Marc Mohan

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Portland Oregonian
For 771 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 65% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 33% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 4 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Marc Mohan's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 70
Highest review score: 100 Young@Heart
Lowest review score: 0 Cop Out
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 544 out of 771
  2. Mixed: 188 out of 771
  3. Negative: 39 out of 771
771 movie reviews
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    • 92 Metascore
    • 91 Marc Mohan
    Timbuktu
    Sissako, whose previous film, 2006's "Bamako," also tackled political issues with aplomb and complexity, doesn't need to craft an overwrought denunciation of ignorant fanaticism. The humanism with which he approaches both the perpetrators and the victims of the violence inherent in this petty, small-minded tyranny makes the strongest argument possible against the Boko Harams of the world.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 25 Marc Mohan
    The Boy Next Door
    It's a thriller, if the term can be applied to an inept, perfunctory movie with more laughs than thrills — and it only has a couple laughs. Let's call it an attempted thriller and an inadvertent comedy.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 58 Marc Mohan
    American Sniper
    If the star does his utmost to make a one-dimensional character interesting, his director, Clint Eastwood, adapts Kyle's memoir — a life story rife with moral complexity — by hammering it flat.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    Zero Motivation
    Although its three-part structure plays out more like sketch comedy than a fully-cooked story, Lavie's debut is an impressive and entertaining one.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 91 Marc Mohan
    Winter Sleep
    The screenplay, which Ceylan and his wife Ebru based on short stories by Anton Chekhov, is wordy but insightful. The widescreen cinematography, capturing the natural wonders that make Cappadocia a popular tourist destination, is crisp in exterior shots and delicately shaded indoors. And the performances are never less than totally convincing.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 91 Marc Mohan
    Selma
    A film this heartfelt and intelligent about social justice will never be unimportant, but it feels especially relevant today.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    Point and Shoot
    The story of Matt VanDyke, as told in the fascinating documentary Point and Shoot, is a vivid illustration of the ups and downs of reinvention.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Big Eyes
    It's not a bad movie, but Big Eyes might have been better off if it had sold its audience the same bill of goods Walter Keane sold America.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    Into the Woods
    The big star with the most unexpected chops, though, is Chris Pine, who runs with his Prince Charming role and, along with Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince, contributes the movie's best musical moment with the duet "Agony."
    • 33 Metascore
    • 42 Marc Mohan
    Annie
    Even the show-stopper "Tomorrow" comes off as half-hearted and obligatory. The choreography looks like it was improvised by the young actors who play Wallis' fellow foster kids — all listless jumping and arm-folding, no inventiveness or energy.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    The Babadook
    If film's rapturous reception is due in part to the rarity of filmmaking this skillful within the horror genre, it's hard to begrudge this near-masterpiece of unease any of the praise it's gotten.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Life Partners
    Life Partners may be a dispensable sitcom of a movie, but it's charming and cannily made.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 42 Marc Mohan
    Exodus: Gods and Kings
    As an action spectacular, Exodus is on par with Scott's other forays into ancient times, "Gladiator" and "Kingdom of Heaven." But as a believable human drama, much less a worthy exploration of Judaism's origins, it falls flat.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    National Gallery
    It's hard to say what's more fascinating: The engaging explication of various paintings by the remarkably articulate docents, the behind-the-scenes looks at the preservation and restoration processes, or the boardroom discussions about the appropriateness of marketing efforts. Actually, that third one probably isn't the most fascinating, but I still wanted more of it.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Antarctica: A Year on Ice
    Despite all the camaraderie, natural beauty and exotic weather, though, you couldn't pay me enough to live there, especially not when there's a movie like this to show me what I'm missing.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    Keep On Keepin' On
    The only danger with a movie like this is the inevitably disappointing return to more humdrum reality once it ends.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    The Theory of Everything
    This movie about a great woman and a great man ends up merely good.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Diplomacy
    Ignorance is bliss, maybe. If you don't know (and the film doesn't tell you, though the press notes do) that Diplomacy plays fast and loose with the known facts, it's a thrilling, even moving drama. But learning the truth gives an unpleasant aftertaste to a movie that's otherwise a solid piece of work.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 91 Marc Mohan
    Force Majeure
    It's similar to 2011's "The Loneliest Planet," which examined a similar dynamic between a couple backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains. But Force Majeure (which, as a legal term, refers to unforeseeable events or "acts of God") is sharper and smarter, combining precision-strike storytelling, directorial art, and impressive, often invisible visual effects, including that avalanche scene.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Laggies
    Laggies doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it puts an engaging spin on the old canard about high school being the best years of our lives.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Art and Craft
    The fascinating tale of master forger Mark Landis is especially bizarre, mostly because it doesn't involve the commission of a crime.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Marc Mohan
    Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
    The thrilling cinematic joyride that, among other improbable feats, puts Michael Keaton, as Thomson, smack in the middle of the Oscar race for best actor.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Whiplash
    Because Whiplash is two characters in search of a plot, it ramps up the happenstance and improbability as it stumbles toward a final showdown between teacher and student that would be emotionally satisfying if it had the ring of truth.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    1,000 Times Good Night
    Binoche is her usual dependable self, bringing passion and fury to a familiar, but still compelling, character.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 58 Marc Mohan
    John Wick
    There are some attempts at a comic-bookish, film noir vibe, including a hotel where all the crooks and killers stay, forbidden by house rules from "doing business"on the premises. And everywhere Keanu turns, he bumps into a character from HBO.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 91 Marc Mohan
    The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
    At over two hours, it might test the patience of some younger viewers (and some impatient older ones as well), but for anyone willing to take the time, it's an utter treat.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 83 Marc Mohan
    Rudderless
    The movie wobbles as it approaches the home stretch, but, thanks to its leading man, manages to stick the landing.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Fury
    David Ayer's film is a gory, muddy, downbeat tale of war's hellishness and the fraternal bond between those stuck in the middle of it. It's also, like "Ryan," full of tense, grippingly staged action scenes that capture moments of pure adrenaline, and it's the tension between those two impulses that makes "Fury" fascinating and ultimately flawed.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 58 Marc Mohan
    Lilting
    There's potential here, as well as in Junn's touching relationship with a fellow resident at the home, for real intensity, but Khaou insists on sticking with a glacial pace and lip-trembling emotional repression when a little bit of melodrama might have gone a long way.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Marc Mohan
    Pride
    Pride should leave audiences smiling and inspired. But it would have been a much more groundbreaking film if it had been released 30 years ago.
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