Luke Y. Thompson

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Dallas Observer, New Times (L.A.), The A.V. Club, Village Voice
For 520 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 55% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Luke Y. Thompson's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 58
Highest review score: 100 Dragon Inn (1967)
Lowest review score: 0 Slackers
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 204 out of 520
  2. Mixed: 228 out of 520
  3. Negative: 88 out of 520
520 movie reviews
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per page
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    How to Rob a Bank
    Where visuals of certain events are unavailable, like Scurlock writing in his journal at night, fully colored and animated storyboards fill in the gaps. It’s an odd semi-glorification, even as How To Rob A Bank throws in a few token mentions of robbery survivors with PTSD at the end, and offers a sense that Scurlock fell into the Butch Cassidy trap of being so hooked on robberies he never knew when to quit.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    Abigail
    Once intended as a remake of Dracula’s Daughter, Abigail evolved into its own thing, and fans of original horror ought to applaud. The former, honestly, isn’t all that great; the latter, figuratively and literally, dances rings around it.
    • 27 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
    This is cinema at its most punk rock—a raucous, unpolished, cheap, sacred-cow shredding middle finger to the mainstream with just enough raw talent inside to keep it from being dismissable.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    Orion and the Dark
    Though Orion And The Dark appears to go through the motions of a family flick, it throws some serious curves en route to a loving yet emotionally devastating resolution.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
    It’s rare to see family animated films as purely focused on fun as this one.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Boy and the Heron
    If The Boy And The Heron is indeed Miyazaki’s final film, it can serve as both a victory lap and a plea for a successor to arrive and take up the mantle of trying to make the world a better place through art.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Saw X
    Fans who tune in mainly for the insane timeline twists won’t get them, but otherwise, this is the most satisfying Saw installment since the first three. Also, be sure to stick around for a mid-credits scene.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Retribution
    Unlike Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, what you’re going to get from this box of travel sweets is usually something you can expect. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be effectively tasty in the moment.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Sympathy for the Devil
    Cage may hate that people quote his over-the-top moments out of context, but since this entire movie is one, you can’t really take any of it the wrong way.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
    It certainly captures a side of the man, and maybe that’s all anyone would ask of it. But it’s hard to shake the feeling there’s an even better movie waiting to be made from all this material.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Hypnotic
    Hypnotic isn’t just refreshingly straightforward for Rodriguez, but for Ben Affleck too.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Magic Mike's Last Dance
    Since more moviegoers are likely coming to a Magic Mike movie for the moves than the plot, let it be stated the moves are outstanding, even if the movers remain mostly blank slates.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Alice, Darling
    Nighy feels like she’s finding her way in a new format. She’s got the hard part down, pulling off effective emotional beats even when the story seems to be operating on screenwriting 101 paradigms. All that remains is to find a script that’s up to the rest of it.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    Wildcat
    Wildcat may have a tiny fraction of Avatar’s budget, and the bad guys—loggers, mostly—remain off-camera. But at heart, it has the same appeal. Get back to nature, put others first, be as good to your family as you can, but let them go their own way.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
    Carlo Collodi’s serialized story for kids may have inspired it, but del Toro isn’t going for fealty. He very much has a take, and if he creeps you out with it, so much the better.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Piggy
    As much as Piggy certainly has points to make about passive-aggressive status quo maintenance versus open violence, it unabashedly delivers enough terror, tension, and gore before it’s done.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
    The result is a movie likely to appeal as much to anyone who enjoys pop-scored animal hijinks on TikTok as to anyone who actually remembers the books.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Pretty Problems
    The humor in Pretty Problems isn’t often laugh-out-loud funny, but the observational satire is astute: it highlights how charity may be a performative act for donors, but that makes the need no less urgent for recipients, while acknowledging how far wealth distances some people from reality.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Smile
    It’s obvious that Finn draws heavily from his own favorites, but Smile suggests that their skill and effectiveness have successfully been passed along to him.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
    It’s less a story of the supernatural than one about a party on the wrong side of town, with hints of danger, interesting strangers to meet, and an overall cool vibe that even lingers the morning after.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Blank
    When the all-important moment of catharsis that every good scary movie requires comes around, it’s palpable. But writers, and other creative types, just might feel it a little bit extra.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    About Fate
    Despite the off-putting blandness of its poster, soundtrack, and setup, About Fate proves surprisingly charming. Old pros (especially for their relatively young ages) Mann and Roberts manage to sell some significant character flaws.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    A Love Song
    On the surface, there’s little more simple than a story of two people trying to make a connection. On an emotional level, however, few things are more complicated. Like life, A Love Song offers no easy conclusions—just simple realizations. In expert hands, that’s enough.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    Alone Together
    While we may soon tire of movies using the pandemic as a narrative catalyst (if we haven’t already), Katie Holmes’ Alone Together feels vitally of-the-moment at a time when so many films are ignoring the poignancy of that moment altogether.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    This Is GWAR
    For all the documentary reveals about the band, it leaves you asking further questions, and wanting much more—an apt metaphor for a band that created an impressive legacy, and yet whose members rarely came to a consensus.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Gray Man
    Gosling’s one of those actors for whom a recurring action hero role somehow feels long overdue, and the Russos have taken advantage of more than just his good looks and smoldering gazes.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
    Beavis And Butt-head Do The Universe is pretty much what you expect—and it’s, uhhhhh, pretty cool.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    Watcher
    Without spoiling, this is one movie where it’d be extremely interesting to know what happens five minutes after the final scene. But while the subsequent events may be up for vigorous debate, the film’s message is crystal clear: Screw you if you ever doubted a woman afraid for her safety.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Innocents
    Childhood is hard, and childhood grudges run harder. The Innocents pulls no punches in turning that fact into horror.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 91 Luke Y. Thompson
    Vortex
    Vortex looks unsparingly at characters at the end of life, and finds their experiences as scary as any traditional horror tale.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Bad Guys
    Like the Despicable Me series, The Bad Guys may find ever-diminishing returns once the villain protagonists no longer qualify as despicable or bad. For now, at least, that mixed morality is not just part of the fun, but the primary selling point.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
    If the movie were just meme-able moments, it might run out of steam, even with Cage delivering them practically nonstop. Thankfully, there’s an actual plot, which allows everyone else (and the film as a whole) to spoof less Cage-specific tropes.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 67 Luke Y. Thompson
    All the Old Knives
    All The Old Knives is compelling moment by moment, but afterward viewers may have some lingering questions about what characters hoped to accomplish, or why they were involved at all.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 83 Luke Y. Thompson
    a-ha: the Movie
    It’s a compelling tale of three perfectionists who consider music to be their bond, but don’t work together very well unless they have to.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Luke Y. Thompson
    You Won't Be Alone
    Stolevski ably balances art-house and horror tones to a degree that fans of both will appreciate, but like the film’s pointedly empathetic point of view, his emphasis on each helps fans of one style understand and appreciate the other.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Killing Ground
    What the film doesn’t do, much to its credit, is make the killers into charismatically “cool” villains, à la Wolf Creek‘s Mick Taylor.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Legion of Brothers
    It’s clear in their eyes that they’ve seen some shit—and this doc not only gives us a glimpse of it too, but adds valuable context in a way not many others do.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Bang! The Bert Berns Story
    Blending stock footage, vintage audio, re-creation, and many testimonials from heavy hitters from Ben E. King to Van Morrison, Berns' son Brett keeps things visually lively, and not as morose as may be implied.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Void
    The twisty story and imaginative monsters are enough to overcome the relatively humdrum leads.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Mean Dreams
    For better or for worse, Paxton's performance will be the focus of viewers’ attention, so it is decidedly to the good that he doesn't just deliver. He gives a sort of master class on why we've loved him: Paxton was amazing in the role of regular guys, and equally compelling as the subversion of same.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Bye Bye Man
    If you miss the slasher icons of old and have little patience for the reboot attempts they get periodically, it's nice to see at least a worthy attempt to add to that pantheon.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Ma
    It's audacious enough to warrant attention.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Silicon Cowboys
    Director Jason Cohen (the Oscar-nominated short Facing Fear) wants his documentary history of Compaq computers to be fun — and indeed, compared to the overly earnest clips of Halt and Catch Fire inserted for contrast, the real slow-talking Texans in the tale are a hoot.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Mind's Eye
    The Mind's Eye ought to hit the sweet spot for fans of early David Cronenberg, the more violent X-Men comics, and the kinds of indie horror movies Larry Fessenden always cameos in, as he does again here.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Len and Company
    You think you can guess what happens next, but the beauty of Tim Godsall's film, adapted from a play by Carly Mensch, is that it eschews the obvious arcs and come-to-Jesus moments of your typical Bad Dad pics.
    • 100 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Dragon Inn (1967)
    The slow build of the action is deceptive, as at first the martial arts are all in the editing.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Ambush
    Beautifully shot and finely acted movie.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Sunshine State
    Almost two and a half hours long, and mostly consists of calm conversations. But don't be deterred, or you'll miss out on a study of character, class and changing times that puts Robert Altman's stodgy "Gosford Park" to shame.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 46 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Da Vinci Code
    All in all, a respectable and predictable adaptation.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Teacher's Pet
    The musical numbers are energetic and fun.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Intimate Strangers
    Props to translator Nigel Palmer for keeping the subtitles witty instead of blindly literal.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Romeo Must Die
    May not have the best script in the world, but it brings Jet Li to the big screen in a way that all action junkies, not just the video-store geeks, will appreciate.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Session 9
    Horror fans and those who just plain enjoy a well-told story should thank the cinematic gods. Session 9 is not only the scariest movie of the year, but also perhaps the most easy to believe since the first "Blair Witch."
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    28 Days Later...
    The deep thematic concerns are never fully developed, but the characters are, and the story compels. Also, the movie's pretty scary.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Patriot
    Sentimental, overbearing, flag-waving--and a crowd-pleaser.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
    There's a lot of imagination at work here; too bad just a little bit of it couldn't have been channeled into the creation of a better narrative.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Break-Up
    Is The Break-Up worth your time? Let's put it this way: Whenever Vaughn is onscreen, it is. When he's not, it ain't. The movie's a comedy, but it's also about a breakup, so it gets a bit maudlin toward the end.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Mau Mau Sex Sex
    No B-movie fan, save perhaps the extremely obsessive for whom this is old hat, should miss it.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Jump Tomorrow
    The acting is superb across the board, especially from Adebimpe.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Men in Black II
    Delivers a quick buzz, lots of stuff to look at, and a totally nonnutritious joy that can only be attained with the aid of artificial flavorings and Yellow #5. In a nutshell, it's the perfect summer movie.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 58 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor
    And remember, this is just part one of a trilogy. While all may not be clear yet, there's certainly enough here to make you curious about the other two parts.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Country Bears
    This film is just too damn weird to pass up, and for the blacklight crowd, way cheaper (and better) than Pink Floyd tickets.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Edukators
    Unlike in, say, "Fight Club," director Hans Weingartner does not hedge his bets on the notion of whether simple-minded anarchy is any better than societal conformity -- his heart is with the Edukators, period.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Dinner Rush
    Some of the finest ensemble acting this year.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Red Eye
    May not seem to be your typical Wes Craven movie. It's not really horror, there are no marketable monsters, and unlike "Cursed," "Scream 3" and other recent Craven offerings, it's actually an enjoyable time at the movies.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Last Orders
    The film's biggest strength is the same characteristic that may cause people to underrate it: that the group of friends we watch onscreen feel not like England's greatest actors showing off, but rather a group of friends who have indeed known each other for years through life's little triumphs and large tragedies.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
    The central theme of the movie is the pure joy the cartoon takes in childishness.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Old School
    Ferrell owns the screen.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Once Upon a Time in Mexico
    God bless Johnny Depp. For the second time this year, the man has almost single-handedly redeemed an action movie that would otherwise be indistinguishable from the pack.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Shape of Things
    Neil LaBute is back to his old self, and the cinematic world is a better place for it.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Burning Man: The Burning Sensation
    The film feels like a violation of the festival's philosophy of "participants only, no spectators": Who, after all, is going to sit in a theater to see this but a spectator? It is fun stuff to look at, though.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Grizzly Man
    Herzog is primarily interested in Treadwell the filmmaker, but you'll likely be fascinated with him as a human being.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Domino
    Sure, it's amusing, but it isn't much more.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Crazy as Hell
    Utilizing lots of complicated, well-choreographed steadicam shots, La Salle directs with confidence -- this may yet be his true calling.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    In the grand scheme of things, Goblet of Fire is perhaps closest to the original "Sorcerer's Stone."
    • 32 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Wrong Turn
    Horror fans will have a blast, though it's unlikely anyone else will be won over.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Solaris
    For all its flaws, though, Solaris is a good try, and a definite improvement over the dull remakes Soderbergh has been sleepwalking through lately.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    Up and Down
    Ought to gain some viewers here with its dark sense of humor and stylish cinematography by Jan Malir. Director Jan Hrebejk names Mike Leigh as an influence, but frankly he's way cooler.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    If you're a fan of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, all you need to know is this: Disney has done right by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It's impossible to imagine it done much better, in fact.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Ushpizin
    A good-hearted movie aimed at Orthodox Jews who don't normally go to the movies.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Find Me Guilty
    The characters may be based on real people, with much of the dialogue culled directly from court transcripts, but Find Me Guilty plays the whole thing as comedy, and as everyone knows, putting a self-serious egomaniacal movie star in a bad hairpiece is comedy gold.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Princess Bride
    Though not as visually impressive as comparable Terry Gilliam fare such as Jabberwocky, the verbal wit is fast and abundant (abetted with cameos by Billy Crystal, Peter Cook and Mel Smith), and you'd better believe the midnight movie crowd will remember almost all of it.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Dust Factory
    Turns out to be one of the most original and imaginative children's films in a long time.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    I Remember Me
    You'll feel fatigued watching it, but more out of empathy than boredom.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Captain Pantoja and the Special Services
    This may not seem to be the stuff of comedy, but a comedy it is, and a compelling one too, laden with hot sex and standout performances.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 90 Luke Y. Thompson
    An Affair of Love
    By boiling the characters down to the most basic emotions and eliminating lifestyle-specific idiosyncrasies, we can enter the world of the story with ease.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    The New World
    At the heart of it all is an entrancing lead performance by the teenage Kilcher.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Insider
    The final product is great populist entertainment and may even leave audiences with a feeling of comfort, however fleeting, in the knowledge that corrupt corporations don't always win
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Spielberg can never top this. Period.
    • Dallas Observer
    • 52 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Blade II
    Just be advised guys, Blade II is as estrogen-free as movies get, so you might want to leave your date behind for this one, or she's gonna make you feel like you owe her big-time.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    Ha-Chaverim Shel Yana
    Swept Israel's version of the Oscars two years ago, and though it won't do as well here, it's an accomplished debut with heart, war and sex. In the age of paranoia, it just might be the perfect date movie.
    • New Times (L.A.)
    • 84 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Glengarry Glen Ross
    The directing's a bit obtrusive, but the script and the acting gets to the heart of Mamet's glorious obsession with macho B.S.
    • Dallas Observer
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Gunner Palace
    Why don't we see this kind of thing on the news every night? Undoubtedly military censorship comes into play, but probably more so it's the prevailing notion that talking-head shoutfests stacked with pundits bring in the ratings, while actual field reporting costs more money.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Mule Skinner Blues
    Stephen Earnhart's documentary lovingly covers the process -- veering between pathos, inspiration and mockery
    • 61 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    Perfectly capturing the zeitgeist of American high school life in the '80s, complete with a Rubik's cube reference, the funny and occasionally harsh Fast Times, with all due apologies to John Hughes and Mickey Rooney, may be the greatest teen movie ever made (even though Cates was the only real teen).
    • 57 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Bubba Ho-tep
    This horror-comedy about an aging Elvis in a haunted rest home proves not only is "Evil Dead's" Bruce Campbell a good actor, but possibly a great one.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Luke Y. Thompson
    Zathura: A Space Adventure
    Neither pandering nor dull, Zathura plays exactly like a no-limits replica of the kind of space adventure that imaginative kids left to their own devices might enact.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Others
    If you like being scared, you should have fun. Bring a date to hold hands with.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Luke Y. Thompson
    The Eyes of Tammy Faye
    It contains nary a dull moment.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 100 Luke Y. Thompson
    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    The zingers come so fast and furious that if you miss a few (and even the most alert viewer will the first time), there are always more.
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