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Cole Smithey
Tomatometer-approved critic
1900, Ace in the Hole, Come and See
Manhattan
http://www.colesmithey.com/home/
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Oppenheimer (2023) |
What promises to be Christopher Nolan's first cinematic masterpiece, evaporates before our eyes.
- ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 24, 2024
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Anatomy of a Fall (2023) |
Ice is the only thing in the world that is what it's cracked up to be, until blood melts it, that is.
Such is the set up for this brilliantly written and directed courtroom drama.
Sandra Hüller gives a riveting performance. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 22, 2024
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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) |
Lily Gladston's performance is the only reason to see this movie.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is a grueling, punishing experience to sit through.
Anyone with a half a brain could edit an hour out of this movie, blindfolded. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 18, 2024
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Poor Things (2023) |
"Poor Things" coincides with Emerld Fennell's "Saltburn" in confronting Hollywood's gun-happy format with something considerably more grounded, namely the sex urge that drives people, and the social curiosity that comes along with it. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 18, 2024
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American Fiction (2023) |
2023 stands as perhaps the best year for satire.
"American Fiction" puts a fine point on that fact with a laugh-out-loud movie that covers a lot of satirical ground.
Perfection. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 17, 2024
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The Holdovers (2023) |
"The Holdovers" should become a holiday movie classic for audiences to return to every Thanksgiving to keep some perspective on human nature, hypocrisy, and the importance of having a warm heart and a calm mind. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 17, 2024
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Saltburn (2023) |
Writer/director Emerald Fennell helps usher in 2023 as the year that Cinema vaulted back to life, with a transgressive black comedy that splashes cum-soaked mud on corporate cinema with tireless glee.
Comic book movies be damned. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 11, 2024
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Maestro (2023) |
Perhaps there's room for a gay #MeToo movement.
Here is a film that needed a serious rewrite, much tighter editing, and direction by a filmmaker other than Bradley Cooper.
At least "Maestro" is an easy movie to forget. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Feb 16, 2024
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Asteroid City (2023) |
How far the mediocre have fallen.
Here is a movie you'll feel better about walking out on before it begins, than you will wasting the fifteen minutes it takes you to realize what a disastrous piece of inert garbage it truly is.
Still, walk out you will. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 13, 2024
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American Boy: A Profile of: Steven Prince (1978) |
I won't spoil any of the shock of hearing these tales for the first time, but suffice it to say any of Steven's stories would make great audition monologues for any actor willing to do his or her homework.
I love this movie! You just might love it too! - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 27, 2023
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Barbie (2023) |
"Barbie" is to feminism as a wrench is to a cat.
Extermination of rational thought is this commercial's goal.
Toxic.
"Barbie" is a chunky diarrhea stain on humanity.
Greta Gerwig is a hack screenwriter, and a remedial filmmaker at best. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 22, 2023
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May December (2023) |
Todd Haynes has crafted the best movie of 2023.
Mind-blowing.
If ever there was, or is, a filmic antidote to the corporate gaslighting garbage that a movie such as "Barbie" represents, "May December" is it.
Prepare to be transformed. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 09, 2023
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Gaslight (1944) |
If you haven't yet seen "Gaslight," you are in for a rare treat. You'll certainly be keenly aware of other's attempts at leading you down a path of self-doubt. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 05, 2023
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Sam Now (2022) |
What begins as a deeply personal coming-of-age adventure, evolves into a macro-micro study of the generational effects of abandonment.
It may be a bitter pill, but this brilliant movie conveys things that only documentary Cinema can capture and express. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Nov 14, 2023
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Rustin (2023) |
Magnificent.
Director George Wolfe hits another one out of the park on the heels of his perfect "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
Coleman Domingo gives a tour de force performance.
This is Coleman Domingo's moment! - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Nov 12, 2023
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Night Games (1966) |
"Night Games" retains its ability to shock viewers after over 50 years due to Mai Zetterling's intuitive ability to dig equally into male and female psyche, while keeping an artistic distance. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Nov 05, 2023
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In the Mouth of Madness (1995) |
John Carpenter's 1994 finale to his Apocalypse Trilogy is a no-holds-barred blitzkrieg of horror that will have you watching the movie a second time just to confirm that you did indeed see what you think you saw. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Nov 05, 2023
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House (1977) |
Visually and viscerally stunning from start to finish, “House” is much more than a mere masterpiece. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Oct 31, 2023
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Cure (1997) |
Suspenseful and taught with plot twists galore, "Cure" is an overlooked masterpiece from the same filmmaker responsible for "Tokyo Sonata," another terrific movie, albeit from a different genre altogether. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Oct 21, 2023
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The Faculty (1998) |
Great energy, great story, great tone, “The Faculty” is a truly great movie. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Oct 15, 2023
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Hour of the Wolf (1968) |
Impeccably conceived and executed, "Hour of the Wolf" is a thing of cinematic perfection.
What is this nightmare called love? - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Sep 30, 2023
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Radical Wolfe (2023) |
"Radical Wolfe" has the potential to inspire its viewers to read a Tom Wolfe book. You might even venture into the work of Wolfe's contemporaries, Hunter S. Thompson, John Irvine, Joan Didion, or Kurt Vonnegut. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Sep 15, 2023
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Tiro en la cabeza (Bullet in the Head) (2008) |
"Bullet In The Head" leaves out all audio dialogue as a way of distancing the audience from its non-existent story. "Bullet In the Head" was the weakest of the 18 films I saw at the 2008 New York Film Festival. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Sep 12, 2023
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Person to Person (2017) |
Part coming of age story, and part murder mystery, this delightful light comedy brims with thoughtful dialogue and memorable performances. Settle in for a great date night movie. You won't be disappointed. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Sep 04, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) |
"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" is a fine excuse to sit in an air conditioned movie theater for a few hours in the midst of summer, but it's not as good as any of the franchise's predecessors.
ColeSmithey.com - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Aug 15, 2023
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Mr. Klein (1976) |
"Mr. Klein" is a haunting film for the reflexive dichotomy it shares between the dystopia of World War II France, and the totalitarian existence we experience today. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Aug 09, 2023
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Triangle of Sadness (2022) |
"Gilligan's Island" holds up as a better example of the left roasting right-wing capitalist pigs, whose greed knows no sliver of human decency. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Aug 05, 2023
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The Easy Life (1962) |
"Carnal Knowledge" and "Sideways" are just a couple of films that owe "Il Sprpasso" a great debt of gratitude. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jul 28, 2023
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The Comfort of Strangers (1990) |
Paul Schrader's criminally overlooked adaptation of Ian McEwan's 1981 novel is breathtaking. Straight masterpiece this movie. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jul 22, 2023
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One for All: The DJ Chris Villa Story (2023) |
As pedestrian as it gets, this amateurish documentary confirms the idea that DJing represents the antithesis of musicianship. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted May 13, 2023
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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) |
Visual, sonic, and thematic noise. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted May 11, 2023
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Discontinued (2022) |
Forget about things like three act structure, having an empathetic protagonist, or even thematic subtext for that matter, "Discontinued" is content to spin its wheels in existential mud for 90 minutes. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Apr 29, 2023
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American Murderer (2022) |
Here is a workmanlike true crime thriller to break out the popcorn for all your entertainment needs. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Mar 03, 2023
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Licorice Pizza (2021) |
Paul Thomas Anderson shits the bed of his own movie with a couple of truly horrendous scenes of anti-Asian caricature.
Not funny.
Deal-breaker.
What a waste. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Feb 05, 2023
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Blonde (2022) |
Straight masterpiece.
Ana de Armas is uncanny in her fearless portrayal of Hollywood's most iconic actress.
Feminist think piece. You bet.
This is Cinema. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 30, 2023
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The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) |
Confucius comes into play. "If you seek revenge dig two graves, one for yourself."
Hala-feckin-luya. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 25, 2023
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Wildcat (2022) |
Challenging, thought-provoking, and suspenseful, "Wildcat" is a lot of movie. Hearts will be broken. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 17, 2023
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Tár (2022) |
"Tár" comes across as a cheap parlor game. Marin Alsop calls Tár "antiwoman." Hard to argue with Marin Alsop. You're a fool if you do. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 13, 2023
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) |
Proof that filmmaking is a thing of the past, "Glass Onion" is a tone-deaf crime comedy whose overblown budget would have been better spent on New York City's infrastructure. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 02, 2023
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The Fabelmans (2022) |
This may well be Steven Spielberg's best film.
You couldn't ask for a finer swan song if that turns out to be the case. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 02, 2023
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White Noise (2022) |
"White Noise" is the worst fucking movie I've ever seen. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Jan 02, 2023
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Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022) |
Superbly written and edited, "Is That Black Enough For You ?!?" is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. Essential. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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Elvis (2022) |
Let’s just give Austin Butler his Best Actor Oscar now. This young man has range to spare. Wow! - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Dec 21, 2022
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Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022) |
Condescending, emotionally flat, and narcissistic beyond all unreasonable common sense, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Fellini rip-off is a flop. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Nov 30, 2022
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Personality Crisis: One Night Only (2022) |
David Johansen's swan song. You can't help but feel some sorrow at the prospect of losing the last New York Doll standing. Ovations are in order. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Oct 18, 2022
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Crimes of the Future (2022) |
Cronenberg, you’re no Cronenberg.
What a fucking mess.
Here is a textbook example of how not to do satire. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted May 26, 2022
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) |
An abortion subplot allows for a scene of artistically inspired exploitation that breaks the film. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Apr 25, 2022
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Rushmore (1998) |
Precocious but not precious, "Rushmore" is heavy-hearted comedy with a light touch. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Apr 24, 2022
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Body and Soul (1925) |
"Body and Soul" is not a small cinematic gem; it is a magnificent diamond. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Apr 24, 2022
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The Third Man (1949) |
has one of the greatest chase sequences ever filmed and it doesnt involve cars. - ColeSmithey.com
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| Posted Apr 23, 2022
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