Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
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For 1,335 reviews, this critic has graded:
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55% higher than the average critic
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3% same as the average critic
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42% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 4.4 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Lawrence Toppman's Scores
- Movies
| Average review score: | 64 |
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| Highest review score: |
Critic Score
100
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| Lowest review score: |
Critic Score
0
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 857 out of 1335
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Mixed: 229 out of 1335
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Negative: 249 out of 1335
1,335
movie reviews
- By critic score
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Lawrence Toppman 88
The results require immense patience but also reward it immensely. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Plays out like a sprinter competing in his first distance race: It bursts forth with tremendous energy, sustains itself for quite a while, loses steam near the end but finishes ahead of most of the pack. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
A follow-up with as much artistic integrity, complexity, humor and well-designed action as the original. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
The funniest, crassest, wildest, most musical, most satirical and most scatological of the Powers trilogy. And you get to watch Britney Spears' head explode. What more could you want? -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
(The Coens have) never again achieved the one-two punch of Blood Simple and "Raising Arizona" - the first darkly cynical, the second light-headedly comical. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
It settles into the typical reflective mode of Iranian films, but something IS happening: A human being is slowly, sullenly, silently approaching his combustion point. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
This film reminds us you can have a miracle only when David slings a stone at Goliath, not when two Goliaths pummel each other with sticks. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
The terrific Spellbound really isn't about the ability to tear words apart letter by letter. It's about nerve-wracking competitiveness. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Howard has never been so grown-up in his handling of tough themes or so inventive in depicting states of mind. Goldsman has never been so down-to-earth or created so touching a character. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Salva's view of the universe is bleak, but he communicates it with scary sincerity. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
This superficial plot, almost devoid of characterization or weighty emotions, is an excuse for ferocious, fast and frequent combat. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Another of Charlotte native Ross McElwee's musings about his family, history (this time the tobacco industry) and life. It may be his best. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
His height didn't stop independent writer-director Thomas McCarthy from casting his friend in The Station Agent, scoring a triumph for both. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Balances brains, brawn and heart in ideal proportions. The actors - some first-rate, all enjoyable - never get overshadowed by the special effects, which dazzle us without gory excess. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
The saga regains its grandeur with a complicated but easy-to-follow story. The characters are as satisfying as the effects. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Grosser than "American Pie"! More penis jokes than "There''s Something About Mary"! Nudity more gratuitous than "Porky''s"! -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Gandolfini's fans expect something quirky whenever he shows up, and they'll get what they've bargained for. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
A feature film as odd, personal and sometimes mundane as his (Pekar) comics. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Has more twists than the Pacific Coast Highway and more layers than a stack of silver-dollar pancakes. If you can wrap your mind around one unlikely condition, the picture provides unalloyed pleasure for connoisseurs of cinematic con artists. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
His (LaBute) observation of human nature is keener than before, his dialogue more attuned to ambiguities. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Few white directors depict racial interaction in a thoughtful, non-exploitative way, but Sayles has always been one of them. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
The final drum-off (c'mon, you knew it would come down to that) resembles a combination of music, gymnastics and martial arts, and I don't think I've seen a more pulse-pounding scene this year. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Doesn't have the daring lunacy of "Chuck and Buck," the previous collaboration by director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White. Yet it gets closer to the troubled, lonely soul of its main character. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Menno Meyjes' provocative film might be called an example of the haphazardness of evil. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Begins and ends quietly, like stirrings of thunder from a distant storm. In between comes a tragedy that rolls over us like a compact hurricane. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
It's possible to groan, chuckle, wince and be moist-eyed, sometimes in a span of seven or eight minutes. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
Perelman and Otto make auspicious, nearly flawless debuts. -
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Lawrence Toppman 88
(Mendes') film debut shows he can shock not only with noise and nakedness but with subtle observations. -
