Simon Abrams
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Slant Magazine,
Village Voice,
Guardian,
AV Club,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
TheWrap,
RogerEbert.com,
ScreenAnarchy,
NPR,
New York Press,
House Next Door,
Denver Westword
Love (2024)
94%
3/4
“The ease and the seriousness with which each exchange builds to the suggestion of sex (or further relations) is often charming.” –
RogerEbert.com
May 16, 2025
Full Review
Caught by the Tides (2024)
98%
4/4
“In retracing his steps throughout “Caught By the Tides,” Jia delivers an expansive, ingenious summary of his project to date.” –
RogerEbert.com
May 9, 2025
Full Review
Last Bullet (2025)
3/4
“The French understand the high value of watching various motor vehicles flip, crash, or otherwise wipe out. ” –
RogerEbert.com
May 7, 2025
Full Review
A Desert (2024)
79%
2/4
“There’s only so much room for mystery in a movie whose surreal ambiguity only says so much.” –
RogerEbert.com
May 2, 2025
Full Review
Bullet Train Explosion (2025)
67%
3/4
“What makes “Bullet Train Explosion” so charming is that its creators don’t try to reinvent their chosen genre with this oversized, defiantly corny throwback. ” –
RogerEbert.com
Apr 25, 2025
Full Review
It Feeds (2025)
87%
2.5/4
““It Feeds” ultimately looks like a handsome genre exercise that was confidently realized with clarity and exactitude.” –
RogerEbert.com
Apr 18, 2025
Full Review
Gunslingers (2025)
5%
.5/4
“Only Cage’s most diehard cultists will want to go to bat for this performance, and they could easily struggle to accentuate the positive.” –
RogerEbert.com
Apr 11, 2025
Full Review
Hell of a Summer (2023)
53%
2.5/4
“Bryk and Wolfhard may like these kids too much to let them die or be imperiled in memorable ways, but they don’t like them enough to develop their personalities beyond tic-y, schticky gags.” –
RogerEbert.com
Apr 4, 2025
Full Review
Viet and Nam (2024)
100%
4/4
“A gentle romance about loving the dead.” –
RogerEbert.com
Mar 28, 2025
Full Review
Misericordia (2024)
96%
3.5/4
“Each new scene in “Misericordia” upends viewers’ expectations, and Guiraudie never lets up long enough for you to wonder if maybe he’s messing with you, too.” –
RogerEbert.com
Mar 21, 2025
Full Review
Last Breath (2025)
80%
2.5/4
“Instead of relishing the specific details of this story, you wind up enjoying its familiar pleasures and then maybe its creators’ proficient execution.” –
RogerEbert.com
Feb 27, 2025
Full Review
Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants (2025)
2.5/4
“It’s the closest thing that Tsui will make to a Marvel movie. Big emotions exchanged by larger-than-life characters conceived on a big enough scale that it occasionally eclipses its ungainly plot’s hard emotional core. ” –
RogerEbert.com
Feb 21, 2025
Full Review
Ne Zha 2 (2025)
96%
3/4
““Ne Zha 2” is a rare sequel that amplifies both its action and drama without sacrificing much of what already worked in the last movie. It’s also a rare blockbuster that offers something worthwhile for a wide-ranging audience.” –
RogerEbert.com
Feb 20, 2025
Full Review
The Dead Thing (2024)
83%
2/4
“Unfortunately, Hunt can only do so much with co-stars who either don’t or aren’t meant to have chemistry with her character. ” –
RogerEbert.com
Feb 14, 2025
Full Review
Sugar Babies (2025)
40%
“Sugar Babies” often lacks vital context and feels more interested in sensationalizing the story rather than probing it.” –
TheWrap
Feb 4, 2025
Full Review
Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force (2025)
3/4
““Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force” should still not only be seen with a live audience, but on the biggest screen possible. ” –
RogerEbert.com
Jan 31, 2025
Full Review
The Colors Within (2024)
93%
3/4
“It’s time in a bottle and a pleasure to soak up.” –
RogerEbert.com
Jan 23, 2025
Full Review
The Prosecutor (2024)
93%
3/4
“Each new scene adds something to the movie’s inflexible, but entertaining vision of an ailing society with one proven remedy—a little extra Donnie Yen Energy.” –
RogerEbert.com
Jan 10, 2025
Full Review
Harbin (2024)
88%
1/4
“Unfortunately, it’s hard to get too excited when all that effort is wasted on stick-figure heroes who talk a lot about but mostly hint at the depth of their characters.” –
RogerEbert.com
Jan 3, 2025
Full Review
Bloody Axe Wound (2024)
27%
2/4
““Bloody Axe Wound” has a lot of incidents and a clear idea of where its characters should end up, but not much style of its own or a knack for connecting one formulaic dot to the next. ” –
RogerEbert.com
Dec 28, 2024
Full Review
Kraven the Hunter (2024)
15%
1/4
“Everything feels simultaneously lifeless and desperate to please, from the computer-generated safari animals to the elaborate wire-work and four-letter swears.” –
RogerEbert.com
Dec 13, 2024
Full Review
Striking Rescue (2024)
3/4
“Jaa's latest is an action fan's delight and its filmmakers are so devoted to their genre's conventions that you can't help but smile.” –
RogerEbert.com
Dec 6, 2024
Full Review
Heavier Trip (2024)
91%
2.5/4
“There's fewer surprises and less antic urgency than there was in "Heavy Trip," but if you like this sort of comedy—or really, this type of characters—you'll probably find something to enjoy.” –
RogerEbert.com
Dec 2, 2024
Full Review
The Black Sea (2024)
92%
1.5/4
“A tepid situation comedy in indie drama drag, "The Black Sea" lacks a sense of urgency.” –
RogerEbert.com
Nov 22, 2024
Full Review
Youth (Homecoming) (2024)
94%
3/4
“There's so much detail and such a clear sense of dramatic proportion that it almost doesn't matter that the movie doesn't resolve itself traditionally or with a full stop.” –
RogerEbert.com
Nov 8, 2024
Full Review
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