Skip to content
  • weekly digest email
  • join my Patreon
  • join my Substack
  • my books
  • about/contact
  • twitter
  • rotten tomatoes
  • letterboxd
  • goodreads
  • pinterest
  • rss
FlickFilosopher.com

film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997

  • on Netflix
  • movies for the resistance
  • classic film virgin
  • directed by women
    • Where Are the Women? project
  • cinemas
    • US and Canada
    • UK and Ireland
  • dvd/vod
    • US and Canada
    • UK and Ireland
  • 2023’s films ranked
    • 2022’s films ranked
    • 2021’s films ranked
    • 2020’s films ranked
  • all recent posts
    • archives by month
  • all reviews
    • A–M
    • N–Z
    • Oscars Best Pix
    • Oscars Best Animated Pix
  • new comments

Guy Ritchie

The Gentlemen movie review: sufficiently advanced crime

Thu, Jan 16, 2020
1 comment

Guy Ritchie ups his game on his signature subgenre with a hilariously sublime crime comedy that acts as mirror on the legit world and oozes with crackling cynicism about culture and politics as well.

| 1 Comment

I’m on BBC World Service’s “The Arts Hour” again, Saturday, January 4th

Wed, Jan 01, 2020
no comments yet

I’m back for my 11th appearance and the start of my fourth year as a regular recurring guest commentator on this always-fun culture-chat program…

| Leave a comment

Aladdin (2019) movie review: cave of blunders

Wed, May 22, 2019
no comments yet

The romance lacks chemistry, and the villain lacks bite. It seems embarrassed to be a musical, failing to embrace the necessary ineffable daydreaminess. Somehow even more cartoonish as live-action.

| Leave a comment

Robin Hood (2018) movie review: it should be outlawed

Tue, Nov 20, 2018
22 comments

Ugly, garish, anachronistic like a small mean child playing with matches, and completely lacking in anything Robin Hood–y: there’s no fun, no romance, no virtue. Instead? Bizarre “aesthetics” and even worse politics.

| 22 Comments

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword movie review: well I didn’t vote for him

Mon, May 22, 2017
13 comments

Derivative, rote, devoid of heart and hope. Guy Ritchie has found no reason to retell Arthur’s story, or to render a mythic hero as a self-serving thug.

| 13 Comments

Victor Frankenstein movie review: monster mush

Fri, Dec 04, 2015
12 comments

A riff on the Hollywood conventions of a story we know very well already, with little new to say. James McAvoy’s mad scientist is fun to watch, though.

| 12 Comments

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie review: Cold War, lukewarm

Fri, Aug 14, 2015
23 comments

Guy Ritchie’s spy-themed GQ fashion shoot. Pure popcorn nonsense, sleek and chic and vaguely funny, but instantly forgettable.

| 23 Comments

Everyone’s Going to Die movie review: black comedy among the blues

Wed, Jun 24, 2015
no comments yet

Strange and wonderful and unclassifiable in the best way, this is an unexpectedly touching and oddly funny platonic romance. Sort of.

| Leave a comment

QOTD: What characters from classic literature would you reboot, and how would you do it?

Fri, Feb 15, 2013
no comments yet

But don’t choose Oliver Twist, because Hollywood has already beat you to it…

| Leave a comment

question of the day: Are classic pulp novels too dated to make faithful transfers to the big screen?

Wed, Jun 06, 2012
no comments yet

John Carter doesn’t work, but with some updating and shifts in emphasis, the Victorian Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds have made recent — and very successful — transfers to the big screen. Has entertainment moved on too much for popcorn crowds to care about classic pulp presented classically?

| Leave a comment
Older posts
Page1 Page2 Page3 Next →

sf/f/h flash fiction by me

Cultural Artifacts cover
now on Kindle Unlimited!

try KU for free:
US Amazon
Can Amazon
UK Amazon

please help keep truly independent film criticism alive!
support my work at Patreon  support my work at Substack
Pledge your support now at Patreon or Substack.
FREE weekly digest and daily streaming recommendations via Substack.
Or make a one-time donation via Paypal.

shop to support




Watch on Apple TV

FlickFilosopher.com does not accept ads, guest posts, link placements, or sponsored content.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

member
Online Film Critics Society


member
Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Tomatometer-approved critic on
Rotten Tomatoes



top critic
Movie Review Query Engine

Amazon US author page
Amazon UK author page


executive member
International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Copyright © 1997–2023 MaryAnn Johanson. All rights reserved.
No content appearing on this site may be reproduced, reposted, or reused in any manner without express written permission.
privacy policy | hosted by Fused