About Deirdre Crimmins
Deirdre Crimmins is Chicago-based freelance film critic and a member of the Boston Online Film Critics Association. She contributes regularly to FilmThrills, Rue Morgue magazine, and Birth.Movies.Death. Though a lifelong horror film fan, she also loves a good musical or screwball comedy when the mood strikes.
Anna is the most even-keeled film from director Luc Besson in quite some time, but that’s not saying much. Between its sparse action scenes and non-linear structure, it keeps our attention, but fails to truly sell its own pr...
If you’re keeping track, Annabelle Comes Home is the third Annabelle movie, the second film from the Conjuring series to be released in 2019, and the seventh in that franchise overall. Though the series has been hit or miss,...
Next in 2019’s seemingly never-ending parade of reboots, re-imaginings, and revisitations is a refresh of the horror comedy classic Child’s Play. Though this version adds little to Chucky’s mythology and actually...
When it comes to the breadth of quality in cinema, there’s a classically shaped bell curve. That is to say, most films are just “fine.” Men in Black: International sits squarely in that population.
The Western genre is far from dead, but The Outsider might make you wish it were. The caricatures of characters, abysmal treatment of women, and nearly inscrutable plot make the movie an experience to be tolerated rather than cele...
Big screens or small, people will always love watching animals. The Secret Life of Pets cashed in on that fact back in 2016, and without changing the formula too much, The Secret Life of Pets 2 is here to pick up any loose change ...
Ma is a rare gem of a horror film. Its cast is award-winning and its premise is promising, but despite this pedigree it never takes itself too seriously.
Depending on the angle, it would only require a small tweak to turn a superhero into a supervillain. The only thing separating the two are intention. Brightburn explores the darker side of a hero’s origin story, but fumbles ...
Actor Tom Cullen’s directorial debut Pink Wall is an intimate look at the full arc of a romance. Though the characters are multi-dimensional and their energy is raw, the whole thing feels more like an actors’ workshop ...
Move aside, Serenity. A new movie on Netflix is coming for your title of best worst film of 2019, and this one is in space.
The quickest way to encapsulate The Hustle is with a quote from 1996’s Multiplicity: “You know how when you make a copy of a copy, it’s not as sharp as… well… the original.”
Tater Tot & Patton is a refreshing take on two mismatched people changing each other for the better. The complete lack of nostalgia and romanticism, along with the measured drama, make the emotional beats feel honest.