- [on Hudson Hawk (1991)] Its utter failure can only be explained by some form of madness having overcome the people involved in its making.
- [Reviewing Horrible Bosses (2011)] I laughed frequently, probably to the detriment of my self-respect.
- [on Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)]: The clear purpose of the film is to locate in the all-American figure of the cowboy some less attractive native traits: patriotism masking xenophobia, ignorance masquerading as intuitive common sense, mindless aggression concealed beneath virility, arrogance disguised as style. In addition, they can't even fight fair, although a little skill at karate and a touch of intelligence by their one-armed opponent is more than enough to defeat them.
- I don't know much about philately, but I know what I lick...
- [on Lindsay Anderson] He never flattered and he never kowtowed, and he was a keeper and pricker of consciences for two generations.
- [on Dalton Trumbo, 1971]: A generous, honest, amusing man, a firm friend, a trustworthy employee, an admirable husband, a lovably understanding father, as modest in times of good fortune as he is cheerful and resilient in adversity.
- [on Béla Tarr] [His] films move so slowly that they're less like watching paint dry than observing the shifting of the Earth's tectonic plates.
- [on "Day For Night", 1973]: Altogether it is the most enjoyable film I've seen this year, and one of the few recent occasions when I've emerged from the cinema feeling better than when I went in.
- [on the 1985 remake of H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines"]: The only truly Haggard part of it is the way the spectator feels at the end.
- [Reviewing A Fistful of Dollars (1964) ] The calculated sadism of the film would be offensive were it not for the neutralising laughter aroused by the ludicrousness of the whole exercise. If one didn't know the actual provenance of the film, one would guess that it was a private movie made by a group of rich European Western fans at a dude ranch... A Fistful of Dollars looks awful, has a flat dead soundtrack, and is totally devoid of human feeling.
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