Tomris Laffly

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Film Journal International, IndieWire, RogerEbert.com, The A.V. Club, The Playlist, TheWrap, Time Out, Variety
For 428 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 2.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Tomris Laffly's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 68
Highest review score: 100 Little Women
Lowest review score: 0 The Great War
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 279 out of 428
  2. Mixed: 106 out of 428
  3. Negative: 43 out of 428
428 movie reviews
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    • 36 Metascore
    • 20 Tomris Laffly
    Lucy in the Sky
    While it’s based on the bizarre 2007 story of the female astronaut who drove 900 miles in adult diapers to confront an ex-boyfriend, Lucy in the Sky doesn’t include that intimate detail. Then again, the movie shits the bed in so many other ways, it may have been overkill. Director Noah Hawley (TV’s Fargo) omits the headline-making undergarment, instead stocking up on paper-thin observations about workplace misogyny and mental health in a cloying feature debut that begs to be scorned.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    The Day Shall Come
    The results are mixed cinematically — crisply lensed by Marcel Zyskind, the Florida-set film looks like an average episode of “Veep,” which Morris has directing credits on. And the laughs are pretty sparse, too, despite a non-stop flow of zingers.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Tomris Laffly
    Black and Blue
    Black and Blue feels imbalanced and overlong, favoring fast and repetitive chase scenes over well-calibrated tension.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    Villains
    With a surprising amount of side laughs and an isolated, elaborately decorated chamber in the woods full of opportunities, Villains sets an intriguing stage for a quartet of skilled performers, all clearly enjoying the chance to fly their freak flags to comical effect.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Tomris Laffly
    The Cave
    This is both an immensely humanist film, and a tough, heartbreaking watch.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    Frankie
    A film that feels like a sumptuous beach read on a lazy sunny afternoon.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Tomris Laffly
    The Aeronauts
    The duo [of Redmayne and Jones] hand-in-hand elevates [The Aeronauts] ... from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen, even if it operates on a handful of clichés with little character-based substance to speak of.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?
    In the end, What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? feels less like a complete piece, and more like the start of something searching for its perfect form without an ideal end in sight. Considering the country’s current political landscape, it seems fitting.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 30 Tomris Laffly
    Ode to Joy
    Mostly known for his behind-the-camera TV credits on shows like “Modern Family” and “1600 Penn,” Winer doesn’t bring much finesse into the generic visuals of Ode to Joy. In fairness to him, no amount of directorial elegance could have saved the artificial beats of a narrative that fails to create believable sexual tension between its “romantic” leads and amounts only to an utterly shallow showdown between brothers with long-standing scores to settle.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    This Is Not Berlin
    Sama owes much of the authenticity and visual panache of This Is Not Berlin to his cinematographer Alfredo Altamirano. The DP’s nervy, panoramic compositions heighten the precise production design of various multimedia art pieces and an assortment of impeccably choreographed street protests.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
    Thanks to Øvredal’s visual flair and visceral dedication to the monsters of Guillermo del Toro, clearly a major influence on the “Trollhunter” director’s bittersweet approach to the field, this satisfying though far from innovative dish boasts comforting flavors throughout.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 Tomris Laffly
    Astronaut
    In the end, only a fraction of McLeod’s ambitions sticks a landing. But Astronaut stays afloat with sweetness, thanks to a measured performance from Dreyfuss.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Tomris Laffly
    For Sama
    A devastating scrapbook and a confessional journal of sorts. It’s also a personal cinematic endeavor as opposed to a historical crash course in the vein of “Cries From Syria,” another superb documentary on the subject, but one with different ambitions.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Tomris Laffly
    The Great Hack
    While it lacks the emotional intensity of the duo’s Oscar-nominated The Square—a rousing 2013 look at Egypt’s Arab Spring—The Great Hack still feels of a piece, inviting viewers to contemplate the power and irreversibility of their online footprint.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    Firecrackers
    It’s an all too familiar, almost clichéd tale you’ve heard and seen before, complete with a much-yearned freedom journey to nowhere. But Mozaffari gradually makes this particular doomed excursion her own with a distinct style, even though her plotting choices don’t approach a sense of high-stakes urgency.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    Crawl
    Crawl has a reptilian bite in its nods to the tradition of underwater monster flicks. It’s certainly not “Jaws” (what is?), or even “The Shallows,” but sloshing around the hazardous deluge of a Southwest Florida town on the brink of devastation by a Category 5 hurricane comes with its own kicks.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 100 Tomris Laffly
    Midsommar
    A terrifically juicy, apocalyptic cinematic sacrament that dances around a fruitless relationship in dizzying circles. We are not stuffed inside a cavernous house of horrors this time around. But be prepared to feel equally suffocated by a ravenous family (albeit, a chosen, cultish kind) all the same.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    Annabelle Comes Home
    If only the half-baked story could also meet our expectations, or at least match the logic of the previous two “Annabelle” films.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 63 Tomris Laffly
    Burn Your Maps
    Likable yet tonally untidy.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    In the Aisles
    While Stuber’s film acknowledges the soul-sucking nature of these colorless environs — at times, the enormous yet empty aisles resemble a ripe setting of an after-hours zombie apocalypse — the filmmaker loves his characters so much that he can’t help but prioritize their humanity that rises above the surface of it all.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    American Woman
    Miller owns the material and single-handedly elevates it to something you can’t look away from, while reminding us the effortless appeal she brought into even her relatively thankless part in “American Sniper.”
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Tomris Laffly
    Toy Story 4
    Occasionally too busy and loose with its logical rigor, Toy Story 4 doesn’t quite connect all the dots. Still, the film earns a distinct spot in the chain, foregrounding Bob Pauley’s pristinely lit production design, one that showcases a kaleidoscopic carnival and a dusty antique shop swarming with hilariously nightmarish ventriloquist dummies.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Tomris Laffly
    This One's for the Ladies
    The whole affair is vastly entertaining — and far from indecent or intimidating.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Tomris Laffly
    Always Be My Maybe
    It is then unfortunate that this tempting package by Khan, a creative and producing force behind ABC’s “Fresh off the Boat,” is so bland, feeling less like a movie and more like the output of an assembly line.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 30 Tomris Laffly
    The Poison Rose
    It’s just a sad, unimaginative affair in which an impressive lineup of talented names goes to waste before our eyes.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 88 Tomris Laffly
    Halston
    Compared to the inherent compactness of “Dior and I” that crystallizes Dior’s collective craft and process under its new creative director Raf Simons, Halston is vast, and therefore, less of a thrill to watch than the real-life “Project Runway” challenge thrown at Simons. But it will be no less breathtaking for fashion enthusiasts, and anyone dwelling in the tricky intersection of art, history and commerce.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 50 Tomris Laffly
    A Dog's Journey
    As visually uninspired and ideologically conservative as it may be, there seems to be something beguiling about the series that keeps one (including myself, admittedly) on a short leash.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Tomris Laffly
    XY Chelsea
    While it’s hardly Hawkins’ error that his documentary feels unfinished — the self-defined activist’s dramatic saga is still unfolding as we speak — you can’t help but feel his unprecedented access to Manning should have emanated a portrait a lot more enlightening.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Tomris Laffly
    Knock Down the House
    Not unlike the candidates it portrays, Knock Down The House puts in the necessary work towards a payoff that earns both cheers and tears.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 75 Tomris Laffly
    Red Joan
    Uneven it may be, Red Joan still emanates a memorable essence, one that’s refreshingly and believably feminine.
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