Monica Castillo

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RogerEbert.com, The A.V. Club, The New York Times, The Playlist, TheWrap, Village Voice
For 366 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 50% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Monica Castillo's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 64
Highest review score: 100 Hokum
Lowest review score: 0 The Departure
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 233 out of 366
  2. Mixed: 67 out of 366
  3. Negative: 66 out of 366
366 movie reviews
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    • 50 Metascore
    • 38 Monica Castillo
    Shoplifters of the World
    It’s unfortunate that the finished tribute doesn’t quite come together, and the tension between needing a compelling narrative and paying respects to bands whose music changes our lives never gets resolved.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Trust
    Although Trust gets off to a shaky start, once the players are introduced and the flirty game’s afoot, it’s a mostly fun ride.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Boogie
    Not all the pieces of Boogie fit neatly together, but it’s a film about a family that doesn’t fit inside the box of a standard inspirational immigrant story.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry
    We’re seeing a then-17-year-old Eilish change her style, come into her own and demand control of her image, right down to directing her own music videos. We’re watching the birth of a star, an exhilarating and sometimes excruciating experience.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 88 Monica Castillo
    Test Pattern
    Coupled with the talents of cinematographer Ludovica Isidori and music by Rob Rusli, Ford’s Test Pattern is an engrossing human drama, one that examines the intersections and inequalities between race, gender, and healthcare in a poignant and powerful way.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    To All the Boys: Always and Forever
    The playful “will they or won’t they” dynamic has kept the series moving since Lara Jean first learned that Peter received her love letter. Even if it seems like it's wearing a bit thin by the events in Always and Forever, the affectionate energy between stars Condor and Centineo keeps the sparks flying.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Palmer
    Despite its rough edges, Fisher Stevens’ Palmer is a gentle drama. It doesn’t go as deep into Palmer’s emotions or mindset, but instead keeps them closely guarded in Timberlake’s gruff performance.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 88 Monica Castillo
    Softie
    The film is just as much about politics as it is a family working out the demands of a politically active life with the demands of the home.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Monica Castillo
    Identifying Features
    Identifying Features has a subtle frantic quality, a kind of restraint in bearing witness to the unspeakable horrors facing countless others who must stay silent.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 38 Monica Castillo
    If Not Now, When?
    Between its amateurish direction, pedestrian cinematography, and overly plotted script, the narrative and visuals don’t coalesce into a story that feels restorative, cathartic, or even joyful.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Pieces of a Woman
    Thankfully, it’s Kirby’s performance that makes Pieces of a Woman memorable.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Finding Yingying
    One thing that comes across so clearly in Finding Yingying is the ripple effect the disappearance of a loved one has on their family and friends. It’s a waking nightmare of uncertainty that stretches for years. A grief that’s always just on the surface waiting to unleash itself once again.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Farewell Amor
    Writer and director Ekwa Msangi constructs this nontraditional narrative with an attention to detail for each of these characters. Just as important as their conversations is their body language and how it shifts around one another.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Half Brothers
    Because of the movie’s uneven story and characters, it’s a bumpy ride no matter which route you take.
    • 35 Metascore
    • 25 Monica Castillo
    Stardust
    The lack of a solid narrative means Stardust cannot compensate for the production’s modest budget, which lacks a noticeable amount of Bowie songs and includes many scenes filmed on the cheap.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Black Beauty
    While much of this Black Beauty strays from the original, the spirit of empathy and combatting animal cruelty remain intact.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 25 Monica Castillo
    Echo Boomers
    As with the many trend pieces complaining about millennials spending too much money on avocado toast over home mortgages, Echo Boomers gets a lot wrong about the generation it wants to discuss. Maybe the filmmakers should have listened more.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Monica Castillo
    Cuties
    The movie is so much more nuanced and bold than the first wave of outrage charged. With Cuties, Doucouré announces herself as a director with a keen visual style who’s unafraid to explore these cultural and social tensions.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Measure for Measure
    Based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure is filled with drama, although perhaps not the kind you’d expect from the Bard. No, this is a modern-day adaptation—one grappling with xenophobia, drug addiction, and gun violence. There are no period costumes here, but there’s a stone-faced Hugo Weaving to make up for it.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 25 Monica Castillo
    The Garden Left Behind
    The Garden Left Behind works best as a message movie, not for the community it’s set in but for everyone else.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Stage Mother
    A sweet but ineffective comedy that cashes in on drag culture’s new mainstream fame. While the movie brings up a handful of important topics, the way it handles issues like drug addiction and physical abuse ultimately feel superficial and hollow. Fortunately, a few sparkling performances salvage the show from becoming too maudlin.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Represent
    Heading into the homestretch of this year’s election, Represent feels like a balm. A reminder that, win or lose, there’s something to be gained by reigniting people’s interest in civil engagement, especially at the local and state level.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Work It
    This movie promises dancing, and it delivers.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    La Llorona
    This version of La Llorona finds new emotional ground. It’s not just a creepy story, but a painful reflection of injustice.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    The Cuban
    The Cuban pulls together music, romance, loss, and memory into an emotional tale that spans cultures and generations. One thing connects them all: Cuban music.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 38 Monica Castillo
    The Kissing Booth 2
    You can soak in the movie’s basic premise and overacting just as long as you know this pool’s shallow.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    A Nice Girl Like You
    If A Nice Girl Like You would have stayed the course of the book it’s based on, Ayn Carrillo-Gailey’s 2007 memoir Pornology, it might have been an interesting enough premise. Instead, Andrea Marcellus’ screen adaptation whitewashes the main character and moves the narrative into a more conventional territory, one centered on love over lust, tame over the risque.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Archive
    Archive is a somewhat unwieldy sci-fi thriller to get into. The plot twists are many, and so are the cliches.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 88 Monica Castillo
    Welcome to Chechnya
    Welcome to Chechnya is both astonishingly groundbreaking in its use of technology, and difficult to watch.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    The Audition
    There’s a quiet intensity that runs throughout The Audition. Although most of it feels like a subtle family and teacher drama, sharp anxious pangs occasionally disrupt the film’s otherwise gentle pace. Eventually, these feelings spin the film’s main character out-of-control into a truly baffling conclusion that feels neither right nor earned. It’s almost as if it were the ending of another movie entirely.
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