Soren Andersen

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The Seattle Times
For 373 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 54% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 2.1 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Soren Andersen's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Lowest review score: 12 Norm of the North
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 224 out of 373
  2. Mixed: 75 out of 373
  3. Negative: 74 out of 373
373 movie reviews
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    • 37 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
    The prime attraction of this movie, and its predecessor, is that it envelopes the audience in the Mario world. Every square inch of the screen, from top to bottom, corner to corner, is packed with images derived from the game. Easter eggs abound. Watching it is akin being inside the 2007 Super Mario Galaxy game itself. Which is why it needs to be seen on the big screen. Seeing it on a phone or a laptop wouldn’t do it justice.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants
    Everybody involved seems to be having a blast making this latest “SpongeBob” a funny, fast-paced pleasure.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Zootopia 2
    The sweetness in the original is absent in the sequel. The players, including Judy and Nick, have an edge to them. Maybe that’s to be expected in that the main characters are now more settled in their parts, but there’s a sharpness in tone that makes them hard to warm up to.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Smashing Machine
    The picture itself is more workmanlike than transcendent. It marches along but doesn’t soar.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Highest 2 Lowest
    Both star and director are at the top of their game here, and that’s as good as movies get.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Eddington
    There are no safe places in his pictures. And Eddington is dense with multiple levels that stoke the ever-present unease.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    How to Train Your Dragon
    There are plot levels here that are deeper than the original, which is quite complex and moving in its own right.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Lilo & Stitch
    Lively, fast-paced and ever so familiar, the picture is a happy addition to the holiday. It’s worth leaving the house to see.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    A Minecraft Movie
    Kids will likely be diverted by the colorful excess of A Minecraft Movie, but fans of the game may feel it misses the mark. More creativity, please.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Mickey 17
    Bong covered many of the same aspects of “Mickey” in his 2013 sci-fi epic “Snowpiercer,” a more streamlined and hard-bitten work of social commentary with the have-nots battling the heedless rich. ”Mickey 17” is less focused and not quite as satisfying a production as that earlier movie.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Nosferatu
    It’s not the best Dracula movie of all time, though it aspires to that. Murnau’s original still leads the pack. But it certainly is the most stylish. Eggers is a filmmaker with astonishing visual flair.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Mufasa: The Lion King
    After having been made and remade for the screen and converted into a long-running hit Broadway show, it might have seemed like “The Lion King” was a played-out property. “Mufasa,” under Jenkins’ poised and creative direction, proves there is still plenty of life left in the long-reining “King.”
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Moana 2
    Part 2 is undeniably lively and very obviously pitched to young kids. It’s colorful but not especially distinctive.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Gladiator II
    Big, bold and bordering on the unbelievable, Gladiator II delivers, big time.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Wild Robot
    Complex and lively, The Wild Robot is thoroughly delightful on every level. It’s a rare treat, not just for kids but for adults as well.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
    Ball takes his time presenting Noa’s world in detail. Too much time, frankly. There is no real sense of urgency here. Everything is carefully worked out. The visuals are handsome but unremarkable. Consequently, the picture feels dutiful and oddly bloodless.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
    It’s an undeniably fun picture but rather too self-impressed. It’s Ritchie at his limited best.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
    The CGI is off the leash. The manufactured chaos is unrelenting. Monsters punching monsters. The pyramids are peril. Awesome deconstruction there.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Kung Fu Panda 4
    The fourth time is truly the charm in this long-running franchise.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Dune: Part Two
    A knowledge of the novel is helpful as well.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    The Underdoggs
    So there’s not a single surprise along the way. But there is the comfort of familiarity operating in the movie’s favor. And it’s fun.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Napoleon
    As far as truly caring about anything that goes on in this epic, well, that’s a chore. And with a run time of more than 2½ hours, that chore becomes ever more burdensome as the minutes tick away.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Silent Night
    Limited by his budget, Woo makes the most of what he has, but the whole thing feels like he’s cautiously dipping his toe back in the Hollywood pool.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Exorcist: Believer
    As an homage to Friedkin’s movie, Green’s take is respectful and genuinely scary. Let those tubular bells chime forth in celebration.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    The Creator
    There are lots of ideas rattling around in it — about artificial intelligence, about racism, about American aggression on the world stage, about the future of humanity. And rattle and clang they do. And also clunk. The various elements are not well integrated.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    A Million Miles Away
    An engaging picture brimming with uplift.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Blue Beetle
    Interspersed with the overabundant slam-bang action sequences which up the silliness factor with their increasing improbability are heartfelt paeans to the bracing solidarity of Jaime’s family. Their sincerity is the picture’s best element.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
    A fast-moving, clever and funny picture.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
    Holding it all together is Ford, his hair steel-gray, his face craggy, playing the part with authority. And this time he invests Indy with an inner depth not previously seen.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Flash
    It’s nuts. It’s fun.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
    Director Caple Jr. takes his time allowing Ramos and Fishback to develop their characters as they fight being marginalized and dismissed in ‘90s New York. They’re no mere cardboard characters but rather fully dimensional individuals, a rarity in “Transformers” movies.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
    The movie becomes an immersive experience that sweeps the audience into all-encompassing venues of imagination.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
    It’s a world of fantasy, but as depicted in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, it has a solidity and imaginative depth that makes it seem astonishingly real.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    John Wick: Chapter 4
    Directed once again by Chad Stahelski, the one-time stunt man who has become a first-rate visual stylist and master of pacing over the years of directing “Wicks,” “Chapter 4” is dazzling.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Whale
    The fat suit is in a sense a distraction in that you wonder how Fraser was able to act within it. But the fact that he does so and so effectively makes The Whale a searing, moving experience.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Violent Night
    The picture is a hugely entertaining crowd-pleaser studded with laugh-out-loud moments from beginning to end.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Good Night Oppy
    “Oppy” is a salute to the best of what humans are capable when they unite in a common purpose to expand their knowledge of matters beyond the realm of the known.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Causeway
    Henry’s performance is delicately nuanced. His character is by turns cheerful, ruminative, anguished. His performance and Lawrence’s are complementary. They play off each other well.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Till
    Under Chukwu’s steady, sensitive direction, Deadwyler’s performance is such that it overshadows everyone else in the movie.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    See How They Run
    See How They Run is the Saoirse Ronan show. Start to finish. Top to bottom, Now and forever. Amen.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Flight/Risk
    Despite its flaws, Flight/Risk is a comprehensive and stinging critique of a once-proud company that has lost its way and is struggling to make a comeback. And it’s a tribute to the people who died and the families who mourn them.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
    Hall’s performance is remarkable, full of shadings and intimations of significant emotional depths.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Vengeance
    It’s a detective story. It’s an insightful commentary on the state of us, which is to say us, the U.S., in this divided, disjointed, distracted age. It’s a comedy, sharp and frequently hilarious. It is, above all, consistently surprising.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Nope
    It’s fun, but it’s not prime Peele by any means.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
    Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris is all sweetness and light. So sweet it nearly dissolves one’s fillings, especially at the end. So light it practically floats off the screen. It’s a gossamer fairy tale. Pleasant. Charming. A trifle, though not without some substance.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Minions: The Rise of Gru
    Kids will love all the silliness, but oddly the greatest resonance of the Wayback Machine plot will be felt by the kids’ grandparents (if any find themselves in attendance) who were around in those bygone days.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Bad Guys
    The characters are well-defined and Rockwell holds the picture together as he conveys Mr. Wolf’s shifting emotional states: suave, vexed and morally conflicted. Kids will love The Bad Guys and there’s plenty of substance for adults as well.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Potato Dreams of America
    Two very strong performances anchor Potato Dreams of America, Seattle-based filmmaker Wes Hurley’s thought-provoking dramatization of his childhood in his native Russia and, later, as a teen in Seattle.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Dog
    Through it all, Tatum balances exasperation, an easygoing lightheartedness and a deep empathy for his character’s and Lulu’s inner turmoil. His command of the role and his confident direction of the picture make Dog a very engaging experience.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    The Matrix Resurrections
    Wachowski has taken the familiar and modified it in such a way to make it seem new. It’s a brilliant act of transformation.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Dune: Part One
    It’s remarkable.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Last Duel
    Director Ridley Scott, who knows a thing or two about how to mount sweeping historical epics (see “Gladiator”), is in his element here.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Card Counter
    In fact it’s really writer-director Schrader who is Isaac’s true co-star in “The Card Counter.” A product of a strict Calvinist upbringing in Michigan, the filmmaker’s trademarks — guilt, redemption, a soul in torment — are all here.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Free Guy
    The plot may be nothing special, but Reynolds most certainly is. He’s just so relatable, genial, nice, in an unforced sort of way that he makes the movie, which he also produced, a fun ride.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Suicide Squad
    Gunn masterfully mixes humor and bloodshed and manages to give a surprising number of characters room to develop their personas. And when it comes to staging set pieces, he’s at his best.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Paper Tigers
    It’s a fun, satisfying picture.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    The Way Back
    Affleck, who has struggled in real life with alcoholism and has been in and out of rehab on a number of occasions over the years, makes his character’s pain palpable and totally believable.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Call of the Wild
    The essence of the London story is retained, with stouthearted Buck being annealed by adversity, overcoming brutality, confusion and loneliness and then responding to the kindness of Thornton to become the leader of the pack. And all that is accomplished with a soft touch. What we have here is the call of the mild
    • 47 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Sonic the Hedgehog
    Sonic the Hedgehog is bright. It’s cheery. It’s here and then it’s gone in a relatively compact 100 minutes, leaving little beyond a slightly sweet aftertaste to mark its passage.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Gentlemen
    The dialogue, the violence, the humor (largely provided by Grant’s character) and the intricacy of the storytelling make for a picture in which most everyone in it seems to be having a great deal of chatty, bloody fun.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Dolittle
    For a fun time to dispel the gloom of January, Dolittle is just what the doctor ordered.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Spies in Disguise
    On the whole, “Spies” is a very nice trifle turning up just in time for the holidays for families seeking a kinder, gentler alternative to “Star Wars.”
    • 53 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
    The Rise of Skywalker rates right up there with the 1977 original, “A New Hope,” and 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back.”
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Jumanji: The Next Level
    It’s all undeniably silly, but satisfying in an overstuffed blockbuster sort of way.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Frozen II
    Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee (the latter also wrote the screenplay, both directed the original), it’s gorgeous-looking. It’s briskly paced. And it’s tuneful. Uh, about those tunes: They’re blaringly, oppressively, crushingly LOUD! With “Frozen” we got the rousing Oscar-winning “Let It Go.” With Frozen II, someone should have told the songwriters to tone it down.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Midway
    The effects work rivals the likes of “Saving Private Ryan” and, well, “Independence Day.” It’s spectacular and realistic-looking. That’s to be expected. What’s not expected is how serious-minded and well-acted the picture is.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Terminator: Dark Fate
    Arnie, oddly, supplies a significant amount of humor here. His Terminator has developed a kinder, gentler side over the years, asserting “I’m a very good listener and I’m extremely funny.” Well, maybe not “extremely,” but yeah, he actually is.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Current War: Director's Cut
    Conversations about competing business strategies, which take up a great deal of The Current War, would seem to be a recipe for a dull movie. But the fervor and intelligence Cumberbatch and Shannon bring to their roles make for a gripping experience.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Zombieland: Double Tap
    The gore quotient is high in this one (lots and lots of exploding heads) and the one-liners flow freely. Bloody good fun, but not for the whole family. That R rating is well-earned.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    The Addams Family
    The Addams Family suffers from an acute case of the cutes.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Abominable
    The story is strong, the music is appealing. Abominable is delightful.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
    The pacing of the picture is problematical. It’s curiously inert in the early going, with a lot of time spent in cars with the characters as they drive around and around on freeways, side streets and boulevards in Hollywood.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Lion King
    The new version amplifies and deepens all that is good in the original. The key is in the visuals. Photorealistic computer-generated imagery renders its African landscapes and animals with astonishing realism.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Midsommar
    Horror is a fragile thing. Suspension of disbelief is key to its effectiveness. A sudden inappropriate guffaw from someone in the audience can be enough to break the spell. In Midsommar, the spell breaks at the end and the picture collapses.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Quiet One
    The most interesting revelations come early as Wyman, in voice-over, describes his upbringing in a rough section of London.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    All Is True
    All Is True is handsomely mounted, filled with shadowed interiors underscoring the darkness of its story, the darkness artfully interrupted by candlelight and firelight. The movie’s impressive appearance notwithstanding, Shakespeare’s domestic problems do not a classic make.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    The Last Black Man in San Francisco
    Though his character bears Fails’ name and the picture is autobiographical, it’s not a documentary. Fails and co-screenwriter Rob Richert have embroidered on his experiences to create a story that melds realism with make-believe.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Souvenir
    The Souvenir reveals itself slowly, calmly, with great deliberation.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Rocketman
    Egerton is commanding throughout. His performance is truly a marvel. Rocketman as well.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
    It’s all pretty silly, but the way “Parabellum” keeps topping itself and then topping the toppings makes the picture eminently watchable. It’s a guilty summertime-movie pleasure for sure.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Stockholm
    Thanks to the excellence of its two key performances, “Stockholm” an uncommonly effective thriller, one with a heart and a brain.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Penguins
    The true power of “Penguins” lies in the breathtaking visuals of Antarctic scenery and overhead shots of penguins, thousands upon thousands of them, moving across ice fields, black dots on bright white background stretching to the distant horizon. When it steps back from the schmaltz, “Penguins” becomes an impressive piece of work.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Missing Link
    “Link” is fun as far as it goes, but from Laika we expect something with a little more depth.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Mustang
    In the midst of that hostile physical and psychic landscape, de Clermont-Tonnerre has made a stringent tale of a struggle for redemption.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Hotel Mumbai
    It’s a horrifying tale, and Maras, a Greek-Australian filmmaker, does not shy away from showing the carnage.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Dumbo
    Burton’s command of this material and his masterful visual sense makes this Dumbo an engaging delight. Like that winsome elephant, it really does soar.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Hummingbird Project
    Along the way, Hummingbird offers cogent commentary on the way unbridled avarice drives the search for even the smallest advantage in the cutthroat world of high finance.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Triple Frontier
    When greed runs up against conscience, you’ve got a story. It does in Triple Frontier, and the story of that collision is a violent and thought-provoking one.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Apollo 11
    This is history brought to life, something absolutely unprecedented in the annals of humankind.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
    Frequent, fiery battle scenes are well mounted, and in between are tenderer moments.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Capernaum
    Capernaum is a searing, unforgettable work.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Glass
    M. Night Shyamalan has crafted a very effective creepshow with Glass.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Soren Andersen
    Son of Saul
    Röhrig’s performance is an extraordinary feat of minimalism. His expressions convey a deadened spirit. Yet behind his eyes and at the corners of his mouth are signs of a spirit that won’t be crushed.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Into the Spider-Verse is pure fun, nonstop from start to finish.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle
    No previous screen rendering of the Rudyard Kipling classic — not the 2016 Disney live-action epic and certainly not the jaunty, tuneful 1967 Disney animated version beloved by generations — has been so very dark and wild and, surprisingly, thoughtful.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 63 Soren Andersen
    Ralph Breaks the Internet
    When it’s good, Ralph Breaks the Internet is very, very good. When it’s not, it’s annoying, cloying and LOUD!
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    All in all, this “Buster” is something else.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 88 Soren Andersen
    Viper Club
    There is grace in Sarandon’s performance. And heartbreaking power.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    Hunter Killer
    Hunter Killer grabs the audience by the throat and speeds ahead while disbelief wallows helplessly in its bubbly wake.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 Soren Andersen
    The Guilty
    In this, his feature directorial debut, Möller makes a whole lot out of very little: a whole lot of dramatic forcefulness out of the most simple and basic of elements, a solitary man struggling to do the right thing.
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