008
 
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)88%
/
2.5/4
 
" Here's a movie filled with bright ideas, crammed uncomfortably into a story burdened by confusing and often contradictory exposition."
Posted Jul 3, 2008
 
Hancock (2008)38%
/
4/4
 
" A wondrous work of the imagination and, to date, the year's best film."
Posted Jun 26, 2008
 
WALL-E (2008)96%
/
2/4
 
" Abstract expressionism, paying tribute to its hero in a fashion every bit as enigmatic and chameleon-like as the man himself. Is it a faux-documentary? Is it a biographical drama? At times, it is both. In the end, we are left with an ambitious misfire."
Posted Jun 13, 2008
 
I'm Not There (2007)78%
/
2/4
 
" Leterrier and screenwriter Zak Penn dispense with the angst and focus on the smash. The result is a movie that eschews dialogue (or anything resembling an idea, for that matter) in favor of hyper-violent mayhem and unconvincing CGI."
Posted Jun 13, 2008
 
The Incredible Hulk (2008)67%
/
3/4
 
" McBride sells the character with a straight face at all times, making it that much harder to watch when Simmons settles into full-fledged train-wreck mode."
Posted Jun 7, 2008
 
The Foot Fist Way (2008)57%
/
3.5/4
 
" The film unfolds brilliantly and methodically, as director Gavid Hood's vivid characters are unwittingly drawn together."
Posted Jun 6, 2008
 
Rendition (2007)48%
/
3/4
 
" Writer-director Joby Harold's debut is stylishly self-assured and suspenseful enough to quicken the pulse."
Posted Jun 5, 2008
 
Awake (2007)24%

Genre:   # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Results for All Genres ... (1-50 of 104) Next »
* Sort by Rating: Sort results by this critic's rating. This option is only available for critics with a rating system (4 star, letter grade, 1-10, etc.)
* Sort by T-meter: Sort results by the Tomatometer (percentage of critics recommending a certain movie)
 
 
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