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 | since 1997

Substack, Patreon, and Paypal subscriptions restarting Feb 1st [more]
  • 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
  • 2022’s films ranked
    • 2021’s films ranked
    • 2020’s films ranked
    • 2019’s films ranked
  • all recent posts
    • archives by month
  • all reviews
    • A–M
    • N–Z
    • Oscars Best Pix
    • Oscars Best Animated Pix
  • new comments

James Caan

Out of Blue movie review: murder most muted

Fri, Mar 22, 2019
no comments yet

A limp noodle of a cinematic noir that drains Patricia Clarkson of her usual eccentric charisma. And where it aims for intriguingly oblique pseudoscientific philosophizing, it ends up merely obtuse.

| Leave a comment

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya movie rating: green light

Sun, Feb 22, 2015
7 comments

With an irrepressible heroine full of life and joy and humor, this is an ancient Japanese folktale fresh with immediacy and relevance.

| 7 Comments

The Gambler movie review: to bet, or not to bet?

Thu, Jan 22, 2015
1 comment

It doesn’t quite work as a package, but Wahlberg is a real pleasure to watch as he crafts a portrait of a tormented anti-hero with an apparent death wish.

| 1 Comment

Blood Ties review: same old New York groove

Fri, Mar 21, 2014
5 comments

Excellent performances by Clive Owen and Billy Crudup can’t disguise the fact that there’s absolutely nothing here we haven’t seen too many times before.

| 5 Comments

Blood Ties trailer: should I be depressed, or optimistic?

Fri, Jan 24, 2014
1 comment

Great cast, but maybe it’s the same-old sameness that’s keep this from getting a major release? Could that be a reason to hope?

| 1 Comment

cinematic roots of: ‘Saw 3D’

Wed, Nov 10, 2010
no comments yet

In Saw 3D, the latest go-round in the torture-porn franchise, crazy person Jigsaw brutally punishes those people he believes deserve it. This flick sprang from (among other films)…

| Leave a comment

quick list: five great football movies that aren’t really about football

Tue, Oct 19, 2010
no comments yet

I don’t get football. I have no desire to get it, and feel no great loss in my life because of this. But there are a few great football movies aren’t really about football, far less so than the many great baseball movies are actually about baseball. And so these are movies I can love.

| Leave a comment

February 19: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings

Sat, Feb 20, 2010
no comments yet

We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but they won’t let you of the special hospital without a good reason. But you can have a multiplex-like experience right in your room with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you … more…

| Leave a comment

September 4: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings

Fri, Sep 04, 2009
1 comment

We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but it’s the last weekend of the summer and the last chance to burn dead animals on the barbecue — yum! — before the cool weather sets in. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of … more…

| 1 Comment

caption this! image from ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’

Wed, Aug 19, 2009
12 comments

Fun for Wednesdays! We look at an image from an upcoming movie and write snarky, witty, or otherwise entertaining captions for it. No prizes, it’s just for fun. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is about a not-so-mad scientist who develops a process to make food rain from the sky, among other wacky inventions. Like … more…

| 12 Comments
Older posts
Page1 Page2 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