Thompson on Hollywood

Early Reviews: The Expendables

The two trades are split on the new action flick The Expendables, which I have been avoiding like the plague--clearly I am not in the target male demo. Interestingly, THR's Sheri Linden finds the testosterone fest worthwhile, while Variety's Peter Debruge does not. UPDATE: Time Out London does not mince words:

By Anne Thompson
|
August 4, 2010 7:57 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

AMC’s Rubicon: Pattern Recognition, Left-Wing 24?

The cable series Rubicon debuts Sunday night. Reviewer David Chute recommends it: "After the two excellent back-to-back episodes that comprise its Sunday night 'premiere event,' Rubicon promises to be a worthy stable-mate for the channel’s Emmy-dominating Mad Men and Breaking Bad."

By David Chute
|
July 31, 2010 12:00 PM
|
6 Comments

More:

Charlie St. Cloud: Early Film Reviews

Charlie St. Cloud opens Friday; early reviews are ice cold on Zac Efron's return to pretty-boy form. The PG-13 weepy is "Lovely Bones Lite," reviewers write, a too-sentimental fantasy.

By Anne Thompson
|
July 29, 2010 8:12 AM
|
3 Comments

More:

Get Low Scores High Reviews

Psst! Don't tell any contrarian film critics. But Get Low so far is scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. (UPDATE: IndieWIRE's CriticWIRE is tougher: B-.)

By Anne Thompson
|
July 28, 2010 1:55 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Scott Pilgrim Rules the Con: Wright Talks

The big question for Universal--which has certainly reached fans of Eisner-award-winning Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World comics with its multiple promo activities at Comic-Con this weekend-- is whether this movie will cross over to a wider audience.

By Anne Thompson
|
July 24, 2010 6:18 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Entourage Recap Episode 3: "Dramedy"

Entourage really gets rolling in Episode 3, writes Tim Appelo:

By Tim Appelo
|
July 19, 2010 2:30 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Salt Early Reviews: Jolie Meets Bond

Here's the first review of Salt from THR:

By Anne Thompson
|
July 17, 2010 2:24 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Next Wave of Inception Reviews: Less Effusive

One sign of a movie worth seeing more than once is that you also want to read more than one review. Rarely have I been more compelled to read what my respected colleagues have to say about a new film. Now that those reviews are pouring in, Inception's Rotten Tomatoes ranking among "top critics" has fallen to 87--which is a very high number, by the way. Most Oscar contenders rank in the 80s.

By Anne Thompson
|
July 15, 2010 2:26 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

True Blood's 9 Crimes: Just Complicated Enough

Guest blogger Tim Appelo gives his take on True Blood's highlight-of-the-season-so-far episode: 9 Crimes.

By Tim Appelo
|
July 13, 2010 5:39 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

New York Magazine Blows Inception's Rave Review Record

Expect an Inception backlash. Warner Bros.' marketing pattern is to launch a big movie's buzz with the internet press and trades, then let the established print critics (who tend to be tougher on films) have at it closer to release. And so the inevitable negative review from New York's David Edelstein breaks Inception's 17 for 17 record on Rotten Tomatoes.