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Jim Emerson

Jim Emerson's reviews only count toward the Tomatometer® when published at Tomatometer-approved publication(s).

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 91% EDIT “But genre considerations aside, "Terminator 2" is simply the most visually dynamic and imaginative American movie to come out since "GoodFellas." ” – Orange County Register Dec 9, 2025 Full Review Aladdin (1992) 96% 3.5/4 EDIT “Following the elegant, restrained artistry of Beauty and the Beast, the vibrantly colored, roller-coaster-paced Aladdin sets out to shake up the Disney tradition a little. And it succeeds brilliantly.” – Orange County Register Dec 16, 2024 Full Review Thelma & Louise (1991) 87% EDIT “Luminous lead actresses Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are strong enough that they resist being fashioned into mannequins in Scott's fastidiously arranged wide-screen window display. ” – Orange County Register Mar 2, 2023 Full Review A Dry White Season (1989) 82% EDIT “It is an undeniably powerful and moving tale... but it also -- perhaps unavoidably -- struggles to fit the problems of apartheid into the contours of a fairly conventional, if diffuse, thriller story line.” – Orange County Register Jan 3, 2023 Full Review Dances With Wolves (1990) 87% EDIT “In its finest moments, and there are plenty, the film combines the straightforward, elegiac storytelling of John Ford with the mythic violence and imagery of Sam Peckinpah and the dark, absurdist humor of Monte Hellman. ” – Orange County Register Nov 3, 2022 Full Review Rain Man (1988) 88% EDIT “En route, all that keeps this naive, romantic and formulaic concept from becoming unbearably precious are the courageous, if rather strident, performances by Hoffman and Cruise. ” – Orange County Register Aug 3, 2022 Full Review The Last Emperor (1987) 86% EDIT “It's a film of such polyphonic richness, so full of history (both personal and political) and imagery, that pieces of it continue to reverberate off one another in your memory for days after you've seen it. ” – Orange County Register Aug 1, 2022 Full Review Driving Miss Daisy (1989) 85% EDIT “Directed by Bruce Beresford, Driving Miss Daisy is told in an elliptical, anecdotal style that, in its best moments, faintly recalls the films of Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story, Early Spring, Late Autum). ” – Orange County Register Jul 25, 2022 Full Review The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) 82% EDIT “Despite its failings (and partially because of them), Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ is a challenging, dynamic piece of personal filmmaking. ” – Orange County Register May 5, 2022 Full Review The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 95% EDIT “The Silence of the Lambs is something exceedingly rare and invaluable in movies these days: an accomplished, intelligent -- and genuinely scary -- thriller.” – Orange County Register Mar 23, 2022 Full Review Wayne's World (1992) 79% EDIT “Wayne's World has the unmistakable aura of authenticity that marked director Penelope Spheeris' 1988 The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.” – Orange County Register Mar 11, 2021 Full Review In the House (2012) 88% 3/4 EDIT “"In the House" might well be called "In the Story" because that's where it plays out: the house in the story and the story in the house.” – Chicago Sun-Times May 9, 2013 Full Review Something in the Air (2012) 81% 3/4 EDIT “Fans of Assayas's "Cold Water" and "Summer Hours" will appreciate the fluid camerawork that snakes from room to room in some of the most seductive adolescent party scenes ever committed to film.” – Chicago Sun-Times May 9, 2013 Full Review Mud (2013) 97% 3.5/4 EDIT “[Nichols] has a rare ability to root his archetypal Southern fables in rich observational detail. They remain tangibly specific but take on the larger resonances of folklore.” – Chicago Sun-Times Apr 25, 2013 Full Review It's a Disaster (2012) 79% 3/4 EDIT “The movie's funniest touches are quiet flashes of character, expertly timed and nimbly played by a deft ensemble. "It's a Disaster" is consistently funny, but you wince more often than you laugh out loud.” – Chicago Sun-Times Apr 18, 2013 Full Review Upstream Color (2013) 87% 3/4 EDIT “Here is a movie you haven't seen before. If you think you have, it's probably because you swallowed a white worm that turned you into a pod-person subject to total mind control and now you're having flashbacks.” – RogerEbert.com Apr 11, 2013 Full Review Room 237 (2012) 94% 2.5/4 EDIT “Listening to fanatics go on and on about their fixations can be kind of fun. For a while, at least.” – Chicago Sun-Times Apr 4, 2013 Full Review The Silence (2010) 87% 3.5/4 EDIT “The mysteries here are larger, deeper, more ineffable than the purely practical concerns of crime-solving: motive, means and opportunity.” – Chicago Sun-Times Mar 14, 2013 Full Review Sister (2012) 97% 3.5/4 EDIT “The movie takes a refreshingly low-key, observational approach to storytelling ...” – Chicago Sun-Times Jan 3, 2013 Full Review Farewell (2009) 85% 3.5/4 EDIT “That's another thing about Carion's direction: He has an eye for unusual, atmospheric touches -- the kinds of striking little things you notice in the world and think: "Somebody should put that in a movie."” – Chicago Sun-Times Jul 29, 2010 Full Review Iron Man (2008) 94% 3/4 EDIT “Not only is it a good comic book movie (smart and stupid, stirring and silly, intimate and spectacular), it's winning enough to engage even those who've never cared much for comic books or the movies they spawn. Like me.” – RogerEbert.com Oct 18, 2008 Full Review What We Do Is Secret (2007) 45% 2.5/4 EDIT “Where What We Do Is Secret succeeds is in the performances which (and this a compliment, I think) sometimes expose a stilted, amateurish strain that's oddly in tune with the characters' D.I.Y. aesthetic.” – Chicago Sun-Times Aug 15, 2008 Full Review Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? (2008) 38% 2/4 EDIT “A superficial primer for people who aren't likely to go see it in the first place.” – Chicago Sun-Times Jun 27, 2008 Full Review Body of War (2007) 80% 3/4 EDIT “Body of War again demonstrates that we Americans still have some bitter truths to face.” – Chicago Sun-Times May 16, 2008 Full Review The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) 66% 3/4 EDIT “With bigger battles and scarier monsters than its predecessor, the new movie flaunts grander visual effects, and, with one notable exception, a dash more individuality than the initial installment.” – Chicago Sun-Times May 16, 2008 Full Review
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