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Joe Utichi
Tomatometer-approved critic
London
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Nasty (2024) |
Nasty is an infinitely watchable pop doc, but it might have dug a little deeper here and there. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted May 24, 2024
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Caught by the Tides (2024) |
Zhao can do so much with her eyes that she holds our attention in spite of her character’s stoicism... Hers is the performance that anchors the film. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted May 20, 2024
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Meeting with Pol Pot (2024) |
Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot may not walk totally fresh ground for Panh, but there is real power in one filmmaker’s dedication to re-examining real world horror from many angles over many years. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted May 17, 2024
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Bird (2024) |
Arnold knows just how to get under our skin. If we struggle to settle into all this misery to begin with, by the end we’re as invested as we could be. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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The Girl with the Needle (2024) |
It is because this story’s truths are so stark that this high-wire work succeeds. Dyrholm holds Dagmar Overbye so precisely that she can reach moments of true pantomime villainy without ever sacrificing her reality. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted May 16, 2024
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Soul (2020) |
It's a concrete return to the Pixar of old, full of grand ideas and original execution, and a statement of intent for Docter's steering of the Pixar ship away from endless sequels and back to inventive originals. - Deadline Hollywood Daily
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| Posted Oct 12, 2020
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Nymphomaniac: Volume I (2014) |
Von Trier once more upsets his doubters, by delivering a film that's at turns funny and frank, and that prods and pokes at the line without ever needing to cross it. - IGN Movies
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| Posted Feb 21, 2014
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That Awkward Moment (2014) |
Propagates attitudes that need changing; not because we live in politically correct times, but because they massively underserve the audience the film wants to address. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 15, 2014
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Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) |
Definitive for any artist whose drive to persevere demands a wanton disregard for practical sense - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 14, 2014
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Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (2013) |
A reminder of formative times in our young lives. You want to remain forever with these characters in this wonderful moment. But you know that the moment has passed. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 10, 2014
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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) |
Once the bizarre complaints of the easily offended have died down, I don't doubt that this'll find a place amongst Scorsese's best work. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 05, 2014
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All Is Lost (2013) |
We've seen this story before, but Chandor dares to construct it so far from convention, and, surprisingly, it resonates come closer to home in the process. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 05, 2014
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Out of the Furnace (2013) |
Out of the Furnace feels like a screenplay, so none of it is ever authentic. Perhaps it looked better on paper, but that's certainly where its problems lie. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 05, 2014
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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) |
An extraordinary man probably deserved better than an ordinary film. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 04, 2014
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1 (2013) |
The stories are fascinating, but the interests of non-diehards might not last. Mileage will vary. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 04, 2014
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12 Years a Slave (2013) |
Solomon's story doesn't need fictionalising to be absolutely devastating, and McQueen tells it straight, trusting its account, and his actors, to make it resonant. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Jan 04, 2014
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Red (2010) |
What Red lacks in incomprehensible muscle-bound meatheads it makes up for in humour, story and action. - Film4
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| Posted Oct 20, 2010
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South of the Border (2009) |
Like the best of Stone's narrative fiction, South Of The Border is packed with big characters and epic storytelling. That this is non-fiction makes it all the more gripping. - Film4
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| Posted Aug 05, 2010
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Predators (2010) |
Predators is something different, a tone altogether absent since the days of the original. That it also stands up as a film of today makes it all the more enjoyable. - Cinematical
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| Posted Jul 08, 2010
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Toy Story 3 (2010) |
If in singing the film's praises one can do no more than follow a familiar hymn sheet, so be it. Like their plastic space ranger, Pixar is a company prepared to reach infinity and beyond, and there's little sense arguing with such lofty ambition. - Cinematical
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| Posted Jun 17, 2010
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Kaboom (2010) |
Funny, sexy and mad, Kaboom may not be vintage Araki, but it's more than worth watching regardless. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) |
For its light tone and often hilarious humor, the film is sure to entertain, but it won't be remembered as vintage Woody Allen. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Tamara Drewe (2010) |
While it's often outrageous, there's always something real to every scene. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Rubber (2010) |
A film brimming with comic brilliance and manic originality. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Fair Game (2010) |
Doesn't quite live up to [its] promise but ... it's mature, smart and engaging and, critically, strikes a new tone for Liman's work. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Chatroom (2010) |
The film stumbles to its conclusion - it never gives its audience enough credit. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Biutiful (2010) |
Proves Irritu as a talent in its own right ... it's good to be able to say that, with Biutiful, Irritu is four for four. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Another Year (2010) |
Around the Croisette the question being asked prior to the screening of Another Year was, 'Do we need another Mike Leigh character drama?' As long as the auteur is delivering cinema like this, the answer is obviously yes. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Revolución (2010) |
A remarkable exploration of an important historical event 100 years after the fact. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 28, 2010
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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) |
There's too much wrong with the film for it to really engage. You'll want to take the journey, but it'll go out of its way to make sure you can't quite manage it. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 14, 2010
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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) |
It may have taken 23 years, but it was well worth the wait. Wall Street 2 is a proper return to form for Stone and Douglas, and comes just at the right time to tell its story. Gordon Gekko is back. - Cinematical
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| Posted May 14, 2010
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Taking Woodstock (2009) |
It may not be on a par with Brokeback, nor as powerful as Lust, Caution, but Taking Woodstock is another triumph for Ang Lee, a director whose resume gets more and more diverse with every project he tackles. - IGN Movies UK
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| Posted May 18, 2009
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Thirst (2009) |
Thirst may not be the greatest vampire movie ever made, but Park's willingness to try something different makes it a decidedly fresh take on the genre. - IGN Movies UK
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| Posted May 15, 2009
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Franklyn (2008) |
Marks McMorrow as a director to watch, one unafraid of taking risks and going against the grain of the British film industry. It's not for everyone, but surrender to the limitless ambition and off-kilter tone and it's an engaging 100 minutes. - IGN Movies UK
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| Posted Feb 27, 2009
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The Last Mimzy (2007) |
Classic kids' fantasy in the spirit of Flight of the Navigator and ET. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Mar 15, 2008
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Sunshine (2007) |
This is Sci-fi at its proudest; an incredible achievement that reminds us why Danny Boyle is the best British director working today. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Sep 22, 2007
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Sicko (2007) |
That the treatment of patients in America is shockingly inhuman in many cases is obvious, and Moore uncovers a huge number and variety of horror stories about it. Like much of his work, though, while the film will inspire plenty of discussion through its - IGN Movies
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| Posted Jun 22, 2007
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The Orphanage (2007) |
The Orphanage is this year's Pan's Labyrinth. And that's the high praise indeed. - IGN Movies
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| Posted Jun 22, 2007
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My Blueberry Nights (2007) |
General audiences will likely be lost, but the film's cast list may just attract those who were wanting for Wong Kar Wai and had yet to find him. And if the film can win the auteur even more fans, then it can't really be that bad. - IGN Movies
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| Posted May 19, 2007
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Sunshine (1999) |
- FilmFocus
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| Posted Apr 14, 2007
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Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) |
The cinematic equivalent of Brussels sprouts; parents will drag their kids to see it whether they want to go or not, and it's bound to leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouths of all ages. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Mar 25, 2007
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The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) |
It's all just far too Wes Craven for its own good. He gave Aja free rein to innovate, but as he writes this sequel he rests on every single genre cliché because he doesn't understand that they're still clichés even if he did invent them. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Mar 25, 2007
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Hot Fuzz (2007) |
Two hours of some of Britain's finest contemporary comedy writing. - IGN Movies
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| Posted Mar 09, 2007
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Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) |
- FilmFocus
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| Posted Feb 10, 2007
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36 (2004) |
- FilmFocus
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| Posted Dec 30, 2006
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The Last Kiss (2006) |
Strong performances and interesting ideas make the film worth a gamble but it's far from the relationship classic it longs to be. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Oct 28, 2006
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The History Boys (2006) |
Original, on the big screen at least, and entertaining in spite of its problems, The History Boys remains a fine example of this country's talent both in front and behind the camera. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Oct 11, 2006
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World Trade Center (2006) |
These are voices that deserve to be heard and that there are filmmakers like Stone willing to hear them is more important than anything that might follow. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Oct 01, 2006
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Clerks II (2006) |
...Probably the funniest film Smith has done since the original - it's chock full of childish humour and witty observations on pop-culture - but there's something real beneath all of that as well. Something, dare it be said, touching. - FilmFocus
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| Posted Sep 30, 2006
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The Thief Lord (2006) |
- FilmFocus
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| Posted Sep 23, 2006
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