Justin Lowe

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The Hollywood Reporter
For 271 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 7.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Justin Lowe's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 58
Highest review score: 100 Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World
Lowest review score: 0 The Impaler
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 117 out of 271
  2. Mixed: 120 out of 271
  3. Negative: 34 out of 271
271 movie reviews
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    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Freaks
    Although in the early going the convoluted plot sometimes struggles to maintain interest, Stein and Lipovsky have such a clear vision that they keep developments confidently on track until subsequent revelations engage in full-throttle action mode, leading to a climax suggesting they likely have future plans for these characters.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Sierra Burgess Is a Loser
    While its indispensable girl-power self-affirmational instincts are sound and a committed cast assiduously focuses on delivering an uplifting message, this is regrettably uninvolving material.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 90 Justin Lowe
    Restoring Tomorrow
    Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s hard-won renaissance, as chronicled in Aaron Wolf’s fondly crafted documentary, proves to be a vigorous affirmation of the vitality of Jewish tradition in Los Angeles that will fascinate the faithful and enlighten the curious.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Destination Wedding
    While Levin’s writing is sharp and observant, it’s also often overwrought and eventually just plain tiresome.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Pick of the Litter
    Nachman and Hardy have produced another winning and relatable doc combining emotive storytelling with concisely focused filmmaking that's sure to charm viewers well beyond a sizable audience of dog lovers.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 90 Justin Lowe
    School of Life
    This assuredly crafted exploration of the intricacies of early 20th-century social stratification...soars on the strengths of sympathetic scripting and striking wildlands cinematography.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    The Package
    To say that The Package is one continuous dirty joke with an outrageously absurd premise wouldn’t be an exaggeration. It’s also a funny, sweet, raucous teen comedy that’s by turns ridiculous and raunchy, but thankfully never too profound.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Justin Lowe
    Occupation
    Good-naturedly gruff, unabashedly resourceful and proudly Australian, Occupation gets the job done with a minimum of fuss and an abundance of explosive set pieces that will likely endear it to domestic fans, even if it’s mostly forgettable otherwise.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    Science Fair
    First-time long-form directors Costantini and Foster, working from a script co-written with Jeffrey Plunkett, demonstrate admirable resourcefulness and empathy approaching their diverse teen subjects.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 30 Justin Lowe
    Siberia
    Stiffly scripted and stoically directed, Siberia shamelessly squanders the particular appeal of its charismatic lead and wastes an inordinate amount of screen time going practically nowhere, except undoubtedly right to VOD.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Constructing Albert
    There’s enough drama and jeopardy on the business side of Albert’s endeavors to keep an audience focused, however, and he proves to be a thoughtful and engaging personality who’s thoroughly immersed in the exotic world of international haute cuisine.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town
    Davis seems to be down for whatever develops...playing Izzy with energetic animation as she bounces from one manic situation to the next. Osment and Shawkat make the most of their brief, amusingly awkward scenes, while Coon's attempts to behave like an actual adult are skillfully undone by Izzy's determined disorderliness.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    And Then I Go
    A disturbing drama of teen disaffection, Vincent Grashaw’s feature provides an essential and insightful perspective that will resonate with audiences attuned to the challenges of adolescence.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    Kodachrome
    Raso takes Kodachrome (shot entirely on Kodak motion picture film) as a departure point to keenly deconstruct the bonds that hold families together and the betrayals that drive them apart, relying on an unshowy style that emphasizes the actors’ captivating performances.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Rampage
    It takes some time for the action sequences to fully engage, but from about the movie’s midpoint, Peyton delivers a succession of staggering set pieces.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Justin Lowe
    Wildling
    Shifting the film into action mode necessitates several leaps of faith to keep pace with the plot as Powley goes crashing through the forest with near abandon.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    The New Romantic
    The New Romantic comes off as too forced and calculated.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    People's Republic of Desire
    Although live-streaming entertainment may convey the impression of a rather creatively and intellectually impoverished subculture, it’s one that provides comfort and camaraderie for millions who already feel ignored and isolated by China’s rapidly evolving standards of status and wealth.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Take Your Pills
    Although the prescription drug users that Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry) profiles have some interesting things to say about how these products affect their performance and perceptions, the steady stream of talking-head experts doesn’t do much to raise the movie’s pulse.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Maineland
    Wang’s verite approach attempts to strike a tone somewhere between revealing and contemplative, but her principal subjects are too young and inexperienced with the world to have much of import to say.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    Dear Dictator
    Playful, irreverent and unafraid to be politically incorrect, the pair script with assurance and direct with stylish understatement, pairing character and physical comedy to entertaining effect.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    The Lodgers
    More ominously mysterious than outright terrifying, this is finely attuned, atmospheric filmmaking.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    Mary and The Witch's Flower
    Director Yonebayashi Hiromasa (When Marnie Was There) returns with a more lighthearted anime feature in Mary and the Witch’s Flower, a stirring adventure most suitable for tweens and teens.
    • 36 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Amanda & Jack Go Glamping
    Fitfully amusing and occasionally grating, Amanda & Jack Go Glamping succeeds best when it focuses on its protagonists’ unique shared experiences rather than the overly familiar conflicts of partners in crisis.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Suck It Up
    Gently amusing while avoiding needless sentimentality.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    Happy Death Day
    Although concentrating on delivering easily digestible situations and scene progressions, Landon does demonstrate some enticing visual flair that gets rather diminished by the repetitiveness of the plot.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Justin Lowe
    Blood Stripe
    Nowlin’s performance...is a marvel of inner turmoil and physical exertion.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Justin Lowe
    The Houses October Built 2
    Exhibiting all of the same weaknesses as its predecessor, as well as a fatal lack of originality, this iteration will probably mean the nail in the coffin for this smugly self-regarding series, at least on the theatrical circuit.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 Justin Lowe
    The Good Catholic
    An unlikely romantic comedy concerning a young parish priest struggling to discover the true scope of his religious calling, The Good Catholic doesn't so much challenge conventions as reinforce them.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Justin Lowe
    Motherland
    The women of Motherland emerge as an entirely different class of heroines, demonstrating Diaz’s insight and compassion in documenting their experiences without judgment or condescension and allowing them to convey their own individual perspectives.
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