Monica Castillo

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RogerEbert.com, The A.V. Club, The New York Times, The Playlist, TheWrap, Village Voice
For 369 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 1.9 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: 236 out of 369
  2. Mixed: 67 out of 369
  3. Negative: 66 out of 369
369 movie reviews
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    • 65 Metascore
    • 100 Monica Castillo
    Raging Grace
    In his feature debut, writer and director Paris Zarcilla proves he is a master storyteller. He carefully builds his suspenseful tale with a horror twist layer-by-layer: showing us Joy’s hardships, establishing Grace’s rebellious phase, immersing us in their problems until what looks like divine intervention arrives that’s almost too good to be true (and it is).
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    100 Nights of Hero
    Julia Jackman‘s beguiling feminist fairytale “100 Nights of Hero” is an enchanting tribute to the power of storytelling.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Monica Castillo
    Sweet Micky for President
    The energy never falters as the film jumps from talking-head testimonies to on-the-streets footage of rallies and riots.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 85 Monica Castillo
    Fast Color
    When all the puzzle-like pieces come together, the movie’s characters, story, score and emotions soar. The pace of that progress may feel slow, but things never get too quiet. It’s a movie with a racing pulse, and you can feel its heart in every frame.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    The Other Lamb
    As wonderful as The Other Lamb appears on screen and its cast embodies the story’s tension, it feels as if there is missing something from the final picture. The movie is slight in its exploration of dark subjects like cults, inter-generational dynamics and abuse, without coming to any kind of conclusion or closure.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    The Lodge
    Overall, Franz and Fiala perhaps play things a little too safe with The Lodge, not straying too far from a formula they know has already worked before. “The Lodge” is more disturbing than scary, with its eerie ambiance and chilling plot handling most of the scares.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Sebastian
    Written and directed by Mikko Mäkelä, “Sebastian” plays like a cautionary tale about toxic ambition.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    To the End
    Throughout To the End, there is a clear sense of urgency to the call for action.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Anna and the Apocalypse
    It’s one of those rare horror movies to leave you with good holiday cheer.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Monica Castillo
    Native Son
    Screen adaptations of well-known books are a tricky art. Stray too far from the source material, and purists will be upset. Stick too close to the text, and you risk alienating others. Native Son sits somewhere in-between paint-by-number loyalty and artistic interpretation.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 65 Monica Castillo
    The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
    As tragic biopics go, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain isn’t interested in wallowing in misery. Instead, this amusing retelling of Wain’s life is a way to introduce his quirky illustrations to a new generation, putting them in a new light that’s more in line with the irreverent and animated creatures Wain once imagined years ago.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 38 Monica Castillo
    Your Monster
    Its uneven, heavy-handed approach to breakups and bad exes may quench some urge for revenge, but our main character’s heart isn’t in it.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Kiss of the Spider Woman
    Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is a reminder of what a great on-screen musical looks and feels like.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Someone Great
    Although the characters tend to lean heavily on caricature, Rodriguez, Wise, and Snow seem to have plenty of chemistry with each other.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Bone Lake
    While Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s newest film, “Bone Lake,” doesn’t necessarily break new gory ground in the category, it’s a fun, messed-up horror thriller playing with both familiar tropes and modern-day anxieties of love, sex, and finding out that someone has booked the same rental home for the weekend.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Love, Brooklyn
    Ultimately, the spirit of “Love, Brooklyn” is tenderness. It is both a love letter and a sympathy card: an acknowledgement that growing up sometimes means letting go, embracing the changes that come with time, and that loving someone does not always mean holding on to them.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Monica Castillo
    Set It Up
    While the plot is familiar, Katie Silberman’s witty script plays with expectations.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Everybody's Talking About Jamie
    As far as coming-of-age musicals go, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie sends a charming, feel-good message of self-acceptance.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    The Swimmers
    The Swimmers is about a cause much bigger than the Olympics and is told on a personal scale that makes the issue accessible and unforgettable.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    The Photograph
    Through cinematographer Mark Schwartzbard’s lens, The Photograph feels like a gentle throwback to romantic movies that left their audiences in good spirits as they filed out of the theater.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    There's Something in the Water
    While the documentary has the feel of a scrappy passion project, the message itself remains powerful. Given the chaotic times, There’s Something in the Water also serves as a stark reminder that not all governments have their citizens’ best interests at heart.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Ramen Shop
    Ramen Shop believes that the healing power of food can satisfy our hunger for comfort in difficult times, and that should be filling enough for now.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Run Rabbit Run
    Run Rabbit Run is a solid, spooky tale without anything too flashy like a Babadook to haunt our dreams and memes but chilling enough to make us sit up in our chairs and scan the screen for the next sign of danger.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    The Uninvited
    Conners’ first narrative feature is a rocky start but not without some promising notes.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    El Angel
    Although the film’s premise is based on a true story, Luis Ortega’s El Angel is not a faithful biopic. Somehow, the facts are darker than their fictional counterparts.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Scream VI
    As far as Scream sequels go, we’ve seen worse, but the wear and tear of the years are showing on Ghostface’s mask. The script is serviceable but surface-level, bringing up interesting ideas but never following though on them.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Monica Castillo
    Difret
    Difret is painful but profound, skirting the pitfalls of the inspirational biopic for something more grounded and remarkable. Its authenticity extends beyond its central characters, conveying a very real sense of what is at stake.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Monica Castillo
    Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
    True to its word, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark delivers an entrancing thriller that explores the power of narratives with a few screams to boot.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 63 Monica Castillo
    Saturday Night
    Despite its shortcomings, “Saturday Night” works as a crowd pleaser for those who watched Chevy Chase take command of the Weekend Update desk, John Belushi tear up a stage with his intensity, or Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner crack up the audience with their absurd characters.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Monica Castillo
    Bad Hair
    The movie is front-loaded with exposition, but once the action gets going and the narrative pieces fall into place, “Bad Hair” is a creepy movie with thoughtful political twists and thrilling supernatural turns.
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