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Tara McNamara

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

As a film journalist and critic, Tara McNamara loves watching movies, but more than that, she loves spurring audiences to think about movies. In print and on screen, she focuses on motivating people to reflect on how media messages affect their own actions and opinions. To that end, she has appeared as the Fandango Film Mom, co-hosted the digital series “Mom’s Movie Minute;” and had recurring segments “Reel Moms” on Today and “Parents Guide” on The Insider. Currently, she’s on staff as a film critic for Common Sense Media. Tara also writes several articles a year for Variety, a relationship that began in 2007 when she served as their entertainment news anchor on Sirius XM. Tara’s film journalism career began in 2004 when she and her then 9-year-old son Cole created KidsPickFlicks, a website where kids of all ages could send in their own movie reviews, providing a kids-eye view of movies offered by no other site.

Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Mercy (2026) 24% 4/5 EDIT “Families who love escape rooms, this gripping thriller is for you.” – Common Sense Media Jan 27, 2026 Full Review In Cold Light (2025) 43% 2/5 EDIT “It's not great, but at least this crime thriller makes one thing clear: No good can come from selling drugs.” – Common Sense Media Jan 27, 2026 Full Review Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse (2023) 1/5 EDIT “Instead of a spirited adventure about a wild stallion, Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse is more like an aging mare that's been put out to pasture.” – Common Sense Media Jan 27, 2026 Full Review Signing Tony Raymond (2025) 82% 2/5 EDIT “College football fans will find some amusement in this sports personality-packed comedy, but Glen Owen's uneven recruitment tale grades out closer to redshirt than blue chip.” – Common Sense Media Jan 20, 2026 Full Review A Private Life (2025) 81% 3/5 EDIT “Writer-director Rebecca Zlotowski doesn't center generational trauma in the story; instead, she peppers acknowledgments throughout, showing how, in today's world, a small poke of antisemitism can feel like a razor slice.” – Common Sense Media Jan 20, 2026 Full Review Charlie the Wonderdog (2025) 42% 3/5 EDIT “This energetic (if somewhat basic) animated story is super at delivering the message that helping others is noble—but it also feels good. And if Charlie the Wonderdog proves anything, it's that Owen Wilson is the reincarnation of a golden retriever.” – Common Sense Media Jan 14, 2026 Full Review Dead Man's Wire (2025) 91% 4/5 EDIT “As taut as the wire around Dick Hall's neck, Van Sant's thriller about a largely forgotten case from decades ago feels uncomfortably relevant today. Powerful people exploiting the working class or the poor is, sadly, a situation that persists.” – Common Sense Media Jan 13, 2026 Full Review Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) 98% 5/5 EDIT “Philosophically deep yet straightforwardly simple, this is the rare animated film that's likely to appeal equally to both very young children and their parents. And each audience will come away having had an entirely different experience.” – Common Sense Media Jan 13, 2026 Full Review The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) 88% 4/5 EDIT “One person's art is another person's agony, and that's certainly what Ann Lee brings to the altar in this incredibly well made biopic.” – Common Sense Media Jan 5, 2026 Full Review The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) 81% 3/5 EDIT “The silly sponge's eerie pirate quest is arrrr-guably one of the more entertaining SpongeBob movies, although it's guilty of plundering its own lore.” – Common Sense Media Jan 5, 2026 Full Review Ella McCay (2025) 22% 3/5 EDIT “Writer-director James L. Brooks' imperfect 2008-set comedy is a reminder that they don't make movies like this anymore—for good reason.” – Common Sense Media Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Scarlet (2025) 69% 4/5 EDIT “As a reworking of Hamlet, Scarlet makes the legendary play more accessible through the inventive choice of reframing the tragic prince as a teenage girl.” – Common Sense Media Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Is This Thing On? (2025) 86% 4/5 EDIT “This dramedy is a fulfilling watch for anyone whose marriage has—or hasn't—gone the distance.” – Common Sense Media Dec 16, 2025 Full Review The Housemaid (2025) 74% 5/5 EDIT “Twisty, tantalizing, and utterly unpredictable, Feig gives viewers a fantastic "girls' night out" movie in this book-based thriller.” – Common Sense Media Dec 16, 2025 Full Review Sidelined 2: Intercepted (2025) 3/5 EDIT “This sequel to the viral YA-based hit Sidelined: The QB and Me is a touchdown. It shows that you can't truly "happily ever after" a high school love story because life doesn't stop at 18.” – Common Sense Media Dec 2, 2025 Full Review Eternity (2025) 77% 5/5 EDIT “People tend to pronounce the romantic comedy genre dead every few years, but rest assured: With Eternity, it's officially alive and well. This delightful film is the kind of romcom that viewers may feel like they've been waiting for forever.” – Common Sense Media Nov 25, 2025 Full Review Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) 92% 5/5 EDIT “Fun, funny, and phenomenal, the final film in the Benoit Blanc trilogy solidifies writer-director Rian Johnson as the Agatha Christie of the murder-mystery movie.” – Common Sense Media Nov 25, 2025 Full Review Rebuilding (2025) 93% 5/5 EDIT “Quiet, beautiful, and moving, this drama is a slow burn whose embers warm the soul. Rebuilding is a tale of family—the one you're born into, the one you build, and the one you choose.” – Common Sense Media Nov 20, 2025 Full Review Rental Family (2025) 87% 5/5 EDIT “Fraser's inherent sweetness is the spoonful of sugar that turns a potentially stomach-churning practice into an emotional milkshake.” – Common Sense Media Nov 20, 2025 Full Review Jay Kelly (2025) 75% 3/5 EDIT “This charming-enough dramedy plays like a cinematic riff on the poignant song "Cat's in the Cradle," sending its Cary Grant-like leading man on a guilt trip that stretches from Paris to Pienza.” – Common Sense Media Nov 20, 2025 Full Review The Astronaut (2025) 42% 3/5 EDIT “Writer-director Jess Varley delivers an engrossing, intriguing "after space" story that's only really weighed down by some low-orbit visual effects.” – Common Sense Media Nov 20, 2025 Full Review Supervized (2019) 40% 2/5 EDIT “The twilight years of superheroes is a clever idea that's worth exploring, but the lowbrow jokey humor in this film makes it come off like a bawdy '80s sitcom.” – Common Sense Media Nov 12, 2025 Full Review Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear (2019) 4/5 EDIT “With its wondrous IMAX cinematography, this film captures the beauty and texture of nature in a way that could be a more visceral, enthralling experience than actually being there.” – Common Sense Media Nov 12, 2025 Full Review Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025) 60% 4/5 EDIT “Returning after nearly a decade with a threequel that eclipses its two predecessors isn't just a trick, it's a feat.” – Common Sense Media Nov 11, 2025 Full Review Lost & Found in Cleveland (2024) 1/5 EDIT “Instead of romanticizing the city, Lost & Found in Cleveland shoves facts and locations at viewers like they're going to be tested on them later.” – Common Sense Media Nov 11, 2025 Full Review
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