Brian Tallerico

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For 923 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 47% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 3.5 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Brian Tallerico's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 62
Highest review score: 100 Shoplifters
Lowest review score: 0 The Fanatic
Score distribution:
923 movie reviews
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Demme’s concert films aren’t just recordings of events—they’re cinematic embodiments of their musicians, capturing in a moment an energy that transcends time.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Mungiu doesn’t traffic in easy hero and villain narratives. He’s more interested in revealing how easily anyone can be both.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Walker’s film might have worked better as a docuseries—one feels its two-hour length—and she has a habit of over-writing some of the narration, but it’s still a detailed piece of work, a surprising angle on a terrifying new reality about living in certain parts of the world, and an inquiry as to whether or not we’re going to do anything about it.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a gorgeous film, but it’s also an emotionally intelligent movie, one that shifts and flows between comedy and tragedy, reminding us that life can only be lived forwards.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a beautiful, captivating piece of work that gets off to kind of a rocky start but achieves remarkable momentum toward an emotional, powerful ending. And you won’t see a better-looking animated film all year.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Waititi’s film defies its convention through grounded characters, witty dialogue, compassionate filmmaking and inventive storytelling. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is consistently clever and even moving. It’s proof that we’ll keep listening to the familiar stories if they’re this well-told.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It's a deeply empathetic film that displays an ability to balance the lyrical and the genuine while telling the story of a young man trying to figure himself out through two very different male role models in his life.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s certainly like nothing else you’ll see this year.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It sometimes feels like Palmason is being a bit self-indulgent with his slow pace, but Ingvar Sigurdsson keeps the film grounded, and ends it with such a devastating, powerful final shot that it alone erases most criticisms. It may take a bit longer than it needed to get there, but the destination packs a wallop.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Starred Up is HEAVY with slang and accents. You won’t understand a third of it. But there’s so much going on in between the lines of dialogue that you won’t care.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is just incredibly fun. It feels half its length and contains enough memorable action sequences for some entire franchises.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Brian Tallerico
    A decent first half and solid voice work throughout succumbs to total chaos for the second half and the realization that there’s almost no actual artistic intent here. No story, no character, no world-building, no design. It’s all bright colors and loud noises. You’d think we’d evolved beyond that by now.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    More than an explainer of motives behind a single person mass shooting, Nitram is a character study wrapped in a tone poem, an unpacking of a man who feels like he has run out of all potential paths to happiness and believes that acts of violence spark action.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It sometimes succumbs to that animated problem of choosing hyperactivity over all other storytelling options, but it’s also a whip-smart action film, a movie with nearly “Fury Road”-esque momentum in its asking of the question, “What if the only family that could save the world was as dysfunctional as yours?”
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Stritch is a documentary subject as fearless and raw as her stage persona.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Teyana Taylor holds her head high through it all. Even as the film falters narratively, she’s a force of nature embodying a person more than just playing a role. She captures the soul of a woman who knows her son needs her to navigate this dangerous world. And that she needs him too.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    A lovely companion piece to the latest album from the legendary musician, a gorgeous, introspective journey into the very concept of the American conscience.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Brian Tallerico
    Waves is unexpectedly ambitious and confident, the work of a filmmaker in complete control of his talents and using them to challenge himself. This is a deeper and more profound film than your average character drama, a masterpiece that’s hard to walk away from without checking your own grievances and grief. The ripple effect continues.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    These movies are not WHOdunits as much as WHYdunits, and it’s everything that’s under the murder and its resolution that makes this sermon so entertaining and so powerful.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s one of those rare movies that makes you feel edgy, conveying its protagonist’s dilemma in ways that prey on your nerves and emotions more than just relaying a night-from-hell anecdote.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Incredibles 2 understands something that most family sequels, even the Pixar ones, fail to comprehend—we don’t just want to repeat something we loved before. We want to love it all over again. You will with Incredibles 2.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Brian Tallerico
    This is rare, nuanced storytelling, anchored by one of Brad Pitt’s career-best performances and remarkable technical elements on every level. It’s a special film.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 50 Brian Tallerico
    While it looks beautiful, and Thomas Newman’s score does a lot of heavy lifting given the lack of dialogue, there needed to be more actual storytelling beyond a few key beats of new life and tragic death.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Its beating heart is in a story of youth. Reckless, fearless, joyous, always-moving youth.
    • 14 Metascore
    • 25 Brian Tallerico
    A well-intentioned disaster, only slightly redeemed by a committed performance by Sean Bean, whose talent proves nowhere near enough to make this manipulative tripe more digestible.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Again and again, I marveled at the humanist depth of the world Haigh creates, one that can only be rendered by a truly great writer and director, working near the top of his game.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    One Night Only becomes the story of a man surrounded by music his whole life who knew how to filter those influences through a distinct voice. The film sometimes runs too long, but its subject has earned that length. He sounds phenomenal, and he’s filled with, well, personality.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    However suave the movie itself may be, it's another accomplished piece of work from a filmmaker who is now four for four, and continues to surprise with the range of his interests and output. And it’s a love letter to a cinematic legend, serving as a perfect final film for someone who long ago surpassed mere actor status to become an icon.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    This is an accomplished, moving piece of filmmaking, one that cares about its characters and trusts its performers. It comes from a relatively old school of dramatic storytelling but it connects emotionally because of Dano’s tender but confident work and what he’s able to draw from two of the best performers of their generation.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a wonderful film to experience as an acting and filmmaking exercise. Just take the trip.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    An ambitious, challenging piece of work that people will be dissecting for years. Don’t miss it.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    The result is a challenging work that can be both exhilarating and grueling in its deliberate pace. Cohen is an undeniably gifted filmmaker, even if the sum total of this piece isn’t quite as interesting as its parts.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Wilmont's film edges into emotional exploitation at times, but the raw moments he captures in this facility are a testament to the trust he clearly built with everyone there—and that ability to capture truth without interfering or manufacturing gives his film an undeniable emotional power.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    What’s most important to Nichols’ vision is how much trust he has in his two leads, and what they give back to him in exchange for that trust.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a relatively concise, no-nonsense, short (100 minutes) comedy that reminds us that even when we think we’re playing the game, the opponent has a different rulebook.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Aurora Mardiganian’s story is a moving tale of heroism that Hollywood once thought harrowing enough to make into a truly disturbing feature film. Now it’s been resurrected, over a hundred years later, to be told again. It's a reminder that film doesn't just record history, it can transport us through it.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s almost more like a companion to some of the most popular books of all time—not an explainer or even piece of historical trivia about their execution. Instead, this documentary reveals how even the most complex spy fiction can have a foundation in the relationship between a son and his father.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Dune: Part Two is a robust piece of filmmaking, a reminder that this kind of broad-scale blockbuster can be done with artistry and flair.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It is both light as a feather and emotionally resonant. It is defiantly episodic and yet has a cumulative power in its storytelling. It is both airy and emotionally lived-in at the same time.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Overall, there’s a timeless quality to the best jokes in “The Naked Gun” that makes them feel of a piece with the lines in the original without being direct copies. They don’t all work, but there are so many of them packed into this film’s blissfully short runtime (under 85 minutes) that every one that lands with a thud is followed by one that connects.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    If anything, there’s something more to the “peace” that these men repeatedly say they found on the water. Peace may be harder to find this summer than we could have ever imagined, but it’s still a primal human need.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    He’s a fascinating cinematic creation and a pronouncement of a major talent in Jim Cummings, the star, writer, and director of the SXSW Grand Jury winner, Thunder Road.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 38 Brian Tallerico
    Daniela Forever, Nacho Vigalondo’s first film since his excellent “Colossal,” eight years ago, is a baffling disappointment, a sci-fi mindbender with echoes of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Inception,” but no idea what to do with its many ideas or what it’s ultimately trying to say.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s just funny, sweet, and smart — three things that this father of three doesn’t get to say often enough about entertainment while watching movies with his kids.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Brian Tallerico
    What makes The Highwaymen particularly disappointing is that two solid pieces of character work get buried in the filmmaking.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Ruthless and precise, Steven Soderbergh’s “KIMI” is a timely commentary on isolation and intrusion.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Even as the final act starts to get a bit manipulative by stretching some previously established realism, Mikkelsen holds it together, and then he comes out literally swinging in one of the best final scenes of the year. It’s such a jubilant moment that you may walk out of the theater feeling a little buzzed.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    A deep empathy from Vogt for his child actors elevates this from what it could have been, even if it feels like there’s a tighter version that unfolds with a tad more urgency.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    The concept of being seen through someone else’s eyes drives the best parts of The Painter and the Thief, a documentary that illuminates a great deal about the human condition even if it does kind of fizzle out in the third act.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s one of those movies that reminds us that great drama and comedy can come from the most unexpected, ordinary places. We all have a place like Green Lake.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    16 Shots feels like an impassioned, intelligent document of a major moment in the history of Chicago.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    The trip to a remote farmhouse is just the narrative skeleton on which Kaufman hangs arguably his most challenging film to date, a piece that verges on Lynchian in its surreal register, moving back and forth between reality and a dreamlike commentary on connection, although there may be even less of the former than it first appears.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Sr.
    It's a Russian nesting doll of a bio-doc, a piece about family as much as it is filmmaking because the two are inextricable for its subject.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    While Kim’s filmmaking is typically engaging, it’s really Song Kang-ho who carries the viewer’s interest.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It's easy to make a documentary about hateful people. It's harder to focus on the impact of hateful people on those around them.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 100 Brian Tallerico
    So many visions of the future seem distant, but “After Yang” hits home in how it centers connection and experience to which we can all relate. It’s a powerful, moving drama about what it means to be alive.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    There are no zombies in the streets, boogeymen in the basement or witches in the woods—and yet it is one of the most terrifying films in years.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Trust me. It was worth the wait. Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a final hour here that stands among the best of the genre.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 25 Brian Tallerico
    When you reach the critical point that you consider that Trejo, the star of such gems as “Zombie Hunter” and “Dead in Tombstone”, to be above this material, you know you’re in a rare category of awful.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a fascinating, moving documentary that transcends mere profile piece to reclaim a legacy, and it’s as inspirational as its subject.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a well-made, accomplished piece of filmmaking that works because of how it focuses such a large case down to its key players, thereby illuminating how something like this could happen to anyone.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Most modern sports movies feel a few years behind the story—purposefully nostalgic for a feel-good, motivational story. High Flying Bird feels like a product of the 2018-19 NBA season, which may not have a lockout but is dealing with the same issues.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 12 Brian Tallerico
    American Violence seems defiantly unconcerned with addressing the actual issues at play, delivering a generic crime thriller instead. And a bad one at that.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s really like nothing that Hollywood has produced before, existing not just to acknowledge or exploit the fans of this series, but to reward their love, patience, and undying adoration.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Working from a script by Robert Kaplow, Linklater has crafted one of his finest dramedies, a consistently fascinating exploration of the frailty of the artist, buoyed by one of Ethan Hawke’s most remarkable performances.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It’s about empowerment, empathy, and the impact we can have on one another, even those we never meet. You’ll cry. It’s worth the tears.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    I’m Your Man may not break the mold, but it operates within it with confidence and grace.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    The Velvet Queen is at its strongest when it allows for silence on this gorgeous landscape, using only its mesmerizing score to elevate the imagery into something poetic about the beauty of mother nature.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    It’s impossible to deny the power of much of what’s on display here. Wilkerson looks at the racial discord and violence in the world around him and has the courage to examine his own legacy instead of just casting off the concept as something that happens to or is perpetrated by others.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    An adrenalin-shot of a comedy and a fearless dissection of identity politics, corporate malevolence, and the American tendency to look the other way when confronted with horror.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    The Case Against 8 beautifully reminds us of the human beings who opened up their lives to the world and became representatives for one of the most important movements for equal rights this country has ever seen.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Horror fans always look for new ways to tell some of the most timeless stories, and I think they’ll flip for it.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    This is an issue about women’s rights and so this powerful film exclusively listens to the stories that women tell.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Brian Tallerico
    It’s a story that speaks for itself, and so the emphasis on talking heads explaining it to us is dispiriting.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Brian Tallerico
    Absolutely no one is phoning in “Longlegs,” and that commitment to craft and mood has an impact. It may be disappointing that it doesn’t land with the same force promised by the viral marketing, but nightmares are unpredictable like that.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    The best thing about Victoria isn’t actually its technical prowess—it’s the lead performance from the mesmerizing Laia Costa as the title character.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 100 Brian Tallerico
    This is a moving drama about people pushed together by fate who end up not merely helping each other survive but elevate through an increasingly harsh world.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Queen of Earth is terrifying because it is so emotionally unmoored—Catherine is a character with little reason to care about anything or anyone, and Perry and Moss convey the danger of that brilliantly.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    There’s too much story to tell in a feature runtime, so parts of The League feel like they’re just skimming the surface. But what a fantastic surface it is.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Brian Tallerico
    The first 25 minutes of Malcolm & Marie are a strong, standalone short film. They’re mostly sharply written and Zendaya and Washington add what feels like history between the lines. I was totally with it. But I'm not convinced we learn anything more in the following 80 minutes that we didn't in the first 25.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Under Potrykus’ clever direction and with a striking performance from Joshua Burge, Marty goes from quirky to desperate to dangerous gradually and effectively. He’s not a character to be taken lightly, or quickly forgotten.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    It is an infuriating reality that The Hunting Ground exposes. I was rattled watching it, finding it hard to catch my breath and harder still to imagine how many people are in positions of power who have heard these stories so many times and turned their backs on victims.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    So while the subject of “Prosecuting Evil” is a 4-star one that should be taught in more schools, the sometimes-dry and often-repetitive film about it is a 3-star one.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 Brian Tallerico
    There are elements here, most of them embedded in another great physical performance from Garret Hedlund, that keep Burden from completely sinking into the Carolina mud.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Inspired by tales of people on the fringe by Mike Leigh, Sean Baker, and the Safdie Brothers, “Urchin” stays committed to presenting Mike’s story without frills, recognizing that it’s just a tragically common one of a man spiraling down the drain of society.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Hopefully, Prophet’s Prey will give those women the power to escape and make their voices heard.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Brian Tallerico
    Genndy Tartakovsky brings back all the fan favorites from the previous two films and sets them all on an overcrowded, doomed cruise, but the thin plot feels less engaging than the previous films and the jokes less inspired.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Brian Tallerico
    The blurring of that line between performer, reality, and fiction adds another layer to “Jim and Andy” that Kaufman would have adored. And Carrey likely does too.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Black Souls isn’t quite the great film the international cinema buzz machine has touted it to be in some circles, but it is a very good one, the kind that ends with such gravity that you feel its weight for a while after.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    What’s interesting about The Wave is stepping back and considering just how well-constructed the whole thing is. The slow-burn build-up is just long enough, the disaster itself is just harrowing enough and the final act is just intense enough to keep us engaged.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    A few of the daringly ambitious punches don’t completely land, especially in a frenetic final act, but it’s a minor complaint for a film that confirms that Glass is a major talent with an uncompromising vision.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    There are key elements of Suzume that directly speak to the history of Japan and the fears of its people, but Shinkai’s gift is his ability to make the issues of trauma and anxiety feel like everyone’s. “Suzume” isn’t quite the masterpiece that is “Your Name” but I wouldn’t blame anyone for falling in love with it.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Hicks avoids the traditional bio-doc route by turning Keep On Keepin’ On into more than just CT’s story, chronicling how the legendary musician continues to inspire young artists to this day.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 91 Brian Tallerico
    The Amusement Park is a concise film (only 52 minutes), but Romero packs it so full of detail and ambition that it contains more to appreciate than most films that run three times as long.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    mother! is at times horrifying, at times riveting, at times baffling, and at times like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Brian Tallerico
    Logan is the rare blockbuster that could be a game-changer. It will certainly change the way we look at other superhero movies and how history judges the entire MCU and DC Universe of films.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Brian Tallerico
    Any diehard King fan will tell you that the author’s biggest problem is endings. For years, it was almost a joke that King didn’t know how to wrap up even his best books. His ending for Gerald’s Game is atrocious, and you’d be better off turning this off about ten minutes before the credits and just imagining what happens.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 38 Brian Tallerico
    To be fair, the slow burn does eventually catch fire and there’s lots of screaming and heavy breathing and dark tunnels and running and what-not. The relatively tense final half-hour is clearly the reason that very smart producer Jason Blum thought this would be a solid follow-up to “Paranormal Activity.” It’s that first hour that is the reason it took six years to (barely) get released.

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