Josh Spiegel

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Consequence, Polygon, Slashfilm
For 82 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 34% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 65% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 14.4 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Josh Spiegel's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 51
Highest review score: 100 Minari
Lowest review score: 10 Pinocchio
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 82
  3. Negative: 21 out of 82
82 movie reviews
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    • 91 Metascore
    • 90 Josh Spiegel
    The Boy and the Heron
    Miyazaki remains one of our greatest filmmakers because he utilizes the medium of animation to tell intensely personal stories that open up our eyes to grand new worlds, strange new characters, and unforgettable images. "The Boy and the Heron" is one of the year's best films, and hopefully not his last masterpiece.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Josh Spiegel
    Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung’s smooth ability to craft relatable drama makes him a director to pay attention to. It’s not just that Minari is captivating in the moment. Like the best films, it has images and scenes that will stay with you long after the film is over.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Josh Spiegel
    The Color Purple
    Blitz Bazawule and a cast of talented performers do their best, but the end result just doesn't gel.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 95 Josh Spiegel
    Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
    Here is a film that, like its source material, treats its characters with care and tenderness, establishing an instant and unbreakable bond with the audience that hits home in scene after scene.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 83 Josh Spiegel
    Soul
    The originality of vision remains strong with Pete Docter and his cohorts. But beyond strange new concepts, they need to dig deeper for more truly unexpected characters.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Josh Spiegel
    The Croods: A New Age
    The Croods: A New Age is going through the motions, accomplishing the basic level of work required in pulling off a computer-animated feature. It’s a strange way to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, even in a strange year like this.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Josh Spiegel
    The Mitchells vs. The Machines
    It’s an unbeatable combination of humor and heart.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 55 Josh Spiegel
    Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
    This is a sweet, friendly, low-key affair that often feels less like a story and more like a home movie Linklater collected to share with his grandkids.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    Vivo
    Vivo is plenty colorful, with a bright pastel palette both when the film’s action takes place in Cuba and in Florida, though the backgrounds are far less detailed than would be ideal. It’s good, but not good enough. The same is true of the story, and of the songs.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
    where Shaun the Sheep Movie felt comedically risky and goofy and brilliant, Farmageddon is a bit dated on arrival, making the kinds of jokes that would have felt a bit old hat a decade ago, let alone now. It’s a good thing this movie exists, even if it’s not quite up to snuff.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 70 Josh Spiegel
    Disenchanted
    It's a delightful surprise that the Disney+ sequel, Disenchanted, in spite of having a thudder of a title, is a moderately charming affair bolstered, per usual, by a phenomenal lead performance from one of our best living actresses.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Josh Spiegel
    Leo
    Though Leo is perhaps not the most groundbreaking animated film of the year, its gentle tone and emotion mixed with some standard anarchic gags from the Happy Madison school of comedy work in its favor.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Josh Spiegel
    Encanto
    For films like Encanto to truly stand out, instead of being content with being good enough, they need to push storytelling limits as much as they push cultural ones.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 85 Josh Spiegel
    Jackass Forever
    Jackass Forever is as bluntly, dementedly, brilliantly funny and horrific, and unforgettable as any of its predecessors or the TV series that started it all. If you are a fan of anything or anyone even tangentially related to Jackass Forever, you can rest assured that you know what you're getting.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 20 Josh Spiegel
    Heart of Stone
    This movie isn't even worth glancing at when you scroll through your Netflix profile.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Josh Spiegel
    News of the World
    News of the World is a perfectly solid, decent entry into the burgeoning sub-genre of Tom Hanks Doing Dad Stuff movies. It’s well-made, direct, and unfussy in its storytelling.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Josh Spiegel
    Onward
    Onward is a decent, well-paced, well-animated, moderately enjoyable film. It’s got a good message, an emotional third act, and some pleasantly surprising jokes. Onward is…OK. The problem with Onward is that Pixar’s original films are incredible. OK is, simply, just not good enough.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    Togo
    Willem Dafoe isn’t delivering one of his all-time performances, but he’s also not phoning it in. And these are, truly, good dogs. Togo is content in showing you those good dogs, and not much else. It’s a decent enough way to spend two hours, but only just.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 83 Josh Spiegel
    Happiest Season
    Though this film is more complicated than the now-standard holiday fare you could find on Hallmark or Netflix, Happiest Season is also charming, more intelligent than the average romantic comedy, and bolstered by an excellent lead performance.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    Deep Water
    Deep Water has its pleasures, some of which are of the inexplicably daffy variety . . . And when you compare Deep Water to ... well, just about every other movie available right now, either in theaters or streaming, it really does feel like a singular sensation.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Josh Spiegel
    Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
    Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers is a proudly very daffy and strange movie.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Josh Spiegel
    Strange World
    Though Strange World has no meme-worthy songs like "Encanto," its imagery is singular and unforgettable, and its adventurous spirit is genuine and thrilling. This is the kind of thing Disney should make more often.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 91 Josh Spiegel
    Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
    It’s been far too long — or it seems like it — since we got a full-throated, ridiculous comedy in theaters. Though it’s a real shame that Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar isn’t going to play to sold-out crowds, it deserves to live on as a cult classic.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Josh Spiegel
    Greyhound
    Where previous wartime productions that Hanks helped spearhead had the grit, suspense, and complex characterization that defines great modern drama, Greyhound is a stripped-down touring production with an unexpectedly recognizable lead. It’s a serviceable way to spend 90 minutes, but serviceable isn’t saying much.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 65 Josh Spiegel
    The Bad Guys
    The film adaptation of Aaron Blabey's series of kid-friendly graphic novels maintains a welcome visual flair and features a game voice cast while treading extremely familiar ground.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Josh Spiegel
    Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
    Another lighthearted, fast-paced adventure that is both enjoyable and can't help but feel slightly like reheated leftovers.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Josh Spiegel
    A Haunting in Venice
    A Haunting in Venice does try to spice things up, but all the skewed angles in the world can't hide the fact that this mystery is half as eerie as it wants to be, and roughly as entertaining.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    Flora & Ulysses
    Flora & Ulysses is, at its core, a very nice and sweet film. It’s low-key, but frankly, that’s fine. Sometimes, the stakes in life don’t have to get much higher than whether or not two struggling adults can find each other again, and whether or not a child can traverse a world without a strong family unit.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Josh Spiegel
    Peter Pan & Wendy
    On its own, Peter Pan & Wendy is enjoyable enough. But that too is a low bar, and considering that David Lowery has already made Disney's one truly great remake, it's perhaps logical that he wouldn't hit another home run. It's good that he tries, even if this isn't quite successful enough to clear the fence.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Josh Spiegel
    Stargirl
    Stargirl is a slight, but cute teen dramedy.
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