G. Allen Johnson

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San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner
For 523 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 54% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 1.7 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

G. Allen Johnson's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 67
Highest review score: 100 Fire of Love
Lowest review score: 0 The Out-Laws
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 345 out of 523
  2. Mixed: 83 out of 523
  3. Negative: 95 out of 523
523 movie reviews
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    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Marjorie Prime
    Hamm perfectly plays Walter as a sort of suave, GQ version of HAL 9000, and Davis and Robbins have their most satisfying feature film roles in years. Along with the pitch-perfect Smith, they provide the humanity to Almereyda’s vision of a species in danger of slipping into the void of selective memory and loss.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Brittany Runs A Marathon
    Calaizzo’s script is sharp, funny and honest, and nicely avoids movie cliches about obesity. Bell’s performance is very good, both physically — the actress herself lost 40 pounds for the role — and emotionally.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
    The best thing about Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things, other than the music, is the way it evokes an era and reminds us that its subject was one of the great voices of the 20th century.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    The Wedding Guest
    Like the best noirs, The Wedding Guest is an efficient crime thriller that clocks in at around 90 minutes. It’s a B movie with style — the stuff that dreams are made of.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Infinity Pool
    Infinity Pool is a twisted, visually intriguing and at times unhinged movie designed — elegantly so — to make you squirm (for maximum impact, skip seeing the spoiler-filled trailer).
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    The Cave
    It’s like a Syrian “MASH,” except real.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Hillbilly Elegy
    Adams, a six-time Oscar nominee, is likely headed to a seventh for an admittedly showy but nuanced turn that manages to bring Bev’s humanity bubbling to the surface even as her ugly side dominates — as Thoreau might say, a life of not-so-quiet desperation. Close is terrific as usual.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Elio
    Directed by the Oscar-winning Domee Shi (“Turning Red”), Alameda native Madeline Sharafian and Adrian Molina (“Coco”), the visually appealing “Elio” moves confidently and delicately handles themes of isolation, grief, family strife and friendship.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Place Vendôme
    Overall a well-played chess match of a movie.
    • San Francisco Examiner
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    The Hummingbird Project
    The Hummingbird Project — is at once an offbeat comedy and a satisfyingly weird thriller.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Little Voice
    The drawbacks to Little Voice might sink a lesser movie, but not this one.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Small Town Crime
    Buoyed by an appealing lead performance by John Hawkes, Small Town Crime is a smart, sharply written detective story that, though not without humor, plays it straight and tough.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Adorenarin doraibu
    This overall good feeling helps smooth over the sometimes shocking lapses in logic.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Is That Black Enough for You?!?
    Is That Black Enough for You?!? is the noted film critic and author’s ode to Black contributions to American cinema — reaching back to the silent era but focusing on what he considers the apex of Black Hollywood, a wild and energetic period from 1968-78 that revolutionized the art form.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Taxman
    Shows how Tinseltown sensibilities can be well thought out even on a low budget.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Touch
    Ultimately, the film does its job with skill and heart.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Prey
    A lean, mean, riveting back-to-nature horror film that flies through its thrilling 99 minutes.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Return to Seoul
    How Yeon-hee became Frédérique Benoît and what it all means is at the heart of Return to Seoul, an ambitious, challenging and sometimes uneven character study by French-Cambodian director Davy Chou.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection
    An invaluable piece of sports history, with 16mm images by de Kermadec that are succulently detailed.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    The Guilty
    So while Fuqua’s The Guilty is not much different from the original, his direction is crisp, Gyllenhaal’s performance grows on you and Riley Keough (Zola), as the voice of the woman who is abducted, is terrific.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Black and Blue
    Sure, Black and Blue is a minor film, but it’s irresistible.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Bad Samaritan
    Sometimes the movie is a little too slick. Some of the characters, such as Sean’s girlfriend (Jacqueline Byers) and the FBI agents who begin to believe Sean’s story, are underdeveloped. But Tennant, excellent as a creep, and Sheehan, who is appealing in his helplessness, provide the necessary depth.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    The Inventor
    Oftentimes da Vinci is pleasantly lost in the cosmos of his mind, what Willy Wonka called “pure imagination.” The target audience of “The Inventor” will surely relate.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Finding Steve McQueen
    It’s a slickly made piece of entertainment that’s a good time out at the movies.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Transformers One
    Directed by Livermore-raised Josh Cooley, an Oscar-winner for “Toy Story 4,” “Transformers One” is for the inner child, and unapologetically so. And for the adults in the room, you can read it as a pro-union tale as worker bots unite.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Barking Dogs Never Bite
    Charmingly quirky.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Babygirl
    Babygirl likely will divide viewers, but no matter what side one takes — and despite a bit of a shaky denouement — it is more than just a provocative talker.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Girl Picture
    Girl Picture excels at showing how teenage life can be a sensory experience that’s exhilaratingly joyful and unbearably painful, sometimes simultaneously.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
    Clocking in at a mere 79 minutes, featuring plenty of laughs and climaxing with a rousing chase, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” is an impressive feat of clay, a winning choice in a competitive animated holiday season.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 G. Allen Johnson
    Strange World
    But after two instant classics in “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Encanto” in 2021, “Strange World,” while pleasing, is a bit of a step down for Walt Disney Animation.
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