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Barbara Ellen
Barbara Ellen's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Atomic People (2024) |
While Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer sought to capture the crushing horror of causing mass death, Atomic People gives voice to those at the sharp end. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Aug 05, 2024
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Four Hours at the Capitol (2021) |
Vivid and meticulous, Four Hours emerges as a cautionary tale about the might of the mob, with a pathetic sidebar of teargas-stained Maga hats kept as souvenirs. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Oct 27, 2021
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Reclaiming Amy (2021) |
This, you felt, was about trying to salvage something of "their Amy" from the gilded wreckage of her public persona. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Together (2021) |
You believed McAvoy and Horgan as they dangled from their psycho-emotional barbed wire, torn, battered but somehow still together at the end. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Jun 28, 2021
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Diana (2021) |
This was a valiant attempt to cast fresh light, with less obvious interviewees and material... Otherwise, this was largely standard Diana-fare, chiefly striking for how certain key moments have aged. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Jun 28, 2021
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Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn (2021) |
Sending and receiving intimate images is now part of the modern sexual landscape. McDermott is right. It's not about the images, it's about consent. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Mar 09, 2021
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Max Clifford: The Fall of a Tabloid King (2021) |
Clifford came across as a grandiose narcissist, and sad creep, who relished abusing his position and wielding power over others. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Mar 09, 2021
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The Day Mountbatten Died (2019) |
Gruelling, affecting. - Observer (UK)
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| Posted Aug 26, 2019
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X2 (2003) |
X-Men 2 remains a decent enough sci-fi effort, which delivers on most of the levels fans could expect. Too bad it's hampered by a plot that wouldn't get green-lit for an average episode of Buffy. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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The Heart of Me (2002) |
How, one wonders, do movies like this still get made? Does everyone just turn up one day, and refuse to go home until a cameraman arrives? - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Anger Management (2003) |
What is fundamentally wrong with Anger Management is that, try as they might, the two stars have absolutely no comedic or dramatic chemistry together, and so eventually the audience gets slightly bored with them. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Dark Water (2002) |
It's flawed, but you should see Dark Water, a decent little chiller that brings a whole new meaning to rising damp. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Daddy Day Care (2003) |
Even allowing for genre limitations, this is a very bad movie indeed. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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The In-Laws (2003) |
What we are left with is a movie that carefully aims to be all-family entertainment, but you can't imagine any family member particularly wanting to watch it. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) |
The sequel to Charlie's Angels is a bit like being spritzed in the face with all the bad teenage perfume ever made. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Wrong Turn (2003) |
This could have been a half decent cross between a Romero zombie movie and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but in the end the gore is so ridiculously overdone and the script so lame, that it undermines all sense of suspense. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Bruce Almighty (2003) |
There are enough goofball touches in Bruce Almighty to carry the movie to a certain extent... However, when the time comes for Bruce to "share and learn", the effect is trite and embarrassing. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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FeardotCom (2002) |
William Malone's FearDotCom is one of those hopelessly muddled horror movies where you end up feeling more disturbed by the incomprehensible plotting and lurching camerawork than anything unfolding on-screen. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) |
It's not bad, really. It is also the tenth Star Trek movie, which means an awful lot of celluloid featuring grown men wearing children's stretchy pyjamas and standing behind plasterboard consoles looking purposeful. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Spider (2002) |
The film's slow, plodding pace relies too much on strong performances and grubby splashes of "atmosphere" rather than genuine emotion and plot. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002) |
By the end of Personal Velocity, you want to invite all three female characters around for coffee to hear what happened next, and I can think of no higher praise for everyone involved. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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The Rules of Attraction (2002) |
This is an exercise that is in love with its own superficiality, delighted with an emptiness that was all it ever aspired to, and yet it manages to turn into a better movie than it has any right to be. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Welcome to Collinwood (2002) |
Welcome to Collinwood has an eccentric, humorous beat and such beautiful characterisation that, even at a brisk 83 minutes, you end up caring about the characters even as you accept that their every effort is doomed to failure. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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25th Hour (2002) |
It's an odd movie, maybe odder than it should have been if this is Lee's attempt to make a more widely accessible, less issue-based movie. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Chicago (2002) |
In effect it is filmed theatre, but this brings its own compensations: the more fake Chicago looks, the more real it seems to get. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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Far From Heaven (2002) |
With a classic storytelling style bordering on corniness, a deft tragicomic touch and a heroic refusal to use the safety net of irony, Haynes has managed to produce something of a gem. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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The Good Thief (2002) |
The Good Thief is worth seeing, if only for Nolte's turn as the loveable de-toxing rogue. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 03, 2018
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The Recruit (2003) |
I rather enjoyed The Recruit and I'm guessing you will, too. The script is well-paced and witty, Pacino is as watchable as ever. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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Evelyn (2002) |
Tone-wise, Evelyn is all over the place. There are times when it is brisk and lively, even rather amusing; other times when you just cringe at how syrupy and overdone it is. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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L.I.E. (2001) |
Even in its least interesting moments, L.I.E should be credited for attempting to put an edgy kind of truth on camera. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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The Quiet American (2002) |
The Quiet American is a lovely little mover, barely breaking into a sweat as it dances its dreadful dance of love and need to the backing tune of political unrest, moral ambiguity and subterfuge. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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The Matrix Reloaded (2003) |
Indeed, if you loved the first Matrix and its mix of comic-book angst, martial arts, virtual reality, video-game punch-ups, pop philosophy, biblical subtext, romance, tragedy and pathos, then you won't be disappointed. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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Antwone Fisher (2002) |
There is such a thing as under-acting to a point where you exude the charisma of a plant pot. The directing goes the same way, plodding along conscientiously but without any spark -- one can sense the cameras splintering out of sheer boredom. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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To Kill a King (2003) |
To Kill a King is no Man for All Seasons, that poem to destiny and betrayal, but it exudes intelligent energy. What emerges is a dark, noisy history lesson viewed through the filter of a power struggle that spirals out of control. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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Secretary (2002) |
Spader handles a tricky role beautifully, but this is Gyllenhaals's tour de force. She is remarkable and original. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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8 Mile (2002) |
While not exactly wow, Eminem is solid and credible in a role which could so easily have screeched like chalk across a wet blackboard. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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Gangs of New York (2002) |
The visuals are strong, while the central narrative is weak (a disastrous combination for a long movie). Worst of all, Gangs of New York achieves far too little while trying much too hard. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Jan 02, 2018
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Amélie (2001) |
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie is one of those once-in-a-decade comedies which scatters its charm like pearls from a broken necklace, all the more adorable because they are not real. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Dec 02, 2014
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Vera Drake (2004) |
Leigh's gift for turning the meagre into gripping drama has seldom been put to better use. The pleasant surprise is that this is a story to sink your teeth into - Times (UK)
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| Posted Oct 21, 2004
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) |
This overlong sequel is short of magic. - Times (UK)
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| Posted Nov 16, 2002
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