Lael Loewenstein
Tomatometer-approved critic
| Publications: | Boxoffice Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Variety, FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) |
| Critics' Group: | Los Angeles Film Critics Association |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14% | Intrigo: Death of an Author (2020) |
This is a movie that really wants to be a film noir, but doesn't respect the conventions of that genre in order to make it a decent one. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 13% | Disturbing the Peace (2020) |
There were problems with the script, the [editing], and the script supervising as well... But it kept me mostly engaged. Guy Pearce is always fun to watch. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 61% | The Wave (2020) |
It feels like an accomplished film - it certainly doesn't feel like a first film. Justin Long is perfect for this part. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 70% | Troop Zero (2020) |
I hated it. I did think it was slightly redeemed by Viola Davids and Allison Janney, but I think this was a ripoff of Little Miss Sunshine, [except] it wouldn't have even gotten into Sundance 10 years ago. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 19% | Dolittle (2020) |
The story was completely nonsensical. It was utterly bizarre. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 76% | Bad Boys for Life (2020) |
In the tradition of best buddy movies, together they're better than they are separately. For me, this movie was better than it had any right to be.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Jan 17, 2020
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| 37% | Seberg (2020) |
[Kristen Stewart] is well cast and the costumes are great. I just didn't think it was a particularly well-written film. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 81% | A Hidden Life (2019) |
A beautiful, lyrical, expansive portrait of a man... It's quite beautiful. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 83% | What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2019) |
What I liked about this film is that it is not just all positive stuff. It does show the negatives. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 86% | Cunningham (2019) |
I found it a worthy introduction to [Merce Cunningham's] style. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 74% | Richard Jewell (2019) |
I didn't find it as multidimensional or complex... Other than the really strong individual performances. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 68% | Bombshell (2019) |
I mostly liked this film... To different degrees, it is very well-acted. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 91% | Uncut Gems (2019) |
[The] use of Adam Sandler is just outstanding. I've never seen his tightly-coiled intensity worked to better effect than it does here. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Dec 13, 2019
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| 91% | When Lambs Become Lions (2019) |
A really fascinating and well-made cinéma vérité documentary. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 22, 2019
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| 90% | Dark Waters (2019) |
It's really heavy going and hard to swallow, but worth seeing. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 22, 2019
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| 97% | Knives Out (2019) |
It is a great cast, but mostly underutilized... It had a lot of interesting elements -- looking like an "Eye Spy" book come to life -- but it wasn't quite sharp enough, if you will. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 22, 2019
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| 95% | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) |
This made me feel hopeful and genuinely transformed at the possibility of goodness.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 22, 2019
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| 77% | Frozen II (2019) |
As far as the story -- it did not move the franchise forward at all. In fact, it seemed to have a terrible case of sequel-itis. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 22, 2019
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| 68% | Adopt a Highway (2019) |
Hawke does an excellent job carrying it off. It could have been a stronger film, but I thought he was excellent. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 1, 2019
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| 95% | The Apollo (2019) |
This is one of the best docs I've seen this year.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 1, 2019
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| 96% | The Irishman (2019) |
[Scorsese] does play with our expectations both stylistically and thematically... And I've got to give props to Scorsese for embracing new technology relatively late into his career. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 1, 2019
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| 70% | Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) |
This really is a return to form... It brings a liberal dose of humor, plenty of action, and a little bit of a Deadpool sensibility. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Nov 1, 2019
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| 60% | Ask for Jane (2019) |
It felt almost like you're reading a sixth grade sex-ed primer in terms of the way it hit every conceivable cliché. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Oct 1, 2019
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| 60% | Ophelia (2019) |
It looks beautiful and is engaging... A clever reimagining.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Oct 1, 2019
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| 98% | Maiden (2019) |
What a revelation... It's quite stunning. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Oct 1, 2019
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| 91% | Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) |
A fresher, reinvigorated, [and] much more energetic Spider-Man than I've seen in a long time. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Oct 1, 2019
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| 33% | Domino (2019) |
I was not a big fan of this movie... I thought it was narratively a disaster. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 30, 2019
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| 75% | Halston (2019) |
What struck me [about the film] that I didn't realize: Halston was the progenitor of so much of what we now associate with fashion. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 30, 2019
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| 59% | The Fall of the American Empire (La chute de l'empire américain) (2019) |
I love the way [director Denys] Arcand blends different genres. This is satire, a romance and also a thriller. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 30, 2019
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| 89% | Rocketman (2019) |
Sometimes it feels just a little contrived, but it has a freeness and a lightness and a sort of Bollywood-ness to it that is a lot of fun to watch.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 30, 2019
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| 100% | At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019) |
Hard to watch, but important to see.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 27, 2019
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| 81% | Long Shot (2019) |
It has everything you want in a romantic comedy and more. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 27, 2019
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| 82% | High Life (2019) |
There's some semblance of a plot, but it's style over substance. Too many bodily fluids and scatological instances for my taste. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2019
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| 67% | The Public (2019) |
Yes, it's earnest and it tries a little too hard, but it sucked me in. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2019
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| 44% | The Chaperone (2019) |
It never really comes alive. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2019
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| 86% | Ramen Shop (Ramen teh) (2019) |
A sweet, family comedic drama. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2019
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| 99% | Amazing Grace (2019) |
It lives up to its name... There is nothing more visceral, transporting, or transcendent than watching than watching Aretha Franklin. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2019
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| 100% | Slut in a Good Way (Charlotte a du fun) (2019) |
I thought this was a pretty charming, sort of French-Canadian take on 'Easy A', if you will. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 23, 2019
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| 93% | Diane (2019) |
It's a very slow burn... But by the end, I feel that she had revealed these different layers and I thought it worked. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 23, 2019
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| 85% | The Brink (2019) |
This is fascinating and horrifying at the same time. It leaves you kind of feeling sick. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 23, 2019
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| 98% | 3 Faces (2019) |
It's a beautiful and difficult film. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 23, 2019
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| 86% | The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) |
It's a remarkable story... I just wish the movie had been a little more suspenseful. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 19, 2019
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| 99% | Apollo 11 (2019) |
This movie is compulsory viewing for anyone who is interested in the space program or even just curious about what the moon landing was like. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 19, 2019
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| 90% | Tito and the Birds (Tito e os Pássaros) (2018) |
It felt incredibly alive... very tactile, and I loved the score. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2019
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| 62% | Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) |
It's difficult to walk [the] line of comedy and horror... It walks the line fairly well.‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2019
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| 89% | Arctic (2019) |
If you like survival epics -- and I happen to love them -- this is one of the very, very best. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2019
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| 37% | Close (2019) |
This a straight-out action thriller and... I would say not one of the better ones. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2019
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| 82% | All These Small Moments (2019) |
A collection of small and wonderful moments that added up to a pretty decent film. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2019
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| 22% | I Hate Kids (2019) |
It's an uneven film, but there are some funny turns. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2019
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| 79% | Fyre Fraud (2019) |
A little more comedic, a little more about millennials. ‐ FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Read More | Posted Sep 13, 2019
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