James Berardinelli Quotes

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Film Quality Science Fiction

Live Free or Die Hard may work better for an audience that doesn't know much about the series is than it will for Die Hard die hards, who will be wondering who that impersonator is and what he did with the real John McClane. The original Die Hard came out of nowhere to blitz the 1988 summer box office. The fourth installment arrives with a weight of expectations that Atlas would have trouble shouldering and, when the dust settles in September, it's unlikely that Live Free or Die Hard will be one of this year's big success stories.

James Berardinelli

Summer, Real, Dust

"Live Free or Die Hard (United States, 2007)". Movie Review, www.reelviews.net.

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[Director Christopher] Nolan has not only crafted the best Batman movie, but arguably the second-best motion picture superhero narrative (topped only by the linked duo of Superman and Superman II). For those who thought Spider-Man and X-Men had a lot to offer, wait till you see where this film goes. Batman Begins is a strong re-start to a franchise that deserves better than it has often been accorded.

James Berardinelli

Strong, Men, Waiting

"Batman Begins (2005)". A movie review at www.reelviews.net,

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Norbit operates on the principle that vulgarity is automatically funny. Crassness doesn't need a joke attached because it is (in and of itself) the height of hilarity.

James Berardinelli

Vulgarity Is, Principles, Needs

"Norbit (United States, 2007)". Movie Review, www.reelviews.net.

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Since 1977, there have been many science fiction movies, but none has managed to equal [A New Hope's] blend of adventure, likable characters, and epic storytelling.

James Berardinelli

Adventure, Character, Epic

"Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)". A movie review at www.reelviews.net,

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With Batman&Robin, the fourth entry in the recent Batman movie series, the profitable franchise appears poised to take a nosedive. This film, which places yet another actor in the batsuit, has all the necessary hallmarks of a sorry sequel - pointless, plodding plotting; asinine action; clueless, comatose characterization; and dumb dialogue. Batman&Robin moves at a dizzying pace, yet goes absolutely nowhere.

James Berardinelli

Sorry, Moving, Clueless

"Batman and Robin (United States, 1997)". Movie Review, www.reelviews.net.

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There's nothing terribly wrong with The November Man in a serviceable late-night cable TV sort of way but neither is there anything terribly right about it. It's unnecessary and derivative.

James Berardinelli

Night, Men, Cable Tv

"The November Man (United States, 2014)". A movie review by James Berardinelli, www.reelviews.net. August 29, 2014.

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This is as brain-dead as a movie can be and it assumes the audience will have the I.Q. of a rutabaga.

James Berardinelli

Brain, Assuming, Audience

"The Call (United States, 2013)". A movie review by James Berardinelli, www.reelviews.net. March 15, 2013.

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Despite his reputation as one of America's foremost "serious" filmmakers, Oliver Stone's name under the "director" caption does not guarantee a good movie. I learned that lesson while enduring the seemingly-endless tedium of The Doors, and was reminded of it during some of the long, drawn-out portions of JFK. However, nothing that Stone has directed or misdirected prepared me for the grotesque mess that is Natural Born Killers.

James Berardinelli

Doors, Names, America

"Natural Born Killers". Movie Review, 1994.

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Aside from a couple of signature flourishes, there's nothing to mark Paycheck as the product of acclaimed action director John Woo. In fact, there's little about this movie that makes it worth anyone's time and money. With a script that waffles between being hilariously absurd and insultingly stupid, and action scenes that won't cause anyone's pulse to skip a beat, Paycheck is less appealing than a lump of coal in a Christmas stocking.

James Berardinelli

Couple, Stupid, Signatures

"Paycheck (2003)". A movie review at www.reelviews.net, 2003.

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The term "godawful" should be used sparingly in connection with motion pictures. With Angels & Demons, however, it seems oddly appropriate. Not only does this prequel-turned-sequel to The Da Vinci Code make its predecessor seem like a masterwork of pacing and plotting, but it may represent a nadir for director Ron Howard and is probably the worst instance of acting from star Tom Hanks since back in the days when he was struggling out from under the shadow of Bosom Buddies.

James Berardinelli

Stars, Struggle, Angel

"Angels & Demons (United States, 2009)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net. 2009.

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It's not hard to understand why an accomplished director like Gus Van Sant (whose most recent success, Good Will Hunting, gave him mainstream clout) would be interested in making this film. The lure of an exact remake presents a tremendous challenge. Unfortunately, it was undoubtedly a lot more stimulating for Van Sant and his crew to make Psycho than it is for an audience to watch it. Curiosity is going to be one of the primary reasons why people pay money to see this movie; boredom will be the predominant result.

James Berardinelli

Hunting, People, Boredom

"Psycho (United States, 1998)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net. 1998.

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Looking back at Batman from a distance - after all the hype has dried up and the franchise has at least temporarily been abandoned - it's easy to see the movie for what it is: a moderately diverting motion picture that should have been shorter and better paced. There are a lot of things wrong with Batman, but it still makes for decent entertainment in the fine tradition of the typical low-intelligence summer movie. The best thing that can be said about Batman is that it led to Batman Returns, which was a far superior effort.

James Berardinelli

Summer, Distance, Should Have

"Batman (United States, 1989)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net.

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After the second Die Hard, Bruce Willis stated he would never do another. He should have stayed firm in his resolve. If quality is any indication (and it may be, with all the available blockbusters), box office returns will be disappointing this time around and, if nothing else, that will do to John McClane what dozens of assorted bad guys couldn't manage: kill him.

James Berardinelli

Should Have, Office, Guy

"Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)". A movie review at www.reelviews.net,

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Parodies are hard to do well, as is shown by the mediocrity of so many recent attempts. No matter how ripe a genre is for satirizing, unless you know how to do it, there are no guarantees.

James Berardinelli

Genre Is, Mediocrity, Guarantees

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights (United States, 1993)". Movie review, www.reelviews.net.

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John Wick is a rousing action thriller of the sort rarely encountered in theaters these days.

James Berardinelli

Action, Thrillers, Theater

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If you thought it was impossible for a film to contain less effective comedy than Date Movie, here's evidence to the contrary.

James Berardinelli

Comedy, Impossible, Film

"Epic Movie (United States, 2007)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net. 2007.

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The Drop's unpredictability is organic rather than sensationalistic. The movie doesn't pull surprises out of thin air for the sole purpose of shocking an audience - it lets them develop naturally.

James Berardinelli

Air, Purpose, Surprise

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Side note to parents: Anyone who thinks 'Dude, Where's My Car' is more appropriate for children than 'American Pie' because it obtained a PG-13 rating needs to stop trusting the MPAA.

James Berardinelli

Children, Thinking, Pie

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Being snarky and smug doesn't equate to providing insight, and there's more than one occasion when the filmmakers lose sight of this in their zeal to spread the Gospel According to Maher.

James Berardinelli

Sight, Filmmaker, Spread

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For the most part, however, Lady in the Water comes across as a movie that's too bad to be good, and not bad enough to be so bad that it's good.

James Berardinelli

Water, Enough, Be Good

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I could start this review by stating that Dumb and Dumberer lives up to its name, or by calling it stupid, moronic, and idiotic, but I believe that approach is a trap, since a movie like this might relish being the object of such bland invectives. Instead, let me try a few that can't possibly be misconstrued as twisted praise: unfunny, boring, torturous, and unwatchable. ... [N]o movie could be more aptly compared to raw sewage than this film - Directed By Troy Miller.

James Berardinelli

Stupid, Believe, Names

"Dumb and Dumberer (United States, 2003)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net. 2003.

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Michael made his debut in John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, Halloween, possibly the best scare movie to come along in the last twenty-five years. With the release of the sixth (and hopefully final) movie to bear the Halloween moniker, we see how far the mighty have fallen. In the final analysis, The Curse of Michael Myers is a horrific motion picture just not in the way the film makers intended.

James Berardinelli

Halloween, Years, Scare

"Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers". Movie Review, www.reelviews.net. 1995.

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Short of climbing aboard a time capsule and peeling back eight and one-half decades, James Cameron's magnificent Titanic is the closest any of us will get to walking the decks of the doomed ocean liner. Meticulous in detail, yet vast in scope and intent, Titanic is the kind of epic motion picture event that has become a rarity. You don't just watch Titanic , you experience it from the launch to the sinking, then on a journey two and one-half miles below the surface, into the cold, watery grave where Cameron has shot never-before seen documentary footage specifically for this movie.

James Berardinelli

Ocean, Epic, Journey

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Although I am not averse to wasting a few hours playing computer games, I have never tried my hand at Doom. Judging by sales figures and testimonials, playing the game has to be an infinitely preferable experience to watching this pathetic excuse for a movie.

James Berardinelli

Hands, Games, Judging

"Doom (United States/Czech Republic, 2005)". A movie review, www.reelviews.net. 2005.

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Those who delight in bad movies and enjoy producing their own unfilmed versions of Mystery Science Theater 3000 may gain a measure of semi-masochistic enjoyment out of Van Helsing . There are quite a few unintentionally funny moments, although the overall experience was too intensely painful for me to be able to advocate it as being "so bad, it's good."

James Berardinelli

Delight, May, Able

Review of "Van Helsing", reelviews.net, 2004.

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Born: September 25, 1967
Occupation: Film critic
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