|
|
 |
|
|
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...a hip, moody science-fiction film made for a reported $500,000... provides a steady stream of tension and doom, yet the overall mood is almost dreamy.... quietly appealing." (Read the full review...) 347 words, 10/01/10 Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE (cg) "...heavy-handed... might have been more tolerable if it had at least offered some vague tension or even the slightest glimmer of chemistry between its two stars." (Read the full review...) 613 words, 10/28/10 Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT (cg) "...impresses thanks to the lead actors' performances and director Gareth Edwards' skilled efforts. But it should come with a warning: 'Here be (not many) monsters.' " (Read the full review...) 77 words, 11/19/10 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a rather special achievement.... holds our attention ever more deeply as we realize it's not a casual exploitation picture." (Read the full review...) 864 words, 11/18/10 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD (cg) "...works not because of its representation of alien creatures or its somewhat derivative back story but because of the atypical manner in which it approaches the character-based narrative." (Read the full review...) 836 words, 10/26/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Despite a clunky immigration message, 'Monsters' effortlessly compels. The ending may be pure sci-fi schmaltz, but it's schmaltz that this viewer, at least, could believe in." (Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/29/10 Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...focuses on two empty-headed blanks who never seem in any real peril or say anything interesting." (Read the full review...) 401 words, 10/29/10 Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR (cg) "...boring scare-, suspense- and gore-free horror... lamely acted and slackly directed by special-effects specialist Gareth Edwards..." (Read the full review...) 197 words, 10/29/10 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a sharp little low-fi monster movie... lays out its political allegory plainly, so there's no disguising it. That, I think, is why the movie works." (Read the full review...) 418 words, 11/19/10 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a rather special achievement.... holds our attention ever more deeply as we realize it's not a casual exploitation picture." (Read the full review...) 864 words, 11/18/10 Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...a dystopian landscape that's so naturalistic, it's uncanny. As a writer, Gareth Edwards is a less successful realist, resorting to some pretty hoary contrivances..." (Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/27/10 Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Considering his scant money and resources, Gareth Edwards works wonders conjuring creatures in a couple of sequences that fairly chill the blood." (Read the full review...) 406 words, 11/12/10 Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...transcends the special-effects auteur label, creating a memorable sci-fi story in which the hero and heroine are true equals in the adventure." (Read the full review...) 572 words, 11/12/10 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK (cg) "I love a giant-monster movie as much as the next guy - more, probably - but even I can't get behind this." (Read the full review...) 246 words, 11/11/10
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: WEAK (cg) "Young love, tired old tale." (Read the full review...) 506 words, 11/05/10 Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a deft existential road movie, a muted romance, and, above all, a sci-fi allegory with giant squidlike creatures thumping around Mexico..." (Read the full review...) 380 words, 11/12/10 Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE (cg) "...an intriguing mash-up of 'District 9,' 'The Host' and assorted recent post-apocalypse road pictures." (Read the full review...) 517 words, 11/05/10 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a stunning piece of work that packs a devastating emotional wallop.... smartly plays against every expectation its title and slam-bang setup creates." (Read the full review...) 515 words, 11/19/10 Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...there's something compellingly moody in Edwards' story... far from perfect, but as a calling card for a rising young talent, it's impressive." (Read the full review...) 278 words, 11/05/10 Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...a genuine curio: a moody, low-budget road-movie romance that takes place against a background of alien invasion." (Read the full review...) 506 words, 11/05/10 Stephen Whitty, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE (cg) "The most interesting thing here is the budget.... there is nothing here that 'District 9' didn't do better, or smarter. All 'Monsters' has going for it is that it did it cheaper." (Read the full review...) 516 words, 12/03/10 Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE (cg) "...arty, ruminative and slow-paced... Nowhere have I seen it described as a shaky-cam character piece following two American travelers in Latin America..." (Read the full review...) 473 words, 11/05/10 Ted Fry, Seattle Times: MODERATE (cg) "Although impressive in execution, with exotic atmospheres captured in richly ominous design, the sluggish pace, listless acting and inert dialogue undermine any sense of momentum." (Read the full review...) 317 words, 11/05/10 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a tiny sci-fi thriller that makes up what it lacks in big effects with a fine photographic eye, a low-key sense of scale, and a genuine (if not always well-performed) human drama." (Read the full review...) 259 words, 11/12/10 Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR (cg) "Too much of it simply reminds you of other, better movies, and the shaky performances by McNairy and Able make investing in their budding romance difficult..." (Read the full review...) 452 words, 12/24/10
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...a dystopian landscape that's so naturalistic, it's uncanny. As a writer, Gareth Edwards is a less successful realist, resorting to some pretty hoary contrivances..." (Read the full review...) 231 words, 10/27/10 Mack Rawden, Cinema Blend: VERY GOOD (cg) "...has all the patience and honesty of a very good film, but when it came time to truly trust its muted vision, it cowered and became something less.... a solid movie about escaping from aliens." (Read the full review...) 712 words, 10/29/10 Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE (cg) "...familiar and slight." (Read the full review...) 110 words, 11/04/10 Noel Murray, AV Club: GOOD (cg) "...a testament to what the latest technologies allow filmmakers to do, and -- on the downside -- a testament to the enduring importance of a good script." (Read the full review...) 350 words, 10/28/10 Nick Schager, Slant: WEAK (cg) "Allegories don't come much more leaden... a transparent fusion of 'Cloverfield' and 'District 9' that posits its alien-invasion tale as a parable about illegal immigration." (Read the full review...) 591 words, 10/23/10 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK (cg) "I love a giant-monster movie as much as the next guy - more, probably - but even I can't get behind this." (Read the full review...) 246 words, 11/11/10 Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Edwards blazes a trail for future monster mavens. Near its finale, it finds a moment of unexpected, otherworldly beauty that tempers its allegory for anti-immigrant hysteria." (Read the full review...) 603 words, 11/10/10 MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: EXCELLENT (cg) "I love this movie for dealing with one of the questions I always have at the end of alien-invasion movies: 'Okay, but what then?' This then." (Read the full review...) 315 words, 12/15/10
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Director Gareth Edwards is a wizard with his laptop's effects program.... If he'd been able to conjure up an ending as persuasive as his monsters, he'd be all set." (Listen to the full review...) 231 seconds, 10/29/10 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "What brings 'Monsters' down from its extremely low perch is a conspicuous lack of monstrosity... there's never a hint of a relationship, human or non." (Read the full review...) 256 words, 10/29/10 Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Despite a clunky immigration message, 'Monsters' effortlessly compels. The ending may be pure sci-fi schmaltz, but it's schmaltz that this viewer, at least, could believe in." (Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/29/10 Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...focuses on two empty-headed blanks who never seem in any real peril or say anything interesting." (Read the full review...) 401 words, 10/29/10 Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "...hits my sweet spot in various ways.... Edwards does a lot of different things with craft and delicacy..." (Read the full review...) 1,085 words, 10/28/10
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: GOOD "...a tricky balance of gritty-indie style and horror-movie substance -- if John Cassavetes had ever made a sci-fi thriller, it probably would've looked and sounded a lot like this..." (Read the full review...) 624 words, 03/24/10 Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...in the aliens-among-us vein of a 'District 9'... makes its own distinct impression thanks to a finely tuned attention to atmospheric detail over broad sci-fi sensationalism." (Read the full review...) 374 words, 07/03/10 Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...focuses on two empty-headed blanks who never seem in any real peril or say anything interesting." (Read the full review...) 401 words, 10/29/10 Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "Despite a clunky immigration message, 'Monsters' effortlessly compels. The ending may be pure sci-fi schmaltz, but it's schmaltz that this viewer, at least, could believe in." (Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/29/10 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "What brings 'Monsters' down from its extremely low perch is a conspicuous lack of monstrosity... there's never a hint of a relationship, human or non." (Read the full review...) 256 words, 10/29/10
Thank you for following MovieReviewIntelligence.com |
Opening Soon (Early Figures)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
