Sean Patrick
Bio
Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.
Stories (1645/0)
Movie Review: 'Breaking Fast' is a Refreshing Twist on the Rom-Com
In terms of genre convention, those well worn, easily recognizable parts and pieces of a movie, stock characters, scenes you expect, tropes, and so on, Breaking Fast is among the most conventional of movies I have seen in some time. Breaking Fast is a romantic comedy right off of an assembly line in many ways. We have a stock protagonist, an almost too good to be true hunky love interest, and familial and cultural obstacles in place to trip up our happy couple.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'Centigrade' is a High Grade Survivalist Thriller
Centigrade belongs to the sub-genre of survivalist thriller. This sub-genre runs the gamut from Oscar-worthy, Best Picture candidates such as Danny Boyle's 127 Hours to Blake Lively's beachy, cheesy, shark flick, The Shallows. Centigrade ranks a little closer to 127 Hours in terms of quality, though not nearly that film's equal in artistry or drama. Rather, it's just that both films are quite serious in tone and that seriousness keeps Centigrade from being just a genre movie like The Shallows or a slightly more apt shark movie comparison, Open Water.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Documentary Review: 'You Cannot Kill David Arquette' A Love Letter to Pro Wrestling
David Arquette loves professional wrestling. For the actor best known for his work in the Scream horror franchise, wrestling is not some surreal art project or a mere cry for attention. Arquette legitimately loves and respects the artistry, athleticism, showmanship and bravery that is required of those who put on trunks and play out pre-determined athletic scenarios for crowds of people who hang on every move the way some hang on every note of a classical symphony.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Unbalanced
Movie Review: 'Tesla' Gets Experimental
There are numerous references to the life and work of Nikola Tesla all over the pop culture landscape. Whether directors are portraying Tesla’s life caught between the twin towers of Edison and Westinghouse, The Current War, or comic book writers are having Tesla fight Superman, it’s fair to say that Tesla’s work captured many an imagination. Director Michael Almereyda is merely the latest in a long line who fancied telling Tesla’s tale.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Futurism
Movie Review: 'The One and Only Ivan' is the Good Kind of Cheesy
The One and Only Ivan is a big slice of family movie cheese from the ultimate cheese factory, Disney. The latest original to debut on Disney Plus, The One and Only Ivan tells the relatively true story of a gorilla in residence for more than 20 years as an off-ramp attraction at a Mall based Circus. The One and Only Ivan is the second feature film from director Thea Sharrock who made her name in theater and on the BBC with Call the Midwife before landing the high cheese romantic drama Me Before You in 2016.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'The Prey' is Yet Another Most Dangerous Game
Richard Connell’s 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game is one of the most popular and influential stories of all time. Connell’s vision of a big game hunter whose grown weary of hunting animals and instead decides on a prey that has more of a fighting chance, has fascinated movie makers for decades. There are dozens of straight ahead adaptations of The Most Dangerous Game of varying titles and quality.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Documentary Review: 'Boys State'
The new to Apple TV documentary Boys State is at once a major achievement and a dystopian, nightmare hellscape. Why? Well, because it’s the clearest indication yet of the damage we’ve done to our children with our ugly, thoughtless and needless political rhetoric. This documentary that should be an inspiring look at politically engaged young people seeking to become the future leaders of this country turns a harsh, unforgiving, light on the bankrupt and corrupt version of politics and leadership we are passing down to the next generation.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in The Swamp
Horror Movie Review: 'Sputnik'
A cold war based horror thriller in this day and age had better hope an audience is educated enough to understand the tropes at play. Perhaps in Russia the trope of a government capable of murdering astronauts to protect a secret new weapon might seem noteworthy and plausible. In America, the trope exists but it’s aged. The audience for a horror movie in this day and age is unlikely to be old enough to remember the intensity of the cold war and the dangers it posed, especially inside the Iron Curtain.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Max Reload and the Nether Blasters' is Charming Low Budget Fun
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters is a whole lot of fun. This silly little gamer comedy is just the right mix of goofy characters and familiar teen movie tropes. There’s nothing wrong with a little familiarity and nostalgia if you do it well and the directing duo of Scott Conditt Jeremy Tremp do it quite well. They’ve managed to keep a familiar story about a kid learning to be a team player fresh with good jokes and funny supporting performances.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'I Used to Go Here' is a Delight
I Used to Go Here strikes deep into the heart of those who’ve reached their 30s and 40s and have not quite figured out where you’re headed. Gillian Jacobs stars in the movie as a published author who feels like she may have blown her shot at the big time by compromising her art for commerce. Jacobs’ Kate Conklin knows she’s a good writer but when she wrote her novel she compromised and added elements that were more commercial and less specific or personal.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'Guest of Honour' Starring David Thewlis
Director Atom Egoyan is known for pain and deep emotional trauma. I once watched a friend of mine descend into a despair so deep while watching Egoyan’s The Captive that I strongly considered hiding the cutlery. Egoyan lingers on trauma, meditates upon it and explores it in the same way Civil War doctors probed wounds searching for unseen shrapnel. Egoyan digs in with his fingers and offers only a minor sedative via his deliberate storytelling.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks
Documentary Review: 'You Never Had It: An Evening with Charles Bukowski"
“This is where i f*** my soul” Charles Bukowski showing off his legendary typewriter At what point did Charles Bukowski transpose from beloved genius to accouterments? I mean this in all due respect to the man, he had a particular, spiky genius that is undeniable. That said, at a certain point, veneration of Bukowski became veneration of the self. Take for example, that guy we all knew in college, you know the one. Instead of Scarface posters on his wall he had a Bukowski poster and would keep well worn copies of “Love is a Dog From Hell” or “Ham on Rye” conspicuously at hand when company came.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Geeks