Common Sense Reviewer

  • James Rocchi
  • James Rocchi
  • California

About Me

James Rocchi resides in Los Angeles; born near Hamilton, Ontario, he's made his home in California for the past 12 years. He currently writes for Cinematical.com as well as the 'Now and Then' column for the website of American Movie Classics, the 'Rocchi's Retro Rental' column for The San Francisco Chronicle's website and theatrical and DVD reviews for Redbox.com. He's written about pop culture and movies for publications like Mother Jones and Metro Newspapers, and he was the film critic for Netflix from 2001-2005 and the film critic for San Francisco's CBS-5 from 2005-2008. When not sitting expectantly in the dark of a movie theater, Rocchi enjoys California's scenic beauty, the company of his cat Coaly and talking about himself in the third person

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Titles You’ve Reviewed

  • Movie: Youth in Revolt

    I rate this titleiffyand give it4.0

    Story of "bad-boy" teen is funny, but also rough and raw.

    Based on the popular cult novel by C.D. Payne, YOUTH IN REVOLT is a wild, raucous tale of mad young love and remarkably bad behavior that also serves as a great showcase for teen actor Cera (

  • DVD: The Bone Collector

    I rate this titleiffyand give it3.0

    Grisly thriller with great performances; not for kids.

    Directed by Phillip Boyce (Clear and Present Danger, Dead Calm), THE BONE COLLECTOR feels like a franchise that never got off the ground; you can sense the studio executives setting ...

  • DVD: The Stepfather

    I rate this titleiffyand give it3.0

    Horror remake has more tension than blood.

    The best thing about The Stepfather remake is still the central idea about a man trying to make the perfect family via a very unusual methodology. The second best is Walsh's performance, ...

  • Movie: Law Abiding Citizen

    I rate this titlenokidsand give it3.0

    Violent vengeance thriller has lots of bloody brutality.

    Ludicrous and over pumped, LAW ABIDING CITIZEN is an overdone thriller that also has some real shocks and a couple of nasty surprises. Director

  • DVD: Saw VI

    I rate this titlenokidsand give it2.0

    Sixth film in revenge series is just as bloody as the rest.

    At this point, the Saw series has moved beyond whether or not the films are good or bad; they're more like a restaurant with a good ...

  • Movie: Adventures of Power

    I rate this titleiffyand give it1.0

    Underdog comedy is no Napoleon Dynamite.

    A bargain-basement rip-off of Napoleon Dynamite, ADVENTURES OF POWER spends a lot of time expecting viewers to ...

  • DVD: Zombieland

    I rate this titleiffyand give it4.0

    Horror-comedy hybrid is gory, crude ... and funny.

    While violent and crude, ZOMBIELAND is also great fun -- that rare horror-comedy that manages to have its overall senses of excitement and tension supported, not undercut, by the tension-releasing ...

  • DVD: A Serious Man

    I rate this titleiffyand give it4.0

    Brilliant but bleak comedy for mature Coen brothers fans.

    A SERIOUS MAN seems designed to baffle -- it's a particularly thin slice-of-life look that peers at a '60s Midwestern Jewish family as if through a microscope -- but it actually lingers long after ...

  • Movie: Capitalism: A Love Story

    I rate this titleonand give it2.0

    Docu on corporate misdeeds names names, makes mistakes.

    Much of an audience's reaction to Capitalism: A Love Story will depend on their patience for Moore -- as in previous films, the director is also the on-screen star. His analysis is strong, ...

  • DVD: Jennifer's Body

    I rate this titleiffyand give it3.0

    Glossy teen horror-comedy is full of gore and sex.

    Directed by Karyn Kusama, JENNIFER'S BODY is a sexed-up, glossy take on the traditional high school horror film, with plenty of Diablo ...

  • DVD: Crank: High Voltage

    I rate this titlenokidsand give it1.0

    Grisly, gory, over-the-top action-parody isn't for kids.

    The first Crank, for all of its excess, gory violence, and sex-obsessed misogyny, at least had the virtue of being unique, down to the fact that it killed its protagonist at the end of his ...

  • DVD: Whiteout

    I rate this titleiffyand give it2.0

    South Pole-set whodunnit is bloody but bland.

    Based on a graphic novel by Greg Rucka, WHITEOUT has a unique setting in the frozen, deadly remote wastes of Antarctica. But that's not enough to make up for an entirely familiar plot, with Stetko ...

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