Peter Sobczynski

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RogerEbert.com
For 324 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 42% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 54% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 10.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Peter Sobczynski's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 55
Highest review score: 100 Allied
Lowest review score: 0 The Starving Games
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 137 out of 324
  2. Mixed: 74 out of 324
  3. Negative: 113 out of 324
324 movie reviews
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    • 27 Metascore
    • 12 Peter Sobczynski
    Mortdecai
    One of those rare birds that is so off-putting in so many ways that all I could do for the most part was wonder how so many presumably intelligent people could be persuaded to sign on to produce and appear in something that could not have possibly seemed like anything other than a total mess from its earliest stages.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    Predestination
    As the heart of the story, however, Sarah Snook delivers a knockout performance that calls on her to perform the kind of tricky scenes that could have resulted in bad laughs throughout if handled incorrectly. Not only does she pull off her performance brilliantly throughout—there is not one moment in which she is anything less that utterly convincing and believable.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    The Taking of Tiger Mountain
    This lavish period piece contains enough thrills, spills and moments of cinematic grace that not only manage to push it through the rough spots but allow it to put most American action films of recent vintage to shame.
    • 24 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    The Pyramid
    In news that will probably not startle too many of you, The Pyramid is pretty much junk from start to finish.
    • 18 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
    Every holiday season sees a new influx of Christmas movies desperate to become the next big seasonal perennial destined to provide laughter, tears, humanity and healthy residuals for years to come.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    Fury
    It doesn't take long to realize that writer-director David Ayer has spent more time adding flesh to his battlefield sequence than he has in fleshing out the screenplay. The end result, while technically impressive, is a dramatically bloodless affair, despite the gallons of gore on display.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Men, Women & Children
    A potentially interesting premise is handled so badly that what might have been a provocative drama quickly and irrevocably devolves into the technological equivalent of the old anti-dope chestnut "Reefer Madness," squandering the efforts of a strong and talented cast struggling mightily to make something of the ridiculously trite material.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    No Good Deed
    In order to keep the flimsy narrative going, both allegedly brilliant characters are forced to act like morons throughout.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    Parker
    The best things about Parker are the two lead actors. Although working with material that is lackluster even by his standards, Statham manages to demonstrate a commanding screen presence that cannot be dismissed. Opposite him, Lopez delivers one of her more convincing performances.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    Dark Skies
    In extending itself to reach a conventional feature length, however, it becomes a below-average programmer in which brief moments of interest are interrupted by long stretches of boredom.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    Upside Down
    Simply put, this is one of the craziest films to come along in a while and I can confidently say that anyone who sees it will either hail it is some kind of crackpot masterpiece or dismiss it as one of the silliest damn things they've ever seen.
    • 25 Metascore
    • 12 Peter Sobczynski
    Killing Season
    Cheaply made, dramatically inept and staggeringly dull despite a running time that only clocks in at maybe 80 minutes tops before the end credits begin, it is so devoid of passion, energy and intelligence that it makes one wonder why those responsible even bothered to make it in the first place.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Pawn Shop Chronicles
    The problem with Pawn Shop Chronicles is not the fact that it is a clone of "Pulp Fiction." The problem is that it is a lousy clone.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    We Are What We Are
    Intelligently conceived, beautifully executed and filled with surprisingly convincing performances all around... We Are What We Are is that rare horror film that could play at both arthouse and grindhouse theaters without seemingly out of place at either one.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    The Trials of Muhammad Ali
    The Trials of Muhammad Ali a unique and inspiring viewing experience.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    The Christmas Candle
    The end result is the kind of vaguely distasteful Yuletide concoction that viewers normally find playing on cable channels that they don't even realize that they have.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    The Longest Week
    Not even the able actors that Glanz somehow managed to rope into his project can do much with the draggy story and the vapid characters that they have been given to play.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Last Weekend
    As a result, anyone who does bother to show up will find themselves bearing witness to unpleasant people doing and saying unpleasant things to each other while hoping in vain that the two guys from "Funny Games" will show up hoping to borrow a couple of eggs.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Abuse of Weakness
    This is a work just as startling and potent as anything she has done to date — a powerful example of art being used to exorcise personal demons that is anchored by two stunning performances and some of the most gripping moments to be seen in any film so far this year.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Sobczynski
    A Master Builder
    While A Master Builder never really catches fire as a film, it is still more or less worth watching.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    The Fluffy Movie
    Unlike a lot of comedians working these days, Iglesias is not particularly aggressive or vulgar--at least not as seen here--and the material that he covers is not particularly edgy or radical.
    • 15 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    America: Imagine a World Without Her
    America is like the cinematic equivalent of one of those forwarded e-mails of mostly discredited "facts" that you receive from an uncle and at least those sometimes include family photos or a meat loaf recipe that can be of some value.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    Snowpiercer
    If the name "Gilliam" set off a little tremor of excitement when you heard it that is no accident because, with its combination of startling visuals, a head-spinning storyline and oddball characters that don't always conform to their presumed parameters, Snowpiercer is a film definitely in the vein of the works of the great Terry Gilliam, especially his 1985 landmark "Brazil."
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Sobczynski
    Norte, the End of History
    As it turns out, "Norte" is not quite the epochal work of cinema greatness that some have suggested but it is hardly a miss either. There are moments of staggering beauty and power on display here and yet there are also moments when it seems to be ambling around with no clear idea of where it wants to go.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 Peter Sobczynski
    2 Autumns, 3 Winters
    While the cast may not include any names that are familiar in these parts, they are all effortlessly charming and engaging throughout.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    The Dance of Reality
    The result will no doubt polarize viewers, as has been the case with his other major works, but it will certainly go down amongst those who see it as one of the most unforgettable films of this or any other year in recent memory.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    For a Woman
    The end result is itself not especially intriguing.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Joe
    If your moviegoing needs are driven less by a need to "feel good" afterwards and more by a desire to see something that will grab and touch you in ways that you will not be shaking anytime soon, this is the movie for you.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    Sabotage
    This could well be the single most implausible film playing at your multiplex this weekend and bear in mind, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" is still in release.
    • 29 Metascore
    • 63 Peter Sobczynski
    Nurse 3D
    It is ridiculously lurid trash from start to finish and anyone trying to argue otherwise is as crazy as its central character. However, while its aim may be low throughout, it at least comes close to consistently hitting its targets.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Devil's Due
    Devil's Due is one of those films that borrows so many key elements from other and often better movies that genre buffs could amuse themselves by composing lists of all the titles that it blatantly rips off throughout.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    Walking with Dinosaurs
    A film that is not so much bad — although it is quite bad — as it is utterly inexplicable.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 0 Peter Sobczynski
    The Starving Games
    The writing-directing team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer now take aim at "The Hunger Games" with their latest effort, The Starving Games, and the fact that the title, as witless and uninspired as it may be, constitutes its humorous high-water mark should indicate just how ineptly they handle things this time around.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Sobczynski
    La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus
    What makes La Camioneta so interesting is not so much the story that it tells as it is the way that Kendall has chosen to tell it.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 38 Peter Sobczynski
    Hellbenders
    One of those films that expends so much time and effort in trying to become the next big cult sensation that it never gets around to simply being a good movie.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
    The end result proves to be as awkward as its title thanks to its uneven screenplay and tone, and questionable casting in supporting parts.
    • 25 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    Argento's Dracula 3D
    At least a bit of an improvement over the embarrassment of "Giallo", but no matter how promising the idea of him tackling Bram Stoker's classic might sound in theory, the result cannot be regarded as anything but a disappointment.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Sobczynski
    Herb & Dorothy 50X50
    As the saying goes, I may not know art, but I know what I like. I like this movie.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    Bounty Killer
    Are you consumed by an overwhelming desire to fork over the price of a movie ticket in order to see the kind of meagerly funded nonsense that the SyFy network provides for the price of a basic cable package? If the answer is yes, then Bounty Killer is right up your alley.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 Peter Sobczynski
    Closed Circuit
    The result is a dreary and derivative thriller that is nowhere near as smart or controversial as it clearly believes itself to be.
    • 32 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Paranoia
    Although presumably meant to be a modern-day version of the classic conspiracy thriller "The Conversation," Paranoia is so vapid that it plays like "Antitrust" sans the food allergies.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Passion
    Brian De Palma is one of the great seducers of the cinema, and he proves it with Passion, a spellbinding thriller.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 25 Peter Sobczynski
    Tyler Perry's Temptation
    The film is flat-out ludicrous from beginning to end.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Peter Sobczynski
    Alice in the Cities
    There is a timelessness to its explorations that makes it as rich and resonant today as when it was first released.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Possession
    To watch Possession again is to realize that it remains one of the most grueling, powerful, and overwhelmingly intense cinematic experiences that you are likely to have in your lifetime.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Winter Kills
    It has not lost an iota of its power to shock, amuse, and simultaneously perplex viewers. If anything, it seems to have grown even bolder with age in its willingness to take on sacred cows in the craziest manner imaginable.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Suspiria
    Suspiria truly is one of the absolute classics of the horror genre and anyone who considers themselves to be true students of the cinema owe it to themselves to experience it for themselves, especially if they get a chance to see it on the big screen where it belong.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Peter Sobczynski
    Eraserhead
    Here was a film that took elements that one might have encountered in other movies in the past—black humor, gore, surrealism, erotic imagery, gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and oddball performances—and presented them in such a unique and deeply personal manner that the end result was something that literally looked, sounded and felt like nothing that had ever come before it.
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