Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes
Publications list

The Deadbolt

The Deadbolt is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Brian Tallerico, Jordan Riefe.

Prev Next
Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Kill Your Darlings (2013) Brian Tallerico Darlings is a multi-tiered accomplishment. Not only is Krokidas' script smart, funny, and fully engaging but the ensemble performance is spectacular.
Posted Jan 22, 2013  Edit critic review
3.5/5.0
Brave (2012) Brian Tallerico Beautiful character/environment design and spectacular voice work keep Brave a notch above much of the animated competition even if a straightforward story and lack of personality make this one of Pixar's least accomplished screenplays.
Posted Jun 21, 2012  Edit critic review
King of Devil's Island (2010) Brian Tallerico An old-fashioned drama about the will of good young men triumphing over the weakness of evil old ones. We've seen it before, but when it's done this well that doesn't seem to matter.
Posted Oct 06, 2011  Edit critic review
Rabies (2010) Brian Tallerico One of those fascinating horror movies that never gets too weird to lose its footing but also stays completely unpredictable.
Posted Oct 06, 2011  Edit critic review
4.5/5.0
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Brian Tallerico I can't shake this haunting work, one that increasingly grows in esteem the more I swirl it around my brain. It is undeniably one of the more memorable and intriguing works of 2011.
Posted Oct 06, 2011  Edit critic review
5.0/5.0
Melancholia (2011) Brian Tallerico One of the best films of 2011, a stunningly original examination of that which is completely out of our control.
Posted Oct 06, 2011  Edit critic review
5.0/5.0
Drive (2011) Brian Tallerico An amazing thriller, a modern examination of heroism filtered through the fairy tale culture of the underbelly of the movie machine that is easily one of the most memorable and effective films of not just this year but the last several.
Posted Sep 15, 2011  Edit critic review
2.5/5.0
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) Brian Tallerico There are Gothic elements that work, but the story simply isn't strong enough to support a remake and lackluster direction fails to iron out the flaws in this potential horror hit.
Posted Aug 26, 2011  Edit critic review
4/5
Horrible Bosses (2011) Brian Tallerico With stellar comic timing from the entire ensemble and a dark streak of edgy humor with just enough wit to make it not seem cruel, this is one of the straight-up funniest movies of the year.
Posted Jul 07, 2011  Edit critic review
Man on Wire (2008) Brian Tallerico [Petit is] such an impassioned and energetic interview subject that it's remarkable that someone didn't make Man on Wire earlier.
Posted Aug 08, 2008  Edit critic review
The Dark Knight (2008) Brian Tallerico A masterpiece of good and evil with Oscar-worthy performances and technical accomplishments that has the potential to impact the genre more than any film since Christopher Reeve put on red tights.
Posted Jul 17, 2008  Edit critic review
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Jordan Riefe The first big screen Hellboy felt like del Toro constrained...The sequel feels more like the director on his own terms.
Posted Jul 14, 2008  Edit critic review
Mother of Tears (2007) Brian Tallerico Mother of Tears feels like a copy, like someone "doing Argento", instead of the real deal that it could have been.
Posted Jul 03, 2008  Edit critic review
Hancock (2008) Brian Tallerico Hancock is a film that starts off promisingly, but takes a left turn about halfway through and literally comes apart at the seams.
Posted Jul 01, 2008  Edit critic review
8/10
The Love Guru (2008) Jordan Riefe Greetings from The Love Guru, dispenser of wisdom in bite-size chewable chunks, a soulful man of infinite knowledge with three goals on his mind: the Stanley Cup... then Oprah and a shot at his rival, Deepak Chopra, to become the new celebrity prince of s
Posted Jun 27, 2008  Edit critic review
5/10
Wanted (2008) Jordan Riefe They are the deadliest assassins the world has ever known. Genetically enhanced, they execute superhuman feats of death. No target has ever escaped alive. They are the Fraternity. It's not a very imaginative moniker, but then again they are in a movie cal
Posted Jun 27, 2008  Edit critic review
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) Brian Tallerico Like its hero, the job may not be done with the most style and grace, but it definitely gets done.
Posted Jun 27, 2008  Edit critic review
Finding Amanda (2008) Brian Tallerico Amanda can never find a tone. It opens with a scene-reading (Taylor is a writer on a hacky TV show) that produces yawns, where our lead character is the only one that laughs. It's prophetic.
Posted Jun 27, 2008  Edit critic review
WALL-E (2008) Brian Tallerico Wall-E is not only the best movie of the year by galaxy-sized leaps and bounds, it's one of my favorite movies in a long, long time.
Posted Jun 26, 2008  Edit critic review
Sangre de Mi Sangre (2007) Brian Tallerico There's nothing easy about Christopher Zalla's very good film, a story that will get under your skin in its depiction of the dark underbelly of the American dream.
Posted Jun 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Get Smart (2008) Brian Tallerico Get Smart isn't funny. And the action scenes aren't thrilling enough to make up for the lack of laughter.
Posted Jun 20, 2008  Edit critic review
Quid Pro Quo (2008) Brian Tallerico I wanted Quid Pro Quo to develop into something at every turn, but it just never gels. It's a great 20-page short story that can't sustain 82 minutes of life on the big screen.
Posted Jun 13, 2008  Edit critic review
War, Inc. (2008) Brian Tallerico Like the Iraq conflict itself, the exit strategy fails and the whole thing becomes a complete mess. And it wasn't that great an idea from the beginning.
Posted Jun 13, 2008  Edit critic review
The Edge of Heaven (2007) Brian Tallerico If you're anywhere near a city that's playing it in a theater, I couldn't be more direct - go see it. You will not regret it and not soon forget the best film so far this year.
Posted Jun 12, 2008  Edit critic review
Kung Fu Panda (2008) Brian Tallerico The fight choreography in Kung Fu Panda is the real draw. And, especially in IMAX, the film is never visually boring.
Posted Jun 09, 2008  Edit critic review
Stuck (2007) Brian Tallerico Gordon is a masterful storyteller when he's clicking on all cylinders. It's his best film in years.
Posted Jun 09, 2008  Edit critic review
The Children of Huang Shi (2008) Brian Tallerico Clearly made with the best of intentions but never anything but boring.
Posted Jun 09, 2008  Edit critic review
You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008) Jordan Riefe Is it funny? The answer is no.
Posted Jun 08, 2008  Edit critic review
Sex and the City (2008) Jordan Riefe If the new film is any indication of where things are headed in the future, the return of Sex and the City would work much better back on TV as a cable series... on The Lifetime Channel.
Posted May 30, 2008  Edit critic review
The Fall (2006) Brian Tallerico With unbelievable and unsympathetic characters, all that's left in The Fall is the visuals.
Posted May 30, 2008  Edit critic review
The Strangers (2008) Brian Tallerico The Strangers may not be perfect but it's easy to believe that Bertino's next few will be. It's that great a debut.
Posted May 30, 2008  Edit critic review
Mister Lonely (2007) Brian Tallerico Korine may have an original voice and eye but can't really think of anything interesting to do with them.
Posted May 27, 2008  Edit critic review
Postal (2007) Brian Tallerico What's wrong with Postal can be summed up pretty easily - it's a comedy that's never once funny.
Posted May 23, 2008  Edit critic review
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Jordan Riefe Even with its flaws, Spielberg and Ford do enough to ultimately make Crystal Skull a terrific addition to the franchise.
Posted May 22, 2008  Edit critic review
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Brian Tallerico Spielberg and his team simply know how to do this kind of thing better than most of the filmmakers inspired by them who are trying to do it today.
Posted May 20, 2008  Edit critic review
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) Brian Tallerico On every level, Prince Caspian feels more accomplished than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Posted May 16, 2008  Edit critic review
Redbelt (2008) Brian Tallerico Ejiofor gives one of the most well-rounded and intriguing turns of the year and carries the entire film to the winner's circle.
Posted May 09, 2008  Edit critic review
Speed Racer (2008) Brian Tallerico Unless you have an incredibly low threshold for kid/chimp comedy, a sense of fun is what's missing in Speed Racer and that should have been the first ingredient.
Posted May 09, 2008  Edit critic review
Son of Rambow (2007) Brian Tallerico Like a lot of those home movies we made as children, Son of Rambow has the best of intentions and a great set-up, but the ending falls apart.
Posted May 09, 2008  Edit critic review
At the Death House Door (2008) Brian Tallerico A documentary that feels even more relevant with the upcoming Supreme Court discussion of lethal injection in June.
Posted May 09, 2008  Edit critic review
Frontier(s) (2007) Brian Tallerico Perhaps it's because I see so many by-the-numbers horror movies but when a director is willing to go as far off the rails as Gens tries to go in Frontier(s), it goes a long way with me.
Posted May 07, 2008  Edit critic review
Standard Operating Procedure (2008) Brian Tallerico Even with an amazing filmmaker like Morris, it's impossible to yet fully focus the photos from Abu Ghraib and truly know what happened, who was right, who was wrong, and when it will happen again.
Posted May 02, 2008  Edit critic review
Iron Man (2008) Brian Tallerico Iron Man is good but don't be surprised if you wish that the armor was a little more chipped and faded and not quite so perfectly "hot-rod red."
Posted May 01, 2008  Edit critic review
The Life Before Her Eyes (2007) Brian Tallerico The talented crew and ensemble did everything they could to raise an incredibly flawed screenplay above its Lifetime TV Movie roots but ultimately could only take it so far.
Posted Apr 25, 2008  Edit critic review
Deal (2008) Brian Tallerico About now is when a critic would throw in a reference to a low poker hand to compare it to, but Deal can't even rise to a pair of twos.
Posted Apr 25, 2008  Edit critic review
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008) Brian Tallerico For some, the comedy glass will be more half-empty than half-full, but fans of the original movie and people exhausted by the state of the genre in general will drink up and hope they get another serving sooner than 2012.
Posted Apr 25, 2008  Edit critic review
Deception (2008) Brian Tallerico It's almost as if someone involved let the cat out of the bag figuring that angry critics are certainly better for your career than angry, pissed-off fans. (Hugh, I'm looking at you.)
Posted Apr 25, 2008  Edit critic review
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) Matt Priest As an adult filmgoer, I'm looking for original characters and invigorating stories. So without those and without a magic staff of my own, I'm afraid I wasn't quite swept away.
Posted Apr 24, 2008  Edit critic review
Shine a Light (2008) Matt Priest In 2008, not even the big screen treatment, carried out by one of our finest directors and some of cinema's most talented artists and technicians, can conjure something that's no longer there.
Posted Apr 24, 2008  Edit critic review
Drillbit Taylor (2008) Matt Priest A bold, yet uneven combination of low-brow humor, pop cultural references, sneak-attack sweetness and underdog triumph.
Posted Apr 24, 2008  Edit critic review
Prev Next