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DVDJournal.com

DVDJournal.com is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Betsy Bozdech, D.K. Holm, Mark Bourne, Nell Minow.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
1/4
American Psycho (2000) D.K. Holm It is unlikely that this film will become any kind of cult item at all, given its lack of visual interest, and the violence is really only suggested in its bloody aftermath, rather than shown, thus frustrating the lowbrow gore geeks.
Posted Apr 02, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
9 to 5 (1980) Betsy Bozdech 9 to 5's strong cast ... and appealing concept (who hasn't wanted to chain up the boss at one point or another?), make it almost as relevant today as it was when it hit theaters in 1980.
Posted Jan 15, 2022  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Groundhog Day (1993) Betsy Bozdech Groundhog Day is more than simply a great comedy - it's a modern metaphor for the path to enlightenment.
Posted Jan 15, 2022  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Brothers (2001) Betsy Bozdech Like its four heroes, The Brothers looks good, knows just what to say, and mostly means well - but still has its faults.
Posted Jan 15, 2022  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Wish Upon a Star (1996) Betsy Bozdech All in all, you could definitely do worse in picking a movie for the "tween" set (hear that, Mary Kate and Ashley?).
Posted Jan 14, 2022  Edit critic review
1/4
The January Man (1988) Betsy Bozdech This star-studded, schizophrenic movie can't decide whether it's a thriller or a quirky comedy - so it bounces back and forth, and the result is a stilted, nearly unwatchable mess.
Posted Jan 14, 2022  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Clockstoppers (2002) Betsy Bozdech The best thing to do with Clockstoppers is to make like Zak: Put it into hypertime (aka fast-forward) until you get to the good parts.
Posted Jan 14, 2022  Edit critic review
4/4
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) Betsy Bozdech One of American cinema's landmark dramas, as well as one of the most powerful courtroom dramas ever filmed.
Posted Jan 08, 2022  Edit critic review
4/5
The Work of Director Michel Gondry (2003) Dawn Taylor [Gondry's] ingenuity and technical acumen raise these works from mere promotional tools to cinematic art.
Posted Jan 21, 2010  Edit critic review
The Wasp Woman (1959) Mark Bourne It's poorly written, cheesily acted, low-budget, and completely camp, but because it's Corman it's a touch ahead of its ilk thanks to some clever lines and flavorful directing. Utterly ridiculous but lovable.
Posted Sep 18, 2007  Edit critic review
The Giant Gila Monster (1959) Mark Bourne Camp value is provided by a truckload of 1950s B-movie cliches and dreadful song breaks -- "The Gila Monster Crawl" among other "rock & roll hits" -- by its lead, Don Sullivan, who through this movie rose from nothing to complete obscurity.
Posted Sep 18, 2007  Edit critic review
Alfie (1966) Mark Bourne What makes it work is charismatic Caine and the witty, intelligent script. Both work together to keep this remorseless bastard who uses and hurts women from being completely unlikable or unsympathetic.
Posted Jul 25, 2007  Edit critic review
3/4
RENO 911!: Miami (2007) Betsy Bozdech As always, the most impressive thing about Reno is the cast's stellar improvisational skills. All of them are completely committed to their characters.
Posted Jun 17, 2007  Edit critic review
Fantastic Voyage (1966) Mark Bourne ...our own human interior was revealed, like a Jacques Cousteau travelogue, in screen-filling vistas of surreal canals and chambers filled with floating psychedelia and the amorphous Jell-O colors of a Jimi Hendrix concert.
Posted Jun 03, 2007  Edit critic review
The Third Man (1949) Mark Bourne It's a suspense-thriller-romance steeped in Hollywood's best influences and 'gimmicks,' yet it's crafted with enough looming European 'art-house' style to topple Fritz Lang into an existential funk.
Posted May 29, 2007  Edit critic review
1/4
Epic Movie (2007) Betsy Bozdech More a string of already-past-their-expiration-date gags based on big popcorn flicks than an actual film.
Posted May 21, 2007  Edit critic review
4/4
Big (1988) Betsy Bozdech Hanks has since aced plenty of other parts ... but he's rarely been as beguilingly charming -- and utterly convincing -- as he was playing a 12-year-old trapped in a grown man's body.
Posted May 06, 2007  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Night at the Museum (2006) Betsy Bozdech Kids who don't care about the finer points of cinematic storytelling (in other words, most of them) will certainly enjoy the film, as will older viewers with a taste for the fantastic.
Posted Apr 22, 2007  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Notes on a Scandal (2006) Betsy Bozdech An absorbing character study that successfully deals with the shades of gray that are part and parcel of real, messy, everyday life.
Posted Apr 15, 2007  Edit critic review
3.5/5
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) Dawn Taylor Hope's tale of identical cousins, treachery, and adventure touches something in the cultural consciousness in the same manner as Shakespeare's plays.
Posted Apr 10, 2007  Edit critic review
4/5
The Naked City (1948) Dawn Taylor ... a seminal work that's not to be missed.
Posted Apr 10, 2007  Edit critic review
2/5
Fast Food Nation (2006) Dawn Taylor Linklater's Fast Food movie covers all of Schlosser's bases, but is surprisingly anemic in its execution.
Posted Apr 10, 2007  Edit critic review
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) Dawn Taylor Cohen uses his characters to point out our sacred cows, whatever they may be, and then shoot them with a well-placed dart.
Posted Apr 10, 2007  Edit critic review
Bedazzled (1967) Mark Bourne ...the duo's best film, Bedazzled brought the spirit of Swinging London plus impudent pokes at religion, politics, and pop culture itself to their new audiences.
Posted Apr 08, 2007  Edit critic review
3/4
Volver (2006) Betsy Bozdech Unlike so many of the characters Cruz has played [in Hollywood], Volver's Raimunda -- earthy, sensuous, confident, and capable -- feels like a real, lived-in woman.
Posted Apr 08, 2007  Edit critic review
2/4
Happy Feet (2006) Betsy Bozdech Happy Feet is a perfect example of a good concept that never quite figured out where it was going -- the story is uneven at best and virtually falls apart near the end.
Posted Mar 25, 2007  Edit critic review
3/4
Peter Pan (1953) Betsy Bozdech Plenty of charming moments and iconic characters ... but the story isn't anchored firmly enough in the land of fairy tale to avoid feeling dated a few decades down the line.
Posted Mar 18, 2007  Edit critic review
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) Mark Bourne ...holds its own against Russell Crowe's CGI expeditions from topsail to yardarm, and this one has more plot.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
The Three Musketeers (1948) Mark Bourne ...enjoyable corn in the 'Classics Illustrated' tradition. You can't believe a minute of it, but neither can you ignore its rollicking bygone Hollywood charms.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
Corridors of Blood (1958) Mark Bourne ...a musty but good-looking production, with Karloff splendid as the devoted surgeon pulled asunder by his own experiments and exploited by the underworld gang of tavern low-lifes who trick him into officializing their corpses-for-profit scheme.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
The Haunted Strangler (1958) Mark Bourne [Boris Karloff is] again near the top of his game as the best thing about this slow but effective Victorian who-actually-done-it.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
The Atomic Submarine (1959) Mark Bourne Even for a meager exploitation film, The Atomic Submarine isn't anything to brag about.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
First Man Into Space (1959) Mark Bourne Space Age hardware footage (including cockpit shots of Chuck Yeager) meets rampaging space-mutant theatrics.
Posted Mar 05, 2007  Edit critic review
2/4
Running With Scissors (2006) Betsy Bozdech Heavy-handed soundtrack cues, vintage costumes, and rooms overflowing with props can't disguise the fact that the characters, for all their bizarre quirks, don't have much depth.
Posted Feb 11, 2007  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Open Season (2006) Betsy Bozdech Picks up enough once Boog and Elliot are actually in the wild that folks who are just looking for a little light entertainment will probably be amused enough.
Posted Feb 04, 2007  Edit critic review
2/4
Idiocracy (2006) Betsy Bozdech It's a pointed -- if cynical and somewhat bitter -- commentary on the state of society, but the story is thin and meandering at best.
Posted Jan 07, 2007  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Last Kiss (2006) Betsy Bozdech Like the darker, more unsettling Closer, The Last Kiss ... gives its audience -- particularly those in relationships of their own -- plenty to think about.
Posted Jan 01, 2007  Edit critic review
Pandora's Box (1929) Mark Bourne Give all due credit to Pabst, but Brooks pretty much single-handedly raises Pandora's Box above being just another doomed-bad-girl melodrama.... She makes Lulu unfathomable, a well that always has more to give. Therefore, so is the film.
Posted Dec 11, 2006  Edit critic review
Forbidden Planet (1956) Mark Bourne ...an enduring best-of-breed favorite, a CinemaScope spectacle that's terrifically entertaining, smartly written, memorably cast, briskly paced, and production-designed to the hilt.
Posted Dec 11, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) Betsy Bozdech While not quite as fresh, charming, or focused as its predecessor, [this] is still a fine way to spend an hour and a half -- especially if you're a Scrat fan.
Posted Nov 19, 2006  Edit critic review
4/4
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) Betsy Bozdech A Fish Called Wanda manages to turn its merry miscreants into sympathetic characters -- which, in turn, is what makes the film succeed.
Posted Nov 19, 2006  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Keeping Up With the Steins (2006) Betsy Bozdech A trite, boring comedy about a kid trying to make peace between his estranged father and grandfather.
Posted Nov 12, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Riding in Cars With Boys (2001) Betsy Bozdech If Drew Barrymore's enthusiasm were any measure of a movie's quality, Riding in Cars With Boys would sweep the Oscars.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000) Betsy Bozdech Aside from its mouthful of a title and Robin Wright Penn's monumentally bad haircut, How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog actually has a lot going for it.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Life as a House (2001) Betsy Bozdech When it's not veering into cheesiness, this well-acted tale of redemption has some affecting scenes and moments of genuine drama.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Net (1995) Betsy Bozdech The Net does build up to a decently tense climax, but its moral -- live your life off-line -- feels heavy-handed.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Black Knight (2001) Betsy Bozdech Black Knight is funnier than the ads made it look, but too indulgent and eager for its own good.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2/4
Indecent Proposal (1993) Betsy Bozdech Even as a meditation on morality and character, it's not that compelling.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Serendipity (2001) Betsy Bozdech Every scene is predictable, every cliché is embraced enthusiastically .. and if you have a soft spot for romantic comedies, you'll still be sighing happily.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
2/4
Cactus Flower (1969) Betsy Bozdech A little too slow-paced to work as a farce -- and Bergman's 180-degree turn from straight-laced old maid to swingin' single gal happens a little abruptly to be convincing.
Posted Nov 09, 2006  Edit critic review
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