Robert K. Elder

Select another critic »
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
view
per page
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
    Miniatures in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, created by Ray Harryhausen, may appear at first glance to be worlds away from the CGI creatures in The Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park. But it was Harryhausen's work that taught such filmmakers as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to dream of creating ever-more-perfect fantasy worlds. [22 Feb 2008, p.C2]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 69 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Ong Bak
    Infusion of comedy elements keeps the story light, without dragging it into the cartoonish.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    A Housekeeper
    Whatever the final message of The Housekeeper, its love story engages both the heart and the head.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    In My Skin
    As psychological drama, In My Skin falls short. But as pure horror, it's unforgettable.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Jump Tomorrow
    Dry and irreverent, Jump Tomorrow plays like a Hal Hartley ("Henry Fool") comedy with a lighter tone and more laughs.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
    Like "Blade Runner," it's dense enough to be rewarding on multiple viewings, the hallmark of a classic.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    A Decade Under the Influence
    As wide and deep as the directors fish for anecdotes, it's surprising that there isn't more focus, more context.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Mean Girls
    Though not a perfect comedy, it manages to be quite often laugh-out-loud funny. The film's strong cast, including scene-stealing "SNL"er Tim Meadows as the school principal, also helps smooth out most of the rough edges.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    Tuck Everlasting
    Although bright, well-acted and thought-provoking, Tuck Everlasting suffers from a laconic pace and a lack of traditional action.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 50 Robert K. Elder
    Steamboy
    Though Katsuhiro Otomo's animated Victorian-era adventure Steamboy stars British characters, it's a Japanese film through and through.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
    This is a rare gem tripped over while making a run-of-the-mill rockumentary about a band's new album.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Tattoo
    While Tattoo borrows heavily from both "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs," it manages to maintain both a level of sophisticated intrigue and human-scale characters that suck the audience in.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Notorious C.H.O.
    Establishes the comedian as just that: notorious -- in all the best ways outlaw comedy can make you a star.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Epidemic
    Epidemic will never be confused with von Trier's great films. But it is an intriguing introduction to his later cinematic obsessions.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Elf
    Elf, formulaic but lovable, is essentially "Big" in pointy shoes.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    Gay Sex in the 70s
    Largely male gay sex, with nary a lesbian in sight, or in mind.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Saving Face
    Younger viewers might be annoyed with Saving Face for not being more in-your-face progressive and edgy. Older audiences will be happy that it's not.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
    Belongs to that brand of sweeping, conflict-era drama epitomized by "Saving Private Ryan," "Gone with the Wind" and TV miniseries "North and South."
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    The Red Tent
    A classic adventure movie. [07 Mar 2008, p.C8]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 64 Metascore
    • 88 Robert K. Elder
    Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
    Separate interviews with Flansburgh and Linnell inject the most life and gentle conflict into the film, peeling back their unique musical marriage and friendship.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    Team America: World Police
    Team America's strengths are in its musical numbers, especially Kim Jong Il's mournful "I'm So Ronery" (translation: "Lonely"), a heartfelt peek into the dictator's soul.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Robots
    Wildly inventive, sweetly subversive.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    Even if this new version of "Hitchhiker" doesn't quite capture it all, you'll still want to stick your thumb out and catch a ride.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Dear Frankie
    Doesn't revert to hairpin plot twists or other dramatic trickery to hook us in; Auerbach simply lets us live with her characters-which, it turns out, is reward enough.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    Booye kafoor, atre yas
    Farmanara, a gifted director, seems to be getting his artistic legs again, but he spends far too much time following his protagonist in and out of buildings as he smokes cigarettes and otherwise mopes about.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    The Same River Twice
    The title of Robb Moss' documentary, The Same River Twice, draws directly from Greek philosopher Heraclitus' claim that "It is impossible to step in the same river twice."
    • 62 Metascore
    • 100 Robert K. Elder
    Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
    Exceptionally clever, hilariously gloomy and bitingly subversive.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Sky High
    Sky High doesn't aim for the highbrow and doesn't employ lowbrow toilet humor. Instead, it hits the exact middle -- a bull's-eye worthy of a superhero.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 63 Robert K. Elder
    The Mudge Boy
    Simply photographed and well acted, The Mudge Boy captures "Deliverance"-level disturbing images as it takes an unsentimental approach to its characters.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Robert K. Elder
    Nico and Dani
    While Nico and Dani presents itself as a no-frills coming-of-age tale, its soundtrack seems lifted from a teen comedy like "American Pie."
    • Chicago Tribune
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »