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Joshua Katzman

Joshua Katzman's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
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Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Habit (1996) 75% 3/4 EDIT “In the spin that Fessenden gives the vampire flick, we’re all ultimately our own worst enemies, ushering in the agents of our own demise.” – Chicago Reader Jun 15, 2022 Full Review The Last Seduction (1994) 94% 3/4 EDIT “While The Last Seduction isn’t anywhere near the complex and disturbing masterpiece that Chinatown is, it does contain more social commentary than has generally been ascribed to it.” – Chicago Reader Jun 6, 2022 Full Review Red Rock West (1993) 95% 3/4 EDIT “Helping the story move along at a brisk clip is Dahl’s tight control of the editing coupled with a well-tuned ear for the rhythms and cadences of everyday conversation.” – Chicago Reader Jun 6, 2022 Full Review Spanking the Monkey (1994) 92% 2/4 EDIT “What it achieves most plangently is a realistic, empathetic portrayal of a young man’s attempts at self-assertion, with all the pain, embarrassment, and missteps that go with it. The performances and mise-en-scene have a naturalistic quality.” – Chicago Reader Jun 6, 2022 Full Review Abadan (2003) EDIT “Mani Haghighi... wrote and directed this debut feature, demonstrating a talent for subtle comedy.” – Chicago Reader Feb 14, 2020 Full Review Grandma's Boy (2006) 15% EDIT “The sex, fart, and pot jokes come so fast and furious that a white flag seems the most appropriate response.” – Chicago Reader Aug 15, 2015 Full Review Cherry Blossoms (2008) 79% EDIT “This may lack the understated pathos of Ozu's somber masterpiece, but it's still a moving meditation on aging and loss, and Wepper and Elsner are unforgettable.” – Chicago Reader Jul 30, 2015 Full Review The Godfather of Disco (2007) EDIT “The film explores a fascinating subject: how the business acumen of gay white men -- many of them Jewish -- merged with the creativity of black street culture.” – Chicago Reader Apr 23, 2015 Full Review Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 86% EDIT “Del Toro's previous film, the complex, visually arresting Pan's Labyrinth, demonstrated his growth as a filmmaker, and though the themes here aren't as profound, the striking set design and use of nonhuman characters carry over.” – Chicago Reader Apr 15, 2013 Full Review Vincere (2009) 91% EDIT “Carol Crivelli's soaring classical score heightens Bellochio's operatic tendencies.” – Chicago Reader Dec 30, 2010 Full Review The Other Guys (2010) 78% EDIT “This is the fourth feature that Will Ferrell and writer-director Adam McKay have collaborated on, and once again they deliver laugh-out-loud if ultimately disposable comedy with mixed messages about arrested male development.” – Chicago Reader Dec 20, 2010 Full Review Piranha (2010) 76% EDIT “This moderately entertaining popcorn thriller recaptures the B-movie spirit of such vintage schlockmeisters as Samuel Z. Arkoff and Roger Corman.” – Chicago Reader Aug 26, 2010 Full Review The Switch (2010) 54% EDIT “This New York-based comedy directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck distinguishes itself with three-dimensional characters and an engaging storyline.” – Chicago Reader Aug 20, 2010 Full Review The Expendables (2010) 41% EDIT “Borrows liberally from such male-bonding classics as Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen and Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, but offers not a whiff of the tragic fatalism and astute critique of machismo that inform those superior dramas.” – Chicago Reader Aug 12, 2010 Full Review Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge (2004) EDIT “Add this engrossing and informative documentary by director Stephen Marshall to the growing list of films that reveal more about the war in Iraq than anything in the mainstream American news media.” – Chicago Reader Apr 6, 2010 Full Review Back Soon (2007) EDIT “The premise of two ostensibly straight guys falling in love is compelling, but writer-director Rob Williams cops out with some supernatural hokum about the dead wife channeling her feelings through the boyfriend.” – Chicago Reader Jan 29, 2010 Full Review Katyn (2007) 91% EDIT “Andrzej Wajda has spent much of his long career dramatizing major events in Polish history, and this poignant feature depicts the circumstances surrounding the Soviet Union's massacre of thousands of Polish officers in the spring of 1940.” – Chicago Reader Feb 18, 2009 Full Review OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) 76% EDIT “This French comedy fondly lampoons both the popular French spy movies adapted from Jean Bruce's novels in the 1950s and '60s and the colonialist era they were set in.” – Chicago Reader Dec 17, 2008 Full Review A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007) 79% EDIT “As in most of Wang's films, a memorable cast of characters compensates for a serviceable plot.” – Chicago Reader Dec 16, 2008 Full Review Righteous Kill (2008) 18% EDIT “This thriller by Jon Avnet is mostly by the numbers, and its surprise ending, though effective, feels somewhat forced.” – Chicago Reader Dec 9, 2008 Full Review Bangkok Dangerous (2008) 9% EDIT “While the film includes several exciting, creatively shot action scenes, the drama is otherwise so shopworn that the violent climax is a relief.” – Chicago Reader Dec 8, 2008 Full Review Passengers (2008) 19% EDIT “The surprise ending isn't as shocking as those of Jacob's Ladder or The Sixth Sense -- two stellar examples of the genre -- but it's still dramatically potent.” – Chicago Reader Oct 30, 2008 Full Review Filth and Wisdom (2008) 24% EDIT “Madonna, making her directorial debut, aims for the romping irreverence of Richard Lester's 60s comedies, and though she lacks the formal control to pull it off, this is a charming mess.” – Chicago Reader Oct 23, 2008 Full Review Battle in Seattle (2007) 57% EDIT “One strength is Barry Ackroyd's handheld-camera work, which deftly tracks the action but still captures the disorientation of those engulfed by the mayhem.” – Chicago Reader Sep 26, 2008 Full Review Nights in Rodanthe (2008) 30% EDIT “This romantic stinker is one of those films in which every plot development becomes a life lesson and every gesture is weighted with significance.” – Chicago Reader Sep 26, 2008 Full Review
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