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Josh Bell
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He’s the former film editor of Las Vegas Weekly and the former TV comedies guide for About.com. He has written about movies, TV, and pop culture for Vulture, IndieWire, Inverse, Polygon, and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.
Publications:
Favorites:
Heathers, Fight Club, South Park, Clerks, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Craft, Scream, The Big Lebowski, Bound, Wild Things, Almost Famous, Batman (Tim Burton-style), Rosemary's Baby, The Birds, Manhattan, Bring It On, Gattaca, Carrie, Pulp Fiction, Terminator 2, Breathless, Lone Star, La Femme Nikita, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, Alien, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Heat
Critics' Group:
Location:
Las Vegas
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln (2024) |
There's no reason to doubt the sincerity of Lover of Men, but there's not much reason to head to a theater to see it, either. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Sep 10, 2024
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) |
There's no question that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a Hollywood legacy sequel, with all the constraints that implies, but it still feels like the most engaged Burton has been with his filmmaking in a long time. - Tom's Guide
Read More
| Posted Sep 10, 2024
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The Paragon (2023) |
The supernatural saga finds just the right balance between silly and grandiose. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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Knit's Island (2023) |
With some striking "camera" angles, Knit's Island manages to make its virtual setting often hauntingly beautiful, which augments the melancholy musings of its subjects. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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Don't Turn Out the Lights (2023) |
It's just a bunch of random, disconnected events, with the characters' tedious, interminable theorizing punctuated by occasional jump scares. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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Continue (2022) |
Crocker comes off as self-conscious and unconvincing, and the same goes for the movie itself. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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First Shift (2024) |
Plays like it was made by aliens studying the concept of the buddy-cop movie. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Sep 03, 2024
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Place of Bones (2023) |
[Graham] does a solid job anchoring this sparse Western, even if the movie itself is largely forgettable. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 20, 2024
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Hostile Dimensions (2023) |
There's enough flashy ridiculousness to keep things entertaining. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 20, 2024
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Catching Dust (2023) |
There's plenty of dust on this creaky, lumbering pseudo-thriller, which takes its time going nowhere in particular. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 20, 2024
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The Clean Up Crew (2024) |
The jokey tone and CGI blood spatter ensure that all of the violence is meaningless. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 20, 2024
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Smoking Tigers (2023) |
It's a well-crafted, heartfelt take on a reliable formula. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 20, 2024
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Alien: Romulus (2024) |
It's an impeccably crafted sci-fi horror movie that sustains high levels of suspense and intensity for almost its entire running time, but it's also a bit hollow, functioning as a reflection of the bolder films that came before it. - Tom's Guide
Read More
| Posted Aug 14, 2024
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Cuckoo (2024) |
The immersive, unnerving sound design and visual style make up for some of the narrative shortcomings. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Aug 08, 2024
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Free LSD (2023) |
Free LSD is more concerned with solemn New Age mumbo jumbo than silly jokes, and even the musical performances are interrupted by the incomprehensible plot mechanics. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 06, 2024
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Duchess (2024) |
No matter how often the characters talk about how formidable Scarlett is, nothing about Duchess is remotely convincing. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 06, 2024
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The Mouse Trap (2024) |
A rote, plodding slasher movie that has essentially nothing to do with Steamboat Willie. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 06, 2024
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Ganymede (2024) |
Plays like the progressive version of a hysterical Christian tract. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 06, 2024
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Libertad (2021) |
Libertad is modest but rewarding, like the friendship between its lead characters. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Aug 06, 2024
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Swan Song (2023) |
It's a thoughtful and entertaining glimpse into a world of almost inhumanly dedicated artists. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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Starve Acre (2023) |
Starve Acre is often too wispy to be fully satisfying, but its haunting atmosphere has a cumulative power. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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The Last Breath (2024) |
The murky underwater cinematography obscures both the mediocre special effects and the characters' mask-covered faces. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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Camera (2024) |
Collapses under the weight of its own sentimentality. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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Clear Cut (2024) |
The action is abysmal, with punches that land nowhere near their ostensible targets, and lots of fake-looking CGI fire. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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National Anthem (2023) |
Even if the narrative is a bit thin, Gilford creates an affecting portrait of a particular subculture, with sympathetic characters and a sweet -- if slightly undercooked -- central romance. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jul 19, 2024
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Longlegs (2024) |
Like Cage's committed performance, it's unhinged in the best way -- a singular, relentless vision of maniacal torment. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jul 11, 2024
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Fly Me to the Moon (2024) |
Nothing about Fly Me to the Moon works, either as a romantic comedy or as a playful alternate take on a well-known historical event. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jul 11, 2024
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The Blue Rose (2024) |
It takes a high level of skill to pull off what writer/director/star George Baron aims for in his debut feature, and he doesn't quite have what it takes. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Because We're Family (2022) |
It's rote and simplistic, but ultimately harmless. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Freydís and Gudrid (2024) |
Leiser provides just enough cinematic splendor to make the clumsy execution more glaring. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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The Uncle (2022) |
Kapac and Mardešić keep adding to the tension, maintaining suspense within their deadpan comedy. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jul 09, 2024
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Despicable Me 4 (2024) |
There are no more lessons to learn or secrets to reveal, so Gru and his wife and kids just bumble through some forgettable misadventures on their way back to the status quo. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jul 04, 2024
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Janet Planet (2023) |
Nicholson is excellent as a woman slowly starting to figure out her life as she enters middle age, but the movie belongs to Ziegler in her debut role, making Lacy alternately sympathetic and frustrating. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jun 28, 2024
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Thelma (2024) |
Mostly a hoot, with Squibb clearly relishing her belated moment in the spotlight. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jun 20, 2024
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It's Not Over (2022) |
It's hard to tell who's meant to be the hero or villain of this laughable thriller, since everyone behaves in a stilted, off-putting manner that indicates they could easily be a secret sociopath. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 20, 2024
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Waiting for Dalí (2023) |
Director David Pujol builds strong relationships among complex, engaging characters. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Queen Rising (2024) |
Director Princeton James stages all of the action with generic indifference, indicating as little enthusiasm for making the movie as the audience will have for watching it. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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Ride (2024) |
Before belatedly turning into a low-level crime thriller, director and co-writer Jake Allyn's debut feature is a turgid family melodrama. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 18, 2024
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This Closeness (2023) |
Zauhar gets to the heart of her characters’ deepest fears and desires, in a way that’s disarmingly funny and painfully relatable. - Vague Visages
Read More
| Posted Jun 15, 2024
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Tuesday (2023) |
There are lots of other bad ideas in Tuesday, which is a mess of conflicting tones and genres. The best thing that can be said about it is that Pusic delivers all of her terrible ideas with conviction. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted Jun 13, 2024
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Blind War (2022) |
The performances are as broad as the action, making the whole thing too cartoonish to be particularly thrilling. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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Edge of Everything (2023) |
Feldman and Sabella avoid some of the worst tendencies of alarmist teen dramas, but they don't have much to replace them with. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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Re: Uniting (2023) |
The central tragedy is so all-consuming that it crowds out all the interpersonal drama around it, even as the actors struggle to make their overwrought character arcs feel genuine. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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Guy Friends (2024) |
Nobody in this movie seems worth befriending. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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The Young Wife (2023) |
An ambitious, maximalist vision that expresses personal turmoil as global catastrophe. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
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The Garfield Movie (2024) |
Little more than the latest brand extension for a character whose primary purpose seems to be merchandising and corporate sponsorship. - The Inlander (Spokane, WA)
Read More
| Posted May 23, 2024
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The Sales Girl (2022) |
The friendship between Saruul and Katya is funny and heartfelt, and while the plot can feel a bit aimless and episodic, the individual moments are generally appealing and insightful. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2024
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Dead Wrong (2023) |
There's no excitement or suspense to the haphazard way the story unfolds, with no characters worth caring about. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2024
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Darkness of Man (2024) |
Van Damme immerses himself in his world-weary character, but the rest of the movie is just another assembly-line DTV product. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2024
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Faceless After Dark (2023) |
Wood's stylized touches don't make up for the thin plotting and nonexistent characterization. - Crooked Marquee
Read More
| Posted May 21, 2024
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