Robert K. Elder

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Chicago Tribune
For 245 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 66% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 5.1 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Robert K. Elder's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 60
Highest review score: 100 The 39 Steps
Lowest review score: 0 The Devil's Rejects
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 141 out of 245
  2. Mixed: 55 out of 245
  3. Negative: 49 out of 245
245 movie reviews
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    • 76 Metascore
    • 100 Robert K. Elder
    The Cranes Are Flying
    An exciting World War II romantic triangle drama about a young woman (Tatyana Samoilova) caught in war's turmoil, "Cranes" was hailed by 1950s U.S. critics for its humanism. But what burns this movie into memory is its stunning visual style: the rich, mobile camerawork of Kalatozov and genius cinematographer Sergei Uresevsky. [22 Feb 2008, p.C2]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Brothers
    While the film's strength lies in an ensemble effort, it's really Sarah and Jannik who provide the film with its most compelling characters, its momentum and, ultimately, its heart.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    The Animation Show 2005
    When applied properly, short-form animation can bring dreams and nightmares to life like no other medium.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Lawless Heart
    So well crafted, so original, that each overlapping scene swells with new life and interpretation.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    A Foreign Affair
    A Foreign Affair's flaws make it even more of an enigma, as graceless as it is endearing.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    They Died with Their Boots On
    Errol Flynn deifies Gen. George Armstrong Custer in a silly though well-directed biopic. [25 May 2001, p.C1]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 54 Metascore
    • 0 Robert K. Elder
    The Devil's Rejects
    Evil isn't this boring.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Serenity
    A brash, funny, action-packed bit of sci-fi ecstasy--and a giant raspberry to the execs who let "Firefly" fall out of the sky.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Mean Creek
    If Estes' future efforts can offer us such potent, character-centered Molotov cocktails, Mean Creek may well signal the rise of America's next auteur director.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
    Exceptional black dramatic comedy.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 50 Robert K. Elder
    Return to Never Land
    Takes us to familiar lands but without any of the original's magic.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
    A counterintuitive, riveting documentary so honest that it will either become a rock movie classic or a severe embarrassment for the heavy metal band.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Teacher's Pet
    First-time director Timothy Bjorklund, who also shepherded Teacher's Pet on television, conducts some inventive, devilish sequences.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Big Animal
    An actor-turned-director, Stuhr appeared in many of Kieslowski's films and their partnership and friendship produced some stunning work. The Big Animal memorializes a complex man and his deceptively simple work, by a friend and colleague in a fitting tribute.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    I'm Not Scared
    A virtuoso piece of dark storytelling.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    Black's retro-noir reminds us why we love movies: because they can surprise us, even when we're ankle deep in bullet casings, bodies and enough twists to tie us in knots.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 25 Robert K. Elder
    The Ringer
    Knoxville, Jed Rees and Bill Chott act daffy and more impaired than their counterparts, and that never sat right with me. This may not be the equivalent of acting in blackface, but it's awfully close.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Igby Goes Down
    Think of the Slocumbs as distant relatives of "The Royal Tenenbaums," only more dysfunctional and far from attractively "quirky."
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Deep Blue
    In terms of pure visual scope, Deep Blue might be one of the best IMAX films never created for the IMAX screen.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Nicholas Nickleby
    McGrath's version of Nicholas Nickleby cashes in on age-old show biz wisdom of "always leave 'em wanting more." It's a pity we're only allowed such a small nibble of one of Dickens' richest works.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Carnage
    Confidently directed and tightly constructed, Carnage announces the presence of a fresh, powerful directorial mind with each frame.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    Aliens of the Deep
    All in all, it's a fascinating, kid-friendly journey.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 50 Robert K. Elder
    The United States of Leland
    In his thoughtfully paced, well-acted film, Hoge doesn't set out to solve the "why" of Leland's ghastly crime. He's more interested in examining the reason why society needs to create and interpret a reason for horror.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Rana's Wedding
    Starts out slowly, unfolding a family history through the poetic use of black-and-white photographs -- blending the figures of Rana's ancestors into the frame as if they still watched the family.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Owning Mahowny
    Kwietniowski turns up the tension so incrementally, we don't realize the scope of Mahowny's moral wreck until it is too late.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Pellet
    Despite an abrupt ending, Mana gives us compelling, damaged characters who we want to help -- or hurt. Perhaps most important, El Bola forces us examine our personal motivations for each impulse and their consequences.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Robert K. Elder
    Cinderella Man
    Ultimately, it's Paul Giamatti ("Sideways"), playing Braddock's manager Joe Gould, who shines. In another actor's hands, Gould would be a secondary character lost in Crowe's shadow, but Giamatti outshines his co-stars at times with his everyman looks and delivery.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 Robert K. Elder
    The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
    The director's lack of restraint and overabundance of ambition makes "Altar Boys" not boring, but troubled.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Go Tigers!
    A superbly crafted piece of humanistic cinema.
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Divided We Fall
    Has the literary richness, depth of character and tone that such a morally difficult, powerful narrative requires.
    • Chicago Tribune
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