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John Wenzel

John Wenzel's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).
Biography:

Journalist and critic John Wenzel has covered film, comedy, music, books, gaming and other popular culture for The Denver Post for more than a decade. He's the author of the Speck/Fulcrum nonfiction book Mock Stars and an occasional contributor to Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vulture and others.

Publications:

Reviews

Movies 온라인카지노추천 Shows
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) 95% 2/4 “Simply being better than past failures does not make something good. While Mutant Mayhem does several things right, from its likeable voice cast to its refreshed version of the Turtles’ origin story, it also gets stuck in the same gunk as its forebears.” – Denver Post Aug 2, 2023 Full Review Past Lives (2023) 95% 4/4 “Past Lives feels so deliciously restrained that it makes even quiet dramas seem histrionic. And yet it’s a wide emotional field that gives its characters room to breathe... if Past Lives isn’t 2023’s best film, we’re in for an incredible year of cinema.” – Denver Post Jun 15, 2023 Full Review Elemental (2023) 73% 2.5/4 “Kudos to Pixar for telling a smaller story with big aspirations... Elemental has a big, beautiful heart and hyper-relevant message of tolerance and generational churn. It’s too bad that the rest of it often feels so wishy-washy and lukewarm.” – Denver Post Jun 15, 2023 Full Review Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) 51% 2.5/4 “It’s not a revolution, and it’s not trying to be. But it is proof that even the most one-dimensional concepts can connect on a deeper level if treated with care.” – Denver Post Jun 7, 2023 Full Review Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) 95% 4/4 “Everything clicks, right up until and including the cliffhanger ending that reminds us that this is just part one of a two-film sequel. It’s going to be a long wait for March 2024.” – Denver Post Jun 1, 2023 Full Review Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) 46% 2.5/4 “There's so much to sift through and occasionally like: a visually inspired subatomic set piece, bits of the roiling family tension among actors who are much better than their scripts. But there's nowhere to hide from the MCU's accelerating sprawl.” – Denver Post Feb 15, 2023 Full Review Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) 91% 3.5/4 “Everyone in Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, the sequel to his unexpectedly delightful 2019 murder mystery Knives Out, seems to be having a blast -- especially the highly accomplished director.” – Denver Post Dec 22, 2022 Full Review Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) 76% 2/4 “The bald, button-pushing beats are undermined alternately by Cameron’s unapologetic gun fetishization and overlong “wonder” sequences, turning this into a numbing, three-hour slog instead of an easily achievable two-hour experience.” – Denver Post Dec 15, 2022 Full Review Nope (2022) 83% 3/4 “Peele is well on his way to being among those who have refocused the art form, and Nope will ensure that we keep watching.” – Denver Post Jul 26, 2022 Full Review Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) 63% 2.5/4 “It's saturated and loud and beautiful to behold, but its ungainly plot and willingness to slip into every tonal alley leaves it searching for a point.” – Denver Post Jul 8, 2022 Full Review Lightyear (2022) 74% 2/4 “This should have been a clever short film about the character, but instead it’s stretched out to feature length. And it’s barely even a character.” – Denver Post Jun 17, 2022 Full Review Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) 74% 2.5/4 “It’s delicious melodrama at times, cut alternately by straight humor and gravitas. As messy as it looks on paper, it’s never less than visually stunning.” – Denver Post May 4, 2022 Full Review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) 69% 3/4 “Dismiss it as another cash-in; you wouldn’t be wrong. But it’s pure and unapologetic fun, a thrill ride for kids that manages to fly by for adults, too.” – Denver Post Apr 8, 2022 Full Review The Matrix Resurrections (2021) 63% 2/4 “The question isn't whether this movie was necessary. It wasn't.” – Denver Post Dec 28, 2021 Full Review Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) 93% 2.5/4 “Despite Marvel's usual bloat and a swirling storm of characters, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" earns its joy and sorrow with thematic substance, the breathless action often contrasted with quiet reflection and grief.” – Denver Post Dec 20, 2021 Full Review Encanto (2021) 92% 3/4 “An epic, family-friendly tale with a surprisingly intimate feel.” – Denver Post Nov 19, 2021 Full Review Eternals (2021) 47% 2/4 “Gorgeous and vacant, The Eternals is the most numbing entry in Marvel's 13-year-old MCU franchise -- even as it struggles to be its weirdest and most philosophical.” – Denver Post Nov 8, 2021 Full Review No Time to Die (2021) 83% 3/4 “It's as crisply entertaining as any of the previous Craig movies, but circuitous in its quest to tie them all together.” – Denver Post Oct 8, 2021 Full Review Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) 92% 3/4 “It's a refreshing lift for this next phase of Marvel's world domination. You leave genuinely wanting to see more of Shang-Chi, even as we know we'll be meeting him again very soon.” – Denver Post Aug 23, 2021 Full Review Free Guy (2021) 80% 2.5/4 “It works well as a breezy fable, and one that's genuinely looking ahead to a brighter future.” – Denver Post Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Black Widow (2021) 79% 3/4 “Its bottom-line spectacle seldom strays from the Marvel path, but still manages to explore some invigorating new ground.” – Denver Post Jun 30, 2021 Full Review Flesh and Sand (Carne y Arena) (2017) “Carne y Arena often brought me close to tears. Difficult to describe, brilliant in execution, and hyper-relevant to contemporary American life, it's easily one of the most intense artistic experiences I've ever had.” – Denver Post Dec 1, 2020 Full Review Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) 51% 2.5/4 “The Rise of Skywalker earns much of its affection with cameos, callbacks and other candy that will be best savored upon repeat viewings.” – Denver Post Dec 18, 2019 Full Review Knives Out (2019) 97% 3.5/4 “Knives Out deserves to be explored as a world of it own, as Johnson balances moral conscience and black humor expertly within the constraints of the murder-mystery genre.” – Denver Post Dec 2, 2019 Full Review Doctor Sleep (2019) 78% 3/4 “From the opening shots and synth notes to a spectacularly chilling closing scene, Doctor Sleep makes a convincing case for its own greatness.” – Denver Post Nov 8, 2019 Full Review
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