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Ray Gill Jr.
Ray Gill Jr.'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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Evil Does Not Exist (2023) |
Hamaguchi may well have a poignant message in here he wants heard, but he offers little incentive to find it. - Willamette Week
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| Posted May 22, 2024
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They Shot the Piano Player (2023) |
The film may be an unflinching look at a murderous past, but tragedy is juxtaposed with the joy of seeing an animated Ella Fitzgerald running barefoot through the streets... encapsulating the chaotic splendor and spirit of this cinematic gem. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Apr 03, 2024
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Shayda (2023) |
Unflinching in its portrayal of battle lines defined by gender and tradition, Shayda refuses to force-feed a message to its audience, confronting you with a harsh reality that’s already staring you in the face. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Apr 03, 2024
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Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All (2023) |
... The documentary dismantles the myopic views of the haters, offering a deeper understanding of the Indigo Girls’ activism and music. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Apr 03, 2024
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About Dry Grasses (2023) |
Is About Dry Grasses about a work scandal, a love triangle, or is it truly about dry grasses? The answer is elusive, and the ideal viewer will stop asking what Ceylan's film is about and accept it for what it is: a masterpiece. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Mar 20, 2024
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Freud's Last Session (2023) |
[Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis'] intellectually dense conversation exposes the origins of their opposing, deeply held beliefs, producing mutual respect rather than a common enemy, a mythical feat in a mediocre movie. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jan 18, 2024
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Cassandro (2023) |
This origin story isn’t about acquiring powers; it’s about discovering the strength to achieve a victory that transcends “winning.” That’s Cassandro’s superpower. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 21, 2023
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Shortcomings (2023) |
[Shortcomings] may well leave you feeling as disdainful as Ben does at the film’s beginning. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Aug 10, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
The Indiana Jones saga gives its iconic character a fifth adventure that moviegoers didn’t ask for, but that longtime fans should appreciate. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jul 06, 2023
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Lynch/Oz (2022) |
Lynch/Oz does succeed in uncovering some fascinating deep-cut similarities between The Wizard of Oz and Lynch’s body of work, but meanders into the realm of a wordy public autopsy as blunt as a hammer. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jun 21, 2023
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It Ain't Over (2022) |
All in all, It Ain’t Over successfully recontextualizes Berra’s legacy beyond that of his Hanna-Barbera pantless cartoon bear counterpart, leaving us with the story of a loving husband, a devoted family man, and a world-class winner. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jun 14, 2023
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Carmen (2022) |
Carmen has an immersive score (by Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson and Julieta Venegas), evocative dance sequences, and stunning visuals, but they paint a pretty picture that Millepied altogether fails to frame. - Willamette Week
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| Posted May 17, 2023
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The Eight Mountains (2022) |
The film movingly explores family and identity, asking, “Can we truly ever go home again?” - Willamette Week
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| Posted May 10, 2023
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To Catch a Killer (2023) |
With so much focus on the chase, Szifron never taps into the emotional wreckage experienced by the victims, but Woodley and Mendelsohn successfully reveal the human beings behind the badges. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Apr 26, 2023
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After Love (2020) |
Every now and again, we’re treated with a fresh story from a first-time filmmaker gifted with the perfect actor to tell it. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jan 19, 2023
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) |
Kids will be swept away by a fairy tale that sincerely and movingly evokes the power of family and friendship, while adults will admire how forthrightly the film confronts life beyond the endless hope of youth. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jan 05, 2023
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A Man Called Otto (2022) |
It’s a story built on the most tired of tropes: the supercilious old white man reluctantly offering sage guidance to today’s incompetent youth while finding his purpose in the process. Worse, Hanks isn’t even right for the role. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jan 05, 2023
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The Eternal Daughter (2022) |
The Eternal Daughter is laden with symbolism that’s intriguing to study, but its glacial pacing and lack of plot make it challenging to enjoy. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Dec 15, 2022
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Violent Night (2022) |
A riotously fun spectacle starring a lovable, murderous, man bun-sporting Santa Claus trapped in a mediocre story. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Dec 08, 2022
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Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020) |
The film shines while showing his early immigrant story, and there’s an infectious Forrest Gump-type joy to this tale of a simple man rubbing elbows with fame and . - Willamette Week
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| Posted Dec 02, 2022
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Ticket to Paradise (2022) |
Seeing Clooney and Roberts together, though, is like listening to a new album from a favorite band of your youth. They can still hit those wonderful, familiar notes to satisfy their old fans, but this time, it’s doubtful they’ll attract any new ones. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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The Woman King (2022) |
In short, filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood and a stellar cast bring the legendary Agoji warrior women to life. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Oct 12, 2022
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See How They Run (2022) |
Director Tom George and writer Mark Chappell indulge in meta mystery in this film noir, leaning primarily on established tropes (and almost getting away with it). - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 14, 2022
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Gigi & Nate (2022) |
While director Nick Hamm deserves credit for making a movie about the issues surrounding the use of service animals, Gigi & Nate is both worthy of celebration and thoroughly unmemorable. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 07, 2022
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The Good Boss (2021) |
In a story too flat to care about, even Bardem can’t trick you into thinking The Good Boss is a well-balanced film. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 01, 2022
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Alienoid (2022) |
Choi’s dizzying fusion of genres and a nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime may alienate some viewers, but those who allow themselves to be immersed in the movie will be rewarded with an amazing jumping-off point for part two. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 01, 2022
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Waiting for Bojangles (2022) |
Waiting for Bojangles emerges as a love story that goes beyond the chase and peers into the gritty emotional battle between what’s real and what we perceive to be love. It’s an uneasy thrill ride full of uncertainty, as any great love story should be. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Sep 01, 2022
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Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) |
Reijn’s avant-garde style is striking and the layered characters are full of intrigue, but we never really get to know them -- and the lack of clues as to the culprit turns a whodunit into a less interesting game of Guess Who? - Willamette Week
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| Posted Aug 24, 2022
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Luck (2022) |
The first feature from Skydance Animation whisks viewers to a wonderful world of magical creatures, but it doesn’t know what to do once it gets there. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Aug 10, 2022
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Bullet Train (2022) |
Bullet Train is deft enough to give each confrontation stakes and each character their time to shine. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Aug 10, 2022
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Easter Sunday (2022) |
Easter Sunday reflects on the realities of generational assimilation, but it never loses sight of the inherent humor that only family can expose. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Aug 10, 2022
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Clara Sola (2021) |
In her topical struggle for liberation from patriarchal control, Clara allows Alvarez to expose systematically repressive patterns, creating a cathartic journey. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) |
Unfortunately, the creativity ends with the animation. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jul 06, 2022
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Official Competition (2021) |
Fascinating and subtly hilarious. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jun 29, 2022
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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) |
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande presents a compelling contrast to the scores of coming-of-age movies. Because it’s not about misguided youth blossoming into self-actualization. It’s about self-actualization after a life of regret. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jun 23, 2022
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Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) |
A New Era may be a tale of rushed romances and obscenely affluent people falling ass-backwards into even more wealth, but those potential pitfalls are diluted by whimsical storytelling leading to a satisfying ending. - Willamette Week
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| Posted May 19, 2022
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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) |
Moments of absurdity come infrequently enough to enhance the comedic tone without defining it -- and co-writer and director Tom Gormican knows his audience, giving viewers what they want with little care for what anyone else thinks. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Apr 27, 2022
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The Lost City (2022) |
Though it relies on premise more than plot, The Lost City stands tall among its rival predators in the catalog of action comedies. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Mar 31, 2022
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Infinite Storm (2022) |
Overall, the film indulges a bit too much in the morose to be considered entertaining, but it still delivers an effective and powerful examination of grief and the value of life. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Mar 24, 2022
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Fear (2020) |
Bulgarian writer-director Ivaylo Hristov’s Fear portrays humanity with brute honesty and moments of levity. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Mar 17, 2022
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Lucy and Desi (2022) |
A Poehler expresses a reverence for her subjects by falling back on repeated use of emotive background music and storytelling crescendos usually reserved for a cathartic conclusion, but the film ultimately comes together nicely. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Mar 11, 2022
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Dog (2022) |
As the co-director of Dog, Tatum proves that no one knows how to use him as well as he does -- and makes the film a treat for anyone who’s ever had a pet with a lot of “personality” and a fun ride for anyone else who wants to come along - Willamette Week
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| Posted Feb 25, 2022
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I Want You Back (2022) |
It’s purely because of Slate’s performance that the film avoids being a clichéd bore and becomes something surprisingly fun and heartfelt. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Feb 18, 2022
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Moonfall (2022) |
The disaster movie has aged like an '80s hair metal band clinging to relevance in the age of grunge -- and Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall is no exception. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Feb 11, 2022
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A Hero (2021) |
Farhadi never insults his audience with obvious exposition. The viewer is left to discover who Rahim is, the various characters' motivations, and who the stories' villains and heroes are. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jan 13, 2022
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The Tomorrow War (2021) |
The Tomorrow War plays out like an alien action movie mixtape as it shamelessly steals from every film in its genre, from Aliens to Starship Troopers. - Willamette Week
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| Posted Jul 22, 2021
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