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The Screen Scene

The Screen Scene is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Scott Phillips.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Heaven: To the Land of Happiness (2020) Scott Phillips Choi Min-sik is the not-so-secret weapon that successfully grounds the film. Heaven: To the Land of Happiness is worth watching for his performance alone.
Posted Aug 17, 2022  Edit critic review
Glorious (2022) Scott Phillips Those who can’t do, teach. Well, someone forgot to tell Dr. Rebekah McKendry ... she knows what she’s doing when she steps behind a camera. Her talent is evident in Glorious.
Posted Aug 17, 2022  Edit critic review
Bullet Train (2022) Scott Phillips The cast is top-notch. It’s fun to see Pitt playing somewhat against type with all his moments of self-doubt and angst over being pressed into fighting and killing instead of “talking it out”.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
Prey (2022) Scott Phillips The fight choreography is expertly staged and shot. No blurry camera pans and choppy editing that leaves you wondering what just happened. It’s top-notch, theater-quality action piped into your living room.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
Next Sohee (2022) Scott Phillips Next Sohee ... (is) powerful film-making.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
Next Exit (2022) Scott Phillips Writer-director Mali Elfman should thank her lucky stars that she found Katie Parker and Rahul Kohli to play her protagonists with such nuance and care, and the two actors should be equally grateful for Elfman’s beautifully-written screenplay.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
Missing (2021) Scott Phillips Missing is never what you expect it to be, and that originality makes it one of the standout films from Fantasia 2022.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
The Killer (2022) Scott Phillips The action choreography in The Killer belies its modest budget and makes a believable action star out of Jang Hyuk who perfectly treads the line between sociopathic assassin and husband with a heart of gold.
Posted Aug 15, 2022  Edit critic review
Riders of Justice (2020) Scott Phillips Riders of Justice is not to be missed. Now we need to find Mikkelsen some English language leading roles.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
The Forever Purge (2021) Scott Phillips In a world of countless entertainment options, feel free to skip this one.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Black Widow (2021) Scott Phillips I tend to judge each new MCU installment by one simple criteria: was it entertaining? When it comes to Black Widow, my answer is Yes.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
There's Someone Inside Your House (2021) Scott Phillips It’s like eating a cookie that’s just a little bit stale. It’s hard to complain. It’s still a cookie.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Halloween Kills (2021) Scott Phillips With such a strong premise for the first film of a reboot trilogy, it’s unfortunate that Halloween Kills is such a slog.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
The French Dispatch (2021) Scott Phillips The French Dispatch is 2/3 of a great movie with a long slog in its middle
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Antlers (2021) Scott Phillips Antlers left me wondering if Native Americans have only one myth because this story has been filmed many times before.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
The Batman (2022) Scott Phillips Writer-director Matt Reeves knows how to write a blockbuster with brains, and he knows how to film one with visual flare.
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Scott Phillips Marvel business as usual
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Men (2022) Scott Phillips "it conveys its themes with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face"
Posted Jul 21, 2022  Edit critic review
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) Scott Phillips the film becomes yet another generic horror film that is more gory than scary. Even the star power of Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson as Rock's father can't kick-start this lackluster story to life.
Posted May 20, 2021  Edit critic review
Wrath of Man (2021) Scott Phillips Wrath of Man may not be a crime classic, but it's a cut way above the average VOD crime thrillers that hit streaming services every Friday. It has big ambitions, and it fulfills many of them.
Posted May 20, 2021  Edit critic review
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021) Scott Phillips After the last round is fired and the last car explodes, Without Remorse proves itself to be "good enough." That's not exactly a rave review, but the film isn't worthy of high praise.
Posted May 06, 2021  Edit critic review
On the Count of Three (2021) Scott Phillips It all works seamlessly. The film isn't worried about genre labels. It's a unique blend of hardcore crime film and buddy comedy.
Posted Apr 29, 2021  Edit critic review
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) Scott Phillips I can watch "weird" all day long if it's interesting or intriguing or breaks new ground. Unfortunately, Prisoners of the Ghostland is none of those things.
Posted Apr 29, 2021  Edit critic review
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) Scott Phillips it's hard to believe that FIVE writers couldn't come up with a better story. The bottom line is simple: they know the IP is the true star of the film.
Posted Apr 29, 2021  Edit critic review
The Courier (2020) Scott Phillips I found The Courier to be a welcome throw-back to the spy thrillers of the 1960s and 70s. Give it about thirty minutes to work its magic on you, and you'll be hooked.
Posted Apr 29, 2021  Edit critic review
Nobody (2021) Scott Phillips I found myself marveling at the fight choreography and cackling at unexpected developments. Nobody offers a lot of wit to go with its gore.
Posted Apr 29, 2021  Edit critic review
Wrong Turn (2021) Scott Phillips The first half of the film is entertaining, but when the overall mythology of the film is revealed, it bogs down and sinks under the weight of being too ambitious for its own good.
Posted Mar 01, 2021  Edit critic review
Willy's Wonderland (2021) Scott Phillips Willy's Wonderland is a vicious funny little horror film that allows Cage to chew the scenery, collect his paycheck and entertain the audience all at once.
Posted Mar 01, 2021  Edit critic review
The Cursed (2021) Scott Phillips Mood and tone are things you just can't fake, and Eight for Silver excels in creating dread.
Posted Feb 23, 2021  Edit critic review
Coming Home in the Dark (2021) Scott Phillips Coming Home in the Dark is a stellar thriller. Writer-director James Ashcroft is unafraid to push the boundaries of this gritty crime film.
Posted Feb 23, 2021  Edit critic review
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) Scott Phillips Judas and the Black Messiah is Best Picture material. It may have entered the awards conversation too late to truly take home the Oscar gold in April, but it's still one of the best films of the past twelve months.
Posted Feb 18, 2021  Edit critic review
Land (2021) Scott Phillips The film has the feel of a passion project for Robin Wright, but the passion is missing from the film's screenplay. Why did this project scream to be her directorial debut? The audience will be left wondering as well.
Posted Feb 18, 2021  Edit critic review
CODA (2021) Scott Phillips CODA deserves to be the indie hit of 2021. You will laugh. You will definitely cry. I hope this beautiful film finds its audience when it hits Apple TV+ later this year.
Posted Feb 18, 2021  Edit critic review
Together Together (2021) Scott Phillips The film has one of those whip-smart screenplays that avoids just about every story-telling pitfall you can imagine spinning out of this premise.
Posted Feb 18, 2021  Edit critic review
Mass (2021) Scott Phillips Mass is an acting showcase. The quartet of performances from Jason Isaac, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney and Ann Dowd are flawless.
Posted Feb 18, 2021  Edit critic review
MLK/FBI (2020) Scott Phillips It's more History Channel than Netflix, but if you're interested in this period in history, and the Civil Rights Movement in particular, you won't want to miss this film.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
French Exit (2020) Scott Phillips French Exit falls in one of my least favorite film genres: quirky people being quirky. Seinfeld did it brilliantly for years. French Exit can't make it interesting for 105 minutes.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
Sound of Metal (2019) Scott Phillips Sound of Metal is a stunning film-making accomplishment. It's one of the best films of the year.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Scott Phillips My major complaint about Wonder Woman 1984 is that it plods along for two-and-a-half hours. The screenplay needed to lose some of its subplots. Too much time is spent running around in plot circles, biding time until the grand finale.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
The Disciple (2020) Scott Phillips Indian classical music may sound strange to an ear accustomed to American pop, rock and rap, but the emotions generated by The Disciple are familiar. A great foreign film taps into those universal things.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) Scott Phillips I'm not usually a fan of big performances or Acting with a capital A, but the ferocity of Boseman's portrayal perfectly fits the character and the unfolding narrative
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
Promising Young Woman (2020) Scott Phillips Promising Young Woman came out of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with hype to burn. It lives up to the buzz.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
Our Friend (2019) Scott Phillips The strength of Our Friend is its casting. Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson and Jason Segal are pitch perfect in their respective roles.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
One Night in Miami (2020) Scott Phillips As you might imagine for a film born from a stage play, One Night in Miami is an acting showcase. Each of the four young actors disappears into his role
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
News of the World (2020) Scott Phillips Tom Hanks gives a quiet, restrained performance as Captain Kidd. He suffers from making the process of acting look too easy.
Posted Jan 26, 2021  Edit critic review
3.5/5.0
Greyhound (2020) Scott Phillips Director Aaron Schneider maintains an excellent sense of "geography" during the action sequences. Viewers know where the various ships and submarines are at all times ...
Posted Nov 13, 2020  Edit critic review
4.0/5.0
The Columnist (2020) Scott Phillips The Columnist is a black comedy that tips into horror territory with its outbursts of over-the-top violence.
Posted Nov 13, 2020  Edit critic review
4.5/5.0
Nomadland (2020) Scott Phillips Frances McDormand gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Fern. She explores the fine line between running toward freedom and running away from heartbreak.
Posted Nov 13, 2020  Edit critic review
3.5/5.0
The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) Scott Phillips The true MVP of The Wolf of Snow Hollow is Jim Cummings' sharp, funny and suspenseful screenplay.
Posted Nov 13, 2020  Edit critic review
Hunted (2020) Scott Phillips I found myself gleefully laughing out loud on a couple of occasions at the audacity of the filmmaker's choices. If you like a good thriller, Hunted is more than up to the task.
Posted Sep 18, 2020  Edit critic review
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