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James Sanford

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

I began reviewing films for The Grand Rapids Press when I was in high school. I now work for the Kalamazoo Gazette. My website is interbridge.com/jamessanford.

Favorites:

Vintage: Broadcast News, Moonstruck, North By Northwest, Vertigo, King Kong (1933), Klute, Breakfast at Tiffany's, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Wizard of Oz, Gunga Din, etc. Recent: Little Children, The Queen, Volver, Jesus Camp, Slither, Children of Men, The Departed, The Painted Veil, Dreamgirls, Casino Royale, Stranger Than Fiction, Babel.

Location:

Portage, Michigan

Official Website:

http://www.mlive.com/movies/kzgazette/index.ssf

Reviews

Movies 온라인카지노추천 Shows
4/5 “surprisingly eerie and sure to inspire a few nightmares” – Kalamazoo Gazette Feb 21, 2021 Full Review Iron Man (2008) 94% “He's slyly funny and charmingly despicable in the early stretches of the film, which seem to good-naturedly spoof Downey's wild-child image. He also manages to make Stark's (literal) change of heart thoroughly convincing.” – MLive.com Jun 9, 2015 Full Review Warrior (2011) 84% “Hardy, Edgerton and Nolte vigorously dig into this toxic dump of sour, hostile emotions and their exchanges are bruising.” – Lansing City Pulse Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Sydney White (2007) 36% 2/4 “Neither as funny as it thinks it is nor as tough to sit through as many other movies of this sort, 'Sydney' is custom-made for viewers who haven't taken their ACTs yet.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 21, 2007 Full Review Once (2007) 97% 3.5/4 “It would be interesting to know how much of their conversation was actually in Carney's screenplay and how much was ad-libbed as the camera rolled; there's a wonderful spontaneity in both the dialogue and the musical performances.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 21, 2007 Full Review In the Valley of Elah (2007) 73% 2/4 “The movie wears each of (its) hot-button issues as casually as a runway model might sport the latest Hermes scarf. The topics are brought up, shown off and then, in most cases, replaced with something else.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 21, 2007 Full Review Eastern Promises (2007) 89% 3.5/4 “extremely violent and richly atmospheric... culminates in an electrifying scene that's destined to be discussed by movie fans for years.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 21, 2007 Full Review The Brave One (2007) 43% 2.5/4 “not unlike its heroine: conflicted and unsure of which way to go. ...(Foster) emphasizes Erica's anguish and the shock that comes from realizing that you're capable of doing things you once would have found abhorrent.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 14, 2007 Full Review 3:10 to Yuma (2007) 89% 3.5/4 “Wade's voice sounds like far-off thunder wrapped in velvet; Evans' every word is marked by exhaustion and edginess. ...These men have real complexity, and so do the actors assigned to play them.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Sep 6, 2007 Full Review Balls of Fury (2007) 22% 1.5/4 “There were more good laughs in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation speech than there are in 'Balls of Fury'... a smorgasbord of ethnic stereotypes, a few slaps at prissy gays and an excess of weak gags...” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 29, 2007 Full Review Illegal Tender (2007) 15% 1.5/4 “De Jesus' outbursts are the only excitement in 'Illegal,' since the performances of most of the rest of the cast are barely amateurish and Reyes' story is not so much old-school as it is old-hat.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 24, 2007 Full Review The Nanny Diaries (2007) 34% 2.5/5 “the movie has softened up a story that wasn't exactly hard-hitting to begin with. Polished, pleasant and generally pedestrian...” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 24, 2007 Full Review Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) 51% 3/5 “little more than a string of sketches stitched together to form something close to a feature film. But that shouldn't bother those who like solid slapstick, which 'Holiday' provides in abundance.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 24, 2007 Full Review Arctic Tale (2007) 60% 2/4 “(like) those cunningly engineered Disney 'True-Life Adventures'... in which scorpions appeared to dance... and supposedly lovelorn squirrels awaited what the narrator called their 'moment of fulfillment.'” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 24, 2007 Full Review The Invasion (2007) 20% 2.5/4 “neither as awful as the advance buzz suggested nor as gripping as it could have been... at least it has a few authentic shocks and some bright ideas rattling around in the chaos.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 17, 2007 Full Review Superbad (2007) 88% 3.5/4 “Rogen and co-screenwriter Evan Goldberg are attempting to create a teen-angst comedy along the lines of 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' and 'Risky Business'... In the best sections of 'Superbad,' Rogen and Goldberg hit their targets.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 17, 2007 Full Review Stardust (2007) 77% 3.5/4 “a delightful, thrilling and entertainingly offbeat yarn... Pfeiffer is positively spellbinding... Vaughn has given this seductive fairy tale the same dark comedy and out-of-left-field wackiness that made his first effort memorable.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 9, 2007 Full Review Becoming Jane (2007) 58% 3/4 “Utilizing a lovely British accent and a graceful way with words, Hathaway communicates Austen's predicament beautifully. When she was creating her immortal heroines... the real Jane Austen must have pictured someone like Hathaway.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 9, 2007 Full Review Paris, je t'aime (2006) 86% 3/4 “Generally, the comic pieces are sturdier than the abbreviated dramas. ...As might be expected, a couple of the chapters are misfires... Happily, 'Paris' saves some of its prime material for the last half-hour.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 9, 2007 Full Review Three Kings (1999) 94% 3.5/4 “(The) screenplay abruptly changes tone after the first half-hour, eventually incorporating some genuinely harrowing sequences... The final picture becomes something noticeably deeper and smarter than its first reels suggest.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 6, 2007 Full Review Wild Wild West (1999) 16% 1.5/4 “...has style to spare, a few laughs and some imaginative touches. Also like 'Avengers' it has stars who look like they'd rather be somewhere else, a lack of verve and a script that takes the long road to nowhere.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 6, 2007 Full Review William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) 67% 3.5/4 “Bathed in sunshine, stardust and star power, this 'Dream' should be required viewing for anyone who insists Shakespeare is stuffy and dull. ...this is Shakespeare for the masses.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 5, 2007 Full Review The Singer (2006) 24% 1.5/4 “takes the unusual -- and awkward -- approach of letting Puchi tell Hector's story via flashbacks... That's somewhat akin to letting Kevin Federline narrate the Britney Spears saga.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 3, 2007 Full Review Hot Rod (2007) 39% 2.5/4 “a fitfully funny comedy that's neither a must-see nor a must to avoid.” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 3, 2007 Full Review The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) 92% 3.5/4 “There's something unusual about Matt Damon's spy thrillers built around the exploits of the amnesia-addled Jason Bourne: Each film in the series has actually been better than its predecessor...” – Kalamazoo Gazette Aug 3, 2007 Full Review
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