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JOHN HARTL Movie Reviews

218 reviews, averaging 69.2% positive
page 1 of 11
John Hartl's reviews, by date
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Date
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1.

Kon-Tiki (2013)

Seattle Times
05/17/13 Very Good "...looks as fantastic as 'Life of Pi' and the sometimes tense confrontations have a similar dramatic arc. But how much is fiction and how much is deliberate confusion?"
2.

Sun Don't Shine

Seattle Times
04/26/13 Outstanding "Seimetz proves an astonishingly intuitive filmmaker.... she's drawn remarkable performances from Kentucker Audley and Kate Lyn Sheil..."
3.

Disconnect

Seattle Times
04/19/13 Very Good "...timely and frequently gripping.... The script by Andrew Stern carefully plays on fear of technology... the actors are definitely up to the task."
4.

Gimme the Loot

Seattle Times
04/12/13 Good (Not Great) "...looks like it was improvised, especially the street scenes.... It may be a slight movie, but it has its sunny charms."
5.

42 (2013)

Seattle Times
04/12/13 Very Good "A kind of feel-good movie about racism... Chadwick Boseman is always convincing as a proud man forced to compromise at key moments."
6.

Leviathan (2013)

Seattle Times
04/05/13 Very Good "...spellbinding.... quite an accomplishment. The mixture of arresting images and carefully chosen sounds is quite striking."
7.

Reality (2012)

Seattle Times
04/05/13 Good (Not Great) "For all its ups and downs and occasional detours into boorishness, it's an original that will surprise if not necessarily delight fans of Garrone's very different 'Gomorrah.' "
8.

The We and the I

Seattle Times
03/22/13 Moderate "While the result seems authentic, the movie is a collection of very thin stories, many of which feel incomplete."
9. 03/15/13 Very Good "...unique.... It's Adir Miller's soulful performance that provides the necessary sense of perspective... the movie delivers."
10. 03/08/13 Very Good "...a blistering attack on politicians, propagandists, dissemblers and other climate-change deniers.... Rosebraugh creates a sense of urgency that's difficult to shake."
11.

Emperor (2013)

Seattle Times
03/08/13 Good (Not Great) "...well-made but patchy.... Aside from Jones' gutsy performance, what lifts the film above mediocrity is its serious engagement with the generals' dilemma."
12. 02/22/13 Very Good "...fascinating... gradually becomes a persuasive attempt to celebrate the content of Abu-Jamal's character, not the violence that apparently led to his imprisonment."
13.

Bless Me, Ultima

Seattle Times
02/22/13 Good (Not Great) "...feels both generic and personal.... Just when the well-cast actors begin to click together, the narration threatens to take over... choppy..."
14.

Tabu (2012)

Seattle Times
02/08/13 Very Good "...three movies in one... it's an original: a kind of jigsaw puzzle that will frustrate some audiences and fascinate others."
15.

Consuming Spirits

Seattle Times
02/01/13 Very Good "...at its most engaging when Sullivan is flooding the soundtrack with 'Danny Boy' or 'Shenandoah' or evoking 'Our Town' to establish a sense of instant nostalgia."
16.

Broken City

Seattle Times
01/18/13 Weak "...dull and humorless and artificial.... Brian Tucker's script wastes a capable cast... transforms into shameless catalogs of genre clichés..."
17.

Any Day Now (2012)

Seattle Times
12/14/12 Outstanding "...it's Cumming, playing a broken man who wants to be the next Bette Midler, who demonstrates the possibilities in a character who is sometimes his own worst enemy."
18. 12/07/12 Very Good "...passionate, entertaining... won the Montreal Film Festival award for Best Debut Feature... Bavo Defurne suggests a kinship with his cast that's sometimes uncanny."
19.

Radio Unnameable

Seattle Times
11/30/12 Very Good "...charming... you're overwhelmed by the feeling that you've seen this tale of corporate greed and arrogant mismanagement before. Still, the filmmakers tell it with gusto."
20.

Life of Pi

Seattle Times
11/21/12 Outstanding "...a liquid dream... If the religious discussions occasionally seem contrived, they're also quite sincere. Best of all, they fit the characters -- and their ages."

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Friday, May 24
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Epic (2013) 65.4% May 24
The Hangover Part III 31.0% May 23
A Green Story 30.3% May 24
Alyce Kills 62.5% May 24
Before Midnight (2013) 97.5% May 24
Charge 75.0% May 23
Fill the Void (Lemale et ha'halal) 82.4% May 24
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks 72.5% May 24
Friday, May 31
After Earth nr May 31
Now You See Me (2013) nr May 31
American Mary 66.6% May 31
Hannah Arendt 65.6% May 29
I Do (2013) 54.5% May 31
Shadow Dancer (2013) 73.3% May 31
The East 89.1% May 31
The Kings of Summer 75.0% May 31
Friday, June 7
The Internship (2013) nr Jun 7
The Purge nr Jun 7
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie nr Jun 7
Dirty Wars 83.0% Jun 7
Much Ado About Nothing (2013) 95.6% Jun 7
Passion 53.5% Jun 7
Rapture-Palooza nr Jun 7
Syrup nr Jun 7
Tiger Eyes nr Jun 7
Violet & Daisy 58.0% Jun 7
Wish You Were Here (2013) 72.7% Jun 7
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet (Vous n'avez encore rien vu) 71.1% Jun 7
Friday, June 14
This Is the End nr Jun 12
Man of Steel (2013) nr Jun 14
Berberian Sound Studio 76.8% Jun 14
Storm Surfers 3D 79.5% Jun 14
Stuck in Love nr Jun 14
The Bling Ring 65.6% Jun 14
Vehicle 19 25.0% Jun 14
Beyond
Don Jon 55.6% Oct 18
Battle of the Year nr Sep 13
Ain't Them Bodies Saints 86.3% Aug 16
Crystal Fairy 65.0% Jul 12
Fruitvale Station 89.3% Jul 26
I'm So Excited! 54.7% Jun 28
In a World... 81.5% Aug 9
Inside Llewyn Davis 79.8% Dec 6
Lovelace 73.5% Aug 9
Prince Avalanche 77.9% Aug 16
The Attack (L'attentat) 62.8% Jun 21
The Hunt (Jagten) 71.3% Jul 12
The Spectacular Now 82.2% Aug 2
The Way, Way Back 87.6% Jul 5
Touchy Feely 61.5% Sep 6
V/H/S/2 68.3% Jul 12
Wadjda 90.1% Aug 30
You Will Be My Son (Tu seras mon fils) 71.3% Sep 13
Young & Beautiful (Jeune et Jolie) 81.6% Aug 21