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 (1977)
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Movie Review: 'Ammonite'
Comedian Eddie Izzard has a brilliant bit in one of his many stand up specials about British movies. In the bit Izzard describes the charged drama but also the stiff upper lip, deeply coded and guarded approach to presenting that drama. It boils down to one person in a room and another entering the room and a series of awkward silences ensues while one character sorts matches. Switch matches for scraping mud off of rocks and you have a good description of the new drama Ammonite starring Kate Winslet and Saorise Ronan.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Point and Purpose: 'Dirty Harry' Gets Lucky
This week's classic on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast is Clint Eastwood's 1971 cop movie, Dirty Harry. The film launched Eastwood as a bankable movie star and franchise head before such a thing even existed. And yet, the reason Eastwood became an icon, one line of dialogue that turned an otherwise unremarkable action movie into a beloved genre 'classic' is a scene that really doesn't belong in the movie.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'Last Three Days' is a Shabby Little Time Travel Thriller
Last Three Days is a low rent bit of action-fantasy nonsense. This time travel cop fantasy toys with time so much that it becomes impossible to follow if you aren’t paying careful attention to it. And, because none of the performances are particularly compelling, attention is not something this movie will be paid. Because this is an obnoxiously amateur in production, Last Three Days is a blur of boring dialogue and dull characters amid a misguided and confounding plot.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'Bullets of Justice' is an Exhausting, Gross, Pornographic Waste of Time
I feel like I have to share my Grindhouse bona fides in order to demonstrate that I am no stick in the mud critic, incapable of enjoying extreme cinema. Thus I can say that one of my favorite movies of the last 10 years is the Spanish horror movie Night of the Virgin, an extremely grotesque bit of stomach churning gore, deeply dark humor, and spectacular viscera. I was also a huge fan of the Asian horror classic, Martyrs, another proprietor of the extreme in terms of violence and gore.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'The Giant' is a Confounding Murder Mystery
The Giant is a baffling mess of arty pretension, horror imagery, and strong intentions ultimately amounting to nothing. This divisive teen horror movie has strong elements including a compelling visual style and a crime story at the heart that should help give shape to the flights of artistic fancy. Unfortunately, The Giant is so muddy, laconic and confounding that it’s difficult to surmise what the actual story of the movie is.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Fatman' is Unfunny Dark Christmas Comedy
Whoever thought it was a good idea to have Mel Gibson play a gritty and violent version of Santa Claus probably needs their head examined. It’s bad enough that Gibson has cultivated a reputation as an abuser and generally vile human being, casting him as a dyspeptic version of Kris Kringle is more than merely misguided. Add to that Gibson’s declining charisma and general air of disinterest and you have Fatman, an ugly, unfunny bit of nasty holiday business.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Symbolism in Hitchcocks' 'Marnie' 1964
One thing you must get used to when writing about what you think something in a movie means is disagreement and derision. One must accept that there are those who will mock what you think is a fair rationalization of a piece of symbolism in a movie. Creators as well may mock your notion of what you think they meant when they created a piece of work. Bottom line, it takes confidence and a thick skin to read into a movie for a meaning that may or may not be there for others.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Criminal
Movie Review: Survival Skills is a Trenchant Parody of Police Training
Director Quinn Armstrong’s new movie Survival Skills takes the perspective of a 1980’s police training video, complete with a VHS sheen and tracking issues, to create a parody of the seeming futility in the lives of Police Officers. The intent is both a dark humor and a plumbing of the depths of how poorly we have equipped ourselves for those who commit acts of terror against the people closest to them. Survival Skills is a little disjointed and not particularly funny for a parody but the impact is still felt.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Documentary Review: 'Maybe Next Year' For the Love of Eagles Fans
Maybe Next Year is a love letter to the fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. This documentary from director Kyle Thrash could not be more loving and endearing toward some of the most vocal, colorful and controversial fans on the planet. To say that fans in Philly have a reputation is an understatement but that’s not what Maybe Next Year is about. Instead of being a lengthy, hand-wringing lament of what Philly did to Santa Claus, Maybe Next Year is just about the Super Bowl and the fans so desperate to see a Super Bowl win in their lifetime.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Unbalanced
Classic Movie Review: Roger Corman's 'Frankenstein Unbound'
Frankenstein Unbound, where have you been all my life? How have I gone 30 years without experiencing your glorious insanity? Frankenstein Unbound is a 1990 sci-fi-time travel-horror movie from the gloriously diseased mind of Roger Corman. The film stars John Hurt as Buchanan, a modern day science millionaire who accidentally destroys time, leaving time unbound, if only for him and his future car. What? That's the plot!
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Futurism
Movie Review: 'Fishbowl'
Fishbowl stars Rick Kain as Rick, a father to three daughters who is grieving the death of his wife. If only it were that simple. Rick holds a secret, not from his daughters, or the rest of the people in his fishbowl like smalltown, but from us. It’s the reason why he’s a pariah everywhere he goes. It’s why he’s unemployed and why he’s distanced from three daughters he loves with all his heart but can no longer connect with.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'The Craft Legacy' Improves on the Original. Top Story - October 2020.
The Craft Legacy is a rare sequel that improves on the original. 1996’s The Craft was a solid look at teenage female empowerment and friendship that carried some very 90’s values. The Craft Legacy reflects how women’s empowerment has evolved and it’s a solid improvement on an original that wasn’t bad but does benefit from an updated perspective. Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, The Craft Legacy is, for lack of a better term, ‘woke’ and it contains some of the best broad strokes of that term.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Geeks
