Dan Mecca

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The Film Stage
For 223 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 63% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 31% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 5.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Dan Mecca's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Jay Kelly
Lowest review score: 25 Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 169 out of 223
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 223
  3. Negative: 5 out of 223
223 movie reviews
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    • 66 Metascore
    • 83 Dan Mecca
    Blood Father
    Blood Father, directed by Jean-François Richet (Mesrine, Assault on Precinct 13), works remarkably well as a grindhouse throwback, sporting a screenplay (from Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff, based on Craig’s novel) that’s better than it has any right to be.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Minyan
    Minyan is at its best when it is observing its characters. Often the narrative turns feel a bit abrupt, even forced. The slower bits work the best.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Let Him Go
    Ultimately, it is hard to ignore a hard-edged genre piece showcasing three great performers.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Soul Patrol
    Harper does good work here, building on a sturdy portrait of these heroes over a 100-minute runtime.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Predators
    Predators is a clear-eyed analysis of the cultural phenomenon, an earnest attempt at understanding why we enjoy watching these kinds of people get caught (apart from the obvious), and a reckoning with the morality of the whole enterprise.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Across the River and Into the Trees
    This is a film worth discovering, ideally after immersing yourself in the underrated novel.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Where's My Roy Cohn?
    Where’s My Roy Cohn? is a worthy documentary, though it’s hard not to want more.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Train Dreams
    Train Dreams is a quiet, resilient work that will most likely age gracefully.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    East of the Mountains
    There’s more than a few moments where saccharine is the easy option. And while some will say the film is perhaps too understated, it meets its star at the right level. A little goes a long way here.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Summertime
    Frankly, this is content that makes one feel a bit better about the future. All the poems may not connect, all of the performances may not stick, and the ending may play a bit more maudlin than intended, but the energy on display and the goodness therein should be enough to melt the coldest of hearts.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Graduates
    Sundwall is quite impressive in the lead, with much depending on her in solitary sequences. Not every supporting performer can hold their own next to her, but she’s a gracious screen partner. There is much empathy in every frame here. Dizzia and Cho do superb work, anchoring the emotion and responsibility of the entire picture.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Things Heard & Seen
    Offering plenty left to discuss and ponder by the film’s end, this is a haunted house thriller with a good deal on its mind.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Seventh Fire
    This is spare-but-effective filmmaking.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley
    Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley is an impressive archival document as well as a celebration of the life of a tortured artist.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Boys Go to Jupiter
    This film is often funny and sometimes introspective about this land of screens we find ourselves trapped inside. A bit long in the tooth at times, it is undeniably engaging and reliably weird.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Command
    At its least, this film is a moderately engaging submarine thriller. At its most, this film serves as a pertinent reminder of the dangers of a government embroiled in bullshit, misguidedly confident in its own presumed greatness.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Glorias
    Frankly, one wishes The Glorias was a bit more radical in its presentation. As it stands, the film gets the job done.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Most Wanted
    A film like Most Wanted is a welcome one, featuring a well-told version of this all-too-common real-world narrative.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Tesla
    The messy creativity on display is something to admire.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
    In many respects, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind feels like a showcase of immense talent, both in front of and behind the camera. If stories like this can continue to be told with the confidence of fresh filmmaking voices like Chiwetel Ejiofor, we will all be better for it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Amateur
    We’ve gotten plenty of sports films over the years, but precious few that wade into the deep, dark machinery that fuel the underdog stories and inspirational tales we love to love.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The High Note
    One hopes this is a smaller film that benefits from this moment. Many are staying in and staying safe, looking for art that will comfort them like a warm blanket. Look no further than The High Note.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
    There’s a running joke that Chris Morgan will take this franchise to space since it’s all gotten so out of hand. Honestly, if he were to take these characters there, he’d figure a way to keep us engaged and involved.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    The Man Who Saves the World?
    The most interesting thing about Gabe Polsky’s new documentary The Man Who Saves the World? is that it is unsure of its intentions.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Please Baby Please
    Kramer and Riseborough are clearly on the same wavelength, both understanding that though the representation in Please, Baby, Please is important, it is most vital the film be entertaining. In both respects they find success.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Shithouse
    Shithouse, written and directed by the 22-year-old Cooper Raiff, tells a familiar story with a specificity that cannot be ignored.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Merchant Ivory
    Merchant Ivory ultimately feels like a a devoted document of a group of artists who lived complicated, interesting lives. And while this film may not fully capture that complexity, there are forty films they made that get to the heart of the matter.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
    For the most part, The Covenant is about the bond between brothers and sisters in arms, and the need to rely on each other when systems fail their pledges. Third-act qualms aside, Gyllenhaal and Ritchie emerge as a well-meshed Hollywood duo here. One hopes this is the first of a few collaborations.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Touch
    Things are revealed, loose ends are tied, and Kormákur keeps it all moving at brisk pace given the evolving intrigue. The word “lovely” feels old-fashioned, but it’s appropriate here. This is a lovely film.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Dan Mecca
    Rule of Two Walls
    This is a short, punchy bit of work. It’s hard to parse the fiction from the non-fiction, which is certainly the point. The people surviving through this war are keeping the cultural candle lit for future generations of Ukrainians. Both legend and fact must live on. Amidst the forlorn images and scorched earth, there is some sort of hope.
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