John Hazelton

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Screen Daily
For 45 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 57% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 39% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 11.1 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

John Hazelton's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 54
Highest review score: 100 Tangerine
Lowest review score: 20 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 45
  3. Negative: 6 out of 45
45 movie reviews
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    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 John Hazelton
    Get Out
    Retro horror and racial tension mix to surprisingly entertaining effect in Get Out.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 John Hazelton
    Tangerine
    Tangerine paints a portrait of transgender sex workers and their clients that pulses with raunchy energy and compassionate humour. It’s a bracing slice of American indie film-making.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 90 John Hazelton
    Prisoners
    An impressive US debut for French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, dramatic thriller Prisoners is a potent mix of suspense, emotion and intrigue that draws intense performances from leads Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Gold
    A bravura performance from Matthew McConaughey as a schlubby, roguish mineral prospector in desperate pursuit of the American Dream is the seam that gives Gold its value.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Zootopia
    Though it never gets too preachy, the film delivers its message about the dangers of stereotyping quite clearly and draws parallels with instances of everyday racial prejudice among humans.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    The Martian
    Visually spectacular and consistently entertaining, Ridley Scott’s space rescue procedural The Martian suffers only from a failure to hit its emotional beats with the amount of force and feeling usually required to make this kind of life-and-death adventure really take off.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    The Gift
    Initially, it plays like an atmospheric but predictable stalker thriller with not much more than style – and maybe the casting of the always watchable Jason Bateman – to recommend it. Later, though, it turns into a considerably more intriguing and twisty psychological drama.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Self/less
    There are enough twists and turns in Self/less to keep things interesting
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Star Trek Beyond
    The third instalment of the re-booted Star Trek franchise gets safely through its voyage, offering a strong returning cast and a familiar, if slightly tweaked mix of effects-heavy space action, cheeky humour and philosophical musing.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Risen
    Though there’s some clunky dialogue and not much real character development, Reynolds manages to put the action, mystery and drama elements together into a credible, and at times quite touching whole.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Solo: A Star Wars Story
    The action ultimately takes second place to the fun moments linking the spin-off to the main Star Wars saga
    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Ricki and the Flash
    A breezy but touching dysfunctional family dramedy, with real heart and some genuine musical soul.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    The Intern
    When the film gets more serious it produces some affecting moments between the two leads.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    The Divergent Series: Insurgent
    The second installment of the Divergent series shows some symptoms of middle chapter-itis but in the end makes the most of a strong returning cast led by Shailene Woodley, slick direction from Robert Schwentke, impressive effects and a closely guarded plot twist.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 John Hazelton
    Wonder Woman
    Though the action...sometimes has a slightly distracting video game feel, it’s often stirring stuff, and it’s skillfully integrated into the developing relationship between the title character and her mortal man.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
    Intense battle action and rousing heroics just about make up for the dramatic shortcomings of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    Miracles from Heaven
    Less on the nose than the title makes it sound, faith-based offering Miracles From Heaven spins some bland but efficiently tear-jerking drama out of its true story-based tale.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    Trolls
    There’s more texture than might be expected from characters based on plastic dolls.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    Cell
    This apocalyptic thriller is a run-of-the-mill zombie flick that goes through the genre motions efficiently enough but fails to live up to its credits.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    The Glass Castle
    Brie Larson and Destin Daniel Cretton, star and director, respectively, of 2013 festival favourite Short Term 12, re-team for the affecting, if less intense and occasionally meandering drama of The Glass Castle.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 60 John Hazelton
    American Hero
    What’s missing is much in the way of substantial drama or character development.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    Ice Age: Collision Course
    Collision Course is a colourful 3D romp that’s heavy on slapstick and cosy family comedy but light on real laughs and affecting drama.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    The Finest Hours
    The climactic rescue sequence has tension and some thrills, but it’s over fairly quickly and the film settles back into a sentimental lull
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    Office Christmas Party
    For all its attempts at inventive excess – and at slightly more sophisticated humour - this scattershot gross-out comedy ends up producing chuckles rather than real laughs.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
    With more action and less mystery, a returning director and main cast and a handful of sketchy new characters, The Scorch Trials makes for an efficient yet uninspiring sequel.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    The Boss Baby
    Hyperactive, oddly premised and never quite as endearing as it should be, The Boss Baby is an animated family comedy that seems to have all the right elements but just doesn’t deliver.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    Max
    Max is a genial if somewhat old-fashioned tale that’s too clunky to transcend its genre(s) but effective enough within its own limited emotional range.
    • 27 Metascore
    • 50 John Hazelton
    Pixels
    Sporting a flowing mullet and aviator shades, Dinklage perks things up considerably as the story’s comically arrogant bad-boy-turned-good-guy.
    • 32 Metascore
    • 40 John Hazelton
    Unfinished Business
    The supporting cast takes some of the comic weight off the always likeable Vaughn’s shoulders. But Wilkinson’s character is too sad-sack to be really funny and Franco’s verges on the mawkish.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 40 John Hazelton
    How to Be Single
    While the book had a kernel of believability and seriousness, on screen the drama is pretty insipid. The comedy, which produces only a handful of real laughs, comes from each character in turn, with Wilson dominating – and providing the mostly verbal raunch – in her now familiar party animal persona.
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