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The Washingtonian

The Washingtonian is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Ian Buckwalter, Sophie Gilbert.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
Mitt (2014) Sophie Gilbert It's this ambivalence toward actually being President that comes across as one of the most revealing parts of Mitt.
Posted Aug 22, 2018  Edit critic review
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Stephen Zito Lucas' sword-and-sorcery epic, after its slow, jerky start, is almost continually funny and exciting, sometimes both at the same time.
Posted Jan 24, 2018  Edit critic review
3/4
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) Pat Dowell There's something to be said for watching wonders like the 150-mile-per-hour chase through giant redwoods on airsleds.
Posted Jan 24, 2018  Edit critic review
2.5/4
St. Elmo's Fire (1985) Pat Dowell There's nothing much to dislike in this chronicle of seven Georgetown University students trying to find their way in the world after graduation, but there's nothing very exciting, either.
Posted Jan 24, 2018  Edit critic review
5/10
Family Instinct (2010) Ian Buckwalter Whether things are manipulated or not (and the editing suggests they often are), at times this feels like a film that exists for no purpose other than to shock.
Posted Jul 09, 2014  Edit critic review
8/10
The Source Family (2012) Ian Buckwalter One of the most detailed looks at the inner workings of an American cult ever assembled.
Posted Apr 19, 2013  Edit critic review
8.5/10
Django Unchained (2012) Ian Buckwalter The sometimes cartoonish and silly violence serves a purpose: It contrasts the moments of truly disturbing violence that Tarantino puts on display, always within the context of the brutality doled out to slaves at the hands of white masters.
Posted Dec 28, 2012  Edit critic review
5.5/10
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) Ian Buckwalter Jackson seems to be going through the motions of epic fantasy filmmaking.
Posted Dec 17, 2012  Edit critic review
6.8/10
Killing Them Softly (2012) Ian Buckwalter A political harangue with the blunt force of a shotgun stock to the temple, couched inelegantly into a generic tale of gangland justice and revenge; yet recognizing and even growing annoyed with its deficiences, I still sort of loved it.
Posted Nov 30, 2012  Edit critic review
7.5/10
Anna Karenina (2012) Ian Buckwalter What Wright has made here is a musical without songs.
Posted Nov 16, 2012  Edit critic review
8/10
Skyfall (2012) Ian Buckwalter A sly, deconstructionist approach to Bond combined with a climactic sequence that is hands-down the best, most gorgeously shot, and most breathtakingly thrilling in the franchise's history make this one of the most satisfying and well-made entries.
Posted Nov 09, 2012  Edit critic review
9/10
Holy Motors (2012) Ian Buckwalter A film that not only demands repeat viewings but also makes that an attractive proposition.
Posted Nov 09, 2012  Edit critic review
5/10
Cloud Atlas (2012) Ian Buckwalter A gorgeously shot package that blends the past, present, and future into diverse, lushly imagined realities that at least manage the task of feeling like they're from a single work. If only that work actually succeeded in fulfilling its lofty aspirations.
Posted Oct 26, 2012  Edit critic review
7.9/10
Wuthering Heights (2011) Ian Buckwalter Even more striking than Arnold's impressionistic style is the way in which she strips these characters down to their abusive and vindictive cores.
Posted Oct 12, 2012  Edit critic review
7/10
Argo (2012) Ian Buckwalter Easily Affleck's best directed film yet, Argo also ticks off a number of boxes on the Best Picture nominee checklist: grand scope, historical basis, uplifting story of human triumph. The movie's great escape sequence goes a little overboard,though.
Posted Oct 12, 2012  Edit critic review
7.5/10
Sinister (2012) Ian Buckwalter ...a bone-chilling occult thriller...
Posted Oct 12, 2012  Edit critic review
8.8/10
Looper (2012) Ian Buckwalter Part science fiction, part mob movie, and with a nice infusion of dark comedy at just the right moments, Looper is Johnson's best movie yet, and manages to be hugely entertaining, affecting, and thought-provoking.
Posted Oct 09, 2012  Edit critic review
7/10
Detropia (2012) Ian Buckwalter Grady and Ewing, employing the observational, often visually poetic style that has become their trademark, capture this city at a crossroads.
Posted Oct 09, 2012  Edit critic review
7.5/10
Lawless (2012) Ian Buckwalter The cinematic equivalent of a murder ballad: rambling, violent, and more concerned with style and presentation than meaningful character development. Which sounds like a complaint, but in the case of Lawless, is high praise.
Posted Oct 09, 2012  Edit critic review
7.9/10
Killer Joe (2011) Ian Buckwalter Friedkin plays a trick that might be mean if it wasn't so fascinating to see him pull off, blending laugh-out-loud humor with absolutely repulsive images, forcing disoriented and unsettled audiences to wind up laughing when they should be disturbed.
Posted Aug 06, 2012  Edit critic review
8.8/10
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Ian Buckwalter The degree of difficulty involved in balancing on that many knives' edges overlooking potential disaster is high, yet by the time the credits roll, there it is: Nolan sticks the landing.
Posted Jul 21, 2012  Edit critic review
9/10
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) Ian Buckwalter Ebullient and brimming over with imagination, this is easily one of the most unapologetically (and earnedly) joyful films you'll see this year.
Posted Jul 06, 2012  Edit critic review
6/10
Bad Brains: A Band in DC (2012) Ian Buckwalter The filmmakers get access to a treasure trove of archival footage from the band's early days, but the question of what's going on with H.R., their erratic singer, is the one area of the film that feels frustratingly incomplete.
Posted Jun 21, 2012  Edit critic review
8.5/10
Tchoupitoulas (2012) Ian Buckwalter Shooting in what sometimes approximates a semi-inebriated haze, and emphasizing the overlapping of diverse sounds coming from different quarters, Tchoupitoulas almost does manage to transcend the sight and sound limitations of cinema.
Posted Jun 21, 2012  Edit critic review
6/10
Wagner's Dream (2012) Ian Buckwalter The first hour here is the most fascinating, as Froemke details the nuts and bolts of getting this massive undertaking off the ground. Once we get past the opening night of the first opera in the cycle, things start to get repetitive.
Posted Jun 21, 2012  Edit critic review
8/10
Virgin Tales (2012) Ian Buckwalter Even-handedness is the hallmark of von Arx's work here, and it's a breath of fresh air in an era when so many filmmakers treat documentaries as a bully pulpit.
Posted Jun 18, 2012  Edit critic review
5.4/10
Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey (2013) Ian Buckwalter Without any real conflict, there's enough story here for 45 minutes to an hour, after which the filmmakers pad it with a brief history of Journey pre-Pineda and scenes from the tour and Pineda's new life; a passable feel-good doc, but not very memorable.
Posted Jun 18, 2012  Edit critic review
5.5/10
Prometheus (2012) Ian Buckwalter An infuriating example of a film that holds huge potential and borders on greatness, but in falling just short of that mark feels little more than mediocre.
Posted Jun 08, 2012  Edit critic review
9/10
Monsieur Lazhar (2011) Ian Buckwalter There's a lighthearted inspiration infused throughout Monsieur Lazhar that makes it also touching, but never maudlin.
Posted May 11, 2012  Edit critic review
8/10
Marvel's the Avengers (2012) Ian Buckwalter Whedon delivers a thoroughly entertaining compilation of the best of these heroes while never hiding either his giddy love for the characters or the wry wit that has formed the bedrock of his career.
Posted May 11, 2012  Edit critic review
5/10
Dark Shadows (2012) Ian Buckwalter Unfortunately, Burton abandons a promisingly quirky first half approach & undermines a hugely enjoyable Depp performance with an effects-heavy, action-packed second half that's neither funny nor thrilling, and mostly just boring.
Posted May 11, 2012  Edit critic review
4/10
J. Edgar (2011) Ian Buckwalter A dreary slog through 40 years of history that were nowhere near as dull as what's onscreen here.
Posted Nov 10, 2011  Edit critic review
8/10
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011) Ian Buckwalter Detective documentaries, those that themselves attempt to unlock mysteries or follow subjects who do, can be some of the most satisfying to watch, and Resurrect Dead is no exception.
Posted Jul 31, 2011  Edit critic review
8.5/10
Better This World (2011) Ian Buckwalter Better This World conveys the helplessness and hopelessness of what it's like to get caught in a system that, the film argues, values appearance over facts.
Posted Jul 31, 2011  Edit critic review
8/10
Hell and Back Again (2011) Ian Buckwalter Danfung Dennis appears to set out to make a film on one subject, only to have an entirely new, much more compelling story emerge in the midst of shooting.
Posted Jul 31, 2011  Edit critic review
0/4
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Dan Rottenberg After two hours of dazzling outer-space combat, the only conclusion is that we'll have to return for yet another sequel.
Posted May 06, 2003  Edit critic review
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