The Other Man
Stephen Whitty
Before long the characters which director Richard Eyre adapted from a Bernhard Schlink short story cease to be people and start to become devices
2.5
The Other Man
Claudia Puig
The screen version of Bernhard Schlink s short story The Other Man does not deliver The secret at the heart of the film after all the fractured narrative convolutions is anti climactic and the conclusion is strained and awkward
2
The Other Man
Adam Keleman
The film is filled with good on paper moments that build up and slowly tighten like a knot but usually end in a whimper
1.5
A Rubberband Is an Unlikely Instrument
Nick Schager
It s as though the director like his subjects was too comfortable in the safe familiarity of the surface to find the place where it betrays us
2
Son of the South
James Kendrick
There is nothing particularly new about its narrative or flashy in its production but it tells its story well and conveys its importance without being moralistic
3
Son of the South
Richard Roeper
The fight for equality isn t over and this story is as relevant today
3
Son of the South
Mark Dujsik
For all its noble intentions Son of the South never quite figures out its purpose
2
The Cowboys
Peter Keough
It takes a lot of confidence for a director to pay homage to John Ford s The Searchers 1956 and in the case of Thomas Bidegain s Les Cowboys it is not altogether unwarranted
3
The Cowboys
Christopher Kompanek
Bidegain and cinematographer Arnaud Potier speak multitudes with wide angle slow panning shots that immerse us in a post 9 11 quagmire that s never less than utterly personal
3.5
The Cowboys
Glenn Kenny
It proceeds with a hushed tone that wants to be taken for observant modesty but eventually reveals itself as suffocating self importance
1.5
The Cowboys
Peter Travers
This modern western hits hard and stays with you It s an auspicious debut for Bidegain as a director As to whether it can stand shoulder to shoulder with The Searchers that ll be the day
3
The Cowboys
David Lewis
It s John Ford s The Searchers French style but director Thomas Bidegain has given the premise a unique flavor crafting a fine timely screenplay that skips over some years of the story but allows us to fill in the blanks
3
The Cowboys
Kent Turner
Les Cowboys stays on focus while packing in a lot of story Concise yet overflowing with incident it s intimate and large scale told with hindsight and immediacy
3.5
The Cowboys
Steve Macfarlane
It appears to pride itself on demonstrating both sides of a complex racial divide only for its messaging to wind up flattering the whitest sensibility imaginable
.5
Piccadilly
Robert Pardi
Dupont s stunning evocation of London s roaring twenties would be of cinematic interest even without Wong but her sultry presence makes this backstage melodrama a must see
3.5
Piccadilly
Ed Gonzalez
It s difficult to imagine a Hollywood production allowing an Asian star to be as commanding as Wong is in Piccadilly
3
Piccadilly
Marta Barber
A swinging London club the breakup of a famous performing couple a well known dancer being replaced by one younger and more exotic a murder All juicy fodder for plot and it s a good thing
2.5
Piccadilly
Michael Wilmington
Wong s role of Shosho the red hot dancing star of London s Piccadilly nightclub shows her at her dramatic and erotic peak
3.5
Piccadilly
James Verniere
A sophisticated exploration of racial and sexual taboos
3.5
Piccadilly
Janice Page
Wong is the kind of gorgeous that burns right through a camera lens and the kind of mesmerizing that seems without effort or end
3.5
Piccadilly
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Wong is not top billed but her entrance in Piccadilly and her general presence make her the star
4
Piccadilly
David Sterritt
Wong has acquired a loyal cult following over the years and Dupont s exquisitely filmed episodes show why
4
The Song of Names
Bob Bloom
The mystery surrounding Dovidl s disappearance should be the most compelling aspect of the film but director François Girard s approach is so clinical and unemotional that it dilutes the urgency of Martin s mission
2
The Song of Names
Lisa Jensen
An often moving meditation on the purpose and privilege of artistic expression
3
The Song of Names
Lisa Trifone
It all culminates in a full circle moment that the film hasn t earned in any way at all
.5
The Song of Names
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
At its center lies a tragic tale that should move us all If only this song could sing beyond that single forceful verse
2
The Song of Names
Mick LaSalle
There s a mystery at the heart of The Song of Names but it isn t much of a mystery and once it s solved the movie loses what little interest it has
2
The Song of Names
Glenn Kenny
Literate sober soulful
3
The Song of Names
Kate Taylor
Mainly this movie chatters when it should sing
2
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Mal Vincent
On the minus side this bright witty writer seems to have retreated into the very genre he spoofed in Scream
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
John Petrakis
Wastes more opportunities than it does teenagers
2
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Gene Siskel
A dreadful mad slasher film that works neither as a thriller nor as a comic commentary on the genre
1
I Know What You Did Last Summer
John Wooley
A fresh look at the 80s style slasher film substituting characterization and suspense for the graphic violence and nudity that marked the earlier genre entries
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Jami Bernard
I Know What You Did Last Summer is gory enough for the devotees and has story enough for everyone else
3
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Dan Webster
Scream and the even better Scream 2 have intelligence humor and an undercurrent of self knowing satire that shows I Know What You Did to be a passe bit of Hollywood formula
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Peter Canavese
A reasonably well made low end pic that serves as a cautionary tale for callow teens Blu Ray
2
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Eugene Novikov
I Know What You Did Last Summer is undoubtedly absurd but it tries to pass itself off as a mystery morality tale
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Mick LaSalle
competent but uninspired
2
I Know What You Did Last Summer
James Kendrick
Unfortunately I Know What You Did really doesn t know what it wants to do and that is its biggest flaw
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
James Berardinelli
The characters aren t interesting enough for us to be scared for them
2
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Mike Clark
Predictably the derivative title here is a jumping off point for another derivative slasher revenge pic
2.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Susan Stark
Remember all those terrible slasher flicks from the 80s This could be one of them It certainly ain t no Scream
1
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Madeleine Williams
If there are more teen slasher films to follow in the wake of Scream one can only hope that they ll at least try to stretch the conventions of the genre Unfortunately I Know What You Did Last Summer is not a sign of good things to come
1
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Dustin Putman
A respectable smartly scripted slasher film that firmly proved good horror movies were once again being made
3
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Michael Dequina
Offers heaps of shrieks
3
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Steve Rhodes
A goose bumps free horror show
1.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Jeff Vice
routine and violent
1.5
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Joe Baltake
Teasing and taut I Know What You Did Last Summer is a teen horror flick with a different kind of kick to it
3
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Canavese
I m not sure there s anyone alive that believes the 1951 film lives up to Lewis Carroll s deathless 1865 novel Alice s Adventures in Wonderland but the animated feature remains a perfectly decent slice of kid friendly surrealism Blu ray
3
Alice in Wonderland
James Kendrick
plays as a series of colorful but uneven setpieces that lack an interesting or emotionally engaging heroine to tie them together
2
Alice in Wonderland
Bill Chambers
Even as straightforward eye candy the film is a near miss
2
Alice in Wonderland
Eric Henderson
Disney was and is a studio with an impenetrably inflated sense of quality control
2.5
Beethoven's 4th
Michael Dequina
Most people can live healthy lives without ever seeing this tired uninspired piece of work
1.5
Beethoven's 4th
Steve Rhodes
An unoriginal but sometimes funny family film
2
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Josh Larsen
The true pleasures of The Young Girls of Rochefort are its smaller touches
3
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Marty Mapes
Friends and family on my Christmas list might just see this disc in their stocking
3
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Michael Dequina
A delightful confection made all the sweeter by Michel Legrand s jazzy toe tapping score and the energetic cast
3
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Jonathan Rosenbaum
My favorite musical
4
Mind the Gap
Chris Hewitt
Because the performances are so true we believe in these people even when they re doing unbearably wacky things
2.5
Mind the Gap
Robert Dominguez
Schaeffer known for the quirky romantic comedies goes a more serious route in this disappointing anthology of stories about love and forgiveness
2.5
Mind the Gap
Lou Lumenick
Schaeffer s rip off er homage to Magnolia
1
Mind the Gap
Erik Childress
Schaeffer s voice represents the Average Joe in a bar who thinks he has all the answers about the human condition but has nothing interesting to say Yet he keeps talking
1.5
42 Grams
Richard Roeper
Based on what we see in 42 Grams perhaps the place collapsed under the weight of the chef s massive ego
3
Familiar Grounds
James Adams
All this sounds terribly indie admittedly But thankfully Lafleur never lets his movie become an oh so precious assemblage of quirky tics
3
Familiar Grounds
Greg Quill
Its glacial pace bloodless performances and minimalist architecture will likely assure it a place in the archives of Forgotten Canadian Cinema
2
Driving Lessons
Jeff Vice
The characterizations and comic situations both seem forced and labored
1.5
Driving Lessons
Tom Keogh
Driving Lessons is a poignant miniature that offers Julie Walters a chance to be typically wonderful saucy but deep and Rupert Grint to stretch quite commendably
3
Driving Lessons
John Beifuss
Will be remembered as the movie in which we got to see Ron Weasley utter the s word and the f word numerous times drink wine and hook up with a Scottish hottie who introduces him to Nick Drake and sex in that order
2
Driving Lessons
Larry Ratliff
Driving Lessons runs out of creative gas near the ridiculous end
2.5
Driving Lessons
Geoff Pevere
It s an exercise in calculated high quirk in which the most egregious forms of stereotyping particularly along gender and religious lines attempt to pass for human behaviour
1.5
Driving Lessons
Sue Pierman
Brock creates a sensitive personal tale of an underdog coming into his own
3
Driving Lessons
Loey Lockerby
Yes the metaphor is that ham fisted as Ben s newfound confidence manifests itself partly in his willingness to chauffeur Evie around although he s only a student driver
2
Driving Lessons
Liam Lacey
Brock sticks to the inspirational formula of contemporary English sentimental comedies that real life has little relevance
2.5
Driving Lessons
Chris Hewitt
Veers all over the place in tone especially in the scenes with Linney who seems so much like a part of a different movie that I almost feel like she should only be mentioned in a different review
2
Driving Lessons
Jeff Strickler
Offers a pleasant excursion down a familiar road
2.5
Driving Lessons
Lisa Kennedy
Amiable performances and a gentle generous chemistry between Walters and Grint make the ride pleasant
2.5
Driving Lessons
Connie Ogle
Despite its slight and vaguely silly premise Driving Lessons turns out to be sweet never cloying and amusing in an understated British way
2.5
Driving Lessons
Amy Biancolli
Driving Lessons doesn t represent a zenith in the subgenre and it trades on some feeble character ploys but it s a kick to watch Julie Walters do a barmy charmer bit on Rupert Grint
2.5
Driving Lessons
Ruthe Stein
With the aid of a charmingly offbeat story and a jolly good dialect coach the stars leave you thinking well done Their spirited performances help cover up glaring holes in the plot
3
Driving Lessons
David Elliott
Julie Walters lets out the stops as this stooped bulldozer pushing whole hogs of ham
2
Driving Lessons
Wesley Morris
Everybody in the movie is so tightly wound that Walters seems a model of actorly limberness
2
Driving Lessons
Peter Canavese
It s Grint who grounds in reality as best he can Brock s directing debut this conventional Britcom lightly hums along for a good stretch before running off the road
2
Driving Lessons
Steve Rhodes
A tedious time waster it s never interesting believable or funny
1.5
Driving Lessons
Ken Fox
Julie Waters fine performance helps center this sentimental British drama
2.5
Driving Lessons
Timothy Knight
Happily there s Walters a terrific character actress who keeps Evie convincingly life size even when she s carrying on in full grand dame mode Thanks to her Driving Lessons never stalls to a halt
2.5
Driving Lessons
Lisa Rose
It s sad to see actors like Walters and Linney mired in such undignified one note roles The movie is an object lesson in the lack of good parts around for actresses even on the indie front Class dismissed
1.5
Driving Lessons
Kyle Smith
The mild British wackiness is more droll than funny but the movie is a pleasant cup of tea
2.5
Driving Lessons
Elizabeth Weitzman
Linney hits a single note for her uptight character while Walters travels the scale indiscriminately Her outsized eccentric darts from amusing to grating Only Grint is just right as the boy they and the film can t do without
2.5
Driving Lessons
Glenn Whipp
It s not Godzilla vs Mothra but the slight coming of age story Driving Lessons does set up something of a clash of the titans with Julie Walters and Laura Linney providing a master class in overacting
1
Driving Lessons
Lisa Ann Cockrel
It s unfortunate the narrative isn t suffused with more zest and nuance Instead it feels calculated and even the most emotional scenes fall flat
1.5
Driving Lessons
Gene Seymour
Driving Lessons follows the well worn path laid down by other better movies while making strained ludicrous things happen toward the end
1.5
Driving Lessons
Jeanne Aufmuth
Sweet light and satisfying
3
Driving Lessons
Jason Clark
Driving Lessons is the type of movie that makes you want to single handedly dismantle the British film industry
.5
The Sixth Sense
Carrie Rickey
So transparent is Osment as an actor and so rare that the pain on his face stabs you in the heart
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Felix Vasquez Jr.
An excellent premiere for new director M Night Shyamalan as he packs a punch with a great story excellent directing a great cast great performances and a surprise ending that will leave you breathless for days on end
4
The Sixth Sense
Joe Lozito
Mr Willis gives a surprisingly quiet performance
3
The Sixth Sense
Jeffrey M. Anderson
The screenplay with its terrific scares and its amazing double whammy at the end is a grand achievement
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Jim Shelby
This disturbing thriller is distinguished by the moving performance of Haley Joel Osment
3
The Sixth Sense
Matt Soergel
The Sixth Sense has more than simple ghoulish chills on its mind Instead it s a spooky mind game with a whopper of a twist at the end a twist that even when you think about it makes perfect sense
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Margaret A. McGurk
At its heart it is an intense moving thoughtful drama about the mysterious relationship between an exceptional little boy and a psychologist who wants to help him
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Andrew Howe
Bruce Willis is making it increasingly difficult for me to assert that he has no acting ability
3
The Sixth Sense
James Kendrick
A unique frightening movie that is never gratuitous or obvious
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Mike Clark
The Sixth Sense is the movie that really deserves to be called The Haunting
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Tom Long
Sixth Sense is scary and smart
4
The Sixth Sense
Dan Webster
Osment is heartbreakingly true to his character as a boy at a crossroads
3
The Sixth Sense
Dustin Putman
Amazing too how the ending has the sheer power to completely blindside you when the final ultimate twist occurs
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Ross Anthony
An awesome film Perfectly directed
4
The Sixth Sense
Cornell & Petricelli
Though in some ways promoted as a scary ghost story Sixth Sense is really a relationship drama set in a supernatural milieu
4
The Sixth Sense
David Keyes
Here is a movie of long mind numbing tiresome proportions and a brilliant conclusion No one however should be forced to endure all the heartache just for five minutes of audacious footage
2
The Sixth Sense
Wesley Morris
The Sixth Sense appears headed for horror figures lurking in the shadows the plaster saints in Cole s makeshift shelter shrine on loan from Carrie But Shyamalan detours into gentler maybe even more substantially haunting territory
3
The Sixth Sense
Mark Caro
It s a rarity for a movie to be willing to try your patience like The Sixth Sense does and even more of one for your perseverance to be so amply rewarded
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Rod Dreher
It is impossible to take your eyes off Osment who vividly conveys the hopelessness of a sensitive intelligent child who bears burdens beyond all telling
3.5
The Sixth Sense
John Hartl
Genuinely unsettling in a way that no other film this summer has been and that includes The Blair Witch Project
3
The Sixth Sense
Maitland McDonagh
Buried inside this psychological thriller which takes a brilliant turn in its last 15 minutes is a fantastic half hour Twilight Zone episode
3
The Sixth Sense
Bob Bloom
Shyamalan elicits a complex and tortured performance from young Osment The young man deserves a supporting actor Oscar nod for his portrayal of a little boy overwhelmed by circumstances he can t even comprehend
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Eugene Novikov
The ghost story is alive and well in Hollywood
3
The Sixth Sense
Marty Mapes
The film is not perfect but it is pretty darn good Shyamalan s direction is tightly controlled and very well executed
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Mick LaSalle
But just as scary or at least as unsettling is the film s presentation of human existence as an endless series of tragedies and agonies relieved only by foolish distraction
3
The Sixth Sense
Jorge Avila Andrade
Plana en sus secuencias durante la mayor parte del tiempo
2.5
The Sixth Sense
Michael Dequina
The problem lies with Shyamalan s plodding pacing
2.5
The Sixth Sense
David N. Butterworth
Even with its potentially interesting supernatural bent it s still largely schlock footage
2.5
The Sixth Sense
Ann Hornaday
A smart sophisticated and sensitive film that is also by the way very spooky
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Ian Mantgani
One of the characters in this pointless movie has supernatural visions and audience members are sharing the affliction unfathomably
2
The Sixth Sense
Madeleine Williams
An eerie drama that loses most of its impact halfway through
2
The Sixth Sense
Steve Rhodes
The cinematic equivalent of a page turner the movie keeps your eyes glued to the screen
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Greg Dean Schmitz
The Sixth Sense deals with death ghosts and the effect such things could have a very intelligent little boy in a way that I found refreshing and invigorating
3.5
The Sixth Sense
Bill Chambers
Osment has since developed the nasty habit of being the best actor in the room
3
The Sixth Sense
Rob Blackwelder
But this movie stunned me The hair on the back of my neck stood up five or six times in this picture
3
The Sixth Sense
Scott Nash
This will probably always stand as writer director M Night Shyamalan s masterpiece
4
Wind River
Brian Eggert
Wind River has the tonal sparsity of a Cormac McCarthy novel the moral justice of a revisionist Western and hits many beats that a detective procedural might
3.5
Wind River
Jason Fraley
After penning Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan makes his directorial debut blending murder mystery western ruggedness comedic interludes and crime meditations in a unique setting
3.5
Wind River
Federico Furzan
This feels like a train at full speed A thriller set in a cold and unforgiving place with no rules Full review in Spanish
3.5
Wind River
Mattie Lucas
While it never quite matches its own ambitions Sheridan still manages to deliver a crackerjack mystery that relies on characters rather than twists turns or shocks
3
Wind River
Pamela Powell
Standout performances and excellence in direction writing and cinematography create one of the best films of 2017
4
Wind River
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Bleak stuff but riveting
3.5
Wind River
Linda Cook
One of the best films of 2017
4
Wind River
John Serba
An ambitious film a little sloppy but invigorating well made well acted gorgeously photographed It s poetic in its visuals and as is tradition with Westerns its justice
3.5
Wind River
Sara Michelle Fetters
Sheridan ends his story brilliantly the last ten minutes a startling display of emotional elasticity that left me flabbergasted
3
Wind River
Lisa Jensen
The resonance of Jeremy Renner s understated acting moments of unexpected visual splendor and mounting psychological intensity make it all irresistibly compelling
3.5
Wind River
Mike McGranaghan
A solid thriller Wind River represents mature substantive filmmaking at its finest
4
Wind River
James Kendrick
Sheridan s particular gift is his ability to thread these social and political themes into crackerjack narratives that are so enthralling in and of themselves that it s easy to forget there is a social dimension
3.5
Wind River
Josh Terry
It s an often heartbreaking and bleak movie that is more concerned with emotional vibrancy than fancy filmmaking and it shares a message that will be difficult to forget
3
Wind River
David N. Butterworth
Gil Birmingham is especially good but Jeremy Renner has rarely been better and Elizabeth Olsen continues to impress
3.5
Wind River
Barry Paris
Wind River addresses both an inner and outer American wilderness with a sobering look at Native American issues in the process
3.5
Wind River
Sean P. Means
With Wind River screenwriter and now director Taylor Sheridan completes a trifecta of deeply layered character driven neo Western crime dramas and one that tops the other two
4
Wind River
Jeff Simon
Even on a hot night audiences might find themselves shivering at this movie
3.5
Wind River
Tom Meek
The combination of character setting and weave makes well known tropes fresh and new
3
Wind River
Robert W. Butler
Sheridan s screenplay provides plenty of thumbnail portraits of colorful characters
3
Wind River
John Wenzel
Sheridan has professed admiration for Clint Eastwood s towering anti Western Unforgiven and dark night of the soul dramas from Michael Mann Both are reference points for his adept mix of masculine posturing and wounded soul searching
3
Wind River
Richard Roeper
For all the character studies and moments of reflection and lament Wind River never loses its identity as a gritty thriller
4
Wind River
Robert Horton
A gratifyingly solid movie for grown ups
3.5
Wind River
Barry Hertz
The film reveals its twists slowly but surely with Sheridan confident that his lead heroes will keep you captivated as he breaks his story down
3
Wind River
Mark Dujsik
Everything that sets this story apart from a familiar murder mystery is unceremoniously tossed aside once the mystery comes together
2.5
Wind River
Peter Howell
An auspicious directorial debut for writer director Taylor Sheridan
3
Wind River
Dann Gire
Wind River shows us how the isolation and abandonment of Native Americans have created an inhospitable climate
3
Wind River
Ann Hornaday
Wind River is worth seeing if only to see Renner in the kind of starring role he so richly deserves and with luck will continue to find
2.5
Wind River
Mark Feeney
The still ruinous treatment of Native Americans hangs over the movie like one of those immense storm clouds Wind River is as much about mourning as murder
3
Wind River
Michael Phillips
Wind River is roughly 50 percent strengths 50 percent contrivances Often they collide in the same scene
2
Wind River
Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Sheridan excels at simple turns of phrase and leading us into a rat s nest of violence
3
Wind River
Gary Thompson
Sheridan s genre instincts get the best of him and Wind River gives way to lurid exploitation
2.5
Wind River
Mick LaSalle
Wind River is an impressive effort and an impressive result that opens up a world that most of us have never thought about and renders it with sorrow and vividness
3
Wind River
Moira MacDonald
Sheridan the screenwriter behind Sicario and Hell or High Water writes dialogue that s lean yet rich and gives the actors time to let their words hang in that cold air
3.5
Wind River
Christy Lemire
Sheridan s storytelling is meaty but efficient and his pacing moves along at a steadily engrossing clip
3
Wind River
Rex Reed
Wind River is one terrific offbeat and heart pounding thriller
3.5
Wind River
Robert Levin
Wind River is a gritty murder mystery layered with a social conscience
3
Wind River
Peter Travers
Directorial debut of Sicario screenwriter Taylor Sheridan turns the story of a tracker a Fed and a dead Native American girl into a sharp social commentary that knocks you for a loop
3
Wind River
Clayton Davis
One of the luring points to Sheridan s mysterious tale is the impeccable and moving work of Jeremy Renner who delivers his finest performance since The Town
3
Wind River
Brian Truitt
A chilly air of isolation and desperation pervades the thriller Wind River Taylor Sheridan s new directorial effort that proves he s more than an exceptional writer
3.5
Wind River
Christopher Gray
When Taylor Sheridan is left to his own devices his work seems more abrupt and shallow no more so than when he resolves all of this film s lingering questions in one unremittingly nasty sideswipe of a flashback
1.5
Wetlands
Mattie Lucas
A film that is always vibrantly alive with a sense of self discovery and even wonder at the world at life at the human body and it does so without any self consciousness or forced sincerity
3
Wetlands
Rob Thomas
The right viewer will find it a singular even somewhat moving experience And no film will provide better motivation for you to clean the bathroom this weekend
3
Wetlands
Brad Keefe
So joyfully perverse its shocks sometimes seem almost playful which is refreshing as Helen works out her kinks by celebrating them
3.5
Wetlands
David Lewis
Crass vulgar and brilliant
3
Wetlands
Tirdad Derakhshani
Wetlands is one of the most daring visually arresting innovative and imaginative examples of filmmaking to come out of Europe in recent memory
3.5
Wetlands
John Anderson
Graphic occasionally disgusting but sweet natured and liberated
2.5
Wetlands
Michael O'Sullivan
It isn t terribly clear where the movie or its hedonistic heroine is going but getting there is one wild ride
2.5
Wetlands
Glenn Kenny
An inventively sharp briskly edited spectacularly acted post adolescent coming of age story
3
Wetlands
Peter Travers
Wetlands is here to freak out the prudes and make dirty fun again That it does You won t find a better movie anywhere that features a teen girl using her crotch to wipe a public toilet seat
3
Wetlands
Diego Semerene
For its general ludic obsession with all things generally thought of as disgusting the German film Wetlands is stuck in the anal stage
3
Wetlands
Sara Stewart
Take note Lars von Trier This is how you do a truly funny subversive movie about a woman s obsession with the human body and sex
4
Run
Namrata Joshi
Run has the word obsolete written on every frame
1
Mother and Child
Dwight Brown
In the wrong hands this film could have been grating melodrama Under Garcia s watchful eye this is an ode to mothers and children who are lost but not forgotten
3.5
Mother and Child
Rob Thomas
In a way I was almost hoping that the three storylines didn t tie together at the end Each of them stands so firmly on its own
3
Mother and Child
Alison Gang
The answers Garcia offers aren t necessarily satisfying particularly for those who believe in adoption or gasp childlessness but they are thought provoking questions nevertheless
2
Mother and Child
John Beifuss
Whenever we starts to lose patience with the story s conceit García and his actors hit a note of emotional authenticity that pulls us back in
2.5
Mother and Child
Mike Scott
A well acted and effective drama when writer director Rodrigo Garcia allows it to move along
3
Mother and Child
Keith Cohen
This movie packs an emotional wallop and women will get the most out of the way difficult decisions are reached in life changing situations Bening gives her best performance in years and makes a remarkable transformation that deserves Oscar consideration
3
Mother and Child
Robert W. Butler
Garcia keeps his various stories flowing and in perfect balance
3.5
Mother and Child
Steve Ramos
Mother and Child s best moments come from its many small and wonderful character details
3
Mother and Child
Calvin Wilson
A thoughtful and provocative film about the way we live now
3
Mother and Child
Rene Rodriguez
Garcia lets the picture start to go soft in the middle and teary melodrama floods in like water from a broken dam
2
Mother and Child
Willie Waffle
Mother and Child has what might be the first Oscar caliber performance of the year
2.5
Mother and Child
Lisa Kennedy
So many stories come packaged in hyped genres that we can forget how much character can hold sway Watts Bening and Washington along with a fine ensemble and a humane director make sure we remember
3.5
Mother and Child
Ann Hornaday
With Mother and Child Garca brings his finely calibrated sense of drama to the subject of adoption which he handles with characteristic restraint and insight at least until the film s maudlin too pat finale
2
Mother and Child
John Hartl
This is an actors showcase first and clearly García enjoys demonstrating what this ensemble can do
3
Mother and Child
Carrie Rickey
The fine actors show how we bond to those not related to us by blood and also how we love Bring Kleenex
3
Mother and Child
Michael Phillips
A screenwriter s butterfly flaps its wings and a chain of events is set into motion resulting in the latest cinematic ensemble tale of connectivity and yearning This one s good though
3
Mother and Child
Peter Travers
Dynamite performances from Annette Bening and Naomi Watts ignite this strong drama from writer director Rodrigo Garcia
3
Mother and Child
Rick Groen
It s tough for actors to be nuanced when the movie isn t and these intriguingly jagged edges soon get smoothed out
2
Mother and Child
Ty Burr
Mother and Child keeps the traffic moving smoothly much more so than a movie like Crash because Garcia writes characters rather than positions and he knows that the silences between people usually speak louder than their words
2.5
Mother and Child
Tom Meek
Though Watts s Elizabeth brings a sense of darkness and unpredictability to the film the hyperbolic flourishes and the melodramatic climax offset the actresses best efforts
2.5
Mother and Child
Kyle Smith
The film is an actors showcase that Bening makes the most of
3
Mother and Child
Greg Quill
That Garcia manages to spin three rich and complex yarns without ever losing hold of the main thread the deep and mysterious connections between mothers and daughters is evidence of a keen eye and an exceptionally curious mind
3.5
Mother and Child
Mick LaSalle
Rodrigo Garcia knew he was making a good movie but did he really understand the kind of good movie he was making
3
Mother and Child
Claudia Puig
Writer director Rodrigo Garcia has fashioned a clear eyed look at motherhood at all stages
3
The Valley
G. Allen Johnson
A film that at best seems like one of those cliched life lesson movies on the Lifetime channel
2
Sorry We Missed You
Ernesto Diezmartinez
A vibrant and emotional indictment about the consequences of the gig economy within a middle class family Loach directs like he s young and pissed off
2.5
Sorry We Missed You
John Beifuss
Digs dig deep into a subject filmmakers usually ignore the struggle to make an honest living
3.5
Sorry We Missed You
Rene Sanchez
Sorry We Missed You is Ken Loach s speciality a social piece carefully crafted to provoke a strong emotional reaction Full Review in Spanish
2.5
Sorry We Missed You
Lisa Trifone
Loach has created a devastatingly affecting portrait of life against a system and circumstances that don t make it easy to get ahead
4
Sorry We Missed You
Robert Horton
As so often with Loach the sharply identified details are the key and they are often heart rending
3.5
Sorry We Missed You
Mark Dujsik
This is a film that s quietly devastating in its ordinariness
4
Sorry We Missed You
Ty Burr
Sorry We Missed You depicts the vise into which many people are forced to put head hearts and lives in order to pay the rent and feed their families
3
Sorry We Missed You
Ann Hornaday
This absorbing and ultimately shattering portrayal of the costs of a late capitalist system obsessed with convenience efficiency and nanosecond precision couldn t be more timely
3
Sorry We Missed You
Joe Friar
Ken Loach returns with another story focused on the struggles of the working class in the poignant drama with memorable performances
4
Sorry We Missed You
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Sorry We Missed You plunges us deep into the rabbit hole of twisted socio economic policies that allow the titans of industry to prosper at the expense of everyone else
4
Sorry We Missed You
Nell Minow
Beautifully performed with searing honesty and naturalism by the entire cast
3.5
Sorry We Missed You
Pat Brown
It s difficult to imagine a more socially engaged or powerful condemnation of the exploitative gig economy than Ken Loach s latest
3.5
Sorry We Missed You
Joey Magidson
What s the difference between Ken Loach and Bruce Springsteen Both are poets of the working class but only the latter sees hope in their plights
2
Sorry We Missed You
Peter Howell
Bleak even by Loach s no guff standards but it kicks like a mule
3
Downhill
Brian Eggert
Whereas Force Majeure wanted its audience to observe human behavior and judge the complex situation for themselves Downhill presents every emotion and situation with dull unmistakable clarity
2
Downhill
Mark Meszoros
Ferrell and Louis Dreyfus are as good together as you d expect and we d love to see them pair in something again soon be it more serious or far less so
2.5
Downhill
Katie Walsh
Downhill retains the essential DNA of Force Majeure and therefore remains a strange and prickly piece of work
2.5
Downhill
Mattie Lucas
Takes a troubling and uncomfortable study of human relationships and turns it into mildly entertaining sitcom
2
Downhill
Dann Gire
Ferrell himself seems uncomfortable in his superficial portrait of Pete a character who establishes no connections with us or his fellow cast members
2
Downhill
Peter Canavese
As long as Faxon and Rash stay in this pitch black pocket of uncomfortable truth telling Downhill retains its power But since this is an American comedy
2.5
Downhill
Lisa Jensen
Co produced by Louis Dreyfus it does have more of a frenetic undercurrent than the spare sober original but the theme of disrupted trust still has a harrowing edge
2.5
Downhill
Pamela Powell
The topic and subject matter paired with Julia Louis Dreyfus and Will Ferrell s performances are well worth spending the money to see this film
3
Downhill
Sara Michelle Fetters
I cannot get angry or feel let down by what Downhill is not most obviously that it isn t as deep or as profound as Force Majeure was I can only judge the film for what it actually is
3
Downhill
Michael O'Sullivan
It s a watered down version of the original but it s still pretty good neither wise nor profound yet sometimes smart and with sharp elbows especially if you have nothing with which to compare it
2.5
Downhill
Cate Marquis
This re make falls far short despite the determined efforts of the cast to add a little spark
2
Downhill
Brandy McDonnell
Although Downhill has a few relatable and amusing moments it mostly wastes the considerable talents involved Perhaps the best that can be said for the film is that it might convince more people to rent or stream Force Majeure
2
Downhill
Richard Roeper
Despite the best efforts of stars Julia Louis Dreyfus and Will Ferrell remake of Force Majeure isn t nearly as entertaining
2
Downhill
Rene Sanchez
Although Louis Dreyfus and Ferrell have a chance to shine this uninspired and unnecessary remake loses the wit and the nuance of its original source Full Review in Spanish
2
Downhill
Steven Prokopy
The movie lacks certain subtleties that might have made it more satisfying but what s here is still serviceable amusing and worthy of some attention
2.5
Downhill
Rex Reed
Downhill is a perfect example of a bad film that doesn t have a clue about what kind of movie it wants to be
2
Downhill
Sean P. Means
For the first 40 minutes of Downhill Louis Dreyfus is not even doing comedy Her struggle to hold it in when she wants to scream at Pete is the stuff of high caliber drama and Louis Dreyfus plays it perfectly
3
Downhill
Robert Daniels
Downhill never sticks the landing as a couple s comedy nor as a marriage in crisis
1.5
Downhill
Michael Smith
This is a movie that should have had much more pitch black humor and shown much more insight into the matters of mortality family failings and the human heart
2
Downhill
Robert Horton
It s certainly something different from the usual run of bigscreen comedies but what we see doesn t go far enough
2
Downhill
Christian Toto
The American remake of 2014 s Force Majeure squanders a fine cast and a provocative subject
2.5
Downhill
Jeff York
Remaking foreign films is tricky especially trying to Americanize one as subtle and insinuating as Force Majeure A noble effort was made here although the endeavor was far too much of an uphill battle
2
Downhill
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
The result is a fresh perspective on the premise to the benefit of all involved
3.5
Downhill
Mark Feeney
When the best thing about a movie is the title that s never a good sign It s all downhill from there Exactly and that s the case with Downhill
1.5
Downhill
Rafer Guzman
An uneven but intriguing movie that pushes its two stars slightly outside their comfort zones
2.5
Downhill
Chris Hewitt
Morality is presented as a black and white affair in Downhill and it s difficult to empathize with this family of privileged creeps
2.5
Downhill
Mark Dujsik
T he filmmakers thrive in the potential for discomforting awkward humor
3
Downhill
Moira MacDonald
I enjoyed Downhill purely for Louis Dreyfus performance we don t get to see the Veep star on the big screen very often so why not revel in her talent when we get the chance
2.5
Downhill
Mick LaSalle
It s just too bad that the directors allowed Ferrell to settle for such an edgeless performance
2.5
Downhill
Katie Walsh
Downhill retains the essential DNA of Force Majeure and therefore remains a strange and prickly piece of work
2.5
Downhill
Jake Coyle
Ferrell and Louis Dreyfus are terrific together and Downhill is sustained by their chemistry
3
Downhill
Nick Allen
A largely inferior American knockoff that s far less dynamic than the 2014 dark comedy it s based on
2
Downhill
Johnny Oleksinski
You impatiently tap your foot waiting for the belly laughs to come They never do
2
Nerve
David N. Butterworth
The plausibility of its scenario gives Nerve an unexpected edge
2.5
Nerve
Linda Cook
Nerve lacks a courageous plot
1
Nerve
Sara Michelle Fetters
While the first half of the movie is a giddy good time at a certain point the inherent implausibility fueling things begins to take its toll
2
Nerve
Peter Travers
It gets off on the highwire fun of living on a digital dare and then pisses away its provocations by lecturing us with a metaphorical take on social media as an STD What a buzz kill
2.5
Nerve
Brad Wheeler
Nerve looks fabulous and the pace is evenly adrenalized which makes up for clichd characters a concocted premise and commentary that is a bit on the nose
2.5
Nerve
Tina Hassannia
The final act turns Nerve from crime thriller teenage drama into a banal morality play
2
Nerve
Willie Waffle
As Nerve loses more touch with reality we lose interest
1.5
Nerve
Josh Terry
Nerve is all about our dependence on technology but it will also make directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman s movie into a heavily dated time capsule for 2016
2
Nerve
Sean P. Means
The movie falls apart in the second half bogged down in computer hacker mumbo jumbo and a heavy handed message about the insidious effect of anonymous online users
2.5
Nerve
Kyle Smith
The sharpest wildest and most unpredictable thriller I ve seen this year
3.5
Nerve
Rafer Guzman
An enjoyable teen flick about the glamour and danger of the internet
3
Nerve
Lauren Chval
Nerve is quick and suspenseful throughout never lagging for even a second But a moral gray area turns into a sermon and the movie doesn t give you enough to think about to keep you from pulling out your phone afterward
2.5
Nerve
Ty Burr
For about 45 minutes the movie s engrossing fluff a stylish cautionary cyber tale aimed primarily at teenage girls
2
Nerve
Richard Roeper
Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are just fine but there s no huge onscreen spark between them Most of the supporting roles are thinly drawn and forgettable
2
Nerve
Dann Gire
A desperate preposterously stupid climax undermines the already thin narrative negating a solid stabilizing performance by Roberts
2.5
Nerve
Stephanie Merry
Not only does it uncannily evoke the feelings of awkwardness alienation and excitement that come with being a teenager but it conjures the kind of suspense that will give your armrests a workout
2.5
Nerve
Mick LaSalle
A successful and memorable thriller
3
Nerve
Peter Canavese
When this thriller has to turn the screws of its climax its fundamental stupidity surfaces
1
Nerve
Mark Dujsik
What s strange is that the movie becomes significantly dumber once it actually finds a legitimate target
2
Nerve
Rob Thomas
The freshest thing about Nerve is that there s no big bad guy controlling the strings of the game just a mob of anonymous watchers who bring out the worst in people it s like the villain of the movie is a comments section come to life
3
Nerve
Odie Henderson
Part of me screamed for this film to get off my lawn but an even bigger part of me succumbed to playing by its rules Nerve is too much fun to stay mad at for long
3
Nerve
Moira MacDonald
Franco grins diabolically throughout and Roberts sounds a bit like a junior version of Sarah Jessica Parker s Sex and the City character otherwise they re awfully bland and it s hard to get too invested in their fate
2
Nerve
Tirdad Derakhshani
Nerve gives moviegoers everything they d want from a teen romance It s a little less successful as a critique of life in the age of Instagram
2.5
Nerve
Christopher Gray
By merely transposing its generic high school clique drama onto an augmented reality platform Nerve sacrifices most of its novelty
2
Nerve
Katie Walsh
Mr Robot meets Battle Royale a neon saturated teenage dream high on first kisses and digital hearts
2.5
Nerve
Dustin Putman
Growing increasingly convoluted the further it wades into mundane thriller territory Nerve jumps the proverbial shark and loses its nerve
2
The Last Wave
James Kendrick
a unique film that bears the uneven yet genuine traces of a deeply felt work not entirely settled
3
Miss Representation
Moira MacDonald
This film needs to be watched by teenage girls for whom it may well serve as both a wake up call and a course called Women s Images in Media 101
3
12 Rounds
Peter Canavese
Awfully forgettable but Harlin makes things go boom again with ruthless efficiency that puts the flick just over the hump of the straight to cable Jeff Speakman school Blu ray
2
12 Rounds
Mike Scott
With all the nuance of a fist to the groin it s the kind of forgettable film that isn t impossible to enjoy but that only a Cena fan could truly love
2
12 Rounds
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Harlin shakes the picture around as if he and the camera were constantly bouncing around in the bed of a rattletrap pickup truck
2
12 Rounds
Linda Cook
We all have our little fantasies Some people focus on romance some on money some one exotic locales
2
Last Ride
Eric Melin
Weaving carries the film in a rare lead role as a father who loves his son but has criminal tendencies that get the best of him Tom Russell is subtle and effective as the boy who has to grow up fast
3
Last Ride
Jeff Beck
There were some clear issues with the story and characters that really needed to be addressed well before the cameras started rolling but unfortunately director Glendyn Ivin and screenwriter Mac Gudgeon didn t do so
2
Last Ride
Farran Smith Nehme
Both Weaving and the movie itself do manage to show that this violent hopelessly damaged man yearns to be a father but will never know how
2.5
Last Ride
Glenn Heath Jr.
Despite its strong visual sensibility and performances Glendyn Ivin s film gives into contrivance in its final act
2.5
Three Fugitives
Walter Chaw
Interesting now only as a better forgotten relic of a time in which people actually paid full ticket price to see Martin Short in a movie
0.5
Desolation Center
Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Even if time has softened interviewees once so set on blowing up boulders or destroying power tools to create art Desolation Center carves its documentary niche with no apologies
3
Playback
Nick Schager
Playback posits cinema as a conduit for Satanic evil but has nothing to say about the act of watching except that its uniform horridness functions as an unintentional commentary on enduring pitiful horror movie conventions
.5
The Gospel of John
Erik Lundegaard
It s a straightforward unimaginative narrative and thus not very memorable
2
The Gospel of John
Ty Burr
The sad truth is that director Philip Saville and writer John Goldsmith have made a picture book rather than a film one that leans so heavily on Christopher Plummer s placid voice over narration as to be cinematically inert
1.5
The Gospel of John
Jeffrey Westhoff
Henry Ian Cusick creates a persuasive Jesus a savior as happy as often as he is solemn
3
The Gospel of John
Lou Carlozo
Events unfold as chronological vignettes and there s little room for screenwriter John Goldsmith to reimagine scenes to mine their full dramatic potential
2
The Gospel of John
Ruthe Stein
Turns out to be surprisingly robust
3
The Gospel of John
Jeff Vice
The performances are flat and lifeless Cusick may look the part but he has no real charisma and even Christopher Plummer as narrator is less than lively reading in an all too reverent monotone suggesting even he s having a hard time staying awake
2
The Gospel of John
Phil Villarreal
Sunday school by way of traffic school
1.5
The Gospel of John
Duane Dudek
A word for word adaptation of the New Testament book Nothing was added and nothing was omitted
3
The Gospel of John
Chris Hewitt
Feels like the longest Sunday school class ever
2
The Gospel of John
Jeff Strickler
Despite the filmmakers efforts to make The Gospel of John into a dramatic feature film it never quite makes it beyond the lesson stage
2.5
The Gospel of John
David Sterritt
Except for a few scenes that evoke the reverent beauty of Renaissance painting the filmmaking and acting are awfully stiff certainly not worthy of the timeless story being told
2
The Gospel of John
Rick Groen
A hero especially a tragic hero becomes empathetic when his own actions collide with the hand of Fate But when the crucified hero is an all powerful God when his free will is the only determinism Fate goes out the window and with it our sympathies
2.5
The Gentlemen
Brian Eggert
The film contains memorable moments that make the messy and twisting plot worth trying to figure out
3
The Gentlemen
Mark Meszoros
Like the vast majority of Ritchie s work The Gentlemen is both entertaining and almost instantly forgettable
2.5
The Gentlemen
Federico Furzan
Ritchie s return to his comfort zone has setbacks But none that make this an unpleasant experience Full review in Spanish
2.5
The Gentlemen
Linda Cook
The Gentlemen is smart sophisticated tale of criminals
3.5
The Gentlemen
Pamela Powell
Great action smart dialogue and story development give way to a suspenseful oftentimes humorous old fashioned thriller that will keep you engaged and entertained
3.5
The Gentlemen
Jake Coyle
It s not that Ritchie s film doesn t have some zip But the movie time and time again exalts the gallantry of its gentlemen heroes at the expense of those unlike them It gives this glass of Gritchie s English Lore a bitter taste
2
The Gentlemen
Sarah Knight Adamson
Guy Ritchie s return to his signature British crime caper movies provides Hugh Grant with a terrific role while Charlie Hunnam shines in the spotlight
3
The Gentlemen
Sara Michelle Fetters
Grant once again is stunning in a supporting role his twisty grandeur as he spins his verbal web extraordinary
3
The Gentlemen
Rob Thomas
Watching The Gentlemen is like sinking into a favorite chair pouring a glass of good whiskey and putting a favorite album on the turntable that you haven t listened to in years
3
The Gentlemen
Richard Roeper
The Gentlemen never ceases to surprise and amuse
3.5
The Gentlemen
Rex Reed
Written with empty headed desperation and directed with minimal imagination by Guy Ritchie one of the most incompetent filmmakers of the century
0
The Gentlemen
Tom Meek
If The Gentlemen had been about 15 to 20 minutes shorter it might have been a real rock n roller as is it s sharply slick and witty between bouts of overwrought machinations
2
The Gentlemen
Christian Toto
It s glorious gangster fun assuming an avalanche of profanity doesn t send you scrambling for the exit
3
The Gentlemen
Jeff York
The movie is chock full of low life s robberies murders and double crosses It s a lot of fun and a welcome return for Ritchie
3
The Gentlemen
Phil Villarreal
It s good to have Ritchie back Now to find a way to keep him away from historical epics or Disney remakes
3
The Gentlemen
Robert Horton
The same smirk is in place the same breezy pleasure in random violence the same snickering over gay jokes and Asian names
2
The Gentlemen
Johanna Schneller
Oh they re having so much fun these roguish lads that it would be uncharitable to criticize them too harshly And it s January so why resist Better to chuckle fondly enjoy your popcorn and move on
2.5
The Gentlemen
Tom Russo
It s a diverting if slightly undercooked throwback that could offer more genuine intrigue but that s still worth it to see the cast gamely chuck out the window manners and vanity
2.5
The Gentlemen
Bob Bloom
The movie offers enough sizzle to keep you warm during these cold times
3
The Gentlemen
Peter Howell
Prepare to be entertained if you enjoy watching charismatic actors act naughty talk dirty and shoot first
2.5
The Gentlemen
Mick LaSalle
The Gentleman isn t offensive and it s not even good enough to qualify as coarse If it weren t mildly annoying it would be as close to nothing as an experience can be
1
The Gentlemen
Soren Andersen
The dialogue the violence the humor and the intricacy of the storytelling make for a picture in which most everyone in it seems to be having a great deal of chatty bloody fun
3
The Gentlemen
Steven Prokopy
Ritchie is back to his old stomping grounds with The Gentlemen a polished politically incorrect appropriately violent comedic tale of criminals and the ladies and gentlemen who maneuver in their orbit
3
The Gentlemen
Michael O'Sullivan
A funny violent rambunctious shaggy dog story of a crime caper featuring an ensemble cast studded with colorful characters played by name actors
2.5
The Gentlemen
Robert Levin
The Gentlemen might best be regarded as a greatest hits compilation But the whole aesthetic is tired and could use some genuine refreshing
2.5
The Gentlemen
Johnny Oleksinski
Grant s second act as a veritable master of disguise in comedies such as Paddington 2 and Florence Foster Jenkins has been the No 1 thing audiences needed but didn t realize they wanted the Taco Bell Doritos Locos of Hollywood
3
The Gentlemen
Katie Walsh
Ritchie still has undeniable attitude and swagger in spades But kick the tires and you ll start to realize the story s a lemon
2.5
The Gentlemen
Blake Howard
Ritchie knows the rules knows who he is and owning his storytelling craft leading to a collision of crassness class satire and virtuosic application of the word c nt that I imagine is going to only grow in appreciation with each re watch
3.5
This Movie Is Broken
Liam Lacey
It s a Broken Social Scene movie with a sweet tease of a story that pretends for a moment that Toronto and Paris could share an affair
3
Volcano
Dennis King
Movies like Volcano exist for their gigantic humongous eye popping special effects and this picture delivers those Big Time
2.5
Volcano
Judith Egerton
Movie bombs L A with lava audience with stupidity
1
Volcano
Robert Roten
The film about a volcano erupting in downtown Los Angeles is helped immeasurably by veteran actor Tommy Lee Jones who has enough charm and charisma to rescue just about any movie He needs it all to save this one
2.5
Volcano
Margaret A. McGurk
On its own escapist terms Volcano dishes up a textbook serving of low I Q high energy entertainment
3
Volcano
Marc Savlov
Volcano is an embarrassment albeit one of the so bad it s kinda good variety
1.5
Volcano
Janet Maslin
Like the substantially better Twister this film insists on a thunderous exhausting pace that inevitably becomes deflating
2
Volcano
Madeleine Williams
A ridiculous script and mediocre special effects mar this ludicrous disaster pic
1.5
Volcano
Steve Rhodes
Memorable Hardly but the main actors are worth seeing and that first act has so much promise it almost makes you want to forgive them for blowing the second
2.5
Volcano
Mike Clark
Hundreds of screen technicians obviously slaved on the effects and for what A dopey subplot about a bogus arrest Soap opera involving Jones injured daughter
1.5
Volcano
Rob Blackwelder
I don t want to pay 7 50 to watch a movie imitate CNN
1
Beneath the Darkness
Rex Reed
You anticipate every scene before it happens and figure out every secret before it s revealed
1
Beneath the Darkness
Kyle Smith
Even Dennis Quaid s uncharacteristic hamming as a mad mortician in a small Texas town can t save this silly scare free horror film
1
Beneath the Darkness
Stephen Whitty
The screenplay gets nothing out of the claustrophobic terror of being locked up in that narrow grave and the mystery is obvious from the start
2
Beneath the Darkness
Robert Levin
This mediocre movie should have bypassed theaters and gone straight to Netflix
2
Beneath the Darkness
Andrew Schenker
Overly expository dialogue abounds as do questionable filmmaking choices and plenty of stupidly unconvincing actions taken on the part of the film s characters
1
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn
Ty Burr
It s the gulf between what people said then and now that resonates throughout this documentary and the blind spots that continue today
3.5
Hemel
Kent Turner
Sure for viewers turned voyeurs it s hard to look away from the screen but the film is less successful from a psychological point of view even with plenty of daddy issues
2
The Guantanamo Trap
Linda Barnard
It brings perspective to this carefully paced story of four very different individuals whose lives have been forever changed by their relationship with the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
3
The Guantanamo Trap
Guy Dixon
The Guantanamo Trap not only makes for terrific documentary cinema it does a tremendous journalistic service
3.5
The Pink Panther
Peter Canavese
All the ingredients for a great evening at the movies lively music eye catching scenery larger than life comic set pieces suave men and beautiful women and odd man out Clouseau played to perfection by the one and only Peter Sellers Blu ray
3.5
The Pink Panther
Bill Chambers
Wall to wall exposition courtesy of talking tuxedoes
1.5
Arctic Dogs
Linda Cook
Arctic Dogs should get cold shoulder from audiences
1.5
Final Portrait
Robert Daniels
Stop me if you ve heard this one before no seriously stop me A depraved creative genius is on a quest to find artistic value in living treating everyone around him like sh t in the process
2
Final Portrait
Bob Bloom
Though Final Portrait only runs about 90 minutes it does feel longer You simply cannot speed up the pace in which an artist sits in front of a canvas studying his subject then going to work before becoming irritated and stopping
3
Final Portrait
Lisa Jensen
Final Portrait may not plunge you into the miracle of artistic expression go see an Andy Goldsworthy movie for that but it offers a lively glimpse at the process from the outside looking in
3
Final Portrait
Barry Paris
Final Portrait is a captivating portrait of a haunted but exhilarating artist and an unlikely friendship between two totally different men bonding through the blessing and curse of the artistic process
3
Final Portrait
Rob Thomas
Portrait is that rare film about art that focuses more on the art rather than the personal life of the artist
3
Final Portrait
Robert Horton
Tucci does some admirable things despite the film s slimness
2.5
Final Portrait
Calvin Wilson
Working from his own screenplay Stanley Tucci best known as an actor delivers a character study that s low on character development
2
Final Portrait
Bennett Campbell Ferguson
Final Portrait never feels monotonous or claustrophobic Using close ups of Lord s face to capture Giacometti s perspective Tucci thrillingly ushers us into the creative process
3
Final Portrait
Moira MacDonald
This movie is literally about watching paint dry but Tucci and the cast find a world of detail and nuance
3
Final Portrait
Kate Taylor
The rare biopic of a visual artist that considers the dilemma of the art more seriously than it considers the drama of the life
3
Final Portrait
Bruce DeMara
The story doesn t amount to much more than a hill of beans but Tucci manages to make his rumination on the life of an artist slyly amusing and believable
3
Final Portrait
Tom Russo
We get a vivid image of Giacometti but after a time the film leaves us starving for some variety too
2
Final Portrait
Gary Thompson
Rush has a lot to do and is the kind of performer who can rise to that kind of challenge Hammer is not so lucky
2
Final Portrait
Ann Hornaday
Tucci successfully banishes cliches in a finely observed character study that possesses the ring of careworn unprettified truth
3.5
Final Portrait
Richard Roeper
As a film it s well made and the performances are fine but it feels slight and thin and inconsequential quite the opposite of the work Alberto Giacometti left behind
2
Final Portrait
Anita Katz
Tucci impresses in depicting Giacometti s creative process
3
Final Portrait
Michael Phillips
Final Portrait is barely 90 minutes long which is about right and several of those minutes are wordless patient and observant of the artist s surroundings inquisitive regarding what Giacometti is trying to will into being
3
Final Portrait
Rex Reed
This movie is a meticulous dossier of the artistic process by one man who created it and another man who lived through it Not your usual bill of fare at the movies but well worth the patience to make it pay off
3
Final Portrait
Mick LaSalle
Final Portrait is basically just an anecdote about a painting
2
Final Portrait
Glenn Kenny
An apt tribute to both the artist and art itself
3
Final Portrait
Peter Travers
Stanley Tucci s look at the legendary artist Alberto Giacometti a live wire Geoffrey Rush is a mesmerizing meditation on the mystery of genius and anything but paint by numbers
3
Final Portrait
Oleg Ivanov
As seen through Lord s eyes the dramas and passions on display throughout the film come off as melodramas and grotesqueries
2
Cup of Cheer
Randy Myers
If you find those Hallmark Christmas movies about as tasty as Aunt Sally s rum soaked fruitcake then Jake Horowitz s spoof of holiday romance movies might be for you
2.5
Cup of Cheer
Barry Hertz
The result is messy zippy and smart alecky But never boring and occasionally funny enough to warrant a spit take or three
2.5
Teddy Bears
Brian Tallerico
It features a central protagonist who s simply not likable supporting characters who serve as little more than plot devices for its lead and a flat tone that somehow seems to soften even its most likable stars
2
Road
Steven Snyder
It s a less entertaining movie but a much more life affirming one
3.5
Road
Michele Kenner
Writer director Leslie McCleave offers no explanation beyond juxtaposing sour lake beds and radioactive vats with the tension between the former lovers The environment with upstate New York standing in for Ontario rarely looks this distasteful
2
Road
Michael Wilmington
McCleave making her feature debut shows skill and emotion
2.5
Mental
Tom Keogh
The heart of Hogan s film is in the right place and Collette is masterful as an agent of anarchy
2.5
Mental
Tina Hassannia
Given the film s garrulous multitude of characters one wishes they would all just shut up and sing
.5
Mental
Lou Lumenick
The scenery Down Under looks great and you certainly can t write off a film where Liev Schreiber plays a shark hunter
2
Caged Heat
John Beifuss
Contains a skits within the movie sequence that comments on the narrative while also exposing the artificiality absudity and performance aspect of the Women in Prison trend itself
3
Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own
Steven Prokopy
With a running time of only about an hour Into Her Own feels like an episode of American Masters and there s nothing wrong with that
3
Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own
Joe Friar
A fascinating and streamlined look at the renowned sculptor as we get a behind the scenes look at her creative process
3
War Witch
Kelly Jane Torrance
That the teenage Rachel Mwanza can show us and make us feel viscerally a bit of what such a child goes through is a miracle in itself
3.5
War Witch
Dwight Brown
Nguyen s direction and script rarely falter It s a near perfect blend of harsh reality and mysticism
3
War Witch
Bill Stamets
Atrocity and beauty somehow co exist in War Witch
4
War Witch
Ty Burr
War Witch gives us a continent s tragedy in a young girl s face
3.5
War Witch
Nathan Southern
The picture is far and away most effective in its sequences of quiet lyricism
3.5
War Witch
John Beifuss
You re likely to ponder its images its insights into a very foreign for most of us location and the tragic situation of Komona and others like her for a long time to come
3.5
War Witch
Alison Gang
Nguyen creates a mesmerizing tone through his camerawork editing sound and the infusion of African folk imagery and ritual but it s Mwanza s performance as Komona that makes War Witch feel so miraculous
4
War Witch
Claudia Puig
A powerful and upsetting portrait of a young girl compelled into unimaginably horrific circumstances
3.5
War Witch
Moira MacDonald
Nguyen astonishingly manages to wring something vaguely like a happy ending from this tragic story
3.5
War Witch
Robert Levin
The portrait of a girl who retains her dignity and strength her faith in the future in the face of unimaginable horrors It s inspirational in a very real way
3.5
War Witch
V.A. Musetto
Brutality and tenderness are a potent mix in War Witch
3.5
War Witch
Calum Marsh
Though ostensibly a character study it s nevertheless characterized by the vaguely moralizing tone of an issue film one whose candor in face of brutality seems calculated for maximum liberal appeal
2
War Witch
Kam Williams
21st Century Africa presented as a godforsaken wasteland conjuring up primitive images reminiscent of the ghoulish dystopia chronicled by Conrad in Heart of Darkness
3
War Witch
Guy Dixon
Rebelle is full of such careful detail and is carried so beautifully by Mwanza s performance that questions of authenticity slide away
3
War Witch
Linda Barnard
The ghosts of murdered villagers that haunt a young girl brutally forced into slavery as a child soldier in Rebelle mirror the film s dramatic effect on an audience
3.5
Like a Boss
Rene Sanchez
It doesn t dare to break away from the proven formula or take any risks An ordinary comedy saved by the chemistry of its leads Full Review in Spanish
2
Like a Boss
Sean P. Means
There s a vast gulf between a funny movie and a movie with a lot of funny people in it and within that gulf rests Like a Boss whose raunchy humor misses more than it hits
2
Like a Boss
Michael O'Sullivan
True to its workplace themed title Like a Boss feels like a chore someone was handed
1.5
Like a Boss
Mattie Lucas
The by the numbers script does its cast no favors saddling Haddish with lame one liners and completely wasting reliable supporting players like Billy Porter and Jennifer Coolidge
1
Like a Boss
Jeff Mitchell
The chuckles start to wane after the first 20 minutes and the remaining 60 are largely spent feeling pity for Haddish and Byrne
1.5
Like a Boss
Steven Prokopy
Boy did they miss the mark unless their mark was an R rated celebration of shallow dummies
1.5
Like a Boss
Jocelyn Noveck
Despite a briefly promising beginning Like a Boss soon proves itself disappointingly shallow a wanna be female empowerment movie with a paper thin plot seemingly concocted in 20 minutes and scrawled on the back of a napkin
1.5
Like a Boss
Rob Thomas
Hayek and Arteta can do much better together They already have
1
Like a Boss
Robert Horton
A movie in which the dead air that follows bad jokes sometimes threatens to swallow its actors whole
1
Like a Boss
Phil Villarreal
As worn out tired and dated on the meme on which it s based
1.5
Like a Boss
Christy Lemire
In its tone deaf crassness Like a Boss struggles mightily to make the most of its R rating but the characters dialogue and antics tend to be more awkward than shocking
1
Like a Boss
Moira MacDonald
If Like a Boss had a decent screenplay and was competently directed it might have been pretty good
2
Like a Boss
Robert Daniels
Like a Boss could be a good uplifting film a narrative about independence and beauty in the face of misunderstanding Instead it buckles and falls into the uglier portions of what s inside
2
Like a Boss
Sarah-Tai Black
The film has an obvious deficit of story instead of any sort of satisfying sense of development the audience gets 83 minutes of the same problem repeated over and over
2
Like a Boss
Richard Roeper
To the very end Like a Boss has a cheap and sticky veneer as if they dusted off the script for some dated and crummy 1990s comedy applied a coat of putatively fresh paint and dumped it into theaters hoping we wouldn t notice the stench
1.5
Like a Boss
Sara Stewart
Despite paying lip service so to speak to female friendship and unconventional women Mia and Mel are proudly unmarried childless roommates in their 30s it loses its bravado halfway through and falls back on the most witless of plot devices
2.5
Like a Boss
Michael Phillips
Comedies really don t have to settle for this level of whatever
1.5
Like a Boss
Mick LaSalle
If you make a movie with Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish and they re not funny in it it s your fault not theirs
1
Like a Boss
Derek Smith
Its inconsistent half baked characterizations would be more forgivable were they at least in the service of some inspired comedy
1
Sushi Girl
Rob Salem
We can t all be Quentin Tarantino but that doesn t stop some people from trying
2
Triangle
Lucius Gore
Triangle is one of the most intelligent thought provoking genre films in recent memory
3.5
Triangle
Christian Toto
Triangle is so shrewdly conceived that you won t mind its mentally draining resolution
3
Drift
Ed Gonzalez
Ryan and Leo s free floating love for horror films seems to suggest Drift s first half could have pulled an Audition
2.5
Ghosts of War
Jeffrey M. Anderson
A professional job smooth and good looking with effective creeps and crawls
3
Ghosts of War
Nick Allen
Even if certain supernatural elements can hold it back they re not what you ll be thinking about after the film is over
3
Ghosts of War
Pat Brown
The film s unreflective earnestness is haunting in all the wrong ways
1
Rough Magic
Mike Clark
Rough going
1
Finding Oscar
Michael O'Sullivan
A movie solidly constructed by American documentarian Ryan Suffern
3
Blue Planet
V.A. Musetto
The exhilaration is triggered by the documentary s glowing depiction of a beautiful Earth the depression comes from the knowledge that the natural bounty that God bestowed on us is being destroyed by greedy humankind
3
Blue Planet
Ed Gonzalez
As witnessed here nature is its own avant garde artist but Blue Planet loses some of its splendor when Piavoli diverts his gaze to the world of humans
2.5
American Blackout
Jack Mathews
The movie includes a postscript about McKinney s loss blaming it on more dirty tricks That may be true but it doesn t put the steam back in the film
2
American Blackout
Neva Chonin
American Blackout makes a credible case with some of its most damning evidence coming from the mouths of the conservatives themselves
3
Around the World in 80 Days
Nell Minow
It clocks in at under 90 minutes but at times I felt it was taking me 80 days to get to the end of this latest adaptation of Jules Verne s many times adapted story of a race around the globe
1
Suzi Q
Steven Prokopy
The feature length work about pop rock sensation Suzi Quatro Suzi Q hits just the right spot for me
3
Suzi Q
Kathy Fennessy
All told it s a good solid documentary that lacks any shocking revelations or tear stained redemption arcs and that s kind of refreshing really
3.5
Suzi Q
Sheila O'Malley
Like Joan Jett says Suzi Quatro really should be much more discussed Hopefully Suzi Q will start that long overdue conversation
3.5
Suzi Q
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Rock on then and may everyone else follow
3
Red Dot
Tom Meek
The dubbing is godawful but if you want to take it in as background noise there is that It s better in Swedish but even then just passable
2
Yardie
Gary Thompson
Ultimately the movie aspires to tragedy but the flimsy story doesn t support that kind of dramatic weight
2
Yardie
Kam Williams
A gritty tale of survival slightly marred by a tendency to telegraph its punches
3
Yardie
Michael O'Sullivan
What sets Elba s movie apart is the distinctive world he creates in the rhythm of the music in the raw gritty poetry of the language and in the powerful mythology it mines
2.5
Yardie
Odie Henderson
The film is saddled with an extraneous narration that mercilessly distracts the viewer
2.5
Yardie
Shane Slater
The committed performances and unique setting are wasted on a rather predictable revenge plot
2.5
Yardie
Joey Magidson
Elba is undercut by a mediocre script dulling his otherwise solid filmmaking style It weighs him down and prevents this from being a success
2.5
Yardie
Mick LaSalle
Elba has a nice day job acting and he ought to stick with it
1
Yardie
Derek Smith
The film s tendency to break the show don t tell directive becomes especially irksome in its homestretch
1.5
Give Me Liberty
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
There is liberty in speed for sure but also in the embrace of small quiet moments May such freedom be ours for the taking always
3
Give Me Liberty
Lisa Trifone
In his first foray into filmmaking Mikhanovsky exhibits a strong sense for personal connection and certainly plenty of ambition in his style
2.5
Give Me Liberty
Joe Friar
A funny and charming indie with good performances by the non professional cast
3
Give Me Liberty
Rob Thomas
Deep down we re all in the same boat or the same van
3.5
Give Me Liberty
Matt Fagerholm
Perhaps I would ve laughed more at Vic s plight if I wasn t busy having a panic attack
2.5
Give Me Liberty
Kent Turner
With its overlapping dialogue the ride is like a Robert Altman film on speed
3
The French Minister
Susan Wloszczyna
Maybe the problem is that Tavernier has made a French comedy but not a very universal one
2
The French Minister
Farran Smith Nehme
It s pleasant and at times very funny but the meandering episodes mean that despite the long running time the satire never builds to a payoff
2.5
The French Minister
Kenji Fujishima
With its broad performances rapid fire pacing and rampant visual and verbal gags Bernard Tavernier s first out and out comedy doesn t try too hard to hide its graphic novel origins
3
Black Adam
Joe Friar
The Rock didn t cook up this hot mess but he sure is served up as the main dish Sloppy CGI effects overused tropes and a lack of empathy for any of its characters
2
Black Adam
Kevin Carr
Dwayne Johnson brings his action film A game to the table but a crowded script with too much convoluted exposition and overblown CGI soften what could have been a great film
2
Black Adam
Sarah Knight Adamson
Johnson is one of the most adept combat actors in Hollywood it apos s fitting he has his own movie although his tireless efforts to project himself as a family guy a dad etc conflicts with the violence of his character
3
Black Adam
Mattie Lucas
Jaume Collet Serra is a gifted craftsman who deserves much better than this because his talents are both wasted and buried beneath layers of ugly CGI an overbearing score and a story that makes the proverbial dull dishwater look positively vibrant
1.5
Black Adam
Dwight Brown
It s distinguished itself just enough to satiate action film fans entertain future streaming audiences and warrant further merging into the DC universe
2.5
Black Adam
Erik Childress
Doppelgangers have always been a staple between the competing comic companies but in this slapped together entry the DCU has officially transformed 40 or transmorphed 41 into The Asylum video boxes designed to trick viewers they are watching the real thing
1.5
Black Adam
Mike McGranaghan
It delivers all the action you apos d expect from a superhero picture yet possesses a more easygoing tone that invites you to laugh at the comedic moments and enjoy the crazy places the plot goes to
3
Black Adam
Michael Medved
The plot is almost impossible to follow but the characters are intriguing and occasionally amusing You can apos t avoid the impression that the whole is just a setup for future installments of what they hope will be an extended franchise
2
Black Adam
Peter Howell
After the banal prologue and wake up theatrics director Jaume Collet Serra seems to have just turned the film over to the CGI team with the instruction Do your worst people
1
Black Adam
Matt Zoller Seitz
Black Adam gives the audience everything they wanted along with things they never expected
3.5
Black Adam
Sonny Bunch
This movie is nothing if not gleeful about its own brutality and there s something refreshingly honest about that
3
Black Adam
Dylan Roth
Black Adam is two hours of cinematic soup the ultimate statement from the god king of movies that everyone sees but no one remembers
1.5
Black Adam
Pablo O. Scholz
Jaume Collet Serra perhaps felt the need to direct Black Adam as if it was another spinoff of a Disney ride Full review in Spanish
2
Black Adam
Mark Feeney
Collet Serra seems to think that relentless camera gymnastics slo mo eye of God shots well you get the idea make for imaginative and involving visuals He would be wrong
1.5
Black Adam
Mick LaSalle
I don t even want to admit that it s an actual movie but assuming it is it s the worst of the year and one of the worst I ve ever seen
0
Black Adam
Leo Brady
There may be a better movie inside but everything on the surface of Black Adam is a dark and murky mess
2
Black Adam
Soren Andersen
Mr Rock Dwayne Johnson these days is a personable personality who has ridden that personableness to superstar heights Sadly there s little sign of that quality in his work as Black Adam
1.5
Black Adam
Brian Eggert
Black Adam contains little joy or wonder just underdeveloped super beings and a script obsessed with reminding us that Black Adam is not a conventional hero
1.5
Black Adam
Katie Walsh
While the film does feel cobbled together out of spare parts of other superhero movies and it s almost instantly forgettable Collett Serra manages to hold it all together out of sheer force of will and an inherent sense of style
2.5
Black Adam
Rafer Guzman
Another low point for the Warner DC franchise
0
Black Adam
Joey Magidson
Black Adam has Dwayne Johnson but not enough else to warrant a recommendation
2.5
Black Adam
Mark Kennedy
Director Jaume Collet Serra and the design team do a great job in every department but are let down by a derivative and baggy screenplay by Adam Sztykiel Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani that goes from one violent scene to another like a video game
2.5
Black Adam
Johnny Oleksinski
The Rock arrives with the power of a pebble in the new action movie Black Adam in which the popular star plays the titular anti hero in his first solo outing It s just as thoughtless and rancid as the rest of DC Comics crummy catalog
1
Black Adam
Brian Truitt
This is Johnson s baby a film spotlighting a complicated antihero he has championed for years It wins some battles and packs plenty of punch yet it just can t get past familiar tropes and flaws
2
Black Adam
Jake Cole
The film has the courage of its convictions suggesting that violence on behalf of an oppressed people isn t only justifiable but even moral
2.5
Counting
Brian Tallerico
Cohen is an undeniably gifted filmmaker even if the sum total of this piece isn t quite as interesting as its parts
3
Counting
Clayton Dillard
The poetic pretenses are compounded by a sledgehammer insistence on elusive and irreducible moments as inherently beautiful
2.5
Tonnerre
Kent Turner
It leaves an impression of the sweet and menacing in equal measure And you might think of Taxi Driver
3
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Lisa Kennedy
Director Christopher Zalla may have provided his characters with a overly constructed tragedy but his eye for city life and his seeming gift with actors promises astute generous work to come
2.5
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Tasha Robinson
Director Christopher Zalla keeps the tension high through a taut story rather than through manipulative obtrusive thriller direction
3
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Larry Ratliff
Zalla utilizes both the dark back streets of New York and the dark nature of some humans to weave an intoxicating tale of stolen identity and pilfered emotions
3
Sangre de Mi Sangre
V.A. Musetto
A suspenseful movie with no intention of sugarcoating the daily hardships of New York s underclass
3
Sangre de Mi Sangre
John Anderson
The grimy elegance of this Sundance award winner elevates it well above the standard issue immigrant drama
3.5
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Ken Fox
An intriguing if flawed mystery set in the shadowy subterranean world of undocumented Mexican immigrants
3
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Keith Uhlich
Winner of the 2006 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Padre Nuestro unfortunately lives down to the dubious nature with a few notable exceptions of that so called honor
1.5
E-Team
Ann Hornaday
Exciting absorbing and stubbornly optimistic in the face of overwhelming devastation E Team will with any luck shed deserved light on the routine sacrifices these activists and professionals make for the sake of human values
3
That Sugar Film
Susan Wloszczyna
Gameau inserts a bit of journalism into the mix with two road trips that elevate That Sugar Film beyond a semi vanity production
2.5
That Sugar Film
John Hartl
Peppy and eager to please this relentless Australian documentary takes a strange approach to early death and unnatural appetites
2.5
That Sugar Film
Tirdad Derakhshani
Fun to watch if a little too cutesy for my tastes
2.5
That Sugar Film
Michael O'Sullivan
Although Gameau s film includes a fair amount of science he and his helpers sweeten the film s statistics delivering them in clever accessible ways
2.5
That Sugar Film
Clayton Dillard
One senses that all of these kinds of documentaires are finally aggrandizing shrines made by artists trying to erect something out of nothing
1
That Sugar Film
Manori Ravindran
Gameau does have an undeniable way of grabbing your attention and it s a lack of that that seems to be half the problem when it comes to our sugar packed diet
2.5
That Sugar Film
Linda Barnard
There s really nothing fresh in terms of news or science about sugar s potential for addiction obesity and disease
1.5
The Rules of the Game
Brian Eggert
Renoir achieved what remains a supreme appraisal of his society as well as a deliriously accomplished and boundlessly influential motion picture
4
The Rules of the Game
Mattie Lucas
Filled with nearly boundless pleasures It is a film to be savored like a fine wine whose riches have only grown with age
4
The Rules of the Game
Josh Larsen
has an attitude of empathetic enlightenment that remains a rarity
4
The Rules of the Game
Rob Thomas
A great film because of the way it moves beyond social commentary to show how each character rich and poor is isolated and at the same time unified by his fears and needs We re all in a class by ourselves
4
The Rules of the Game
John Monaghan
A disaster when initially released the movie s reputation has only grown since
4
The Rules of the Game
Jeff Vice
Jean Renoir s classic 1939 satire hasn t lost any of its ability to both shock and enlighten
4
The Rules of the Game
Michael Wilmington
There are about a dozen genuine miracles in the history of cinema and one of them is Jean Renoir s supreme 1939 tragi comedy The Rules of the Game
4
The Rules of the Game
Mark Feeney
What ultimately defines the film what makes it unforgettable is its tragic gravity
4
The Rules of the Game
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Its art lies in what Renoir chooses to exclude rather than what he includes
4
Rogers Park
Matt Fagerholm
It is a testament to the filmmakers and their superb cast that this story arc doesn t come across as mere trickery
3.5
Rogers Park
Richard Roeper
Rogers Park is poetic and lovely and muscular and unforgiving at the same time much like the area itself and the city as a whole
3.5
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart
Kent Turner
A must have for American studies collections in high schools and colleges and for PBS viewers it s one to look out for
3
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart
Dwight Brown
All facets of Lorraine Hansberry s public life private romances and early death are on view in this beguiling and illuminating documentary which is perfectly assembled by filmmaker Tracy Heather Strain
4
The Short History of the Long Road
Richard Roeper
Lyrical and melancholy and visually stunning
3
The Short History of the Long Road
Pamela Powell
Creating an environment that adequately expresses all of this could be a daunting process for any filmmaker but writer director Ani Simon Kennedy expertly takes us on this adventure
4
The Short History of the Long Road
Sarah Knight Adamson
The film starts as a gentle father daughter story and shifts gears towards a painful coming of age tale Sabrina Carpenter carries the film superbly as she navigates her new life without her parents
3.5
The Short History of the Long Road
Linda Cook
A gentle road trip well worth taking
3.5
The Short History of the Long Road
Monica Castillo
Between Simon Kennedy s writing and Carpenter s performance Nola makes for a compelling character gently pushing the story along at her own steady pace
3
The Short History of the Long Road
Rob Thomas
So much of Ani Simon Kennedy s soulful film exists in the space between necessity and aesthetics what you need to survive and what you need to be alive
3
The Short History of the Long Road
G. Allen Johnson
Even though the movie s engine sputters at the end it s beautifully shot the actors are fun to watch and the story is decent in fits and starts
2.5
The Short History of the Long Road
Joey Magidson
This indie drama may walk or more aptly here drive along a previously explored path but it does so with ample amounts of heart and humor
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Rob Blackwelder
Marries B W silent horror movie style with beautifully eerie ballet in a succulently cinematic lustfully melodramatic adaptation that is at once wholly unique and uncommonly faithful to Bram Stoker s classic novel
3.5
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
James Verniere
Much of it is dazzling and erotic a postmodern variation on a theme of German expressionism and Gothic horror
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Mike McGranaghan
In a year in which so many movies have pun intended sucked Dracula Pages From a Virgin s Diary stands even higher as a triumph of artistry and entertainment
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Maddin s work testifies to the notion that the past knows more than the present and that silent cinema is a richer dreamier sexier and more resonant medium than what we re accustomed to seeing in the multiplexes
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Michael Wilmington
The latest example of Maddin s alchemy not his best but still a picture that aficionados of classic film and classic Dracula should eagerly seek out
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Josh Larsen
An appreciation for ballet certainly will help in appreciating Virgin s Diary A soft spot for the likes of Blade decidedly won t
2.5
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Bob Strauss
Degree of difficulty off the charts Level of achievement ditto
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Wesley Morris
Maddin takes cinema to its outer limits without stranding you there in a vacuum of heady esoterica
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Edward Guthmann
Maddin is an image maker first and a storyteller second and most of the fun in watching Dracula is sharing the high he feels in building such giddy gauzy atmosphere
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Maddin follows the time tested PBS route giving the dancers a stage instead of a film set and using cornball dissolves and fog machines
1.5
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Rick Groen
A 75 minute tour de force that s often fascinating sometimes frustrating but ultimately rewarding
3
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
David Sterritt
The visual style is at once deliberately archaic and slyly postmodernist slinky and sensuous from first frame to last
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
John Anderson
Maddin whose gift for gothic ornamentation couldn t have a better showcase takes a hysterical tale and just makes it more so
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
V.A. Musetto
It s a highly erotic work that at no point seems staged
4
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Ed Gonzalez
A master conservationist and expert image maker Madden reimagines Bram Stoker s classic text as a feverish vision of Christian angst and cultural invasion
3.5
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary
Jeremy Heilman
Maddin s Dracula will entrance you with its first few flickering frames and then hold you there spellbound until its climatic dance of death
3.5
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
Matt Zoller Seitz
In the end any flaws or missed opportunities are subsumed by the movie s sincerity and wealth of insight
3
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time
Chris Barsanti
back the veil on Vonnegut to show how a gloomy dissatisfaction brooded underneath his quippy surface personality
2.5
Mandalay
John Beifuss
Gauzy curtains and other bits of decor add eye pleasing depth and complexity to Curtiz s compositions while also suggesting the layers of society and morality that Kay Francis must negotiate to recover her pride
3
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story
David Reddish
Compelling fun and very entertaining we suggest spending an evening with Lady Boss for one simple reason the real life Jackie Collins is the greatest character she ever created
3
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story
Randy Myers
Just as gripping as one of Collins Lucky Santangelo books
3
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story
Kent Turner
A playful penetrating portrait of the prolific best selling author and Hollywood insider the equivalent of a juicy and thoughtful beach read
3.5
Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin
Mike McGranaghan
Perhaps the best compliment one could give this movie is to say that it makes you want to immediately check out something Jean Rollin made after viewing it
3
Paranormal Activity 2
Jeff Beck
To put it simply if you ve seen the first film then you ve seen this film There s nothing new offered here so there s not much of a point in bothering with it
2
Ballast
Duane Dudek
Has the sparse purity of barren trees and the brutal intimacy of a broken vow
3.5
Ballast
Peter Howell
Debut writer director Lance Hammer has rendered Ballast with something that can only be called radiant austerity
3
Ballast
Rick Groen
This is a cinematic tone poem where the dominant mood is a Faulknerian mix of sorrow and endurance
3
Ballast
Chris Kaltenbach
Even as it stubbornly resists any sense of closure it cautiously reminds its characters and its audience that hope and the future it promises is sometimes more a matter of conviction than revelation
3.5
Ballast
Carrie Rickey
What this unclassifiable story may lack in decibels it has in emotional depth
3
Ballast
Wesley Morris
The movie is a beacon of independent filmmaking not simply because Hammer opted more or less to self distribute it but because it s evident that we re a million miles away from Hollywood
4
Ballast
Michael Phillips
Ballast strikes me as one of the few American pictures of 2008 to say what it wants to say visually and narratively about a specific situation and part of the country in a way that transcends regional specifics
4
Ballast
Lou Lumenick
Hammer whose blunt name belies the movie s many subtle touches has his own distinct style He also has an enormous trust in the audience to sort out this wounded family s miseries without the assistance of narration or even a musical score
3
Ballast
Chris Cabin
The first film in some time that has attempted to bring Bressonian singularity and emotional depth to the American independent picture
3
Ballast
Walter V. Addiego
Ballast is truly a winter s tale set in a bleak and rainy corner of the Mississippi Delta and recounting the story of three African Americans teetering on the edge in just about every way
3
Ballast
Kam Williams
A slice of life adventure featuring a principal cast of non professionals whose gritty naivete manage to imbue the production with a palpable sense of super realism even if in service of a Bill Cosby infuriating display of black on black dysfunction
3
Ballast
Ed Gonzalez
Lance Hammer s Ballast suggests and suffers from the influence of the Dardenne brothers
2
The Son of No One
Stephen Whitty
It just feels like a mess
1.5
The Son of No One
Lou Lumenick
A laughable police melodrama
1
The Son of No One
Steven Rea
This heavy handed muddle of a cop thriller is just impossibly bad
1.5
The Son of No One
Matt Pais
Apparently nobody in The Son of No One has heard of self defense and accidents
2
The Son of No One
R. Kurt Osenlund
If you ve got genuine New York gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe chances are Dito Montiel wants to shoot it
2.5
Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms
Simon Abrams
Dealing and Wheeling s argument is almost entirely based on the emotional resonance that its straight laced reportage evokes which is effectively zilch
1
Only You
Anderson Jones
Sweet but cavity inducing And it s hardly enough to make us believe the blank faced Downey as a romantic lead
2
Only You
TV Guide Staff
D espite the lovely Italian locales and a relatively appealing cast the film is far too cloying for all but the most sentimental tastes
2
Rakht
Namrata Joshi
Statutory warning Watch Rakht only if the ticket comes with free ear buds Or better still if the ear buds come with a free ticket
1
Unknown Pleasures
Rob Thomas
The film just sits there staring back at us
2
Unknown Pleasures
C.W. Nevius
Too much is left unsaid
2
Unknown Pleasures
Jeffrey M. Anderson
despite the distinct lack of good times and belly laughs Unknown Pleasures is a great film
4
Unknown Pleasures
David Sterritt
This sequel to Jia s excellent 1997 drama Xiao Wu is less original and absorbing than its predecessor and less visually impressive than Platform
2
Unknown Pleasures
V.A. Musetto
A stunning study of ennui
3
Unknown Pleasures
Jeremy Heilman
Though it s tough to accept such a thoroughly negative appraisal of a country s state of affairs it certainly makes a strong case for one though in all fairness he still finds plenty to laugh at and in doing so holds up a mirror to the rest of us
3
Unknown Pleasures
Ed Gonzalez
Unknown Pleasures Jia Zhangke s haunting follow up to Platform tracks various stages of underdevelopment
3.5
The Tall Target
Fernando F. Croce
As in Reign of Terror Anthony Mann fashions a noir mini masterpiece out of incongruous period reconstruction
4
Crypto
Richard Roeper
Rarely do I advocate seeing a movie at home over the full theater experience but Crypto is the exception
3
Purely Belter
Ian Mantgani
So bad in so many different ways that a review threatens to become a list
1
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Mattie Lucas
A lovely and wistful walk down memory lane that reminds us that the past isn t always sunny as we may want to believe
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
In many ways a complex exploration of the twin challenges of artistic creation and parenting the film nevertheless strays distressingly from the real facts of the case
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Christopher Schobert
The performances are uniformly excellent
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Michael Smith
Goodbye Christopher Robin has degrees of complexity that are admirable and doesn t shy away from hard truths
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Josh Terry
Even if it s pitched as the behind the scenes tale of a celebrated children s series Goodbye Christopher Robin works best as a story about a father and a son
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Robert Horton
In its admirably modest way this is a thoughtful film more Pooh than Disney in its style
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Bob Bloom
Goodbye Christopher Robin is at times simplistic detailing for example how money and fame taint and corrupt but it also celebrates the wonders of childhood that cannot be stifled by parental missteps and ignorance
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Barry Paris
It is all so beautifully photographed with a surreal snow scene in which the flakes drift up as well as down and impeccable production values highlighted by lovely drawings cum animations of Christopher and Winnie at play
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Sean P. Means
Wallowing in that sadness is less pleasant than a heffalump attack no matter how beautifully the Hundred Acre Wood is photographed
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Lisa Jensen
Simon Curtis crafts a gentle spirited movie around a serious theme
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Anita Katz
Competently directed capably acted and visually shimmering But overall the movie is a slightly above par attempted trophy contender
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Dann Gire
Goodbye proves to be an aggressive tear jerker a manipulative and overwrought biopic that bounces like a bipolar Tigger between an upbeat account of divine literary inspiration and a downer domestic drama
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Rafer Guzman
A sugary version of what should have been a bittersweet story
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Richard Roeper
Like a tap that was turned on the sadness and anger never stopped pouring out
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Gary Thompson
And poor little Tilston who plays Billy is stranded on screen for far too long left to dazzle us with his range of exactly two facial expression frozen happiness frozen disappointment
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Gary Thompson
If the Oscar went to the movie with the most tweed and at times I think it has Goodbye Christopher Robin would win hands down
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Ty Burr
Goodbye Christopher Robin works in spite of itself because it understands what Milne s creation meant to him and to a post war world and to every child and parent since a place forever innocent and forever England
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Moira MacDonald
One of those films that s as good as it needs to be but no better
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Kenneth R. Morefield
Sadness films like Goodbye remind us can be an appropriate response of a tender heart made for joy but confronted with a fallen and broken world
3
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Bruce DeMara
Although a decent enough film touching on important themes its emotional resonance falls a little short of satisfying
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Susan Wloszczyna
What could have been a salute to the power of imagination to heal damaged souls and broken relationships instead opts to focus on tragic events
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Christian Toto
It s the feel bad movie Winnie the Pooh fans haven t been waiting for
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Kate Taylor
An occasionally sentimental melodrama with a very sour aftertaste
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Jane Horwitz
Though Goodbye Christopher Robin has moments of delight and even profundity and looks PBS pretty too often it stumbles
2.5
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Stephen Whitty
Why would anyone want to watch a movie about these people
2
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Derek Smith
Goodbye Christopher Robin is often bathetic but its most glaring faults lie in its extreme structural imbalance
1.5
Small Crimes
Sheila O'Malley
Small Crimes works in part but is strangely murky in others There s a lot of dead air
2
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Brian Eggert
Be it the fault of the filmmakers or the concept itself something about leather clad badasses who trek through antiquated Eastern European countries to fight monsters with an elaborate modernish arsenal just never seems to work
0
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Sonny Bunch
Viewing the film in IMAX 3D was less an experience than an endurance test
1
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
John Serba
I laughed quite often at its brazen and unapologetic stupidity more than its intentional stabs at comedy
2
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Forrest Hartman
Director Tommy Wirkola attempts to balance his over the top gore with gags but the jokes often fall flat The characters aren t very compelling either and that s a problem in a film built around action
2
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Nour Habib
The only audience I can think of who might enjoy this movie would be 12 or 13 year old boys whose parents may be wary of letting them watch it because of the numerous instances of haphazardly inserted curse words
1.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Tracie Cooper
This movie probably isn t going to win anybody any awards Still it seems a logical conclusion that most people willing to part with their hard earned cash would be expecting something great from a film called Hansel Gretel Witch Hunters
2
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Liam Lacey
The movie settles for showers of gore with intermittent moments of spoofiness
1
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Claudia Puig
At least it puts forth a sound message Kids avoid overdoing it on sweets especially candy that doubles as drywall
1
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
John Beifuss
In the 1960s and 70s violent witch movies offered anti establishment critiques of fascist witch hunt intolerance in 2013 a violent witch movie asks the audience to cheer the torture of suspects and to affirm the slaughter of the other as escapism
2.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
John Wirt
First there was Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Now there s Hansel Gretel Witch Hunters Neither of them deserved to be mentioned again
1.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Shaula Clark
A craptastic orgy of gore one that s way better than it has any right to be
3
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Rex Reed
I doubt that they had Strike Anywhere matches in the 14th century and I m pretty sure nobody said things like Whatever happens stay cool
1
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Glenn Lovell
Wirkola seems to have been aiming for something campy and irreverent A melding of Princess Bride and Witches perhaps He misses badly thanks to the leaden cliché riddled script
2
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Tom Russo
Wirkola tears through Hansel Gretel Witch Hunters with such giddy abandon it ends up being splattery fanboy fun Preposterous clearly but fun
3
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Daniel M. Kimmel
If the very title has you rolling your eyes don t even bother If however it makes you think you d like to see their further adventures by all means take a chance
2.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Stephanie Merry
A rarely funny spoof that s heavy on bone crushing and blood gushing
1.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Peter Travers
This may be the longest 90 minutes you ever spend in a theater You ve been warned
0
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Eric Melin
It wants desperately to be on the same level as Sam Raimi s slapstick horror Evil Dead trilogy but it s nowhere near as fun or clever
1.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Calum Marsh
Tommy Wirkola s film suggests A Knight s Tale as penned by Seth MacFarlane
0
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Peter Howell
The film isn t funny enough for comedy or scary enough for horror and the anachronisms are ludicrous
1.5
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Lou Lumenick
An exceedingly dull and stillborn attempt to update the Brothers Grimm
0
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Dustin Putman
Expends its standout moments by the ten minute mark and can never quite capture the same palpable danger atmosphere and imagination again What follows isn t bad so much as it is uninspired
2
Redlegs
Calum Marsh
Redlegs may be raw but it s meaningless That s something Cassavetes would have never abided
1
Wajib
Shane Slater
In the end it all boils down to a rather simple father son drama
2.5
Bunraku
Stephen Whitty
It s not difficult to see why this movie which reportedly cost 25 million has been looking for a release date since it was finished more than three years ago
2
Bunraku
John Hartl
One long extensively choreographed fight sequence in which mortal blows are delivered so often and with so little lasting impact that a brawl just becomes a brawl becomes a brawl
1.5
Bunraku
Wesley Morris
You can tell the makers of Bunraku were really excited about creating a cool new movie world because that s all the movie is 118 minutes of effects art direction and genres
2
Bunraku
Nick Schager
A mega mash up in the vein of Sucker Punch Bunraku jumbles together elements with a self consciousness that s as turgid as its story proper
.5
Bunraku
Dave McGinn
With great chemistry between Hartnett and Gackt and incredible visuals the ambitions of director Guy Moshe s sophomore feature more than make up for what it lacks in substance
3
Family Affair
Ethan Alter
The filmmaking process obviously helped Colvard and his sisters heal in some small way and may have the same effect on certain viewers as well
3
Family Affair
Lauren Wissot
Hovering safely at the margins the film s the director seems both fearful and detached
2
Children of the Mist
Marya E. Gates
Di 7877 m s fly on the wall approach allows her to capture heart wrenching moments
3
Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater
John Hartl
Above all else Double Play is an invitation to stare usually at an object that s worthy of prolonged attention
3
Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater
Steve Macfarlane
Between their wildly different bodies of work a shared appeal emerges to stop look listen and consider not just what s in front of you but also where it came from and where it might be going
3.5
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Scott Nash
Nice to see you in action for one last time Captain Kirk
3
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Josh Larsen
mostly combines the interminable interstellar politics of the later Star Wars films with the slowest game of Clue you ve ever played
1.5
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Rob Blackwelder
The original crew at its finest and the Trek lore at its most thrilling
3.5
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Bill Chambers
A heavy handed yet curiously weightless swan song
2
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Robert Roten
There is some blood and violence in the film but it is generally a lot of fun a fine holiday movie
3.5
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
James O'Ehley
The movie realises that its strength lies in our familiarity with the characters by now and exploits this cleverly particularly in scenes where the crew must unearth traitors in their midst almost like in a Agatha Christie detective story
3.5
The Rage: Carrie 2
Dustin Putman
This low rent convoluted follow up gives the great original a bad name
1.5
Tiger 24
Anne Brodie
Tiger 24 is a painful story but it apos s a tribute to him and a warning against ineptness in those charged with tiger and environmental protection He remains in custody with health problems after India apos s top court allowed it
4
Dancing at Lughnasa
Terry Lawson
Dancing at Lughnasa seems unfinished and its tragedy is diluted and diminished This is a pity considering the extremely high quality of the performances
2
Mana: Beyond Belief
Jason Anderson
Even if it is too brief to do more than touch on some very very big questions the film is an entertaining survey of the many ways we humans imprint the material world with our sincerest hopes and daffiest delusions
3
Mana: Beyond Belief
Jonathan Curiel
Mana Beyond Belief doesn t have narration which is one of the film s strengths
4
Vulgaria
Kam Williams
A transparent bait and switch disappointment strictly for suckers
1
Vulgaria
Jeff Shannon
Vulgaria is certainly crude but most of its amusing vulgarity is discreetly held off screen
2.5
Vulgaria
Michael O'Sullivan
A broad cartoonish and decidedly filthy satire of moviemaking is as sophomoric as they come
2
Vulgaria
Chuck Bowen
Pang Ho cheung can t help but humanize Vulgaria s characters which is a kiss of death for what s meant to be a farce of escalating obscenity
2
Something Borrowed
Mike McGranaghan
While Something Borrowed obviously wants to explore themes of competitiveness and betrayal in female friendships it seems to feel compelled to hit pre programmed chick flick beats at regular intervals
2
Something Borrowed
Linda Cook
You d have a lot more fun sharing a few Heinekens than wasting your time on this movie in which lies build upon lies until the whole plot comes crashing down
1
Something Borrowed
Mike Scott
It should have borrowed some charm
1.5
Something Borrowed
Keith Cohen
Hudson and Goodwin have great chemistry together Krasinski does the best acting job and steals every scene he appears in The cinematography scenic New York locations and a romantic soundtrack are added bonuses
2.5
Something Borrowed
Lisa Kennedy
The movie strains far too hard to make what Rachel and Dex have done all right as if their guilty anguish and the movie s saccharine score frees us to root for them
1.5
Something Borrowed
John Beifuss
The tension between the film s happy public surface and the thorny interior themes of guilt and deception gives the movie a perhaps unintentional romcom noir distinctiveness
2.5
Something Borrowed
Stephen Whitty
Something Borrowed is something ew
1.5
Something Borrowed
Kate Taylor
The sisterhood is already grumbling about a movie that suggests women will happily choose a mate over friendship but actually it s the stereotypes of good behaviour rather than bad that bring this rom com crashing down
1
Something Borrowed
Peter Travers
The half star rating goes to John Krasinski for heroically rising above this vile dung heap of a movie
0.5
Something Borrowed
Willie Waffle
Starts funny but loses steam towards the end as it gets more dramatic
2
Something Borrowed
Erik Childress
By the end of Something Borrowed the collective withholding of true feelings is enough to make an audience want to pull the trigger on something else
1.5
Something Borrowed
Stephanie Merry
Would be wholly unbearable if it weren t for Krasinski who is on the scene with his goofy bulbous nose and perfect comedic timing to partially redeem the almost unwatchable
1.5
Something Borrowed
Lou Lumenick
The script and direction are by the numbers at best and Goodwin s hairstyles tend to be distractingly awful
2
Something Borrowed
Jody Mitori
A predictable romantic comedy with cookie cutter characters the nerdy professional with a mean girl best friend both vying for a stoic lawyer who secretly wants to be a teacher
2
Something Borrowed
Greg Quill
The big moral issues the deception and lies Blown off like so much sand on the deck After all if you re a rich young white American what s a bit of hanky panky among friends
2
Something Borrowed
Matt Pais
Something Borrowed is really cute if your definition of cute is emotionally abusive people being horrible to each other all the time
0
Something Borrowed
Dustin Putman
Doesn t always evade the traps of convention but it is the first film of its kind in a while with an ending that isn t such an obvious foregone conclusion
2.5
Something Borrowed
Cathy Jakicic
Unfortunately although it asks some interesting questions it s hampered by annoying and downright unlikable characters
2.5
Something Borrowed
Carrie Rickey
A film that fails to dramatize its intriguing premise
2
Something Borrowed
Wesley Morris
Something Borrowed is carrion that Kate Hudson circles like a vulture
1.5
Something Borrowed
Peter Keough
John Krasinski provides relief as Ethan who would be the gay best friend except that he s straight and who maintains an amused irony that almost makes the film endurable
1.5
Something Borrowed
Moira MacDonald
Why did this movie leave such a rotten taste in my mouth Because its story based on Emily Giffin s popular novel is a pretty repellent view of women s friendship
2
Something Borrowed
Nick Schager
It s hard to fathom why director Luke Greenfield agreed to give his film the too apropos title Something Borrowed
1
Something Borrowed
Phil Villarreal
It made me like it against my will and despite my biases and it made me like that I liked it I enjoyed its walk of shame
3
Something Borrowed
Rex Reed
Romantic comedy has taken a shellacking lately in a series of stupefying flops but they didn t have Ginnifer Goodwin
2
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
Peter Howell
It s about social anxiety with Lalonde and his strong ensemble cast smartly illustrating the tyranny of expectations in and out of the bedroom
3
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
Barry Hertz
a light and ultimately charming dramedy about your friends and neighbours
2.5
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
Richard Roeper
Despite its provocative title How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town isn t particularly sexy More troubling it s not very funny either
1.5
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
Diego Semerene
The ingenuity of writer director Jeremy LaLonde s film ends with its title
.5
Racing Dreams
Adam Keleman
Curry has expertly stitched together a 90 minute triumph in crowd pleasing wholesome entertainment
3
Racing Dreams
John Beifuss
Reveals a fascinating subculture that is unknown to most moviegoers where tweens with a need for speed can spend up to 48 weekends a year behind the wheel
3
Racing Dreams
Marty Mapes
They want to grow up to be NASCAR drivers but first they will grow up to be adults
3
El fantástico mundo de Juan Orol
John Beifuss
Unlike Tim Burton s Ed Wood it doesn t make a convincing case for Orol as an artist even a demented or incompetent one The film shows us little of Orol s work we don t know why critics hated his movies or why the public liked them
2.5
The Other Story
Nell Minow
Nesher skillfully balances a lot of characters and storylines each illustrating a different kind of Israeli and a different connection to Jewish life culture and practice but he never lets any of them become symbolic rather than real
3.5
The Other Story
Derek Smith
Through this endless string of undercooked subplots Avi Nesher s film continually trips over itself
2
Jîn
Kent Turner
Every frame tells a story
3
Contagion
Brian Eggert
Here s a film that exploits all of our inherent concerns with factual detail expertly augmenting those fears into an experience that stays with you long after viewing
4
Contagion
Joey Magidson
Here in 2020 Contagion has gone from being a riveting cautionary tale to an absolutely horrifying warning from Scott Z Burns and Steven Soderbergh that was ignored
3.5
Contagion
Mattie Lucas
Contagion is one of those movies that will be with you for a very long time
3
Contagion
Kelly Jane Torrance
It s a must see in fact if you wonder how bureaucrats and scientists react behind the scenes when a virus turns deadly for humans
3
Contagion
Jeff Beck
What we end up with is a film that is not particularly bad just one that seemed unnecessary since it s a story we ve already seen many times before
2.5
Contagion
Jordan Hiller
Soderbergh who is as skilled as they come at uplifting routine templates gives the infection movie über A list treatment
2.5
Contagion
Linda Cook
I m not making this up I had a coughing fit during Contagion Luckily I was sitting at the very back of the theater so I was less likely I hope to add to the tension unfolding on the screen
3.5
Contagion
Wesley Lovell
A methodical exploration of the threat of pandemics and how we share space with our fellow human beings If you aren t chilled by the potential you should be
3.5
Contagion
John Beifuss
Shot with documentary grimness the movie s relative realism is less dramatically persuasive than the go for broke B movie hysteria of such hydrophobic predecessors as Romero s The Crazies and Cronenberg s Shivers
3
Contagion
Brett McCracken
Contagion shows us that working together is still possible still necessary And in a world as divided and partisan as ours that s an encouragement we need to receive
3.5
Contagion
Mike McGranaghan
Strong acting atmospheric direction and a nail biting premise add up to a movie whose impact is hard to ignore
3
Contagion
Christian Toto
Why did Contagion have to be such an antiseptic thriller
2.5
Contagion
Brett Michel
For patient viewers prepare to let this film infect your nerves
3
Contagion
Jesse Cataldo
If Sound It Out never really digs its claws into its material it at least approaches it with a careful level of thought and commitment
2.5
Contagion
Glenn Lovell
You ll want to make a beeline for the nearest restroom to wash your hands plays like a feature length public service announcement a duck and cover your mouth drill
3
Contagion
Scott Nash
Gripping from start to finish
3.5
Contagion
Burl Burlingame
It proves the creepiest movies are also the quietest Although Contagion is a horror movie it s also a response about a viral apocalypse The end arrives with tiny coughs
3
Contagion
J. R. Jones
Along with the stars Contagion has plenty of scares though in contrast to Matt Damon and Kate Winslet they re things you encounter every day
3
Contagion
Lisa Kennedy
Steven Soderbergh 8203 s viral who brung it is a mostly style over substance affair
2
Contagion
Stephen Cole
It s the dark comic moments and the film s sci fi B movie race to develop a vaccine subplot that prevent Contagion from being a gloomy two hours in the dark That and Soderbergh s delight in characters
3
Contagion
Wilson Morales
While the all star cast and the story about a deadly virus sounds similar to 1995 s Outbreak Contagion is more insightful moving and disturbing with first rate entertainment
3
Contagion
Tyler Hanley
Contagion offers a healthy dose of smart filmmaking while most of Hollywood is serving up cinematic placebos
3
Contagion
Eric Melin
Very effective mixing science and timely issues into one terrifically compelling drama with an effective emotional payoff
3
Contagion
Bob Bloom
The movie plays as if the National Institutes of Health hired director Steven Soderbergh to direct a health warning public service announcement that would scare the heck out of everyone
3
Contagion
John Wirt
An unusually immersive filmgoing experience no 3 D effects necessary
4
Contagion
Michael O'Sullivan
If this is an action thriller it s one that makes med school look sexier than the Marines
2
Contagion
Erik Childress
Steven Soderbergh is given the opportunity to scare us and it is the calm with which he does it that should frighten us all the more
3.5
Contagion
Connie Ogle
Contagion may be the most expensive public service ad ever filmed but it s also a surprisingly light on its feet action thriller
3
Contagion
Matt Soergel
Contagion keeps us at a distance Rarely has the death of millions seemed so inconsequential
2.5
Contagion
Barbara Vancheri
Contagion marches through the pandemic with the efficiency of the mutating virus
3
Contagion
Lou Lumenick
Takes great pains to present its situations realistically and includes a lot of intelligent speculation about what sort of political economic and ethical questions would be raised by such a disaster
3
Contagion
Peter Howell
Sobering reality for our interconnected world
2.5
Contagion
Willie Waffle
You will want to bathe in hand sanitizer for a week after seeing Contagion
3.5
Contagion
Dustin Putman
Frighteningly believable businesslike super smart and never less than riveting
3
Contagion
Claudia Puig
Contagion is more unsettling than 1995 s Outbreak or the disaster movies of the 70s
2.5
Contagion
Randy Myers
Steven Soderbergh s grim and gripping medical thriller has arrived and it s guaranteed to turn you into a hypochondriac
3
Contagion
Jon Niccum
Hypochondriacs might want to steer clear of Contagion Others should find this procedural thriller about the outbreak of a deadly disease to be an informative disquieting and mildly entertaining experience
2.5
Contagion
Steven Rea
By the time this globe hopping movie star crammed disaster saga directed with petrifying efficiency by Steven Soderbergh comes full circle you ll never want to touch a subway pole or elevator button or ATM again
3
Contagion
Peter Travers
All this germ procedural offers is the sight of people behaving badly willing to do their worst to get first dibs on a vaccine Sadly that s no surprise
2.5
Contagion
Stephen Whitty
Soderbergh himself has modestly likened Contagion to a 70s style star driven disaster film But it s smarter than that and a lot closer to medical thrillers like The Andromeda Strain
3.5
Contagion
Alison Gang
As he did in his 2000 film Traffic director Steven Soderbergh weaves together multiple perspectives in a seamlessly edited collage
3
Contagion
Wesley Morris
Big ideas and small mindedness threaten to turn Contagion into unwieldy world affairs and family values allegories but Soderbergh and Burns are moving too fast to think
3
Contagion
Cathy Jakicic
It can t exactly be called a pleasure of any kind but it is quietly compelling building the tension as methodically as its characters chip away at the medical puzzle
3
Contagion
Joe Lozito
This paranoia fest is at its heart a straightforward ticking clock thriller And it generates about all the suspense you can hope for from a movie with a faceless microscopic antagonist
2.5
Contagion
Matt Pais
Much more compelling when showing what it takes to confront a huge unexpected problem not merely how susceptible we are to sickness and chaos
3
Contagion
Josh Larsen
a paranoid disease thriller for our glocal age
3.5
Contagion
Michael Phillips
The result is not quite medicine and not quite cotton candy But it works It s made for grown ups
3
Contagion
Soren Andersen
While the movie is undeniably riveting it s a little too precisely engineered and emotionally detached for its own good
3.5
Contagion
Ed Gonzalez
Steven Soderbergh s feature length Purell advertisement is short on human interest and long on explanations of a pandemic through analogies and generalities
1.5
Contagion
Rex Reed
Telling a complex story in a coherent narrative arc has never been one of Mr Soderbergh s strengths and chronicling the day by day panic of a killer virus jumps all over the place
2.5
Contagion
Christy Lemire
Soderbergh takes us from suburban living rooms to labs at the Centers for Disease Control to remote Asian villages with equally clear eyed realism
3
Contagion
Kam Williams
Though paling in intensity to Traffic Soderbergh apocalyptic cautionary tale nevertheless presents a chillingly plausible peek at how quickly civilization might unravel in the face of a rapidly accelerating extinction level biological event
3
College
Mattie Lucas
Keaton helped write the textbook on comedy and in College he gives us a master class
3.5
College
Michael Phillips
The movie is worth seeing for a lot of reasons one of them being the weirdly elegant pratfall Keaton takes on the baseball diamond when he gets clipped by an opposing player sliding into third
3.5
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Elizabeth Weitzman
Fans like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan express unvarnished awe but it s the well told arc of Seeger s life that makes the strongest impression as director Jim Brown takes us from the highs to the lows and back up again
3
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Rafer Guzman
Pete Seeger The Power of Song could have been called Pete Seeger The First Punk As the film traces the singer s long life it also inevitably tracks the evolution of American countercultures through much of the 20th century
3
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Steven Rea
The Power of Song shows this icon of 20th century music to be a man of passion and principle and a true American An important figure an important film
4
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Terry Lawson
Seeger traversed decades styles even continents to bring the people s music to the people This distinction is made with suitable and skillful great appreciation by director Jim Brown in Pete Seeger The Power of Song
3
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Ty Burr
A full and fond documentary
3
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Ted Fry
If you ve never heard of Pete Seeger or if you ve known him all your life see this film Walking out you might just be ready to put the world together
3.5
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Joel Selvin
The filmmakers treat this aged curmudgeon almost too reverently but it is hard not to be awed by this gentle resolute soul because of the ideas he steadfastly and faithfully represented
4
Layer Cake
Nick Rogers
Only the accents are thicker than double crosses in a thriller that s stylish and sleek note lyrically appropriate use of Duran Duran s Ordinary World in one sequence but also assuredly delirious ethically hefty and unpredictably treacherous
4
Layer Cake
Linda Cook
This is one of the few movies for which I can t tell you the name of the hero
3.5
Layer Cake
Lori Hoffman
Michael Vaughn has cooked up a tasty treat in his directorial debut somewhere between Mike Hodges cool and Guy Ritchie s out of control Smoking Barrels
3
Layer Cake
Sean O'Connell
Nimbly dances through a handful of plot twists as we track who set up whom and who hired whom to whack whom
3
Layer Cake
Peter Howell
The film is lamentably short of narrative coherence
2
Layer Cake
Rick Groen
The intricate thing dodges and feints and twists this way and turns that way until by the time of the alleged resolution we ve lost our bearings completely
2
Layer Cake
Lawrence Toppman
Full of quirky types who populate Guy Ritchie movies but set forth with more clarity and higher style
3.5
Layer Cake
Carla Meyer
Marks an impressive directing debut by Matthew Vaughn Guy Ritchie s producer on Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch
3
Layer Cake
Jeff Vice
All of the nastiness here gets a little tiresome after awhile as do the attempts to glamorize the drug trade
2.5
Layer Cake
Larry Ratliff
Daniel Craig an actor who ll be noticed whether or not he slips on Bond s tuxedo continues to reveal a different side of himself in every role
3.5
Layer Cake
Duane Dudek
Feels half baked
2.5
Layer Cake
Phil Villarreal
Nothing sweet here and a stale crumpet and bad tea don t sound so bad right about now because anything tastes better than a mouthful of hot lead
3.5
Layer Cake
Eric Harrison
A gangster film despite what its title suggests that ranks with the best of the genre
4
Layer Cake
Michael Booth
May be a worthy successor to a busy genre but it is not an inventive inheritor
2.5
Layer Cake
Terry Lawson
As good as the story and direction may be much of the film s success is up to Daniel Craig
3
Layer Cake
Phoebe Flowers
It s nice to look at but lacks a sense of purpose
2
Layer Cake
Hanh Nguyen
Everyone is believable sometimes frighteningly so
3
Layer Cake
Rob Blackwelder
A stylish dynamic thicket of thorny underworld twists and deceptions
3.5
Layer Cake
David Elliott
A virile British bounce off the Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee films and some hyper hip TV shows
2.5
Layer Cake
Jeffrey Westhoff
It s hard to remember an American gangster film that has been as brazenly entertaining as Layer Cake
3
Layer Cake
Mary F. Pols
Features a plot anyone over 16 has seen at least a dozen times with slick but completely unoriginal directing by Matthew Vaughn
2
Layer Cake
Wesley Morris
A propulsive drug world movie that dutifully covers similar ground in and around London guns chicks inventive use of the F word expensive looking locations designer stuff and so on
2
Layer Cake
James Verniere
A stylishly dark occasionally funny UK gangster film in the tradition of John Mackenzie s The Long Good Friday and Peter Medak s The Krays
3.5
Layer Cake
Bruce Newman
A corrosive confection of style and bile its gleaming butter cream frosted contours not really concealing the crumbs who have curdled British society with their drugs
3.5
Layer Cake
Allison Benedikt
Craig is a great anti hero tough yet vulnerable conflicted and amused sincere and scared without a hint of any of it on his sleeve
3.5
Layer Cake
Stephen Whitty
As choices for a night s entertainment well you d do better with a pint of Bass
1.5
Layer Cake
Glenn Kenny
The extra attention the film demands will be richly rewarded especially with lead Daniel Craig s hilarious and genuinely cool perfromance
3
Layer Cake
Kyle Smith
Vaughn s film falls short of Goodfellas but thanks to his ability to organize a complex story and bold color drenched photography by Ben Davis Layer Cake is a cocked fist of a movie impossible to ignore
3
Layer Cake
Jack Mathews
Layer Cake is laced with flashbacks and stylistic tics but it never loses its forward momentum and to the last shot it avoids predictability
3
Layer Cake
Timothy Knight
Leanly muscled British actor Daniel Craig gives a star making performance in Layer Cake the latest in the recent wave of stylish and ultra violent gangster films from across the pond
3
Layer Cake
Glenn Whipp
Layer Cake doesn t offer much that we haven t seen before
2.5
Layer Cake
Walter Chaw
Infused with a healthy dose of nastiness and post modern irony
3
Layer Cake
Willie Waffle
Layer Cake is a fabulous movie about the underworld we only want to visit on film
4
Layer Cake
Mike Clark
This is one of those movies in which you simply pluck out what there is to entertain you and forget about the rest
3
Layer Cake
Nick Schager
Matthew Vaughn s confident debut s reserved pace and composed nastiness lends the action a matter of fact menace
2.5
Layer Cake
Steven Rea
Pulses with nasty thugs cold blooded crime lords drug traffickers blond seductresses and a thumping suspense that can lead to head cracking violence
3.5
Layer Cake
Scott Nash
Fast paced and complex Layer Cake rewards those who pay attention
3
Layer Cake
Peter Debruge
Craig proves that he s got the strength sophistication and brawny sex appeal to carry 007 s license to kill if only Hollywood would consider the fair haired hunk
3
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Frank Ochieng
Outlandishly clichéd and cockeyed The Mortal Instruments City Of Bones is meshed together with all the conviction of preparing homemade goulash but without a comprehensive taste for escapist originality
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Scott Nash
At least you re not forced to stare at Kristen Stewart s sour mug for two hours
2.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
David Keyes
This is a premise that might work in the hands of more eager filmmakers but here it is reduced to a collection of fragmented scenes designed to mystify and infuriate
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Austin Kennedy
Fortunately for Twi Hards this IS the next TWILIGHT Unfortunately for everyone else this IS the next TWILIGHT
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Dann Gire
Here s a familiar story so badly executed that not even the characters pay attention to what s going on in it
0.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Peter Keough
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones plays like a Scary Movie parody
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
David Berry
The Shadowhunters are a bunch of half angelic beings tasked with fighting demons and watching over the mundanes which I swear is actually what they call humans I guess because boring poo poo stupidheads might be a touch on the nose
0
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Peter Hartlaub
Every moviegoer will have his own breaking point when The Mortal Instruments City of Bones surpasses the mundane and enters the ridiculous
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Simon Abrams
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones will make you yearn for more Twilight movies
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Willie Waffle
Maybe the most entertaining way to watch The Mortal Instruments City of Bones is to count all of the other movies this one rips off
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Randy Myers
Hollywood has more than enough high caliber young adult lit to mine Filmmakers should tap into richer human stories We mere mortals would dearly appreciate it
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Jake Coyle
It desperately gathers clichés like a teen fantasy Frankenstein that doesn t realize its secret identity parody
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Liam Lacey
Mortal Instruments manages to occupy 130 minutes of frantic numbing activity
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Bruce Ingram
Everything chugs along briskly and reasonably entertainingly until running off the rails a bit with a wildly overcomplicated finale
2.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Tracie Cooper
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones is a beautifully shot movie featuring talented actors and a story with a lot of potential At the end of the day however it just doesn t have much soul
2.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Stephanie Merry
The action flick is overly long complicated and even by teen romance standards cringe worthy in its cheesiness
2
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Kent Turner
A passable late summer stand in for its core audience until the new fall CW television season begins
2
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
R. Kurt Osenlund
The movie 65279 blasts by for a while as an odd and busy slice of highly watchable garbage
2
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Scott Bowles
Though it has flashes of promise Bones traces the footsteps of its fantasy film predecessors too closely to blaze anything close to an original narrative
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Tom Keogh
So derivative of Joss Whedon George Lucas J K Rowling and Stephenie Meyer that it feels like a postmodern young adult mishmash
1.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
David Hiltbrand
The film s primary problem is its premature climax It goes for the big action crescendo early then tries to sustain that wild intensity for a solid hour Admirable but exhausting
2
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Bruce DeMara
Zwart finally has a vehicle that tests his talents His dark vision of the shadow world beyond the ordinary one is intricately detailed and believable throughout even if much of it is the product of CGI mastery
3
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Daniel M. Kimmel
Yet for all that familiarity the story is told with style and some wit
2.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Dustin Putman
Playing much like bad fan fiction from an immature lovelorn teenage girl who s seen Twilight Beastly Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer too many times The Mortal Instrument City of Bones is interminable gobbledygook
1
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Rene Rodriguez
The Mortal Instruments franchise is strictly for the initiated They will no doubt love it Everyone else will be flummoxed
2
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Matt Pais
Earning the coveted and easily attained praise better than Twilight City of Bones thrives not on the presence of awesome but the absence of terrible
2.5
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Kyle Smith
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones hopes to be the start of a new franchise for tweens and Twihards but the twuth is this twash is anything but a twiumph
1
Gun Crazy
Wanda Hale
Lately there have been a number of these pictures about young couples that go in for this type crime Gun Crazy is slightly different in introduction but after the story gets under way the action is the same
2.5
Gun Crazy
Josh Larsen
Reefer Madness for gun control
2.5
Gun Crazy
Scott Nash
It s a scrambled mix of styles that probably shouldn t work but somehow does anyway
3.5
Gun Crazy
Eric Henderson
Wild wam bam pacing
3
Khoya
Linda Barnard
An ill advised melodramatic swing is redeemed with poignancy in the home stretch
2.5
Juno
Troy Patterson
As directed by Jason Reitman the movie builds from sitcom setups to wistful payoffs
4
Juno
Mattie Lucas
Whereas most people have seen charm and wit I saw self conscious quirkiness and an excessive smugness that I found off putting
2.5
Juno
Namrata Joshi
A smart yet sensitive film more a coming of age drama with believable American youngsters rather than TV perfect Beverly Hills types
3
Juno
Kyle Smith
Being the hipster movie of the year presents a couple of problems One is that hipsters are kind of annoying
2.5
Juno
Michael A. Smith
the cast brings life to Cody s words and raise what could have been a standard television movie of the week to a much higher plain
3
Juno
Linda Cook
Clever wise and outrageous Juno comes at you with no holds barred
4
Juno
Wesley Lovell
A teenage pregnancy flick that doesn t insult its audience s intelligence It s filled with several wonderful performances
3.5
Juno
Larry Ratliff
The best comedy of the year beams with pregnant pauses
4
Juno
Ross Anthony
A very cute movie with a great soundtrack Though imho not the award winner for which it s been receiving so much buzz Michael Cera Bleaker nails every scene he s in
2.5
Juno
Jay Antani
Page plays each moment without ego and with total candor and that s ultimately the secret to Juno s success
3.5
Juno
Lori Hoffman
The filmmaking team of Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have taken the premise of a teen comedy and injected it with an anti cliché serum
4
Juno
Gina Carbone
The most overrated film of the year isn t bad it s just trying too hard
2.5
Juno
Sean McBride
one of the strongest characters in cinema this year Look for a bunch of Academy Award nominations
3.5
Juno
John Wirt
If Juno were cheese and macaroni it would be among the most satisfying mac and cheese dishes ever conceived
3.5
Juno
Phil Villarreal
Cody s writing is entrancing Characters speak in a stylized heightened reality reminiscent of Kevin Smith s mid 1990s stunners Clerks Mallrats and Chasing Amy
4
Juno
John Beifuss
After three viewings I kind of feel like I have a crush on Juno the movie and Juno the character I m poised halfway on the emotional scale between the bemused affection of Juno s tolerant father and the wide eyed wonder of Juno s pale boyfriend
3.5
Juno
Greg Maki
Juno is a real treat and maybe the most unexpected great movie in years
4
Juno
Carla Meyer
Together Cody and Page have crafted a highly memorable character
3
Juno
Duane Dudek
The film is a portrait of family as a messy group hug and a dysfunctional miracle And considering that it is a comedy about teenage pregnancy it preserves the dignity of its theme by revealing the humanity of the people involved
3.5
Juno
Rene Rodriguez
Juno comes on all wisecracking and aren t we clever but don t be surprised if you find yourself getting choked up with happy tears by the end
3
Juno
Robert W. Butler
What propels the film into the stratosphere is Juno herself As played by Ellen Page Juno is a winning combination of fierce intelligence irrepressible irony casual profanity and though she doesn t want to admit it emotional vulnerability
3.5
Juno
Lawrence Toppman
Comedy comes from an exaggeration of reality not reality itself and on that score Diablo Cody s first screenplay gets high marks
3
Juno
Jeanne Aufmuth
Sweet sassy and satisfying
3
Juno
Peter Howell
The best thing about this movie is that for all its wiseacre badinage it s utterly believable about the most basic of human situations
4
Juno
David Wiegand
Juno isn t a film made in the bell jar of unlikely reality that is far too often Hollywood It s a film whose attention to real life detail is so fine audiences will be hopelessly and happily lost in its story from the first frame
4
Juno
Lisa Kennedy
Juno is unerring compassionate and funny as heck
4
Juno
Ty Burr
That smart hip human comedy you ve been waiting for all year The one with dialogue like a sugar rush and performances like grace notes It s called Juno and it just arrived in theaters Go forth and multiplex
3.5
Juno
Michael Phillips
It takes Juno about 15 minutes to calm down and get its joke reflex in check And by the end you ve fallen in love with the thing
3.5
Juno
Josh Larsen
Juno gets two things dead right about contemporary teenagers
4
Juno
Liam Lacey
The film s forced quirkiness constantly threatens to derail the entire enterprise But it keeps being put back on track by the apparently effortless performance of a great young actress
3
Juno
Willie Waffle
filled with tart dialogue that entertains the audience but always gives us an insight into the character speaking it and the pain they are going through
4
Juno
David Elliott
Not since Election has a female star talent hit the screen with such a sting of arrival
3.5
Juno
Carrie Rickey
What kind of movie is Juno The rarity that plucks your heartstrings while tickling them
3.5
Juno
Jordan Hiller
She is a wonderful character in her own right I d watch a movie about her going to the movies But Cody s conviction is to get Juno pregnant so I ll watch a movie about that
3.5
Juno
David N. Butterworth
Screenwriter Cody s wit and imagination are seemingly endless
3.5
Juno
Glenn Whipp
You can t help but surrender to its considerable charm
3
Juno
Walter Chaw
You can t spend this much time being too cool for school and earn a sentimental rimshot it s the boy who cried human
1
Juno
Mike McGranaghan
Definitely one of my favorite films of the last five years
4
Juno
Frank Ochieng
Cunningly perceptive and hip in its irresistible skepticism about the comforts and uncertainties of love Juno is enchantingly bright and breezy in its effecting resonance
3
Juno
John Anderson
A movie already reputed to be hipper than tomorrow night Jason Reitman s follow up to Thank You for Smoking is actually sweet romantic and irony free
3.5
Juno
Jack Mathews
It is certainly the feel good movie of the season and credit for that goes to the gifted director Reitman novice screenwriter Diablo Cody and the film s sensational lead actress Ellen Page
3
Juno
Erik Childress
Has all the rhythms that made films like Little Miss Sunshine and Garden State so beloved by audiences and critics alike but invents its own rhyme to buck familiarity thanks to its brilliantly funny and exceptionally wise screenplay by Diablo Cody
4
Juno
Claudia Puig
The engaging story coupled with the character s likable quirkiness makes for a film bristling with vitality and heart without resorting to glibness or sentimentality
4
Juno
Maitland McDonagh
First time screenwriter Cody Diablo s gently comic different for girls tale of a pregnant hyper verbal teenager is the distaff answer to the testosterone fueled hijinks of movies like Knocked Up and Superbad
3
Juno
Lou Lumenick
Hollywood s Woman of the Year is a pregnant 16 year old the incredibly hip smart mouthed and totally endearing heroine of the wise and witty Juno
4
Juno
Peter T. Chattaway
Juno has an implicit pro life sensibility Life is life and deserves to be nurtured even if not especially when everything around it is broken
3.5
Juno
Kam Williams
A terminally clever comedy that s laced with lots of inspired sardonic humor but can t quite convince you to take its slowly thickening plot seriously
3
Juno
Dustin Putman
Light on plot but plentiful in moments of keen human observation Juno is authentic and oh so winning
3
Juno
Joe Lozito
What s sure to be the breakout indie hit of 2007 and deservedly so establishes the voice of screenwriter Diablo Cody and the career of young actress Ellen Page
4
Juno
Fernando F. Croce
Just when one is about to write off Diablo Cody s much praised screenplay as less than the sum of its ornate quips a scene will be flipped in an unexpected direction and a hidden vein of emotion suddenly struck
3
Juno
Peter Travers
Juno is more than a few smiles it makes you laugh deeply It s one from the bruised heart
3.5
Juno
Scott Nash
One of my favorite movies of the year
4
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Jeff Vice
Note By Note The Making of Steinway L1307 doesn t need any cameos by celebrities musical or otherwise to hold our interest
4
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Joshua Kosman
Like an elegant set of theme and variations director Ben Niles beautiful probing documentary about music and craftsmanship takes a simple idea and follows it in a number of directions
4
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Duane Dudek
Although Note by Note has the qualities of an industrial or promotional film it also is a lovely and lyrical look at a labor of love
3
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Maureen M. Hart
It s inspirational to watch and listen as the Steinway employees demonstrate with pride their part in producing an instrument that will sell for more than 100 000 and may succeed some of its brethren on the stage at Carnegie Hall
4
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Ken Fox
This unexpectedly charming documentary from filmmaker Ben Niles follows the construction of one piano from the bending and molding of the raw maple that will become the piano rim in workshops of the Steinway Sons factory in Queens
3
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
John Anderson
Gorgeous visually and musically
3.5
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Kam Williams
A cinematic first a standing ovation by icons for the unsung working class heroes who make them look good
4
Right at Your Door
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Nightmarish
2
Right at Your Door
Marc Savlov
Cunningly riffs on everything from George Romero s Night of the Living Dead and The Crazies to our current terrorist related night sweats
3.5
Right at Your Door
Maitland McDonagh
McCormack and Cochrane can t transcend the cliched meandering dialogue so Brad and Lexi s dilemma never feels like anything but a didactic contrivance
2.5
Right at Your Door
Pam Grady
Stars Cochrane and McCormack have zero chemistry and their characters are so different that they never compute as a couple
2
Right at Your Door
Jim Hemphill
Crosses our real life national nightmares with a cleverly constructed thriller to create a movie that is smart impeccably acted and extremely unsettling
3
Right at Your Door
Stephen Whitty
It s the Cold War redux but with the Enemy now everywhere
2.5
Right at Your Door
Kyle Smith
As frightening as it intends to be but not enjoyably so
2.5
Right at Your Door
Jack Mathews
Has an ironic and unpredictable ending
2.5
Right at Your Door
Ty Burr
Maybe this is how the world ends in LA not with a bang but a 96 minute whimper
1.5
Right at Your Door
Jan Stuart
If Rod Serling had had a shot at penning a post 9 11 scenario for The Twilight Zone it might have come out something like this compact and creepy suspense thriller of apocalypse Los Angeles style
3
Right at Your Door
Nick Schager
Right at Your Door finds itself somewhat adrift
2.5
Right at Your Door
Felix Vasquez Jr.
A healthy mixture of On the Beach and Fail Safe Chris Gorak s Right at your Door is possibly one of the most horrifying apocalyptic films I ve seen in years
4
Right at Your Door
Erik Childress
Another overstretched Rod Serling episode with misplaced irony that provides so many false moments of its own that its impossible to take seriously
2
Hands of a Stranger
John Beifuss
Body mind soul can one exist without the others Is the self determined by one or a combination of all three These age old questions are examined more directly in even B horrors such as Hands of a Stranger than in most other entertainments
2.5
Freaks
Brian Eggert
A genuine rarity about all that is ugly and beautiful about being human
4
Freaks
Josh Larsen
despite its gruesome conclusion the movie seems to do everything in its power to create community
3
Freaks
Phil Villarreal
The movie s influences can be found in nearly every conceivable corner of modern film
4
Freaks
Ed Gonzalez
Browning uses the film s famous Wedding Feast sequence and its rhythmic use of montage to fantastically blur the lines between the normal and the abnormal
4
Love and Honor
Lou Lumenick
Love and Honor may be politically clueless but Hemsworth and the student journalist he hooks up with fellow Aussie Teresa Palmer of Warm Bodies do make an undeniably attractive couple
1.5
Love and Honor
Christopher Gray
The deceptions and romances carry on as one might expect all while the film makes some attempt at exploring the cultural shifts of the time period
1
Detour
Dustin Putman
If Detour appears a touch too familiar for its own good at times director Christopher Smith puts enough of his own stamp on the material to give the story a fresh devious urgency
2.5
Detour
Glenn Kenny
Neither narrative is particularly compelling but the road trip one has an edge because travel s always fun
1
Detour
Ed Gonzalez
The effect of the film becomes not unlike watching a puzzle solve itself without demanding either the audience s emotional or intellectual investment
2
Janice Beard 45 WPM
Megan Turner
It s impossible to indulge the fanciful daydreams of Janice Beard Eileen Walsh when her real life persona is so charmless and vacant
1
Janice Beard 45 WPM
Jan Stuart
Walsh can t quite negotiate the many inconsistencies in Janice s behavior or compensate for them by sheer force of charm
2
NY Export: Opus Jazz
Diego Semerene
Embraces the notion of dancers as characters with histories more than just beautifully coordinated fleshly parts
3
The Work and the Glory: American Zion
Dan Lybarger
An awkward mix of fascinating history and tepid fiction
2
The Work and the Glory: American Zion
Jeff Vice
There s been a slight change in character focus and those who receive the spotlight this time around are more interesting and compelling But the technical aspects of the filmmaking aren t quite as good
2.5
The Work and the Glory: American Zion
Jeff Strickler
To call this drama heavy handed would be stating the obvious
2
The Work and the Glory: American Zion
Phil Villarreal
Unlike Holt Van Wagenen knows what he is doing Now fans of the series can look forward to the next entry in The Work and the Glory series instead of dreading it
3
Daughter of Mine
Sheila O'Malley
The script is very sparse It feels like an outline a general idea rather than an actual filled out story
2
Daughter of Mine
Diego Semerene
Unlike My Life in Pink Daughter of Mine sidesteps all ambiguity as the film reveals everything about its characters straight away leaving little room for unexpected complexities about their predicaments to develop
1.5
Beyond Belief
Peter Keough
Director Beth Murphy lets her subjects speak for themselves with a minimum of embellishment and so the moments of stark poignance draw tears without exploiting them
3
Beyond Belief
Elizabeth Weitzman
Make sure to bring extra tissues when you go see Beth Murphy s intimate and inspiring documentary
3
Beyond Belief
Ed Gonzalez
Beyond Belief is a poignant portrait of two women coping with their roles as 9 11 widows
3
Green Street Hooligans
Jeff Vice
Green Street Hooligans loses any credibility it might have had the minute it tries to pass off Elijah Wood as a tough guy
1.5
Green Street Hooligans
Phil Villarreal
Nothing hits harder or with less tact than the overriding message that Matt is really looking for a surrogate family
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
Duane Dudek
Alexander is a better anthropologist than dramatist and her snapshot of this culture is more revealing than the story crafted around it
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
John Monaghan
There s a good movie to be made about the violent world of British soccer or football as it s called on the other side of the pond This isn t it
2
Green Street Hooligans
David N. Butterworth
German kickboxer turned director Lexi Alexander s brutal unsparing portrait of disaffected youth running rampant amid the football stands and terraces of jolly old England
3
Green Street Hooligans
Steven Rea
The script is a jumble of caricatures and cliches
2
Green Street Hooligans
Jeff Shannon
The movie forces you into primal alertness its effectiveness enhanced by exceptional casting and escalating tension that plays on your emotions
3
Green Street Hooligans
Wesley Morris
Unfortunately the beatings are often more interesting than what s caused them
2
Green Street Hooligans
Jeffrey Westhoff
Director Lexi Alexander wants to make a message movie yet also seems attracted by the firms macho ethics
2
Green Street Hooligans
G. Allen Johnson
Terrific because director Lexi Alexander a German brings an authentic feel to English hooliganism this is a brutal yet tremendously entertaining film and treats it very seriously
3
Green Street Hooligans
Michael Szymanski
Pretty boy turned gang leader Charlie Hunnam offers a career performance
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
Kyle Smith
Director and co writer Lexi Alexander choreographs the fight scenes with thrilling chaos and the plot unfolds expertly if melodramatically
3
Green Street Hooligans
Bob Strauss
The fundamental idiocy of the whole business keeps the movie from scoring any serious goals
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
Jami Bernard
Hooligans delivers two main points that family is where you find it and that violence can be as intoxicating to some as a drug
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
Lisa Rose
Although the central message is questionable and the plot is packed with contrivances the film makes for an engaging treatise on a subculture
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
Kim Morgan
Though the film begins with the promise of dissecting the origins and politics of the firms the neighborhood turf wars and the general attraction towards football hooligan culture it quickly abandons those aims
2
Green Street Hooligans
Josh Larsen
You watch the movie clutched in a defensive position
3
Green Street Hooligans
Dan Fienberg
Suggesting Hooligans is just too darned real for the entertainment industry to fathom would make a lot more sense if the movie weren t so mind numbingly derivative
2.5
Green Street Hooligans
John Anderson
Alexander s techniques occasionally get a bit too fancy but the movie has a kinetic energy and intelligence that score
2
Green Street Hooligans
Michael Phillips
This is Fight Club without the irony or the metaphysical gaming
1.5
St. Vincent
Brian Eggert
An endearing if sappy feel gooder made pleasant by the affable presence of Bill Murray
3
St. Vincent
Pamela Powell
St Vincent is a beautifully told story capitalizing on the strengths of its stars The predictable story becomes evident but this is forgivable because it s such a sweet and tender story
3.5
St. Vincent
Josh Terry
St Vincent is an uplifting film but parents should understand that it isn t an easy film to watch
3.5
St. Vincent
Lisa Jensen
A well meaning movie that never is quite what it wants to be
2.5
St. Vincent
Robert W. Butler
With his feature debut writer director Theodore Melfi can be accused of dishing Hollywood cliches but his cast s sheer good humor and professionalism lift this yarn And the pile of improbabilities is offset by real heart and solid laughs
3
St. Vincent
John Wirt
Bill Murray finds the perfect Bill Murray role in St Vincent
3
St. Vincent
Mara Reinstein
While the film is stuffed with cliches at least they re the warm and fuzzy kind
3
St. Vincent
Scott Nash
A showcase for Bill Murray
3
St. Vincent
Linda Cook
This is one of those curmudgeon with a kind of good heart stories Even when the script gets a little shaky the acting is superlative And the characters for the most part feel real
3
St. Vincent
Robert Levin
It s a chance for Murray to act the hell out of a juicy part
3
St. Vincent
Mike McGranaghan
A funny charming feel good movie that rises above a few clichés
3.5
St. Vincent
John Serba
Bill Murray s performance goes far beyond the irony of laughing at an old man who wears his cynicism on his sleeve
3.5
St. Vincent
John Beifuss
A showcase for a slobby star and sloppy sentiment St Vincent is an entirely bogus enterprise except that it may leave you against your better judgment with a genuine smile on your authentic face
2.5
St. Vincent
Kam Williams
Bill Murray s in rare form here as an irascible curmudgeon who exhibits an endearing vulnerability for the sake of an at risk tween in need of a father figure
3
St. Vincent
Brad Keefe
Shamelessly attempts to harness as much of the Bill Murray magic as it can Results are mixed but at least it s got Bill Murray
2.5
St. Vincent
Peter Travers
St Vincent will dodge your impulse to projectile vomit For that all hail Bill Murray who whacks away at the script s sentimental softballs like A Rod in full swing
2.5
St. Vincent
Richard Roeper
The adult supporting players are all excellent but next to Murray the key casting is Jaeden Lieberher as young Oliver The kid is a natural in the sidekick role never once playing it too cute or too actor y
3.5
St. Vincent
Willie Waffle
The legend of Bill Murray has become more about his life than his work Yet his work is fantastic especially in St Vincent
3
St. Vincent
Duane Dudek
There is little real sense of risk reward or redemption
2.5
St. Vincent
Lisa Kennedy
It s good to see funny gal McCarthy playing the straight woman in this comedy rather than the appealing appalling lout It s even better to see a working mom depicted with care
3.5
St. Vincent
Liam Lacey
St Vincent is no conventional hagiography but it s the movie world s equivalent a star vehicle Give director Melfi credit for knowing the capacity of the engine he has under its hood
2.5
St. Vincent
Dustin Putman
Without its lead actors there would be little that is original or special about St Vincent The film is all the better for them
2.5
St. Vincent
Anders Wright
Most of the time two hours spent with Bill Murray are well spent because even if he s America s favorite rascal he s certainly no saint
2.5
St. Vincent
Dann Gire
St Vincent thrives or dies on the relationship between Murray and Lieberher Their amazing chemistry produces sparks between a polite boy and his rude world weary baby sitter
3
St. Vincent
Peter Howell
A movie with laughter soul and a twisting path to the heart
3
St. Vincent
Ann Hornaday
Murray s freewheeling deadpan image fuses so thoroughly with Vincent s own endearingly grizzled misanthropy that it s hard to tell where the actor ends and the geezer begins
2.5
St. Vincent
Joe Williams
Of course Murray is the star attraction here in a role that s both fan friendly and reminiscent of the range he showed in Broken Flowers and Lost in Translation
3
St. Vincent
Matt Pais
Goes somewhere gooey that only makes the previous rough edges sticky with a finale that s bitten from a late 90s ABC sitcom
2
St. Vincent
Michael Phillips
The broader visual comedy lacks finesse But the actors win out
3
St. Vincent
Steven Rea
If St Vincent flirts with sappiness it does and how Melfi has struck gold in the pairing of Murray and Lieberher
3
St. Vincent
Brian Tallerico
A piece of very well made cheese a movie in which one can feel its manipulations and heart string pulling but the talented ensemble makes those critical talking points easy to dismiss
3
St. Vincent
Stephen Whitty
This is Bill Murray s movie and he dominates and redeems every scene he s in
3
St. Vincent
Claudia Puig
St Vincent tries its darnedest to be crowd pleasing This is not to say that it s not entertaining or lacks good performances It s often quite funny
2.5
St. Vincent
Jocelyn Noveck
Who wouldn t want to spend 102 minutes in the company of Murray at his grumpy best his eyes in a perpetual roll annoyed by anyone and everything but somehow earning affection from those who annoy him
3
St. Vincent
Elise Nakhnikian
The actors create emotionally coherent and sympathetic characters from a collection of often contradictory monumentally irresponsible or just plain improbable actions
2.5
St. Vincent
Rex Reed
I found it the cinematic equivalent of a 10 mg Valium
2
St. Vincent
Lou Lumenick
Maybe even Jack Nicholson couldn t do a better job than Murray playing this improbable hero something that probably isn t going to be forgotten come Oscar time
3
Any Given Sunday
Joe Lozito
With few surprises and little to say in this film it is unclear why Oliver Stone was interested in making it in the first place
2
Any Given Sunday
Margaret A. McGurk
The cast does an impressive job
3
Any Given Sunday
Rick Groen
Choc a bloc with manly blather about sacrifice and honour and rugged individuals pulling together for the greater glory of the team
2
Any Given Sunday
Ed Gonzalez
A flawed yet riveting journey into the heart of a corrupt America
3
Any Given Sunday
Andrew Howe
The perfect film for anyone in search of transient thrills
3
Any Given Sunday
Blake French
dead in the water
1.5
Any Given Sunday
Jay Carr
There s no shortage of color and vigor in this pumped up movie
2.5
Any Given Sunday
Peter Stack
Raucous violent in your face and occasionally advancing like a punch to the belly
3
Any Given Sunday
Shay Casey
For those interested in the sport this football movie is a revealing experience
3
Any Given Sunday
Madeleine Williams
Loud brash and fatally uninteresting
1
Any Given Sunday
Bob Bloom
Any Given Sunday is merely a routine movie wrapped in an epic s clothing
2.5
Any Given Sunday
Cornell & Petricelli
This pumped up ensemble piece is a boiling sea of adrenaline testosterone with estrogen in the back office and pain during the Sunday Gladiatorial spectacle of American football
3.5
Any Given Sunday
Ross Anthony
This is a hardcore football flick not some mushy tale with football as a backdrop
2.5
Any Given Sunday
Mike Clark
Pass the popcorn and then the testosterone
3
Any Given Sunday
Mike Gregory
An exhilarating chaotic film that manages to be both admiring and critical of the game that keeps fans glued to the TV every weekend
3
Any Given Sunday
David Keyes
A movie of laughably bad proportions shot with extensive graininess and directed at an unforgivably slow pace
1.5
Any Given Sunday
Susan Stark
Pretentious almost to the point of silliness
2
Any Given Sunday
Lou Lumenick
Probably the most predictable and blatantly commercial movie Oliver Stone s ever directed
2.5
Shortcut
Simon Abrams
Both an amateurish production and a mindless genre exercise
1
Shortcut
Randy Myers
While Shortcut won t win awards it does take us on a joyride back to the old school horror style in which the scares are teased rather than trumpeted It is ideal drive in fare
3
Shortcut
Mike McGranaghan
A nifty little surprise Think of The Breakfast Club reimagined as a creature feature and you start to get the idea
3
Looking for Lincoln
Kam Williams
A worthwhile bio pic which belatedly knocks an American icon undeserving of secular sainthood off his lofty pedestal
4
Brian's Song
Tom Meek
One of the all time great sports dramas to grace the screen
4
The Perfect Match
Sheila O'Malley
There is a welcome and surprising layer of complexity running through the film that makes it a little bit more than your standard fare The likable and funny ensemble helps too
2.5
The Perfect Match
Kam Williams
Overall this delightful ensemble dramedy is reminiscent of a couple of other great urban classics Love Jones 1997 and The Best Man 1999 That s good company
4
The Rink
Josh Larsen
the sort of comic clumsiness that only a superb athlete could manage
3
For the Plasma
Brian Tallerico
With deadpan line readings that seem purposefully affected it s a film that plays with our instinct to look for meaning in imagery and the baggage we bring to a movie
3
For the Plasma
Carson Lund
The film whose disparate narrative threads unsurprisingly never connect drowns in weirdness for its own sake
1
Louisiana: The Other Side
Robert Horton
I acknowledge this film s power and still feel uneasy about it and unsure of its point But there s no question that in many scenes it captures remarkable details
3
Louisiana: The Other Side
Kate Taylor
In the end the power of Minervini s pseudo fiction gives way to a much blander version of pseudo reality
2
Louisiana: The Other Side
Godfrey Cheshire
An immersive almost harrowingly naturalistic plunge into the lives of marginal Louisianans obsessed with guns drugs and belligerent resentments
3
Louisiana: The Other Side
Carson Lund
Roberto Minervini s documentary is as quintessentially American a text as one could hope for in today s divided union
3.5
She Came from the Woods
Kevin Carr
I appreciated the nostalgic setting as genre comfort food and the slasher elements work even if the origin story would make a better original movie 10
3
She Came from the Woods
Mike McGranaghan
There are much scarier summer camp movies and much funnier ones too
2
The Visitation
Josh Hurst
Here s a Christian movie that s an embarrassment to a genre that doesn t exactly have a reputation for producing great art
0
The End of the Tour
Pamela Powell
The End of the Tour is a rare and insightful look into depression and how it affected one brilliantly talented author
4
The End of the Tour
Max Weiss
I can t speak to its veracity but I loved Segel s work here playing Wallace as someone who over analyzed everything to a compulsive near paralyzing degree while still managing to be the most interesting literary guy in the room
3.5
The End of the Tour
David N. Butterworth
The End of the Tour made me want to try reading Infinite Jest again so compelling a portrait Jason Segel paints of its troubled author
3
The End of the Tour
David Frese
Jason Segel is so good in The End of the Tour you can almost smell him
4
The End of the Tour
John Beifuss
The filmmakers fail to convince us that the low stakes low drama Wallace Lipsky encounter required another telling nor do they justify the decision to produce a blandly traditional film about a writer celebrated for his originality
2.5
The End of the Tour
Brad Keefe
A dissection of both the mind of a writer and the nature of an interviewer
3.5
The End of the Tour
John Semley
The performances the writing the direction Segel s D F W impression everything is just fine But The End of the Tour is disgraceful It feels like it s towing out the real Wallace s ghost to perform some soppy parody of himself
1
The End of the Tour
Calum Marsh
The film understands that it s a mistake to believe that a road trip with Wallace is enough to somehow solve him That I think is the film s covert virtue deference It defers to the complexity of a man it knows it isn t able to comprehend
3
The End of the Tour
Robert Levin
What sounds suffocating plays as an openhearted piece of cinema thanks to the filmmaker s great grasp of observational technique and the fine performances
3
The End of the Tour
Scott Renshaw
Segel and Eisenberg both capture their interplay beautifully in what is essentially a two hander built around their conversations
3
The End of the Tour
Michael Smith
The End of the Tour makes it look effortless to tell a difficult story about two souls making a connection which is a difficult enough achievement in this world
3.5
The End of the Tour
Rick Bentley
The real star is the script
3
The End of the Tour
Bob Bloom
Though it may seem that the film is merely about two guys shooting the bull The End of the Tour is really a compelling character study of young men with different outlooks on fame and celebrity
4
The End of the Tour
Lawrence Toppman
Eisenberg is a natural for his role which suggests others he has done Segel maligned for taking the part after many superficial comedies gives a superb performance that suggests nobody else he has played
3.5
The End of the Tour
Calvin Wilson
Despite a premise that seems anything but cinematic The End of the Tour is an offbeat and fascinating film
3.5
The End of the Tour
Rafer Guzman
More intellectually than emotionally compelling but Segel s sincere performance as Wallace gives the movie a beating heart
3
The End of the Tour
Steven Rea
We re in the company of a great character here with a lot on his mind a lot to say
3.5
The End of the Tour
Josh Larsen
most intriguing as a passive aggressive competition of egos between the two men
3.5
The End of the Tour
Dann Gire
End of the Tour does provide a fascinating insight into the relationship between a smart semi fawning journalist and his extremely perceptive subject
3
The End of the Tour
Ann Hornaday
A thoughtful moving testament to genuine connection
4
The End of the Tour
Matt Pais
A deeply human study of the internal impulses we indulge or hide whether that pertains to intellect attraction emptiness or otherwise
3.5
The End of the Tour
Randy Myers
This is a peel back the layers drama that addresses the perplexing themes of Infinite Jest which apply to us all What The End of the Tour focuses on is truly an axiom for our times
3.5
The End of the Tour
Matt Zoller Seitz
Certainly one of cinema s finest explorations of an incredibly specific dynamic that of the cultural giant and the reporter who fantasizes about one day being as great as his subject and in the same field
3
The End of the Tour
Charles Bramesco
The End of the Tour is less interested in David Foster Wallace as a mythical titan of culture and more in the difficult dynamic between interviewer and subject
3
The End of the Tour
John Serba
The more these men talk the more the conversation becomes about abstract concepts of self and personae about why we tell stories fiction or non about communication itself
3.5
The End of the Tour
Jackson Cuidon
What makes the movie s plot a bit wince inducing is the unsubtlety with which Lipsky s book was interjected with artificial conflict for the sake of adaptation
2
The End of the Tour
Peter Travers
An illuminating meditation on art and life with Jason Segel giving the performance of his career potently catching the internal conflicts of celebrated novelist David Foster Wallace
3.5
The End of the Tour
Jesse Cataldo
It does well in using dialogue to shape its escalating tte tte but the filmmaking is too fuzzy to expand on those ideas
2.5
The End of the Tour
Stephen Rebello
The End of the Tour may be a niche movie but for those willing to tunnel in it s a thing of beauty
3.5
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Mattie Lucas
It coasts along on an undercooked idea that never gets off the ground It s hard to imagine the real end of the world being this dull
2
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Rob Humanick
Intermittently captures the sense of human desperation it strives for as if to say the best we can hope for is to crawl past the finish line
2.5
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Walter V. Addiego
Though it gains traction toward the end viewers may finally feel puzzled or indifferent You expect a bit more from the end of the world
2
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Glenn Lovell
the last thing we d expect from the aging enfant terrible behind Bad Lieutenant and King of New York comes off as a somber testimonial warning commissioned by a think tank overseen by Al Gore
2
4:44 Last Day on Earth
V.A. Musetto
If the end of the world was just hours away would New Yorkers still be able to get takeout Yes if Abel Ferrara s mind bending 4 Last Day on Earth is any indication
3
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Scott Bowles
Ferrara doesn t give his protagonists room to do much beyond have arguments and sex though the intimacy is shot well
2
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Eric Melin
Beyond being an articulate examination of the case the conclusion of the film will leave you with all kinds of questions to ponder about what justice in our legal system really means
3.5
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Bill Chambers
More a glorified DVD supplement than a documentary
2.5
Umberto D
Brian Eggert
Earns a place among the most life affirming motion pictures ever made
4
Umberto D
Mattie Lucas
What a wrenching vision what a painful impassioned plea for overlooked masses
4
Umberto D
Josh Larsen
a picture of a man who has been cast into a dehumanizing vortex largely because of others indifference
4
Umberto D
Eric Melin
Even sentimentality is something that springs naturally from the characters situations Umberto has an immense amount of pride despite his impoverished conditions and his attempts to survive aren t accompanied by the usual filmic theatrics
3.5
Umberto D
Phil Villarreal
De Sica takes a premise that drips with sentimentality and wipes all the sappiness away leaving only raw action and subtle underlying emotion
4
Umberto D
Michael Wilmington
One of the great humanist cinema works a portrayal of age poverty and simple lives in postwar Rome that is both luminous and heartbreaking
4
Queer As F..K
Ed Gonzalez
Queer as F k collects six short films from the New Queer Cinema movement that simultaneously extol and eat away at gay identity with modes of camp
3.5
Run With the Hunted
Glenn Kenny
Director Swab handles this all with due dispatch and an ability that s a hair or two above what you d call mere competence One has to give him that But not a whole lot more
1.5
Run With the Hunted
Derek Smith
Some of the film s narrative threads are frustratingly unresolved while others are wrapped up in arbitrary fashion
1.5
The Ornithologist
G. Allen Johnson
If nothing else will have the adventurous viewer considering a nature trip to Portugal
3
The Ornithologist
Nick Allen
There s always something to ponder with this film which gets stranger and more polarizing as it goes along
3.5
The Ornithologist
Shane Slater
Boldly blurs the lines between reality and fantasy ensnaring the viewer in a mysterious and mesmerizing adventure
3
Bharat
Simon Abrams
A corny drama about the title character s quest to support and do right by his family in post partition India
2.5
The In Between
Randy Myers
Although The In Between does run on too long its gem of a script and charismatic actors keeps you fully invested in it and its hard to swallow premise
3
Hoot
Todd Hertz
The only highlight is a sequence of outstanding cinematography in Florida s Everglades Oh and there s one funny joke But that doesn t make this film a hoot at all
1
Hoot
Tim Cogshell
Younger kids will find the pranks and schemes funny while the enviro activist theme is an important message to which they may just latch on The eco responsibility part not the venomous snake part one hopes
3
Hoot
Thomas Delapa
It s hard to give a hoot about Roy or any of his furtive feathered friends when they re surrounded by a nest of dreary cliches
1
Hoot
Kit Bowen
Holes Because of Winn Dixie and now Hoot Since we don t really have after school TV specials anymore these kid novels turned hokey movies seem to be fitting the bill
2
Hoot
Sean McBride
I can t image any kid getting excited by this eco friendly kiddie empowerment flick
1
Hoot
Mark Collette
Unrelentingly sweet and dull as driftwood
1
Hoot
Susan Walker
Endangered as they are burrowing owls will be disappointed to learn that their cause has been hitched to a movie with little entertainment value let alone credible strategies to save their environment
2
Hoot
Maitland McDonagh
The child actors are bland the adult characters are forced to act like dunderheads to keep the paper thin plot going and the generic sounding Jimmy Buffett songs are just a little out of sync with the film s target age group
2
Hoot
Claudia Puig
There is nothing objectionable in this family film but it doesn t seem to appreciate the intelligence and savvy of its youthful audience Kids can spot a silly stereotypical character as fast as the rest of us
2.5
Hoot
Tom Keogh
But while Hoot s pro environment message to kids is certainly worthy the unquestioning pro vigilante angle doesn t sit entirely well
2
Hoot
Ruthe Stein
Fun to watch although falling short of a real hoot this latest in a barrage of family movies largely succeeds at keeping the kiddies entertained and their parents from nodding off
3
Hoot
David Elliott
The new movie has some of Hiaasen s anti development vinegar yet given the milkshake spin of a family time teen picture
2.5
Hoot
Carla Meyer
While the Peter Pan figure is a staple of kids literature and film Hoot lacks the attendant sense of fantasy to pull this character off
2
Hoot
Timothy Knight
It feels a little churlish to pan an environmentally friendly film that presents kids taking a courageous stand but Hoot is disappointingly lackluster from start to finish
1.5
Hoot
Carrie Rickey
One wishes that a film about the fight against a bland restaurant chain were more piquant But movies for tweens like burrowing owls are an endangered species that need preservation
2.5
Hoot
Kyle Smith
The movie pretends to take a kids point of view but it treats kids like idiots
1.5
Hoot
Jami Bernard
I question the message of Hoot a family movie that tacitly encourages kids to vandalize property and behave like little ecoterrorists
2
Hoot
Peter Debruge
Hiaasen s sense of humor loses something in the translation What s side splitting on the page becomes silly on the screen
2
Hoot
Glenn Whipp
Hoot is a modest hoot but enjoyable all the same
3
Hoot
Loey Lockerby
There s a kind of earnest ineptitude to Hoot that makes it seem like a cheap TV movie with bland virtually unknown young stars
2
Hoot
Amy Biancolli
The movie is unessential at best But the Everglades and the owls that live nearby are irresistible
2
Hoot
Liam Lacey
The goal is apparently a double exercise in heartfelt lessons and deep hilarity but it s hard to tell because the pace feels so lethargic
2
Hoot
John Monaghan
Its makers will tell you that Hoot is an educational film but aside from showing that some owls live underground rather than in trees little knowledge is actually imparted
2
Hoot
Dan Fienberg
There has to have been a way for Hoot to have preached the gospel of wildness preservation grabbed a PG rating and still maintained Hiaasen s delirious nastiness
2
Hoot
Lisa Kennedy
While Hoot has heart subtlety turns out to be endangered
2.5
Hoot
Daniel M. Kimmel
This is a film that may inspire kids to become more eco friendly and or go out and read Hiaason s novel
3
Hoot
Willie Waffle
writer director Wil Shriner gets so wrapped up in hugging the trees and kissing spotted owls that he forgets to put together an interesting movie that we can enjoy for more than its agenda
1
Hoot
Bill Muller
The movie treats us as if we re all 3 years old and it belies its supposedly positive message by filling the story with dysfunctional families and a teenager left alone to forage in the wilderness
2
Hoot
Sue Pierman
You can see how Hoot would make a great book for kids but onscreen it all moves just a little bit too ploddingly
2.5
Hoot
David Germain
Trying to be lighthearted it turns lightweight and bland
2
Hoot
Laura Kelly
Hoot tells a corny but gently humorous can do tale of three Florida kids who help save a family of burrowing owls
2.5
Hoot
Jeffrey Westhoff
Hoot has a big heart and a generous disposition but not much wisdom for a movie about owls
2.5
Hoot
Matt Pais
A cross between the world as kids wish it was and children as their parents would like them to be
1
Hoot
Phil Villarreal
Of all the attributes that make Hoot a terrible movie it s the soundtrack that s truly bad enough to drive you to Margaritaville
1
Hoot
Ed Gonzalez
The story dawdles but it has a healthy message to impart about standing up to evildoers
2.5
Enemy of the State
Josh Gilchrist
Preposterous
2
Enemy of the State
David Sterritt
The movie has plenty of high tech power spinning out action so explosive you ll hardly notice how preposterous the story is or how cardboard thin the characters are
2
Enemy of the State
Margaret A. McGurk
You ve got to hand it to director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer They know how to please a crowd
3
Enemy of the State
Rick Groen
From there with the mystery entirely gone and the thrills fading fast the rest is pretty much a two hour chase sequence culminating in a hilariously maladroit shoot out
2.5
Enemy of the State
Peter Travers
What do you say about a movie that sends you home in a frenzy to search for bugs In the new age of Big Brother that s entertainment
4
Enemy of the State
Rob Blackwelder
If only Bruckheimer movies weren t so loaded with recycled paint by numbers story elements and catch phrase dialogue If only the characters exercised common sense
1.5
Enemy of the State
Jorge Avila Andrade
La tecnologa actual resulta en muchas ocasiones contraproducente ya que mientras ms tecnificado se encuentra el ser humano es ms fcil quitarle su identidad propia
3
Enemy of the State
Bob Bloom
Either way after seeing it you ll be more conscious of the technology surrounding you
2.5
Enemy of the State
Ian Mantgani
A thriller that didn t thrill me with heroes I didn t care about villains I didn t believe and a plot I could not follow
2
Enemy of the State
Marty Mapes
It s not as thoughtful as The Conversation but it s still pretty good
2.5
Enemy of the State
Madeleine Williams
Enemy of the State is a fun film to watch even though it doesn t have as much substance as it initially seems
3
Enemy of the State
Susan Stark
An exciting if often overheated thriller
3
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Jonathan W. Hickman
films like Z Channel help to further my education providing an enriching experience for any serious cineaste
3.5
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Walter Chaw
A glass darkly held to watchers in the dark that succumb now and again to the rapture of the screen
3.5
S.O.B.
Betsy Bozdech
What S O B does do well is poke fun at some of the excesses of late 70s Hollywood
2.5
Semi-Pro
Scott Nash
It isn t a good enough sports movie to please sports fans and it s not an outright funny enough movie to please Ferrell s fans
2.5
Semi-Pro
Jonathan W. Hickman
A lot of it is funny but the problem is that it doesn t amount to much
2.5
Semi-Pro
Austin Kennedy
Coming from someone that didn t like Ferrell s last few comedies I can say that this is an improvement
3
Semi-Pro
Lori Hoffman
Will Ferrell has been copying his own parody formula so much after Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory he has become his own joke eating virus
1.5
Semi-Pro
Michael A. Smith
The cast does though rise above the top or bottom of some situations and keeps the film on the positive side of funny
2.5
Semi-Pro
John Wirt
A not ready for primetime tale that should have stayed on the bench
1.5
Semi-Pro
Larry Ratliff
No one will argue that Semi Pro isn t crude and lewd Thanks to Ferrell and his cast of crazies however it plays the lowbrow genre like an all pro
3
Semi-Pro
Gary Brown
Will Ferrell puts up enough bricks to build a hotel
1.5
Semi-Pro
Nick Rogers
With all the vertical leap of a pygmy in a pick up game Semi Pro is like a movie in the mind of a 10 year old who s discovered profanity and a shoebox of blank Mad Libs funny only to the person coming up with it
1.5
Semi-Pro
Claudia Puig
There are some ludicrous sight gags and uniquely silly if foul mouthed laughs The movie falters when it tries to be serious Fortunately those moments are few
2.5
Semi-Pro
Ken Fox
The humor is mostly visual while too many of the scenes that are actually written whimper out without a punch line
2
Semi-Pro
Mark Rahner
I laughed from start to finish at its relentlessly energetically profane absurdity and a cast crammed with funny actors in even the smallest roles
2.5
Semi-Pro
Bruce Newman
Ferrell is capable of a great deal more than he s been delivering It might surprise him to learn that white men can jump But first they have to try
2.5
Semi-Pro
Carla Meyer
The Will Ferrell man boy persona a combination of obstinacy idiocy and innocence that Ferrell has ushered through several successful comedies finally gets called for traveling in Semi Pro
2
Semi-Pro
Kyle Smith
Semi Pro goes up for the dunk and misses the hoop the backboard and the point Instead it manages to both strike out and get sacked Whose idea was it to remake Slap Shot a la Jerry Lewis
1
Semi-Pro
Jack Mathews
For die hard Ferrell fans this could be the ultimate test He has been playing variations of Elf for five years and his antics have grown as stale as Jackie s socks
1.5
Semi-Pro
Duane Dudek
The conceptually canny but narratively disappointing Semi Pro finds Ferrell taking one step forward and two steps back
2.5
Semi-Pro
Robert W. Butler
Semi Pro is all fancy dribbling and passing with nobody actually scoring
2.5
Semi-Pro
Amy Biancolli
It s long on shorts but short on punchlines
2
Semi-Pro
Rick Groen
Ferrell is to the sports comedy what the Toronto Maple Leafs are to the hockey biz Hard core fans are sure to show up and find reasons to be amused The rest of us can only hope for better days
2
Semi-Pro
Lisa Kennedy
Technically it s not a foul to shoot a stupid sports comedy In fact it s becoming something of a routine maneuver for Will Ferrell
1.5
Semi-Pro
Lawrence Toppman
Semi Pro is just Will Ferrell doing the same man boy shtick he usually does
1.5
Semi-Pro
Brandon Fibbs
Despite a riotous cast and a battery of what should be hilarious cameos Semi Pro shoots and misses the mark by a wide margin
.5
Semi-Pro
John Beifuss
Ferrell s character comedies spoof NASCAR figure skating and so on but these films also reveal a sincere envious love and fascination for the cultures and skills they mimic These are wish fulfillment movies
2
Semi-Pro
Eric Melin
It puts too big a burden on Ferrell to make comedy gold out of rough outlines
2
Semi-Pro
Christian Toto
Ferrell can t jump in the tepid Semi Pro
2
Semi-Pro
Daniel M. Kimmel
Semi Pro is semi amusing and semi entertaining It s a step up from the real turkeys but like the Tropics it s never going to be ready for the big leagues
2
Semi-Pro
Bob Bloom
What is most extraordinary about Semi Pro is that someone actually provided money to produce it The funding probably came from someone who did not or could not read the script
0
Semi-Pro
Willie Waffle
So clichéd it becomes the movie it is supposed to mock
2
Semi-Pro
Peter Travers
Even when the script by Scot Armstrong shoots airballs Ferrell is a slam dunk
2.5
Semi-Pro
Carrie Rickey
I loved Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction liked him in Old School and Talladega Nights Yet except for a skyhook or two his work in Semi Pro is strictly amateur
2
Semi-Pro
Nick Schager
Perhaps the feeblest entry in the Will Ferrell Sports Comedy canon
1.5
Semi-Pro
Joe Lozito
There s an honest to goodness sports movie trying to emerge in this typically goofy Will Ferrell comedy Too bad it didn t try a little harder
2.5
Semi-Pro
Gene Seymour
You keep watching Semi Pro and waiting for its potentially hilarious setup to deliver the goods And after a while you realize that the laughter comes only in anticipation of a payoff that never quite arrives
2
Semi-Pro
Phil Villarreal
You know when a basketball team that s trailing at the end of the game obnoxiously extends the pain by calling a billion timeouts That s exactly how Semi Pro goes out
2.5
Semi-Pro
Sean McBride
the sports section simply isn t very stirring and without a supporting cast dedicated to the humor the film isn t consistently funny either
2
Three Sisters
Chris Cabin
Wang Bing s no frills style of documentation visually echoes the preadolescent trio s simple yet unforgiving world and its sense of labor as life
3
Vikingdom
Drew Hunt
Intentionally or otherwise Yusry Abd Halim allows the film in all its candy colored visuals and slow mo laden action scenes to revel in its inherent campiness
2.5
Playing With Fire
Phil Villarreal
One of the worst movies of the year
1
Playing With Fire
Katie Walsh
Haven t firefighters had it hard enough this fall
1.5
Playing With Fire
Christy Lemire
A series of wacky antics with little concern for continuity logic or pacing
.5
Playing With Fire
Steven Prokopy
I keep looking at the names in this cast and being astonished that such a talented collection of individuals could have produced such tragically unfunny work
1
Playing With Fire
Sara Stewart
Director Andy Fickman favors poop jokes and the cringe humor of watching little kids court danger with a nail gun kerosene an ax and sometimes literally fire
1
Southern District
Rene Rodriguez
Southern District feels like a snapshot of a world on the brink of extinction
3
Ferpect Crime
Paul Doro
Scattered clever moments do not a good dark comedy make
2
Ferpect Crime
Rick Groen
My advice is to choose the first half where things are really funny until they aren t
2.5
Ferpect Crime
Larry Ratliff
The Perfect Crime is an outrageous fiesta of decadence
3.5
Ferpect Crime
Wesley Morris
An outrageous comedy of errors set at a Madrid department store
3
Ferpect Crime
Tom Keogh
An astute satire on the boundlessness of unchecked sexual fetishism and power
3.5
Ferpect Crime
Marta Barber
While not boring it is too light to be taken seriously
2.5
Ferpect Crime
John Monaghan
El Crimen Perfecto loses some steam in the final quarter but still has enough style to make you want to see how it all shakes out
3
Ferpect Crime
Walter V. Addiego
There are lots of wicked laughs here if nothing tremendously original
3
Ferpect Crime
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Like any good maker of black comedy Iglesia measures his humor in deviations from the norm
3
Ferpect Crime
Jeff Strickler
Writer director lex de la Iglesia has made it clear that all rules are off and all our expectations are moot Not satisfied merely to follow his premise out the window he s going to drag it up to the 50th floor first
2.5
Ferpect Crime
V.A. Musetto
There s not enough good material to fill the film s overlong 105 minutes
2
Ferpect Crime
Gene Seymour
Director Alex de la Iglesia has much to teach the world at large about making smart lively social satire that bows to past masters without being hobbled by self consciousness
2.5
Ferpect Crime
Ed Gonzalez
Spanish auteur lex de la Iglesia continues to show absolutely no signs of reconciling his dramatic and comedic impulses
3
Bill W.
John Wirt
A beautifully assembled documentary that reveals the purposefully low profiled co founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
3
Bill W.
David Lewis
Pretty much like the man himself solid sometimes flawed and seriously unflashy
3
Bill W.
Stephanie Merry
This is a real portrait that demonstrates that even when alcoholics quit drinking it doesn t cure them of their other flaws But it also gives credit where it s due
2.5
Bill W.
John Anderson
Wilson s presence feels genuine and adds to the unalloyed honesty of Hanlon and Carracino s storytelling
2.5
Bill W.
Lou Lumenick
Bill W draws on a treasure trove of archival footage audio recordings and interviews with people who knew him and drives home his lifelong struggle with depression as well as the sheer emotional burden of becoming a hero to millions
3
The Wolfpack
Rania Richardson
THE WOLFPACK is as intriguing as it is unbelievable A paranoid immigrant his pliant wife and their seven children live in self imposed confinement in the middle of New York City
3
The Wolfpack
Craig D. Lindsey
Hopefully The Wolfpack will also remind some parents that you can t hold onto your kids forever Their desire to see and do everything is too strong Sometimes you just gotta let those little bastards roam
3
The Wolfpack
Tom Meek
The compelling quality of Moselle s exploration get a great boost from the motion creating editing and frenetic metal score not to mention her caring touch
3
The Wolfpack
John Wirt
A harrowing liberating documentary
2.5
The Wolfpack
Rene Rodriguez
Whether they are dancing exuberantly to the cheesy 1980s pop hit Tarzan Boy or celebrating Halloween in their tiny living room these kids figured out how to not only survive but thrive Sometimes with a little luck and a lot of love joy finds a way
3
The Wolfpack
Marty Mapes
All cooped up with nowhere to go luckily there are movies
2.5
The Wolfpack
Scott Renshaw
It s a fascinating in the moment experience
3
The Wolfpack
Robert Horton
The Wolfpack reminds us in extreme terms that watching movies might be a way of learning how to live
3
The Wolfpack
Gary Thompson
In the Truth is Stranger than Fiction file The Wolfpack a documentary about six teen brothers home schooled to the point of imprisonment In Manhattan of all places
3
The Wolfpack
Anders Wright
The Wolfpack isn t a perfect movie by any means but it s often a fascinating one and it s less about the power of film than it is a story so strange that it s hard to look away
3
The Wolfpack
Michael O'Sullivan
More than a testament to the power of cinematic storytelling as food for the human spirit The Wolfpack also is a portrait of a family that has had to rely on each other to survive
4
The Wolfpack
Dann Gire
The sheer idea that a New York family of nine could not only survive but thrive while being sealed inside a Lower East Side Manhattan apartment most of their lives makes for fascinating viewing that no reality TV show can touch
3
The Wolfpack
Matt Pais
This is a fascinating story that deserves a much different film
2
The Wolfpack
Robert Levin
More than anything The Wolfpack is a true New York City story reminding us that the heart and soul of this metropolis can be found in the diverse journeys of those who call it home
3
The Wolfpack
Alissa Wilkinson
Director Crystal Moselle stands back from her subjects allowing them to do most of the talking Her camera is remarkably non judgmental especially given how easily it could have become a look at the freak show sort of film
3.5
The Wolfpack
Simon Houpt
If the film is patchy it shows promise Thankfully so do the boys themselves
3
The Wolfpack
Brian Tallerico
Much of The Wolfpack is undeniably moving especially as the boys come out into the real world frightened and unsure of themselves
2.5
The Wolfpack
Chris Knight
The result is still a gripping documentary but frustrating in that it seems to have gone for eight of the whole nine yards
3
The Wolfpack
Peter Travers
What if all you knew of the world came from Hollywood movies That s a loaded question and Crystal Moselle s gripping doc runs with it You won t be able to pull your eyes off the screen
3
The Wolfpack
Clayton Dillard
Crystal Moselle aims her cinematic arrow at the hearts of the same choir that Andrew Jarecki s stunted aesthetics preach to
2
Van Nuys Blvd.
Austin Kennedy
It was infectious in a strange way but after about an hour of this it begins to drag a bit The movie ends up not going anywhere
2.5
The Change-Up
Brian Eggert
There s an audience that will go bananas over such a low effort comedy but only if they re in the mood for shock based and intentionally offensive humor
3
The Change-Up
Josh Terry
For audiences in need of a boost God Bless the Broken Road might offer just enough of a payoff to justify a few rough patches
3
The Change-Up
Craig D. Lindsey
If you still enjoy the sort of bathroom humor that had you in hysterics back in grade school this movie delivers those juvenile gags in every sense of the word in droves
1
The Change-Up
John Wirt
Gross out comedy The Change Up is among the worst of Hollywood s body switching movies
1.5
The Change-Up
Linda Barnard
The Change Up goes downhill faster than a snowboarder strapped to a jetpack
1
The Change-Up
Keith Cohen
This movie is the equivalent of being on an emotional roller coaster One minute you like being onboard and the next you desperately want to get off If you are in the mood for the outrageous preposterous and ridiculous this comedy provides a
2.5
The Change-Up
Scott Nash
Has its moments although you might want to just wait until the DVD to see them
2.5
The Change-Up
Christian Toto
The Change Up thinks any ol R rated gag will make us howl
1.5
The Change-Up
Jennie Punter
Freaky yes but definitely not Freaky Friday
2
The Change-Up
Mike Scott
Think Freak Friday with F bombs
2
The Change-Up
Stephen Whitty
Bateman and Reynolds never get into the hall of mirrors mimicry that Nicolas Cage and John Travolta so enjoyed in Face Off
2
The Change-Up
Erik Childress
A screenplay that should equally insult every single AND married man who witnesses this catastrophe They say you have to hit rock bottom before you can find clarity Well after their Hangover Lucas Moore certainly did it with The Change Up
0
The Change-Up
Ann Hornaday
Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds struggle valiantly to transcend the movie they re in
1.5
The Change-Up
Willie Waffle
It s Freaky Friday with dudes That does not make it better
2
The Change-Up
Claudia Puig
While this raunchy Freaky Friday meets Trading Places has some laughs it s more often frat boy crass frantic and formulaic
2
The Change-Up
Mack Bates
As outrageous as the proceedings get The Change Up is just too predictable Even if you aren t old enough to remember those old body swapping movies you ll feel like you ve seen this before
2.5
The Change-Up
Carrie Rickey
The filmmakers are under the mistaken impression that in order for a gag to work the audience should gag from the gross out situation
2
The Change-Up
Wesley Morris
Reynolds speaks in obscenities the way bad bakeries use cupcake icing and Bateman is almost bitterly uptight But the movie largely fulfills the promise of the swap
2.5
The Change-Up
Joe Williams
I still think it s a funny movie but given its genes it s a bit of a slacker
2.5
The Change-Up
Matt Pais
Don t start a movie with a baby projectile pooping in his dad s mouth Please Just don t
2
The Change-Up
Nick Schager
This middling R rated effort doesn t transcend its groan worthy Freaky Friday setup
2
The Change-Up
Peter Keough
You know the summer movies are bottoming out when they resort to the old body switch premise
1.5
The Change-Up
Christy Lemire
It s all over the place in tone veering awkwardly from some daring comic moments to feel good sappiness and back again in hopes of redeeming some semblance of edginess
2
Itzhak
Josh Terry
Even for viewers who aren t particularly religious the soul of Perlman s music will make the documentary a spiritually uplifting experience
3.5
Itzhak
Bob Bloom
The moments during which Perlman is performing are breathtaking Seeing his emotions as he plays and the bond he shares with his violin is wondrous
4
Itzhak
Gayle MacDonald
We get to know the man the jovial grandfather the joke teller the dedicated husband the patient teacher and loyal friend
2.5
Itzhak
John Hartl
Music hangs in the air throughout the film
3
Itzhak
Pat Padua
Director Alison Chernick profiles the violin virtuoso through his performance of course but she also reveals a personality as expressive as his musicianship
3
Itzhak
Peter Keough
If Alison Chernick s Itzhak a documentary about the great violinist Itzhak Perlman had a musical tempo designation it would probably be A capriccio Italian for following one s fancy
3
Itzhak
Matt Zoller Seitz
A joyous film about a joyous man
3.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Brian Eggert
The film and story aren t as dense or involving as the author s books or previous book adaptations but Paramount has delivered a worthy franchise restarter
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Frank Ochieng
Despite Pine s flimsy take as Ryan not being saucy enough to generate any characterization complexity Shadow Recruit is still serviceable as a viable actioner that embraces its manufactured intrigue with ambitious gusto
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Sonny Bunch
As an action thriller Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit is more or less competent As an heir to the Jack Ryan mantle however it is less so
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Brad Keefe
Briskly paced and doesn t overstay its welcome which is a good thing because sometimes it s best to not linger on the plot holes
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Wesley Lovell
A simplistic vainglorious attempt to reboot a popular literary character featuring two extremes of acting leaden and scenery chewing
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Rex Reed
The dim star wattage in this fifth rehash is palpable from the start
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Lori Hoffman
Most of this year s episodes of the TV series The Blacklist are more engaging than Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Connie Ogle
Director Kenneth Branagh knows how to invest the ridiculous with a sort of grandeur Exhibit A the surprisingly fun Thor but Shadow Recruit is more straightforward in nature so he can t get too fancy
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
John Serba
I ll leave it to diehard Clancyites to quibble over any trueness to character points and take the film at face value yawn
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Willie Waffle
You are left wondering if everyone involved in this project wishes Jack Ryan would be some American version of James Bond but they don t know how to make it sexier more action packed and interesting
1.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Glenn Kenny
A pretty suspenseful largely engaging and hardly ever too over the top spy thriller
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Adam Nayman
Almost 25 years later Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit tries its best to reignite the Cold War with tepid results
1.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Steven Rea
Too much of the action in Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit takes place on laptops thumb drives and video monitors
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Linda Barnard
The dialogue is quick and sharp and there are flourishes to make a spy movie lover smile sleight of hand work and the exchange of a brown envelope in a movie theatre showing 1948 black and white classic Sorry Wrong Number
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Ann Hornaday
Branagh who proved his action bona fides with Thor does an inarguably competent job of choreographing a modestly intelligent espionage thriller even if it s impossible to identify anything new he s bringing to an already groaning table
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Mark Feeney
Jack Ryan is slick loud assured overplotted way overplotted fairly diverting and pretty much empty
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Peter Hartlaub
Under taut direction from Kenneth Branagh who also plays the Russian heavy Pine is convincing as a character who is pushing papers one day and dodging assassins in Moscow the next
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Rafer Guzman
Pine brings a welcome boyishness and idealism to Ryan but he s clobbered with clichés by his director and screenwriters The evildoers it turns out were right in his own backyard
1.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Soren Andersen
Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit is an origin story that gets the late Tom Clancy s signature superspy right
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Claudia Puig
The film is slow in getting started and once it s underway it s only intermittently involving It s also occasionally far fetched
2.5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
R. Kurt Osenlund
In keeping his actors on his sober yet buoyant plane Kenneth Branagh presents a convincing romance that doesn t stall the film s brisk clip
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Mara Reinstein
Ryan returns in a quick footed reboot that does its duty as an escape from the January doldrums
3
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Jake Coyle
Branagh endows his film with mostly old fashioned competency something often lacking in today s action films but little to distinguish it from superior thrillers that have come before
2
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Stephen Whitty
A promising start to a probable new franchise and an early bright spot on the late winter film calendar
3.5
The Thing
Brian Eggert
The Thing s brilliance rests on the equilibrium between implied and visceral horror often incompatible ideas that Carpenter stirs together in a stylish engrossing way
4
The Thing
Peter Stack
This version is so full of the thing that it strangles our imagination and becomes a mere exercise in ugly mechanical horrorifics Very dumb very disappointing
1
The Thing
Jeff Mitchell
My favorite horror movie
4
The Thing
David Keyes
It personifies the definition of popcorn entertainment that is the kind of film that relishes the thrill of its many ambitious moments without seeking total transcendence
3
The Thing
Walter Chaw
I discovered what it was to love a movie that was relentless in its desire to be unpleasant
4
The Thing
Chuck O'Leary
John Carpenter equaled the unrelenting suspense of Halloween with this nerve racking remake Carpenter s The Thing is one of the all time great horror films
4
The Thing
Eric Henderson
The Thing may be a tad too careful and schematic to stand shoulder with Carpenter s very best films
3
Arlington Road
Blake French
almost hard to catch your breath
3.5
Arlington Road
David Keyes
So filled with moronic intentions and illogical ideas that had there been any truth to them might have led audiences to believe that we live in the Twilight Zone
1.5
Arlington Road
Susan Stark
The machinations and manipulations built into the story it spins are simply too obvious to be taken to heart
1
Arlington Road
David N. Butterworth
The only sequence more shocking than the film s disturbing opener is its last
3.5
Arlington Road
Mike Clark
A marginal engrosser that s short on staying power
2.5
The Remarkable Life of John Weld
Bob Bloom
The movie itself simply skims the surface of Weld s life For a man who supposedly led such as remarkable life the movie is very tame and simplistic It needed to delve deeper into the man
1
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
Wesley Morris
What it doesn t have is drama or wisdom or comedy or heat something to temper the banalities
2
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
Tomas Hachard
The Donald Rice film suffers most from an excessively blunt approach
1
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
Kent Turner
The film snaps along with dialogue loaded with barbed bon mots
2.5
Chupke Se
Namrata Joshi
An earnest first attempt which could have been so much more fun
2
No Man's Land
Judith Egerton
Tanovic adroitly indicts the entrenched hostilities between people and nations
3
No Man's Land
Ian Mantgani
Makes us laugh and frustrates us at the same time
3
No Man's Land
Jorge Avila Andrade
No es una cinta de guerra heroica sino todo lo contrario y esto de refleja perfectamente en la escena final que es de una incredulidad indescriptible
3.5
No Man's Land
Jeremy Heilman
This is a sound bite satire for a war fought through them
2
No Man's Land
Frank Ochieng
No Man s Land does not carry the same impact as the heavyweight war torn social consciousness satires such as M A S H but it does sway in that direction as an ardently funny antiwar statement with a sense of chaotic artistry
3
No Man's Land
Duane Dudek
In this expertly calibrated debut Tanovic charts the ebb and flow of these events which began in a fog and end in a Pyrrhic tie as a global ripple that is everyone s business
3.5
No Man's Land
David N. Butterworth
Blazingly good anti war sentiment
3
No Man's Land
Rene Rodriguez
The film would have been a stunner under any circumstances but with the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East worsening on a daily basis No Man s Land feels even more relevant
3.5
No Man's Land
Robert Roten
Unlike most American dark comedies there is no soft edge to be found anywhere in this devastating indictment of war
3.5
No Man's Land
Liam Lacey
A skillfully wrought if somewhat predictable farce involving belligerent opponents blundering international peacekeepers and excitable journalists
3
No Man's Land
Jay Carr
From beginning to end it bristles with ironies in classic Eastern European absurdist style
3
No Man's Land
Carrie Rickey
Tanovic s film is coil sprung to explode on the unsuspecting
3.5
No Man's Land
Michael Wilmington
An explosively suspenseful deeply moving dark comedy and an astonishingly assured fiction debut from Tanovic
4
No Man's Land
Rob Blackwelder
It s a great war farce because it s confident enough in its emotions and convictions to focus on the laughs knowing you ll get the message anyway
4
No Man's Land
Pam Grady
A story told simply with a dose of mordant humor that starkly puts its points across
4
No Man's Land
Harvey S. Karten
Shows that the most effective antiwar statements are clothed in humor and irony
3
Blood and Tears: The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Ross Anthony
Though refreshingly reluctant to take sides regarding geography of the matter the film has a subtle slant toward peace
2.5
Dark Was the Night
Glenn Kenny
Dark Was The Night is a horror movie a creepy and atmospheric and sometimes blood soaked horror movie and it s got a good amount going for it
3
Dark Was the Night
Rex Reed
I mean what else is the night supposed to be
2
Dark Was the Night
Chuck Bowen
Director Jack Heller s film may take the notion of implication over illustration a bit too far
1.5
Fire at Sea
Lauren Terry
It s a stirring testament to humanity when the patient voice of the marine patrol addresses the panicked refugees on their boat s radio
3
Fire at Sea
Shane Slater
An uncommonly observant film
3
Fire at Sea
David Lewis
We feel the bewilderment of the parochial yet decent residents the helplessness of the well intentioned yet overwhelmed rescuers and the anguish and disorientation of the refugees
4
Fire at Sea
Chris Knight
If you think you know how a documentary about the European migrant refugee crisis will play out Fire at Sea will surprise
3.5
Fire at Sea
Glenn Kenny
As laudable as the movie is it does not quite achieve greatness That s the fault of both its indirectness and its obviousness
3
Fire at Sea
Mark Medley
Harrowing heartbreaking and humane
4
Fire at Sea
Clayton Dillard
Fire at Sea initiates a narrative that probes the fundamental gap between wanting to help and actually being able to do so
4
Across the Sea of Time
Mike Clark
Employing 3 D and PSE sound then projected on a screen that suggests a small skyscraper the new show at West Side Manhattan s Sony IMAX theater is visually speaking nothing but a clear day but it definitely put me in scat mode
2.5
A Place at the Table
Kelly Jane Torrance
That s one of the infuriating things about this documentary It gives all of the information needed to pull at our heartstrings but almost none needed to assess the problem clearly and think through possible solutions
1
A Place at the Table
Chris Knight
Filmmakers Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush chip away at the topic until their message becomes unassailable
3
A Place at the Table
Rick Groen
Hunger in America is not about a shortage of food but an abundance of poverty This is where the spiral spins downward
3
A Place at the Table
Linda Barnard
A shocking indictment of how people are starving in the land of plenty
3
A Place at the Table
Lisa Kennedy
You don t have to be a fan of info graphics in social justice docs to be troubled by one showing that the price of processed food has decreased in almost exact proportion to the rise in cost of fresh fruits and vegetables
3
A Place at the Table
Walter V. Addiego
A Place at the Table presents a shameful truth that should leave viewers dismayed and angry This nation has more than enough food for all its people yet millions of them are hungry
3
A Place at the Table
Stephen Whitty
As rich as we are as a nation still many of our citizens are at best malnourished One in six says they regularly don t have enough to eat
3
A Place at the Table
Michael O'Sullivan
It deserves to be seen along with Food Inc King Corn and other muckraking food docs of recent years
3.5
A Place at the Table
Steven Rea
A Place at the Table is advocacy journalism at its best lining up its facts illustrating the widespread problem with a few trenchant and compelling cases and offering solutions
3.5
A Place at the Table
Duane Dudek
It is the food chain equivalent of the Trail of Tears
3
A Place at the Table
Mark Feeney
A tighter focus or even just a voiceover narration might have helped
1.5
A Place at the Table
Brett Michel
Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush cover a lot of ground in their heartbreaking documentary examining the hunger experienced by nearly 50 million Americans but at less than 90 minutes it feels a bit overstuffed
2.5
A Place at the Table
Bill Stamets
A good documentary that is good for you
3
A Place at the Table
Matt Pais
Moving and sad as an activist effort toward awareness
3
A Place at the Table
Tomas Hachard
More difficult to convey are the web of moral and political issues that surround the hunger crisis and A Place at the Table proves its worth most by how it treats this wider set of problems
3
Bride of Silence
Susan Walker
Much remains mysterious in Bride of Silence The journey is its own reward Very little dialogue is required in the long lingering takes that tell the timeless story of rural lives ruled by religion and superstition
3
Bride of Silence
Jason McBride
So much is told and even if it s in deliberate conflict with what is shown the film bogs down in often unnecessary information and superfluous dialogue
1.5
Lightning Jack
Chris Hicks
This road has been trod a few too many times before
2
Scrooged
Ryan Murphy
Despite a lengthy wind up that promises to deliver at least a minor tug at the heart Scrooged is as sterile as some of the film s sexist gross out jokes
2
Scrooged
Gene Siskel
On balance Bill Murray s lazy humor carries the movie up until his genuinely sweet relationship with an old girlfriend
3
Scrooged
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Tacky in the extreme this self congratulatory 1988 film is an exercise in hypocrisy indulging every form of Christmas exploitation that it pretends to attack and many of the laughs are forced
1
Passing
Brian Eggert
Passing is among the most impressive directorial debuts in recent memory by an actor or otherwise
3
Passing
Mark Feeney
Much of Passing could be a stage play people talking in confined spaces the confinement figurative as well as literal It s a chamber drama bearing the weight of several centuries
3
Passing
Diana Cheng
What Larsen has written Hall has materialized on screen with parallel meticulous mastery
4
Passing
Kevin Carr
It shows what it s like to slip between both worlds but at the same it shows how you have to hide yourself and hide your identity
3
Passing
Leo Brady
Rebecca Hall turns out a fascinating nearly flawless first time behind a camera with two enigmatic straight up excellent performances by Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga
3.5
Passing
Jeff Mitchell
Thompson and Negga deliver standout performances and gorgeously filmed and haunting images lay across our senses and settle into permanent recall
3.5
Passing
Robert Levin
The stars bring it all home by understanding how to say a lot while also saying very little There s a great deal of subtext in every scene and a real sense of tension
3.5
Passing
Cate Marquis
Passing is a thought provoking film a well drawn view of the historical time period but a timeless look at interpersonal dynamics and the nature of some friendships
3
Passing
Robert Horton
The chemistry between the two of them is persuasive friends united and divided by color
3
Passing
Jocelyn Noveck
Negga is heartbreaking as a woman who seems to recognize despite fun loving appearances that time is running out on her ruse
3.5
Passing
Michael O'Sullivan
Hall clearly has the sensibility to flesh out all the complex story s subtilties and nuances shooting in artful black and white
2.5
Passing
Odie Henderson
The entire film exists in this perpetual state of a deceptively gentle push and pull It s a masterful balance of tone
3.5
Passing
Rania Richardson
The elegant directorial debut of British American actress Rebecca Hall PASSING revolves around two light skinned Black women following different paths
4
Passing
Rene Sanchez
A quiet and enigmatic drama that examines social themes and issues in the United States through the lens of a complex friendship Full Review in Spanish
3.5
Passing
Dwight Brown
The premise is so repugnant audiences may flinch at the prospect of watching a social racial malady that should have never existed If they do they will miss an impeccable recreation of the Harlem Renaissance era warts and all
3
In the Land of Pomegranates
Godfrey Cheshire
Informative and thought provoking
3
TiMER
V.A. Musetto
TiMER never rises above the level of a sitcom All that s missing is the laugh track
1
TiMER
Nick Schager
TiMER is not only predicated on a ridiculous premise but one with a surprisingly muddled message
2
God's Creatures
Randy Myers
God s Creatures might explore familiar terrain but that s fine since it nails all the delights and features raw and real performances from Watson and Mescal
3
God's Creatures
Jeff Mitchell
In this secluded noir Emily Watson delivers a profound performance as a flawed woman churning with guilt and shame
3
God's Creatures
Odie Henderson
Yet another movie about a mother realizing too slowly that her son may be a dangerous sociopath
2
God's Creatures
Anne Brodie
Darkness falls on Emily apos s religious faith versus her lies and knowledge Heightened tensions provide the engine for this unusual character study of a woman her son and 40 isolated 41 community
4
God's Creatures
Emily Zemler
Sometimes the best viewings are not the easily digestible ones This is a movie that sucks you in rattles you and then spits you out It s an experience that s worth it
3.5
God's Creatures
Derek Smith
For all its impressively rendered aesthetic qualities the film s story feels rote
2.5
Viva Las Vegas
Bill Chambers
It s not magic this movie but it is alchemy of a kind
3
Fire Island
Allyson Johnson
A bitingly hilarious yet earnestly warm approach to modern romance
3.5
Fire Island
Jeff Mitchell
It s pretty easy to predict the third act but apos Fire Island apos is a welcoming and boisterous vacation
2.5
Fire Island
Odie Henderson
Director Andrew Ahn proficiently handles the numerous plot lines character conflicts and the tonal shifts between raunch and sweetness
3
Fire Island
Leo Brady
Through the brilliant writing of Joel Kim Booster and guided by the great direction of Andrew Ahn Fire Island is an absolute delight
3.5
Fire Island
Steven Prokopy
It apos s difficult to imagine some of these characters fully growing up but that seems to be the direction in which they apos re heading And that journey is a genuine highlight of the film
2.5
Fire Island
Emily Zemler
If you ve never spent a summer weekend on Fire Island Andrew Ahn s new film Fire Island will make you desperate to hop the next ferry
3.5
Fire Island
Johnny Oleksinski
The cute romantic comedy Fire Island takes the story of Pride and Prejudice and really amps up the Pride
2.5
Fire Island
Ann Hornaday
This sunny summer romp checks just about every box when it comes to the pleasures of the genre
3
Fire Island
Randy Myers
This is really Booster and Yang s shining hour in an Austen renovation that reflects the social chasms within the gay community where the have s sometimes lack human decency and the have nots don t always get a welcoming seat at the table
3
Fire Island
Richard Larson
The film is filled with a subtextual nostalgia for a fleeting youth and the urgency of figuring things out before it s too late
2.5
Fire Island
EJ Moreno
Many have tried but Fire Island could be the first significant gay rom com The humor and heart work well in this adorable summer love story
3
Earth Days
John Hartl
If you re feeling nostalgic for a time when the environmental movement was something everyone embraced Robert Stone s Earth Days is bound to comfort and alarm
3
Earth Days
Joe Williams
Honoring the heroes of the environmental movement is clearly appropriate but getting mired in nostalgia is a dirty shame
2.5
Earth Days
Wesley Morris
Earth Days captures those years when through sheer relentlessness activists broke through to the public and put the mounting disaster at its doorstep
3
Earth Days
Gerald Peary
A surprise of Earth Days is seeing Richard Nixon signing progressive eco legislation and starting the Environmental Protection Agency
2.5
Earth Days
Michael Sragow
A surprisingly calm documentary about the history of American ecological activism But it s good calm not dead calm
2.5
Earth Days
Andrew Schenker
There s a bit too much of the self congratulatory in the film with both Hayes and population growth guru Dennis Meadows doing a fair bit of horn tooting but any sense of complacency is quickly undercut by the film s final act
2.5
Blood Red Sky
Tom Meek
A dull vampire thriller that could have been so much more
1.5
Blood Red Sky
Leo Brady
There may not be much deeper thought going into Blood Red Sky but this is a thrilling nasty vampire movie soaring above the clouds causing havoc on a 747
3
Blood Red Sky
Brian Tallerico
The sense of surprise or playfulness that you would think is inherent in a Bats on a Plane concept just isn t here
1.5
Blood Red Sky
Randy Myers
Director co writer Peter Thorwarth splatters the screen with gore while tossing in surprises delirious preposterousness and even a few touching moments It s grand fun
3
Circus Columbia
Diego Semerene
Its lightheartedness and overtly traditional narrative structure become a smart strategy for crafting what is ultimately a very nuanced political critique of capital
3
Circus Columbia
V.A. Musetto
A family getting evicted from its home is no laughing matter except if you re watching Cirkus Columbia a satiric comedy from of all places Bosnia and Herzegovina
3
Saving Private Pérez
Claudia Puig
Lively music helps But it s more bullet riddled escapade than an all out laugh riot
2.5
Blind Terror
Michael Szymanski
If you like stories about psychotic killers See No Evil will make Halloween s Mike Myers look like a sissy
2.5
Like Water
Tom Keogh
A tepid superficial sports documentary about Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Anderson Silva
1.5
The Pledge
Joe Leydon
Penn sustains a mesmerizing intensity while relentlessly building toward an emotionally wrenching climax
4
The Pledge
Nick Rogers
Sean Penn s agonizing angst ridden The Pledge feels like a mystery less about murder and more about the inexplicable dangers of impulse and guilt It s also a waning opportunity to see Jack Nicholson as anything besides a silver haired hornball
4
The Pledge
Jeff Strickler
Mystery thriller buffs promise yourselves that you ll see The Pledge And while you re at it be sure to invite along Jack Nicholson fans and anyone who saw the first two movies that Sean Penn directed
3.5
The Pledge
Rick Groen
Ultimately the payoffs just aren t there either psychologically or dramatically
2.5
The Pledge
Ian Mantgani
While some developments are generally predictable the movie ends up taking us on a thematic journey that is unexpected and shattering
3.5
The Pledge
Marty Mapes
Penn unafraid strategically uses visuals that hack directors don t even know how to approach
3.5
The Pledge
Bill Chambers
Penn s past directing gigs are the work of a tortured soul The Pledge was guided by a tortured artist
3.5
The Pledge
Robert Roten
The film is more exciting that watching paint dry however because of great work by some very talented actors
2
The Pledge
Cornell & Petricelli
We left with a feeling of lethargy that made watching The Pledge hardly worth the effort
2.5
The Pledge
Susan Stark
It s the rare and rewarding police drama that cares more for character than plot
3
The Pledge
Mary Kalin-Casey
The length and rhythms of each scene flow so naturally that time seems to exist on screen as a true mirror of reality
3
The Pledge
Bob Graham
Dark and disturbing but thoroughly involving It sets off depth charges of the psyche
3
The Pledge
Rob Blackwelder
There s very little compelling or even memorable about it
2
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
David Wiegand
The actors make Muhammad Ali s Greatest Fight seem better than it is but the real Ali with all his youth vigor bravado and passion convinces us that he and his case deserved much better
2
Mother's Day
Andrea Gronvall
Mays is well matched by McClure Wilmot and Martin who renders every gesture of her reticent character telling beyond words
3
The Grizzlies
Tom Meek
The film works mostly for its exposure of an off the radar area and situation stick around for the end credits that let you know where the characters real life counterparts wind up
2.5
The Grizzlies
Nell Minow
Though it s a familiar plot about kids learning discipline and teamwork through sports The Grizzlies is brought to life through the specifics that make the characters and their sense of place and of displacement central to the story
3
The Grizzlies
Simon Houpt
It s a fascinating puzzle a film that is simultaneously an indictment of the toxic legacy of cultural imperialism and a weepie that employs the familiar tropes of Hollywood one of the biggest machines of cultural imperialism on the planet
3
Undisputed
Mark Collette
We have no idea where these characters have been so we don t care where they re going
1
Undisputed
Nick Rogers
In a better movie we wouldn t feel compelled to choose which fighter to root for
2
Undisputed
Rick Groen
Hill looks to be going through the motions beginning with the pale script
2
Undisputed
Marty Mapes
It would not be unfair to say that Undisputed glamorizes prison and boxing two of the last things I d want anyone to aspire to
1.5
Undisputed
Frank Ochieng
Undisputed in my estimation is one opponent that s definitely down for the count
2
Undisputed
Harvey S. Karten
Walter Hill continues doing what he does best knocking out a visceral prison melodrama with a show stealing role from Peter Falk
3
Undisputed
Joe Leydon
The needle on the testosterone meter zips into the red zone during the opening moments of Undisputed and doesn t dip back down until the closing credits are complete
3
Undisputed
Mike Clark
This is the kind of movie that gets a quick release before real contenders arrive in September
2
Undisputed
Jack Zink
Though no classic it s a potboiler worth going a few rounds
2.5
Undisputed
John Hartl
Amazingly lame
1.5
Undisputed
Jerry McCormick
Undisputed is slow going at the beginning and some scenes will leave you yawning At least the fight sequences the film s saving grace are a knockout
1
Undisputed
Joe Baltake
A first class thoroughly involving B movie that effectively combines two surefire beloved genres the prison flick and the fight film
3.5
Undisputed
Steven Rea
A muscular no nonsense genre pic
3
Undisputed
John Anderson
Coy but exhilarating with really solid performances by Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes
3
Undisputed
Rene Rodriguez
Undisputed isn t exactly memorable and as far as its prison setting goes it has nothing on HBO s infinitely more brutal Oz But as late summer time killers go you could do worse
2.5
Undisputed
Terry Lawson
After a string of mediocre summer B movies like XXX and Blue Crush masquerading as big deals it s refreshing to see an action drama that doesn t pretend to be anything other than what it is
3
Undisputed
Lawrence Toppman
An unassuming brief and cheaply entertaining boxing movie
2.5
Undisputed
Glenn Lovell
A lean mean vastly entertaining fight movie
3
Undisputed
Tor Thorsen
Despite solid turns from Snipes and Rhames the only thing undisputable about this film is its lack of excitement
2
Undisputed
Mack Bates
This is a throwaway junk food movie whose rap soundtrack was better tended to than the film itself
2
Undisputed
Bob Strauss
Stripped down to a point where it doesn t resemble a movie so much as it does pure chemical testosterone Undisputed is a prison boxing drama that you wish had something more than prison and boxing on its mind
1.5
Undisputed
Walter Chaw
Each punch seen through prison bars the fights become not so much a struggle of man vs man as Brother Man vs The Man
3.5
Undisputed
Erik Childress
Cuts right through the B S giving a big middle fingered shut up to those who talk up what is nothing more than two guys beating the hell outta one another
3
Undisputed
Tony Toscano
the direction is as choppy as a high school karate demonstration
1
Undisputed
Michael Wilmington
It should have been more memorable but at least it doesn t stumble in the ring
3
Undisputed
Rob Blackwelder
Overly stylized with lots of flash black white freeze frames reminiscent of a pseudo hip luxury car commercial it s at its worst when it s actually inside the ring
2
Undisputed
Michael Szymanski
Trying to be the black Rocky in prison this movie is over the top and ridiculous to the point of being cartoony
2
Grand Unified Theory
Brad Wheeler
A quirky existential comedy that never arrives to any satisfying destination and isn t all that funny along the way
2
The Moth Diaries
Jeff Beck
The Moth Diaries just ends up feeling like a desperate attempt to cash in on the vampire craze created by Twilight
1.5
The Moth Diaries
Peter Hartlaub
Way too serious for its own good
1
The Moth Diaries
Rex Reed
Where are the shivers The girls are properly fragile ethereal and neurotic but the way Ms Harron gingerly moves them around like porcelain dolls is too careful to stir up much terror
2
The Moth Diaries
Andrew Schenker
This is one vampire film whose sexless generic ending betrays a promise of revisionist complexity
2.5
The Moth Diaries
Rick Groen
Not enough psychology to be intelligently creepy and not enough schlock to be viscerally scary
2
The Moth Diaries
Linda Barnard
While there s plenty of promise there s no payoff with this would be horror
2
Unfriended: Dark Web
David Keyes
If Unfriended showed this idea in a state of awkward infancy then Unfriended Dark Web allows it to mature into a proverbial meticulous beast
3.5
Unfriended: Dark Web
Federico Furzan
A very effective sequel that changes the course of the original entry and still delivers scares under its technology dependent ambience Full review in Spanish
3
Unfriended: Dark Web
Robert Daniels
Dark Web Unfriended needs less reliance on lewd jokes and more on its screenwriting
2
Unfriended: Dark Web
Pamela Powell
Be warned This is a disturbing film and it s not for everyone
3.5
Unfriended: Dark Web
Katie Walsh
No fun because it s just too real a clever concept of cinematic design and storytelling it proves to only be a deeply chilling cautionary tale
2.5
Unfriended: Dark Web
Barry Hertz
Nasty in its narrative and nifty in its aesthetic Stephen Susco s new film is a solid argument against doing anything remotely illicit online
3
Unfriended: Dark Web
Simon Abrams
Each new plot development is so slapdash and uninspired that it s impossible to suspend one s disbelief
1
Unfriended: Dark Web
Sonny Bunch
Unfriended Dark Web is the best horror movie so far this year the scariest most resonant picture of 2018
3
Unfriended: Dark Web
Dann Gire
This movie actually respects audience intelligence by never dumbing down the information as Hollywood films do when characters read messages out loud to nobody as they write them
3
Unfriended: Dark Web
David Lewis
Once the hackers infiltrate everyone s computer and a sense of dread hangs over the unwitting young folks Dark Web develops an effective rhythm
2
Unfriended: Dark Web
Henry Stewart
The film is preposterously conceived but writer director Stephen Susco so tightly excitingly executes it that you hardly notice
3
All We Had
Sheila O'Malley
With her well meaning desire to create an inspirational story of survival and redemption Holmes has kept the entire film extremely low stakes
2
All We Had
Kenji Fujishima
More earnest than remarkable but with its heart in the right place
2.5
Red Flag
Sara Stewart
In an era when awkwardness is the new self confidence the director manages to be palpably neurotic without trying too hard
3
Red Flag
Nick McCarthy
It surprisingly abandons its obvious meta elements and unfolds as a straightforward road trip flick opting for an exhibition of self loathing rather than self reflexivity
2
Cold Blood
Rex Reed
Nobody should have to sit through junk like this even in summer and I don t know anyone who will
0
Cold Blood
Joey Magidson
The presence of Jean Reno in Cold Blood is undoubtedly meant to invoke memories of better movies like Leon and Nikita Sadly that only exacerbates how poor this is
2
Cold Blood
Brian Tallerico
Cold Blood isn t so much hysterically awful as simply lifeless
.5
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
Mike Scott
As fun as it is it never makes a convincing case for its own existence Here s a cool band Jimeno seems to be saying and that s the extent of it
2.5
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
Rob Humanick
Most of the best sequences simply give over to footage of Gogol s live performances with lead singer Eugene Htz often seen inviting audience members on stage for any number of gags or creative involvements
2.5
Black Water
Simon Abrams
A mediocre submarine thriller that only really comes to life when co star Dolph Lundgren gets to one up the Muscles from Brussels
1.5
The Last Blockbuster
Anita Katz
If the phrase Be kind rewind rings a nostalgic bell in your heart this doc will likely qualify as an enjoyable diversion But expect nothing more
2.5
Cuba Libre
Connie Ogle
A lively nostalgic blend of Cinema Paradiso and Hope and Glory
2.5
Mr. Jones
Cate Marquis
An often low key but powerful portrait of courage a moving worthy drama that both revives the memory of nearly forgotten independent journalist Gareth Jones and a timely reminder of the importance of truth telling in these fraught and difficult times
3.5
Mr. Jones
Tomris Laffly
A compelling watch throughout in spite of its rambling feel
3
Mr. Jones
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
The film never bores but it does lose its way at times
2.5
Mr. Jones
Christian Toto
If you don t know who Walter Duranty is you will after this unflinching biopic
3
Mr. Jones
Steven Prokopy
This is a film about how the preferred truth often rules the day and it s ultimately a heartbreaking tale in that respect
2.5
Mr. Jones
Joey Magidson
This particular story has a lot to offer so it s a shame that director Agnieszka Holland and scribe Andrea Chalupa can t capture it on the screen
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Brian Eggert
Guillermo del Toro has always been fascinated with putting a face to our nightmares And to be sure many moviegoers will have nightmares from Don t Be Afraid of the Dark
3.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Eric Melin
Del Toro rounded out and deepened the backstory from the original but it s still a pretty simple horror movie spooky atmosphere is just right even if he does give away too much of the creatures too soon
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Brett McCracken
There s a lot more territory here that could have been mined but wasn t which is a shame But for those just looking to be scared the old fashioned way Dark delivers
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Glenn Lovell
Forget the Freudian analysis All you want to know Is it scary Yes especially when Sally ducks under the sheets and comes nose to nose with the gnome leader Think Sixth Sense scary
3
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Scott Nash
The finale doesn t live up to the first act but still a nice old fashioned horror story with plenty of atmosphere
3
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Christian Toto
Horror fans can look past a whole lot of stupidity in their favorite genre But Don t Be Afraid of the Dark simply asks too much of us
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Walter Chaw
It s not awful this Don t Be Afraid of the Dark but the world is already full to bursting with not awful
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Rene Rodriguez
Despite all the care that has been put into it the film doesn t transcend its dime store horror roots
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Stephen Whitty
The season s scariest horror film and depending on what the next few months bring perhaps the year s
3
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Erik Childress
Occasional visitors into the haunted house fray may want to peek their head in if only to see how quickly they peek out
3
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Willie Waffle
It relies on cliche but director Troy Nixey gives us enough teases and frights
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Mike Scott
Despite a handful of hiccups and a smattering of cliches it does exactly what it sets out to do It ratchets up the tension then sustains it for an hour and a half
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Robert Levin
There s a serious disconnect between the highfalutin atmospherics and the nitty gritty sloppiness of the premise
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Randy Myers
Just when you thought the housing market couldn t get more frightening along comes Guillermo del Toro to shiver more timbers
3
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Claudia Puig
Don t worry about fearing darkness but beware horror flicks that trot out every hoary cliché
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Steven Rea
Joltingly graphic and atmospheric Nixey and his crew at least know how to set up a few good shocks Don t Be Afraid of the Dark fails to involve us in any meaningful way with its characters
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Tom Keogh
While the end of Don t Be Afraid is creepy it s far from emotionally satisfying
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Matt Pais
Provides more than enough dread accentuated by the chilling clickety clack of little beasts waiting to strike to turn nonsense into nightmares
2.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Joe Lozito
This old school monster movie from producer Guillermo del Toro is well shot and well acted but its creatures like its title are frightfully innocuous
2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Alexandra Cavallo
What this film really needs is a good exterminator or a better director
1.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
David Germain
The tension del Toro and Nixey create promises much more than it delivers
2
Rudo y Cursi
Kelly Jane Torrance
The skewering gives the background depth but the brothers relationships with their fame and each other are front and center here
3
Rudo y Cursi
Mike Scott
Beneath its gritty visual realism which feels more suited to a full on drama it s a delightful shrug of a movie
3
Rudo y Cursi
Sean O'Connell
A comically relevant fairy tale about the excessive trappings of celebrity and the dangers of achieving one s goals
3
Rudo y Cursi
Calvin Wilson
Rudo y Cursi never quite figures out what it wants to be Is it a sports comedy A tale of sibling rivalry A look at Mexico s gritty underbelly set against a soccer backdrop
2
Rudo y Cursi
Eric Melin
Carlos Cuaron has directed a typical rise and fall picture Granted it has loads of local flavor and two appealing leads but it adds little to the genre and is too melodramatic to rise above
2
Rudo y Cursi
Keith Cohen
The cinematography ranks at the top of the class Mexico City shares the spotlight with the acting ensemble as a
3
Rudo y Cursi
Robert W. Butler
It s satiric yet Cuaron is like a boxer who prefers gentle sparring to throwing a knockout haymaker The film needs to punch things up
2.5
Rudo y Cursi
Duane Dudek
While the likable film has a vivid sense of place and a tongue in cheek sensibility the visual and storytelling styles of the younger and elder Cuaron are nothing alike
3
Rudo y Cursi
Steven Rea
Has a mess of cultural issues to reckon with and Rudo y Cursi deals with them while offering an engaging rags to riches sports fantasy
3
Rudo y Cursi
Greg Quill
As we follow their adventures it s impossible to ignore how poorly women come off in this story alternatively as nags cheats liars and cloying opportunists
2.5
Rudo y Cursi
John Hartl
Some of this is funny thanks to the playful performances but much of it just seems familiar and juvenile
2
Rudo y Cursi
Stephen Cole
Ay carumba blimey what a mess
2
Rudo y Cursi
Connie Ogle
Carlos Cuarón s fierce profane and hilarious comedy about two brothers is not so much about sports as about how we play the game of life
3
Rudo y Cursi
Carla Meyer
The lead characters might flirt with spiritual and emotional ruin but Cuarón s filming style is so lively and Luna and García Bernal s performances so full of energy that the picture is fun even when it probably shouldn t be
3
Rudo y Cursi
Lisa Kennedy
There is plenty of coarse macho humor There are nearly as many moments that are goofy and sentimental
3
Rudo y Cursi
Amy Biancolli
There are plenty of kicks class struggle wild crackups Cheap Trick occasional melodrama and lots of blackly comic moralizing on the lure and letdowns of modern Mexican celebrity
3
Rudo y Cursi
Jeanne Aufmuth
Never loses touch with its whipsmart core of integrity and humor
3.5
Rudo y Cursi
Stephen Whitty
It gives a far deeper and more engaging portrait of Mexico rich and poor rural and urban old and new than you re likely to find anywhere else this week
3
Rudo y Cursi
Bill Weber
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna reunite in Rudo y Cursi to denigrate rubes from Jalisco as slow witted provincial brothers and banana plantation workers whose unlikely rise to soccer stardom supplies the purported comedy
1
The Butterfly
Walter V. Addiego
The film has a sweetness that stops short of sentimentality
3
The Butterfly
Rob Blackwelder
Quiet yet wonderfully curious bold but not bratty this moon faced little girl captures the subconsciously tarnished innocence of a child accustomed to having the blues
3
The Butterfly
Marta Barber
The story is as predictable as a hot summer in South Florida but if you re in need of comfort Le Papillon is a good choice
2.5
The Butterfly
Elizabeth Weitzman
Depending on your perspective this French family drama will either feel sweetly sentimental or shamelessly manipulative
2.5
The Butterfly
V.A. Musetto
Sure to please children and adults
3
The Butterfly
David Sterritt
It s all very sweet and occasionally touching More lasting shots of more beautiful butterflies would have added a lot though
2
Rocky IV
Gene Siskel
Stallone creates credible villains worthy of his heroic character
3.5
FDNY Dream Bike
V.A. Musetto
A tender tribute to Gerard Baptiste one of 10 firemen from Ladder 9 in Lower Manhattan who perished
3
FDNY Dream Bike
David Sterritt
Lightweight sentimental sweet
2
Aardvark
Sheila O'Malley
Aardvark doesn t know how to do what it wants to do It s not that the tone is uneven or uncertain it s that the film doesn t have a tone at all
1
Aardvark
Gary Thompson
Full of awkwardly scripted exchanges between therapist and patient that cause us to wonder if the movie is aware of how dangerously inept she is
2
Aardvark
Michael O'Sullivan
The film feels stinting as if there s more story somewhere that just hasn t been dished out
2
Aardvark
Kenji Fujishima
The film adopts a half hearted variation on A Beautiful Mind s gimmicky approach to grappling with a man s mental illness
1
Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
David Wiegand
Many may think they know the facts of what happened at Compton s but Screaming Queens adds telling detail of what led up to the riots as provided by some of the participants themselves
4
Breaker Morant
Wesley Lovell
Woodward delivers a fine performance as the soft spoken commander Brown is effectively hot tempered and Fitz Gerald is terrifically nave
3.5
Andy Warhol's Trash
Gene Siskel
The Warhol Morrissey world is a strange one but in many ways especially if taken in infrequent doses a far more real world than the formula Hollywood drama or comedy The actors are solidly in touch with their madness and can improvise with wit
3
Andy Warhol's Trash
Wanda Hale
I ve seen people walk out on less lurid depravity
0
Andy Warhol's Trash
Eric Henderson
Morrissey s films provided a more welcoming stage for bona fide superstar performances than many of Warhol s own movies
4
Good Luck Chuck
Federico Furzan
Can I unwatch a movie Full review in Spanish
0
Good Luck Chuck
Rossiter Drake
Whether or not you appreciate Dane Cook s spastic hyperactive brand of observational humor he cannot be held solely responsible for the unmitigated disaster that is Good Luck Chuck
0
Good Luck Chuck
David N. Butterworth
Good Luck Chuck is a soft core male indulgence posing as a hip Hollywood good luck chuckle
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Eric Lurio
If you like slapstick see it
2.5
Good Luck Chuck
James Rocchi
You could probably make a good movie out of Good Luck Chuck s pitch that just didn t happen here And I like a good funny smutty comedy the problem is that Good Luck Chuck is a bad unfunny smutty comedy
0
Good Luck Chuck
Gary Brown
Yecch
.5
Good Luck Chuck
Timothy Knight
A poor man s version of a Judd Apatow style raunchy romantic comedy
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Ken Fox
The Jessica Alba Dane Cook love match is degraded by vile jokes a boorish attitude toward women and a smutty tackiness not seen since those stupid nudie cuties of the 1960s
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Susan Walker
Good Luck Chuck looks like the unscreenable bits of bad movies best forgotten retrieved from the cutting room floor
0.5
Good Luck Chuck
Ted Fry
It s all rather messy in lots of ways Fortunately the appealing presence and physical comedy of Cook and Fogler fill a lot of holes that would otherwise just be dirty ditches
2
Good Luck Chuck
Peter Hartlaub
It s worth mentioning for the third time that this movie is much closer to Caligula than Sleepless in Seattle
1
Good Luck Chuck
Jan Stuart
It s a sexed up dumbed down Dr T and the Women with penguins to pacify women who ve been railroaded into going to this movie by their loutish boyfriends
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Jack Mathews
There s still time but for now Fogler gets my vote for the worst performance of the year
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Amy Biancolli
First time director Mark Helfrich brings a ham fisted insistence on the obvious and a tendency to overstate raunchy humor until the raunch becomes a bore
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
John Monaghan
A desperately unfunny mix of romantic and gross out comedy
1
Good Luck Chuck
Vince Koehler
You too will find yourself saying Better luck next time Chuck
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Rick Groen
I d like to be able to say they couldn t pay me to see this flick Alas it s apparent I can be bought and pretty cheaply too
1
Good Luck Chuck
Willie Waffle
Normally I start to get the dry heaves when I see Dane Cook on the big screen but this movie makes him likable
2.5
Good Luck Chuck
Nick Schager
If I had a choice between suffering through a Dane Cook film or the outtakes from Carrot Top s Chairman of the Board I d go with the latter
1
Good Luck Chuck
Sue Pierman
Alba shines brightly as the beautiful independent klutz who steals Cook s heart Maybe fate will see to it that appearing in this movie will guarantee her next role is a winner
2
Good Luck Chuck
Jeff Strickler
Cook has a nice comic personality but zilch in the way of comic material But then it s not as if any of those teenage boys are going to care about that
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Frank Ochieng
A fetid romantic comedy In short if it weren t for bad Luck then the chump Chuck wouldn t have any cinematic luck at all
1.5
Good Luck Chuck
Sean McBride
a lot of dirty minded snickers but not as many genuine laughs as you might have hoped for
2.5
Dumbo
Jason Fraley
Tim Burton s new live action remake of Dumbo eliminates too many of the beloved elements of the original classic for a relentlessly gloomy endeavor that s way too sad for its intended child audience
2
Dumbo
Steven Prokopy
It s visually uninspired despite being helmed by a bonafide visionary Tim Burton who has opted to give us his version of a kid friendly movie instead of his twisted take on the circus
1.5
Dumbo
Michael Medved
The movie is visually spectacular and the computer generated beasts particularly Dumbo are unforgettably endearing DUMBO is nearly 2 hours of surprisingly effective enchantment
3
Dumbo
Bennett Campbell Ferguson
Dumbo gets an electric jolt of nastiness from Keaton whose malicious grin is a character in its own right and Green whose regal spunkiness confirms she s the 21st century equivalent of Grace Kelly
3
Dumbo
Gary Thompson
Like so many modernized supersized reboots this one is twice as long and half as good
2
Dumbo
Sarah Knight Adamson
The CGI Dumbo looks adorable it s just too bad the little fellow has such a miserable life and that he s actually not the star of his own film also non kid centered and lacks heart
1.5
Dumbo
Alan French
I can happily report that Dumbo surprised me in a big way It also marks a return to form for Burton as his most personal and visually engaging film in more than a decade
3
Dumbo
Reginald Ponder
This reincarnation of a Disney classic has to find a way to make Dumbo as exciting as its predecessor while addressing the backlash regarding circuses and animals in captivity While Dumbo does fly the movie doesn t soar
2
Dumbo
Brandy McDonnell
Dumbo seems to coast on its familiar fairytale concept rather than fully taking flight
2.5
Dumbo
Barry Paris
Director Tim Burton s live action remake is considerably darker but true to the endearing enduring original in many respects
3.5
Dumbo
Dann Gire
If Tim Burton s visually spellbinding re imagining of Walt Disney s 1941 hand drawn animation classic Dumbo possesses magic it must be in its ability to make things disappear Things like sheer amazement And strong emotions
2.5
Dumbo
Matthew Passantino
Dumbo offers enough razzle dazzle to justify its existence
2.5
Dumbo
Pamela Powell
While the story isn t uplifting until the very end and is mediocre in telling the story the performances from Keaton and DeVito help to elevate the entertainment value
3
Dumbo
Bob Chipman
Probably the worst of the live action Disney remakes so far
1.5
Dumbo
Rubén Rosario
Burton s latest might lack the sinister playfulness of his best work but even if it doesn t quite soar to the heights it set out for itself it glides confidently into your good graces By a Trunk
2.5
Dumbo
Josh Terry
For fans well versed in the 1941 version it might be interesting enough to see the original story come to life in live action But it s hard to imagine anyone who hasn t seen the first movie getting too excited by this one
2.5
Dumbo
Christian Toto
The classic Disney tale is reborn as a slick but soulless enterprise
2
Dumbo
Robert Horton
As with Burton s puzzling run of recent films the actual business of telling a story seems not terribly important to him
2
Dumbo
Sonny Bunch
Disney s latest retread of a beloved cartoon bores
2
Dumbo
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
The movie feels both overlong and overstuffed the narrative simultaneously rushed and drawn out
1
Dumbo
Jake Coyle
It has charms and melancholies of its own starting naturally with the elephant in the room Of all the CGI make overs this Dumbo is the most textured sweetest and most soulful of creatures
3
Dumbo
Christy Lemire
Dumbo feels like one of the big eared baby elephant s early flights It s adorable and earnest but it causes a lot of commotion and it only sporadically haltingly soars
2
Dumbo
Katie Walsh
On paper there s so much potential but the result is a strange amalgamation of influences and agendas Stretched thin this dramatically inert film tries but ultimately says almost nothing at all
2
Dumbo
Keith Watson
Tim Burton manages to put his stamp on this clunky behemoth of a film but in the end the Mouse always wins
1.5
Dumbo
Oliver Jones
Dumbo is pretty standard issue with corporate necessity seemingly dictating Burton rather than the other way around
2.5
Dumbo
Soren Andersen
Burton s command of this material and his masterful visual sense makes this Dumbo an engaging delight Like that winsome elephant it really does soar
3.5
Dumbo
Joey Magidson
This is rather anonymous work from Burton though that actually works to the movie s benefit You can enjoy the story without the filmmaker s quirky touches distracting much
3
Dumbo
Robert Daniels
Burton s Dumbo is a hodgepodge and ramshackle mess that like its protagonist often struggles to lift itself from ground
2.5
Dumbo
John Semley
Abysmally scripted and hammily acted and not for the most part in an interesting or ironic way Dumbo recasts Disney s animated classic in the trappings and suits of Burton s pinstripe and pinwheel upholstery
2
Dumbo
Rafer Guzman
The original Dumbo flew as gracefully as a balsa wood plane the new Dumbo must flap his ears furiously just to get a foot or so of altitude We never have confidence that he or this film will truly soar
2
Dumbo
Johnny Oleksinski
Those flight sequences first suspenseful then euphoric take you back to the classic Dumbo as much as they do to classic Burton
3
Dumbo
Brian Truitt
When Dumbo soars so does the movie and letting Burton be Burton lends needed freshness to a tale that could use it
3
Mermaids
Chris Hicks
When Mermaids is on the mark it s a riot but often it bogs down with pointless set pieces that seem to go nowhere and suffers from an ending that feels contrived and overly sentimental
2.5
Walt Before Mickey
Scott Renshaw
Maybe this is the perfect version for everyone who thought the first hour of the PBS American Experience documentary savaged the idealized legend of Walt Disney
1.5
Girls of the Sun
Steven Prokopy
Strictly as a suspenseful wartime tale the film has a handful of genuinely gripping action sequences that pull no punches as far as the violence which only adds to the movie s authentic feel
3
Girls of the Sun
G. Allen Johnson
Girls of the Sun has an air of authenticity and grit that s convincing and Farahani an Iranian born actress makes us care
3
Girls of the Sun
Ann Hornaday
Girls of the Sun is a film of admirable ambition but vexingly uneven execution
1.5
Girls of the Sun
Christy Lemire
Director and co writer Eva Husson awkwardly combines taut action with treacly melodrama
2
Girls of the Sun
Pat Brown
With its naked celebration of self sacrificial combat and idealization of the soldier as an avenging angel it strikes a tone redolent of old school war propaganda
2.5
Girls of the Sun
Kate Taylor
The political setting is vague and the results erratic alternating between intense suspense and high bathos
1.5
Love Affair
Jonathan Rosenbaum
An affair to forget
1
Love Affair
Betsy Bozdech
Ironically Beatty and Bening s 94 film sticks too closely to the plot of its three hanky predecessors when it should have aimed for something a little more current
2
Night and the City
Nick Schager
The archetypal film noir
4
Mission to Lars
Brad Wheeler
One is left with the feeling the trip was more in service of the film s narrative than a dream fulfilling jaunt for Tom
2.5
Mission to Lars
Chris Knight
The documentary has the somewhat loose feel of a family movie which I suppose is what it is
2.5
My Own Private Idaho
Carrie Rickey
Although River Phoenix has distinguished himself as an actor ever since his second film Stand By Me nothing he has ever done before prepares you for his performance in Private Idaho as the motherless homeless loveless piece of human driftwood
3
My Own Private Idaho
Stephen Hunter
Cracked and beautiful stranger than strange yet in some assuring way so pulsing with life that it embraces you as warmly as Father Knows Best
3
My Own Private Idaho
Candice Russell
Van Sant proves again that he is masterful at charting the hearts and minds of young people adrift
3
My Own Private Idaho
Dave Kehr
This is a very rich very sympathetic piece of work
4
My Own Private Idaho
Michael Upchurch
One of the most original cinematic talents at work in this country Van Sant has a knack for pulling disparate elements together and twisting them into wildly funny lyrical odysseys of the mind and heart
4
My Own Private Idaho
Gary Thompson
The movie weakens every time Mike s story is interrupted by the leaden allusions to Shakespeare
2.5
My Own Private Idaho
Lou Cedrone
It s a very poetic film That is it includes images that may mean more to the director than the spectator but the film is an interesting one
2
My Own Private Idaho
Rob Humanick
My Own Private Idaho might be the perfect cinematic time capsule for 90s aimlessness universal in its details
4
My Own Private Idaho
Ted Prigge
If played straight this would have had depth but been an awful cinematic experience
3.5
A Bag of Hammers
Andrew Schenker
Suffers from both an odd ineffective structure and a low key tone that jars uncomfortably with the subject matter and makes the film s stakes seem unnecessary low
2
A Bag of Hammers
Erik Childress
Brian Crano s A Bag of Hammers turns out to be that rare tale that surprises in its maturity while never losing the reality of leopards trying to change their spots
3
Theatre of Blood
Jeremy Heilman
It has the distinction of being perhaps the most critic proof film ever created
3
The Initiation
David Keyes
107 minutes of witless nonsense populated by performers who would look more at home in after school specials and filmmakers who ought to have been left stranded on the unemployment line
1
Mindhunters
Peter T. Chattaway
There s nothing particularly deep about this film and Harlin s efforts to jazz things up do occasionally go over the top
2
Mindhunters
Marty Mapes
A cool scrappy B movie with no pretentions
2.5
Mindhunters
Jonathan W. Hickman
I came away thinking how uninventive the story was and how a little imagination together with a quick read from any issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine might have helped
1.5
Mindhunters
Walter Chaw
Garbage of the potential camp classic kind
1
Mindhunters
Susan Walker
It didn t take much mental power to come up with the plot
2
Mindhunters
Lisa Rose
In a way the movie title refers not only to the characters but also the audience Enduring this harrowingly derivative tale viewers will wonder where the filmmakers minds were
1
Mindhunters
Robert W. Butler
Yeah it s pretty bad
1.5
Mindhunters
Eric Harrison
You d think these agents training would kick in that they d analyze the situation deduce who is behind the killings and put a plan in place to stop it You d be wrong They panic like ants after their hill has been stepped on
2
Mindhunters
Jennie Punter
There is something inherently mindless and preposterously silly about the whole exercise
2
Mindhunters
Lisa Kennedy
On the way to its finale there s plenty of mayhem to keep you guessing
2.5
Mindhunters
Lawrence Toppman
Surpasses all other Christie knockoffs
3
Mindhunters
Kim Morgan
Schlocky and fun
2.5
Mindhunters
Jack Mathews
The murderer may not be obvious because the script breaks every law of probability and ridiculous is too mild a word to apply to the deaths
1
Mindhunters
Evan Henerson
This is a roller coaster that s actually fun to ride
3
Mindhunters
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Mindhunters has the dumbest whodunit thriller plot and the least plausible moves of any film I can think of
2
Mindhunters
Jeffrey Westhoff
If Mindhunters weren t so repellant Kathryn Morris performance might have been her career breakthrough
1
Mindhunters
Chuck O'Leary
Despite having its release date postponed numerous times over the last two years Mindhunters turns out to be much better than expected
3
Mindhunters
Erik Childress
The good news is that Paul Schrader s Exorcist prequel is finally going to hit theaters The bad news is that Mindhunters is going to beat it by a week
1.5
Mindhunters
Rob Blackwelder
These clowns couldn t get jobs as dogcatchers let alone FBI agents
0.5
Mindhunters
Mack Bates
With too many twists and false alarms chances are not too many people are going to care
2
Mindhunters
Mike Clark
A contrived unpleasant and very drawn out affair
1.5
Mindhunters
Steven Rea
The movie s title I guess alludes to the student profilers ability to put themselves in the mind set of a murderer In this witless exercise however Mindhunters more accurately suggests that all parties concerned have lost theirs
1
Mindhunters
Phoebe Flowers
A thoroughly compelling suspense film That doesn t mean it isn t kind of dumb or largely ridiculous it is both but here dumb ridiculousness has been elevated to an art form
3
Mindhunters
Jeff Strickler
Profilers are supposed to outsmart their foes But the only brains in evidence are the ones oozing out of head wounds
1
Mindhunters
Jan Stuart
Manages to be expertly ghoulish and exceptionally dumb at the same time Even your goosebumps will feel a bit stupid before the end
2
Mindhunters
Allison Benedikt
Mark my words Mindhunters will do for psycho thrillers what Showgirls did for stripper movies
.5
Mindhunters
Nick Schager
Saying super hack Renny Harlin is no Agatha Christie might be the understatement of the millennium
1.5
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Robert Horton
For at least the first hour it s wild fun fueled by Gilliam s exuberance and a terrifically funny performance by Adam Driver
2.5
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Brian Tallerico
Witty goofy and glorious The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is Terry Gilliam s best film in two decades
3.5
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Joey Magidson
Just getting to the finish line with this film is something to celebrate for Gilliam Luckily The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is good filled with tons of imagination
3
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Ernesto Diezmartinez
A failed broken film but interesting Full review in Spanish
0
A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at the New York Times
Matt Zoller Seitz
A Fragile Trust lays it all out sometimes in manipulative ways but always with clarity so that you understand what happened and how it happened
3
A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at the New York Times
Farran Smith Nehme
It s a swift vivid movie but 10 years past the scandal not much is new
2.5
You Again
Alicia Potter
Flashbacks of the hazing go down like meta torture as Bell overacts and the clichs stack up
2
You Again
Rob Humanick
You Again almost gleefully aims for the bottom of the barrel jettisoning everything from consistency of character to every last ounce of dignity once possessed by its cast
.5
You Again
Bob Bloom
As one character says high school is like a four year prison sentence with no hope of parole After 105 minutes of You Again I felt the same way about the movie
1.5
You Again
Willie Waffle
Kristen Bell is stuck pratfalling her way to anonymity
1
You Again
Joe Williams
In the constipated comedy You Again a bullied young woman s reluctance to confront an old enemy produces some flatulent laughs but by the time the movie lets loose it s built up such a toxic aura that it s hard to embrace
2
You Again
Greg Quill
A laugh free script that s underscored by a nasty mean streak
1.5
You Again
Sue Pierman
Fickman has a deft touch with romantic comedy serving up deliciously combative scenes that are occasionally interspersed with bits of cheese
3
You Again
Carrie Rickey
What a waste of talented actresses
1
You Again
Matt Soergel
An oddly unpleasant movie one that aims itself at a female audience then proceeds to humiliate its female characters by making them petty ugly and silly
1
You Again
Rene Rodriguez
This is the sort of story that relies from its outset on the fact that people have decided not to tell the truth that would have saved everyone a lot of grief and distress
2
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Duane Dudek
Dedicated cinephiles who feel an obligation to see what von Trier has wrought are unlikely to reach consensus on whether he is an exploitative provocateur or crusading pamphleteer
2
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Joe Williams
Without an explanation for the protagonist s physical and emotional injuries it s a head scratcher As with Joe s sexual compulsion scratching can t cure the itch
2.5
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Christy Lemire
Lars von Trier is funny Who knew That s certainly the most startling revelation to come from Nymphomaniac Vol 1
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Rene Rodriguez
Think of Nymphomaniac Vol 1 as the first half of a longer tale which if von Trier has taught us anything will grow infinitely darker and more harrowing
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Robert Levin
An arid deconstruction of female sex addiction written and directed by a man who clearly knows nothing about women
2
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Perry Seibert
Von Trier s remarkable craft as a moviemaker is on display throughout this is a compulsively watchable film
3.5
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Sheila O'Malley
Despite the sometimes grim tone and bleak color palate it s an extremely funny film playful even
3.5
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Stephen Whitty
One of Von Trier s most sympathetic films since Dancer in the Dark
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Steven Rea
Nymphomaniac Vol I is intimate in your face and mostly enjoyably ridiculous
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Liam Lacey
Von Trier s internal battles with freedom and restrictions though not always pretty or wise provide us with these uniquely troubled stories and images
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Chris Knight
Not to spoil the ending but about 60 minutes into the combined four hour journey a little corner of my mind idly concocted a particularly stupid unsatisfying conclusion to Joe s confessional And darned if von Trier didn t deliver
2
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Rafer Guzman
Highly explicit but more intellectual than erotic Music math and sex make an intriguing jumble of ideas though coherence may not appear until Volume II
2.5
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Dann Gire
A mad brave but self indulgent merger of hard core sexual imagery with artistic pretense
2.5
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Matt Pais
Extremely frank about sexual discovery
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Jeff Beck
Thus far it s been clear that Von Trier doesn t have that much material for this project and so it ends up being a rather detrimental decision to try and stretch it out as much as he has
2
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Ela Bittencourt
But whereas female sexuality was borderline vampiric in Antichrist this time we re in more ambiguous contextually richer terrain where desire is complicated not only by love but also by a deep need for self determination and pride
3
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
David Keyes
Nymphomaniac Volume I is not simply a solid achievement but a formidable one too
3.5
The Restless Conscience
Joe Leydon
The Restless Conscience is superior documentary moviemaking and a gripping history lesson
4
A Geisha
Derek Smith
Mizoguchi relentlessly contrasts the accepted attitudes of the time with the harsh reality they help to create
4
Darbareye Elly
Marty Mapes
Group mentality reaches for one lie after another in Iranian tale
3
Darbareye Elly
Anita Katz
Farahani the standout among the cast has a face Hollywood will soon be touting and can suffer on camera in ways the neorealists would have loved
3.5
Darbareye Elly
Walter V. Addiego
It s an incisive portrait of a particular society but it should resonate everywhere
3
Darbareye Elly
Tirdad Derakhshani
Always murmuring just beneath the surface there s a political undercurrent to Farhadi s films a gentle whisper of a critique aimed at the weight of Iran s combined cultural and political intransigence
3.5
Darbareye Elly
Peter Keough
It is perhaps Farhadi s richest most complex and ambitious
3.5
Darbareye Elly
Ann Hornaday
A fascinating discovery from a filmmaker whose sensitivity to the most confounding motivations is equalled only by his compassion for those who succumb to them
3
Darbareye Elly
Rene Rodriguez
About Elly is an exploration of human nature and how sometimes without intending to we hurt the ones we love most including ourselves
3.5
Darbareye Elly
Farran Smith Nehme
About Elly shows that the ethical dilemmas of ordinary adults can with this level of talent become as gripping as any thriller
4
Darbareye Elly
Godfrey Cheshire
Its belated appearance should be welcomed by cinephiles as it offers solid proof of this writer director s distinctive gifts
4
Darbareye Elly
Chuck Bowen
Asghar Farhadi s sensibility embodies a combination of empathy and paranoia that s striking considering that the latter is normally driven by self absorption
3.5
Forgiveness
Maitland McDonagh
Gabriel and screenwriter Greg Latter tackle a thorny subject and do justice to its complexities for much of the film s running time only succumbing to cliches of healing and closure at the end
2.5
Forgiveness
Maureen M. Hart
Though the film could have used better explainers for some of its talking heads its message is as satisfying as the sweetest revenge
3
Queen of Earth
Federico Furzan
Queen of Earth is a rather curious take on paranoia and how personal it can be Two astounding performances make it worthwhile Full review in Spanish
3
Queen of Earth
Anders Wright
Well made written acted and crafted it s the sort of movie that doesn t go down easy takes no prisoners and leaves you hoping your own life will never resemble theirs
3
Queen of Earth
Molly Eichel
Perry s movie may not be easy to watch but that doesn t mean you shouldn t
3.5
Queen of Earth
Ben Sachs
Writer director Alex Ross Perry conjures such a strong atmosphere around his characters and Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston are so powerful in the leads that one gets sucked into their emotional conflict
3
Queen of Earth
Amir Soltani
the result is an earth shattering performance in a film that solidifies Perry s place among the most exciting filmmakers working in American cinema today
3.5
Queen of Earth
Matt Pais
The filmmaker creates a bitter chilling mood the score s strings less musical instruments than choking devices
3.5
Queen of Earth
Brian Tallerico
Anchored by incredible performances from Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston this is one of the most mesmerizing pictures of the year
3.5
Queen of Earth
Chuck Bowen
Every beautiful resonant image in writer director Alex Ross Perry s film is fraught with neurotic diaphanous riddles
4
Lacombe, Lucien
Marty Mapes
A generation after WWII Louis Malle shed light on French collaborators
4
Lacombe, Lucien
Jay Antani
Malle s absolute faith in his skills as a storyteller and in the inherent power of this true story puts Lacombe Lucien in the company of the best humanist portraits ever filmed
4
God Said, Ha!
Robert Roten
It is an odd mixture of the mundane the deeply moving the absurd and the tragic all told with equal enthusiasm
3
God Said, Ha!
Elias Savada
Julia Sweeney fashions a small poignant survivalist gem that s simple in concept entertaining in delivery and big in heart
2.5
God Said, Ha!
David N. Butterworth
Were Julia Sweeney not such a gifted comedienne listening to her uncompromising account of her brother Michael s struggle with lymphatic cancer would be unbearable
3
God Said, Ha!
Ross Anthony
you will likely find this picture as therapeutic as a support group should you or a family member be stricken with a cancer
2
Before Night Falls
Austin Kennedy
This could have been a compelling movie about a wonderful writer but instead it s a tedious pointless mess After spending over 2 hours with Arenas I still knew nothing about him Javier Bardem s great performance seemed to be a complete waste
1.5
Before Night Falls
Nick Rogers
Before Night Falls exuberantly portrays a writer whose legacy remains an acutely observant childhood spirit that no perversion of politics could break Javier Bardem blends the swagger of Robert Downey Jr and the brooding of a young Al Pacino
4
Before Night Falls
Forrest Hartman
The cinematography is beautiful and clearly shows the director s artistic bent but the storytelling is often disjointed Ultimately Before Night Falls is more successful as a Javier Bardem showcase than a movie
2.5
Before Night Falls
Marty Mapes
Some may find Before Night Falls boring because of its episodic nature and its lack of a single overriding plot But Before Night Falls has some great qualities
3
Before Night Falls
Jorge Avila Andrade
Sencillamente una de las mejores y ms emotivas cintas del ao
3
Before Night Falls
Dan Lybarger
Schnabel can take on an apparently spent genre like the biopic and produce a pair of films that ooze vitality as they give their subjects a much needed celebration
3
Before Night Falls
Susan Stark
The main reason to see Before Night Falls is Bardem one of the few modern actors with real animal appeal and the guts to show it
3
Before Night Falls
David Keyes
A trip to the bookstore to pick up Arenas memoirs might be a better decision than seeking out this miscalculated character drama
2.5
Before Night Falls
Rod Armstrong
Before Night Falls is successful because of their skill at composing and portraying the film s primary focus It s just a shame that Schnabel neglects to fill in the rest of the portrait
3
Before Night Falls
Rob Blackwelder
What drives this engrossing biography is the potent but subtle complex intimate and magnetic portrayal of the author by Javier Bardem
3
Before Night Falls
Greg Dean Schmitz
A valuable film because it tells a tale of Cuban struggle and hardship of a type that we surprisingly don t see that often in film
3.5
Ferlinghetti
Chuck Bowen
Christopher Felver is too reverent to properly convey the invigoratingly profane angry messiness of the sense of community that Lawrence Ferlinghetti and his peers too briefly brought to life
1.5
Ferlinghetti
V.A. Musetto
With Americans civil liberties under constant threat it s comforting to know that Ferlinghetti is still with us
3
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
Sarah-Tai Black
What Tailfeathers and Hepburn have shared is a practice of filmmaking that grapples with these exact intricacies of embodiment and acknowledges them as wholly inextricable from Indigenous presents and futures
4
The Trumpet of the Swan
Jay Carr
Too bad the director didn t set his mind to making a film parents could enjoy too
2
The Trumpet of the Swan
Susan Stark
A shallow tacky finally soupy revision of a wry noticing resonant elegant deeply romantic story
1
The Trumpet of the Swan
Rick Groen
The movie leeches from the book most of what makes the story wonderful The sly humour and the occasional dark edge that keeps the inherent sweetness on the safe side of sentimentality
2
Still/Born
Ernesto Diezmartinez
An entertaining horror film
1.5
Still/Born
Norman Gidney
Still Born is a genuinely original horror movie that gives a knowing glance to Rosemary s Baby and Gaslight while offering a disarming mix of humor and scares
3
Still/Born
Nick Allen
An inspired enough take on a woman s horror where the fear of losing her other baby becomes a terror itself as expressed through an excellent performance
3
The Patron Saints
Kate Taylor
An unflinching look at the inevitable tragedy that is senescence
3
Rock of Ages
Kelly Jane Torrance
Rock of Ages might be lowbrow entertainment But there s nothing to be embarrassed about in enjoying it
3
Rock of Ages
David Keyes
One does not so much watch the movie as they stare on in maddening disbelief
1
Rock of Ages
Jeff Beck
Rock of Ages just never comes together resulting in a mishmash of mostly bland music and undeveloped stories
2
Rock of Ages
Lori Hoffman
Despite a mildly entertaining performance by Tom Cruise as a pampered sexed up and boozy rock idol in Rock of Ages the film is a major disappointment
1.5
Rock of Ages
Tyler Hanley
Tom Cruise s magnetic performance almost makes the movie worth the price of admission Almost
2
Rock of Ages
Keith Cohen
his crowd pleasing film provides goofy fun and outrageous moments A nostalgic good time is guaranteed as you listen to great voices sing these memorable songs You will find yourself laughing at the hilarious surprises along the way Cruise is
2.5
Rock of Ages
Erik Childress
It is as if the writers tossed off everything they learned from Almost Famous and instead went with the subtle empowerment message of Coyote Ugly That s right folks if you are a woman appearing in Rock of Ages chances are you a big ol whore
1.5
Rock of Ages
Perry Seibert
If you get people to pay for tickets to a show where the big selling point is they ll hear songs they already know and love why bother creating an actual story or compelling characters
2
Rock of Ages
Lisa Kennedy
Pour some sugar on it indeed
3.5
Rock of Ages
Eric Melin
Guilty pleasure material for sure but it s weirder and smarter than that Drop your guard and revel in the innuendo the energy the music and all the terrific supporting performances
3
Rock of Ages
Alison Gang
The film feels much like where it came from modern day Broadway a formerly grimy section of New York City that s been scrubbed clean and thoroughly Disneyfied
1
Rock of Ages
Robert Levin
This isn t really a movie It s a collection of covers And if it s possible to have a decent time you can t help but be struck by the emptiness of it all
2.5
Rock of Ages
Stephen Whitty
The film s problems begin with who it cast as its leads
2.5
Rock of Ages
Liam Lacey
Far too mild for its supposedly outrageous subject
2
Rock of Ages
Rafer Guzman
Cruise once again steals the show but this time he drives it straight off a cliff
1.5
Rock of Ages
Ann Hornaday
It s content to keep toes tapping when it should be bringing the arena to its feet
1.5
Rock of Ages
Willie Waffle
Just some excuse Tom Cruise found to get more greased up and shirtless than he did playing volleyball in Top Gun
1.5
Rock of Ages
Bob Bloom
Tom Cruise walks off with the film He understands what is required of him as Jaxx playing it as an amalgamation of many of the era s biggest rock icons
3
Rock of Ages
Austin Kennedy
The movie has it s tongue through it s cheek as opposed to just tongue in cheek It knows how stupid it is and embraces it ROCK OF AGES isn t full of great nuances or anything meaningful It s just one hell of a good time
3.5
Rock of Ages
Amy Biancolli
No matter how you feel about Guns N Roses Tom Cruise s as a bandanna headed Axl Rose type will hit you as the purest bit of genius in the man s entire film career
3
Rock of Ages
Lawrence Toppman
It vacillates between popcorn silliness and faux profundity for two hours until it finally runs out of breath
2.5
Rock of Ages
Peter Keough
Despite some inspired crude humor Rock of Ages is just another meretricious and cynical example of what it occasionally makes fun of
1.5
Rock of Ages
Steven Rea
There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours than with this odd assortment of courageous thespians bringin on the heartbreak and feelin the noize
2.5
Rock of Ages
Connie Ogle
For a movie that prides itself on celebrating music Adam Shankman s Rock of Ages is oddly tone deaf
1
Rock of Ages
Duane Dudek
The songs in Rock of Ages are by bands like Twisted Sister Starship Styx Foreigner Poison and Journey but are sung by the actors They are as familiar as they are forgettable like the film itself
2.5
Rock of Ages
Matt Soergel
If you ve ever wanted to see a partially clothed fully comical sex scene set to Foreigner s I Want to Know What Love Is well this is where you go
3
Rock of Ages
Jon Niccum
Rock of Ages is like two hours of karaoke at a bar that plays only songs you hear at strip joints
2
Rock of Ages
Rex Reed
It s about as entertaining as an iron lung
0
Rock of Ages
Joe Williams
To his credit campy director Adam Shankman knows that his source material is a joke but it s a joke at the expense of musical history
2
Rock of Ages
Gary Thompson
Tom and his auto tuned voice do okay with Wanted Dead or Alive Musically Rock of Ages is fun
2.5
Rock of Ages
Rich Heldenfels
Bland lead actors blah musical arrangements and an attempt to make 80s LA PG 13 add up to an unconvincing overlong and often humorless spectacle
1.5
Rock of Ages
Nick Schager
If the Adam Shankman film s debasement of its subject into campy kitsch is the unavoidable fate of all culturally dangerous art that doesn t make it any less palatable
.5
Rock of Ages
Karen D'Souza
Choppy editing tepid pacing and generic vocals are bad enough to rival Grease 2
1
Rock of Ages
Christy Lemire
If this era was a formative time in your life and you re feeling a yearning for kitschy nostalgia Rock of Ages provides a sufficiently fun little escape
2.5
Red Riding Hood
Brandy McDonnell
The clunky dialogue overstuffed story and cartoonish special effects riddle the lycanthropic fantasy thriller like a hail of silver bullets
2.5
Red Riding Hood
Jeff Beck
With this film and the first Twilight Hardwicke has shown that she doesn t have much talent for direction and that she isn t that good a judge of material if this is the kind of film she keeps choosing
2
Red Riding Hood
Glenn Lovell
We always suspected the kid in the red cloak had a dark side The new Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried confirms our suspicions
2
Red Riding Hood
Richard Larson
Red Riding Hood is sort of like a hook up that you remember more or less fondly but still would never tell your friends about
2
Red Riding Hood
Rex Reed
Catherine Hardwicke is Anne Rice with a camera
2
Red Riding Hood
Eric Melin
This shameless joyless affair hinges on a whodunit mystery that is so obvious in the first reel it leaves you wondering Is that all there is Unfortunately it is
.5
Red Riding Hood
Stephen Whitty
If you re a Twilight fan you may feel as though you ve already seen this And if you re not well why would you be interested in something like this at all
2
Red Riding Hood
Keith Cohen
This suspense filled mystery keeps the audience guessing as to the human identity of the werewolf This crowd pleasing guilty pleasure will exceed all your expectations It turns a familiar children s bedtime story into a
3
Red Riding Hood
Tyler Hanley
The unfortunate combination of a hackneyed script and inexperienced acting makes the film feel like the big budget version of a bad high school play
1.5
Red Riding Hood
Robert W. Butler
This isn t your typical fairy tale version of Little Red Riding Hood Actually it s hard to tell just what this film by Catherine Hardwicke is meant to be
2
Red Riding Hood
Robert Levin
A ridiculous teenybopper geared retooling of the fairy tale
1.5
Red Riding Hood
Liam Lacey
What big eyes and lips Amanda Seyfried has And what nice cheekbones Julie Christie who plays her grandmother has Unfortunately these are about the only outstanding features in Red Riding Hood
1.5
Red Riding Hood
Steven D. Greydanus
In spite of all the Twilightery the movie shows just enough interest in its fairy tale inspiration to make its failure frustrating
2
Red Riding Hood
Joe Williams
Red Riding Hood is such a sorrowful attempt to resurrect the marketing magic of Twilight that it ought to be titled Career Eclipse
1.5
Red Riding Hood
Ann Hornaday
A lurid loopy utterly ludicrous enterprise that seeks to twist the ultimate fable of feminine fear and victimhood into an allegory for finding your inner bad girl
1
Red Riding Hood
Bob Bloom
Red Riding Hood has some moments but overall it is plodding and dull
1.5
Red Riding Hood
Erik Childress
The wolf attacks few and far are roughly the equivalent of a bedtime story that puts the adult to sleep while the six year old gives the finger to the monster under the bed for looking so fake
0.5
Red Riding Hood
Walter Chaw
horribly written horribly performed but they didn t have a chance directed by someone that cameras should file a restraining order against edited by a cast iron moron
0
Red Riding Hood
Amy Biancolli
Red Riding Hood is just another movie about a girl pining for a boy defined by a boy held back by a boy And that s not pretty
2
Red Riding Hood
Duane Dudek
Twilight lite a reduction of primal impulses into monosyllabic and mono symbolic teen speak
2
Red Riding Hood
Sean O'Connell
Gary Oldman bless his heart chews scenery faster than a wolf chomping on a villager but even his fangs aren t sharp enough to puncture the layer of cheese Hardwicke coats atop her dreadful film
1
Red Riding Hood
Connie Ogle
According to legend a silver bullet can kill a werewolf Too bad it can t slay bad writing without which the ill conceived Red Riding Hood would not exist
1
Red Riding Hood
Linda Barnard
Hardwicke helms Red Riding Hood with a clear vision for her target audience young teens There s violence but little blood some chaste sexy bits and a few swift scares
2.5
Red Riding Hood
Peg Aloi
Fattening fairy tales for the screen is tricky and Hardwicke gets it half right valorizing romance over duty integrity over tyranny
2.5
Uvanga
Geoff Pevere
Even the natural beauty serves as reminder of what isn t there and I m not just talking about nightfall
2
Uvanga
Linda Barnard
A story of homecoming and reconciliation told in the patient rhythmic cadences of Inuit voices
3
The We and the I
Rick Groen
Credit Gondry like Tocqueville before him with at least re examining tired clichés and scraping the rust off stereotypes
3
The We and the I
Linda Barnard
An occasionally interesting glimpse into the lives of a diverse group of urban teens and their struggles but also a film that s overly long and often annoying
2
The We and the I
Walter V. Addiego
Gondry has talent and I think he enjoyed being with these youngsters but the film suffers in trying to impose something vaguely like a story on a framework that boils down to teen high jinks during a bus ride
2
The We and the I
John Hartl
The We and the I is a collection of very thin stories many of which feel incomplete
2
The We and the I
Robert Levin
Evoking a New York City commuter s nightmare this movie aims for poignancy but achieves mostly exasperation
2
The We and the I
Jesse Cataldo
A delirious representation of incipient personalities in bloom its form as amorphous and reckless as the vibrant youths it portrays
3.5
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Namrata Joshi
With Bunty Aur Babli Yashraj had stuck a chord with small town India I doubt if they would be able to repeat it with Lagaa
1
My Giant
Mike Clark
Too bad My Giant couldn t be reborn as a smarter sap free movie
2
Saturday Church
Sheila O'Malley
A sweet film with a purity of purpose and intent elevating it above other films portraying similar struggles
3
Saturday Church
Sara Stewart
Under the generous debut direction of Damon Cardasis there s enough heart and raw truth here to uplift the moments that falter
3
Saturday Church
Diego Semerene
Writer director Damon Cardasis follows a rather didactic approach to his 14 year old s protagonist s plight in Saturday Church
1.5
Saturday Church
Clayton Davis
The power of the musical knows no boundaries but so seldom explored as we get to witness in dbut director Damon Cardasis invigorating film Saturday Church
3.5
Tempest Storm
Johanna Schneller
Mainly the film suffers because Storm is not at all introspective It s all access and no insight
2
Tempest Storm
Linda Barnard
Often poignant and occasionally heartbreaking Storm who still looks good and can work a shimmy despite breaking a hip a while back sticks her chin out and quotes Muhammad Ali I m still the greatest
3
Out Stealing Horses
Lisa Trifone
Skarsgård delivers a reliably compelling performance in the film s most poignant moments
3
Out Stealing Horses
Simon Abrams
There s some appreciable serenity and a lot of personal grief on display in Out Stealing Horses but it s only visible in fits and starts
2
Phoenix Forgotten
Federico Furzan
A forgettable found footage flick based on an incident that could have used a better script Very effective in its third act Full review in Spanish
2
Phoenix Forgotten
Josh Terry
Phoenix Forgotten is more intense than scary and won t make anyone lose any sleep unless they re still waiting for a payoff that just isn t going to come
2
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Frank Ochieng
Hello My Name is Doris is indeed a good greeting for introduction but as a sturdy and consistent character study it never quite gels although the always resourceful veteran Sally Field is a welcoming timeless selling point
2.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Pamela Powell
Hello My Name Is Doris is a film that proves we are never too old to feel young but disproves that with age comes wisdom all in a very genuine and humorous way
4
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Christopher Schobert
For Field Doris may just herald a career rebirth
3.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
David Keyes
A small vehicle simple and altruistic but it rises to joyous consistency because Field grips us with her dependable blend of quirks for nearly every frame she occupies space
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
John Serba
It s a feel good movie you won t feel guilty for enjoying or even loving
3.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Barbara Vancheri
Field is at the top of her game and you will cringe worry fear and cheer for Doris
2.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Rick Bentley
Hello My Name Is Doris is aimed at an older audience but Field s performance has so much youthful energy that it ends up being a broader story of the first buds of love that like Doris would be acceptable and entertaining with any crowd
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Michael Smith
Amid all the darkness in our world Hello My Name is Doris is a simple delightful little human comedy You know like life itself
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Anita Katz
A likable actress Field bravely makes Doris a challenge to like And against all likelihood we re captivated
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Rafer Guzman
A winning comedy drama built around one of cinema s most endearing leading ladies
3.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Molly Eichel
A running joke about hipster clichs is tiresome and the movie s plot threads are uneven But watching Field work her magic is so delightful
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Peter Keough
After mugging us for laughs with grotesque close ups of her bewildered disgruntled or near orgasmic expressions Field next tries to touch our hearts with her pitifulness Stay away crazy woman
1.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Calvin Wilson
If you ve ever been hopelessly in love and who among us hasn t you ll likely recognize some part of yourself in the unrealistic but upbeat Doris
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Robert W. Butler
Doris may be a convenient cinematic conceit but Field gives her real juice moving from a timid wraith to someone who realizes to her amazement that she might be lovable
2.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Ann Hornaday
A weirdly off plumb little movie one that manages to be condescending and compassionate knowing and blinkered reassuring and unsettling all at the same time
2
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Susan Wloszczyna
Some might dismiss this tale of a blooming wallflower as simply a manipulative twee fantasy But for those of us who trust in Field this film will have us at Hello
3
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Katie Walsh
At times Hello My Name is Doris can feel too real too raw but it demonstrates the power of decency kindness owning up to things and confronting your own issues
3.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Sara Stewart
It s great to see a role for an older woman that doesn t require her to dispense pearls of wisdom or traverse the ravages of dementia and that acknowledges that people in their 60s and beyond still have sex drives
2.5
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Carson Lund
Michael Showalter is content to trade They Came Together s mischievous genre deconstructionism for cheap shot indie quirk
2
Devil's Gate
Federico Furzan
Its twist allows it to survive the VOD trait that hurts it from the start Full review in Spanish
2.5
Funny Tweets
Pamela Powell
While social media platforms can seem overwhelming and unnecessary Funny Tweets gives Twitter a different spin one of positivity and acceptance of this digital world
3.5
A Short History of Decay
Matthew Kassel
Modest but winsome
3
Endangered
Peter Sobczynski
An eye opening and often enraging glimpse at four journalists attempting to do their jobs circa 2020 and the attacks they endure as a result
3.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Michael Sragow
Kaos is so in love with pyrotechnics and so arrogant in his assumptions about his audience that in the first few minutes he presents one critical car explosion without explanation then has his characters discuss another one
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Maitland McDonagh
For all the sundered families bereaved mothers and mourning spouses there s not a shred of genuine feeling in the entire film
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Jami Bernard
Between explosions there is enough room left for only minimal character development
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Nick Rogers
The backyard battles you staged with your green plastic army men were more exciting and almost certainly made more sense
0
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Tyler Hanley
Wanton gunfire and witless good guys saturate this sadly scripted waste of hard earned movie money
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Frank Ochieng
Kaosayananda s approach to this thunderous and over indulgent stylish stinker is quite simplistic load up on excessive explosions that s meant to give a personality to a straining and exceedingly moronic martial arts motion picture
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Ross Anthony
Actually not as bad as the reviews say still solidly average does not a red tomato buy
2
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Kevin A. Ranson
At every opportunity to do something clever the film goes right over the edge and kills every sense of believability all you have left is a no surprise series of explosions and violence while Banderas looks like he s not trying to laugh at how bad it
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Jonathan R. Perry
After 90 minutes of mind numbing explosions I cheered when a death by electrocution finally broke the monotony
0
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Joe Leydon
It s tempting to compare Ballistic Ecks vs Sever to a video game but that would be giving it credit for more substance and coherence than it deserves
2
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Mike Clark
For years people have joked about an action movie that might eliminate plot altogether and simply cut to the pyrotechnics Someone has finally done it
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Erik Lundegaard
The reunion scene between Ecks and his wife is seat squirmingly awful It s one of the few moments where there isn t an explosion and where we really could ve used one
0.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
David Elliott
The movie may be called Ballistic Ecks vs Sever but it could ve been called Audience vs Dozing Off
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Connie Ogle
A fine achievement in stupidity and dullness despite plenty of explosions
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Stephen Cole
Connoisseurs of bad action movie dialogue will delight in scenes that have DIA operatives dressed in what look like black beekeeper outfits racing about Vancouver with machine guns slung over their shoulders
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Tor Thorsen
For a shoot em up Ballistic is oddly lifeless
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Jan Stuart
If you collected all the moments of coherent dialogue they still wouldn t add up to the time required to boil a four minute egg
.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
John Monaghan
The action scenes have all the suspense of a 20 car pileup while the plot holes are big enough for a train car to drive through if Kaos hadn t blown them all up
1
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Michael Szymanski
For a film about explosions and death and spies Ballistic Ecks vs Sever seems as safe as a children s film Well in some of those the mother deer even dies
2
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Tony Toscano
the film suffers from a lack of humor something needed to balance out the violence
1.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Rob Blackwelder
One of the most incompetent big budget action movies I ve ever seen
0.5
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Robert K. Elder
Ballistic offers little beyond what you d find in a typical subpar Hollywood action film
1.5
Heaven Knows What
Peter Keough
All this desperation and squalor reeks of authenticity
3.5
Heaven Knows What
Barry Hertz
Although the film is raw intense and even beautiful at times the queasy knowledge of how it all came together constantly threatens to uproot any artistry
2.5
Heaven Knows What
Calum Marsh
The Safdies observe it all with a smart sensitive eye and of the truth miss nothing Holmes meanwhile is electrifying she really is a star
4
Heaven Knows What
Godfrey Cheshire
The latest in a long line of movies that seem to assume the milieu of addiction is justification enough for its existence
2
Heaven Knows What
Kenji Fujishima
Consider this a slice of the titular heaven to the hell that follows
3
May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers
Verne Gay
But what May It Last never adequately explores is where that desolation and pain came from The result is a celebration without much in the way of revelation
2.5
Tazmanian Devil
Dwight Brown
Pity that the sadistic hazing scenes may turn audiences off before they have a chance to be enlightened
2.5
Maison du bonheur
Barry Hertz
A film that is as revealing as it is honest and sincere
3.5
King Rat
Scott Nash
A cynical look at what humanity will do to survive under extreme circumstances
3.5
Out of Print
Chris Knight
The final act turns into a plea for the preservation of 35 mm film stock which may prove to be a lost cause but give Marchese props for fighting the good fight
3
Out of Print
Johanna Schneller
At 20 minutes it would have been delightful At 90 it s fan non fiction
2
Kiss Me Kate
Betsy Bozdech
A fun frothy Technicolored romp of a musical that is still as entertaining as they come
3.5
Kiss Me Kate
Ross Anthony
A little weak in acting at first but warms up nicely Quite entertaining And even more welcoming in 3D
2.5
Cow
Kevin Carr
I think it s supposed to make you feel for the cow but I don t get the sense that it s leading a terrible life
2.5
Cow
Steven Prokopy
This one will linger in your mind for quite a while
3
Cow
Katie Walsh
It is as moving as it is devastating and although this film requires patience and fortitude it rewards with a singular and perspective shifting cinematic experience
3
Cow
Tomris Laffly
By the end of Arnolds lyrical passion project one feels genuinely connected to Luma and her likes
3.5
Cow
Leo Brady
Cow is the embodiment of realism through the medium of cinema where Andrea Arnold delivers a groundbreaking production and a true piece of art
3.5
Cow
Jocelyn Noveck
In Arnold s careful unhurried hands it is a sobering lesson though one without a clear agenda Arnold simply seems interested in telling us Luma s story And that is enough
3
Cow
Diego Semerene
Throughout Andrea Arnolds film a kind of affective connection is formed between animal and the cinematic apparatus
3
Equinox
Emanuel Levy
Though socially minded in its concern for the moral decay of urban society Equinox suffers from the usual Rudolph problems low key tone and incoherent text made worse by Matthew Modine flat performance in a dual role
1
Equinox
David N. Butterworth
Should not only satisfy Rudolph fans but garner him some new ones
3
A Ghost Story
Leo Brady
Some will absolutely hate it some might cry some might laugh at the silliness of it all One thing is for sure A Ghost Story is quite the out of body experience
3.5
A Ghost Story
Jeff Mitchell
Lowery s film taps into basic human sentiments and also profound theories of metaphysics
3.5
A Ghost Story
Federico Furzan
A compelling and deep story about sadness loneliness and isolation I felt like a train had hit me after this Full review in Spanish
4
A Ghost Story
Christopher James
The flaws uneven nature don t betray the strong core that Lowery has constructed What makes the film work is its meditation on the relationship between the dead time
3.5
A Ghost Story
Joey Magidson
This flick above all else is a showcase for the directorial talents of Lowery
3.5
A Ghost Story
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Even if I found the script itself lacking there is genuine power in the mise en scène and strong visuals that remain with me days after watching the film
2.5
A Ghost Story
Lisa Jensen
If a movie refuses to make linear sense we expect to be affected on some deeper level that makes it all worthwhile But David Lowery s narrative obscurity fails to make you feel anything
2
A Ghost Story
Josh Terry
The title of director David Lowery s A Ghost Story is about as concise a description as you re going to find for a surreal and beautiful film that explores a kaleidoscope of themes and issues
3.5
A Ghost Story
Max Weiss
It s hard to quantify the audacity it took for David Lowery to make this film It s a ghost story a haunting meditation on life loss and mankind s place in the universe that features a man under a sheet with the eye holes poked out
3.5
A Ghost Story
Jeff Simon
A Ghost Story is a minor movie miracle It does something utterly ridiculous and it not only gets away with it but it builds on it to make the movie one of the most conceptually audacious of the past few years
4
A Ghost Story
Michael Smith
There s supposed to be something there in A Ghost Story but I can t see it I see dread people
1.5
A Ghost Story
Calvin Wilson
You may not understand A Ghost Story But you won t forget it
3.5
A Ghost Story
Robert W. Butler
Stick with it and you will be treated to what very well may be the year s most unique cinematic vision
3.5
A Ghost Story
Matt Zoller Seitz
I loved everything about it including the scenes I wasn t sure how to take
4
A Ghost Story
Sara Stewart
If you re patient C s wordless vigil will send you away with a shivery melancholy that defies easy explanation
3
A Ghost Story
Katie Walsh
Their missed connection divided by the void of human existence is also a beautifully sad and poignant representation for the ways in which we all strive or fail to connect in the present
3
A Ghost Story
Jake Coyle
It won t scare you it doesn t even say boo But glowing light and ghostly soulfulness linger on like a quiet scratching presence that won t leave you
2.5
A Ghost Story
Brian Truitt
Beautiful and deeply affecting A Ghost Story is easily the greatest movie ever made with an Oscar winner standing around in a white bedsheet for most of its 87 minute runtime
4
A Ghost Story
Sam C. Mac
An empty exercise in imitative long take aestheticism A Ghost Story fills its distractingly round cornered frame with endless repetitions on a visual gag
1
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Lisa Trifone
Krstic has achieved quite a lot putting on screen a style unlike anything else seen in the year s best animated films That the storyline in the end distracts from such an impressively drawn film may be a dealbreaker for some or it may not
2.5
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Kate Taylor
Ruben s story may be as oddly illogical as any of his nightmares but the animation here is a dreamy delight
3
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Sheila O'Malley
The film is lighthearted but not frivolous and the animation a mix of computer generated and hand drawn is so innovative and fun it s always a pleasure to look at the screen
3.5
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Alan French
Seek this one out as one of the most visually imaginative films of the year A mashup of noir heist action and surrealist films yields a wholly original concept
3.5
Reel Injun
Joe Williams
Reel Injun is not a peace pipe but a convincing case for a place at the table
3
Reel Injun
Bill Weber
The debate over the evolution of the movies depiction of native peoples is not always on the mark
2.5
Reel Injun
V.A. Musetto
Reel Injun will most likely give you a new perspective the next time you watch John Wayne battle Native Americans
3
Reel Injun
James Adams
Entertaining and informative
3
Geography Club
James Adams
As a manifesto for tolerance and a contribution to greater social and gender harmony this is an exercise all to the good As a film however it s something of a snooze
2
Geography Club
Linda Barnard
Its heart is in the right place even if it is a sappy one
2
The Assassin
Robert Horton
Could Hou have gotten his effects and still provided a little more storytelling clarity Maybe But after a while the movie s countless fogbanks and smoke clouds become as much its subject as the petty intrigues of some long forgotten political dispute
3
The Assassin
Craig D. Lindsey
An epic martial arts period piece that s beguiling ambiguous and for some at least frustrating in its storytelling
3.5
The Assassin
Soren Andersen
The visuals relegate the acting to secondary importance They overwhelm the story And they make The Assassin unforgettable
3
The Assassin
John Serba
The film s cinematography costumes and set design are breathtaking an elegant façade heavily cloaking the story s core emotions
3.5
The Assassin
Chris Knight
The Assassin feels oddly like a film designed to disappoint everyone some of the time perhaps that s a sly reference to the art of political compromise
2
The Assassin
G. Allen Johnson
Part of the problem is Hou s style works at odds with the material
1
The Assassin
Scott Renshaw
From the conversations shot through filmy drapes glowing with blobs of candlelight to treks through tall golden grass dozens of individual shots are breathtaking in their composition
3
The Assassin
Josh Terry
The telling instead of showing makes it hard to get emotionally invested in what s going on
2.5
The Assassin
Kate Taylor
The Assassin is like some stereotypical beauty gorgeous but frustratingly incapable of prolonged conversation
2
The Assassin
Mark Jenkins
As with Wong Kar wai s The Ashes of Time Hou s take on the martial arts flick is affectionate but may frustrate fans of the genre The Assassin is a mood piece evoking rather than explaining
3.5
The Assassin
John Anderson
Not for everyone but gloriously cinematic utterly absorbing
4
The Assassin
Peter Sobczynski
Visually ravishing and formally graceful
3.5
The Assassin
Jesse Cataldo
The film carves out a rich emotional sphere concomitant to its stunning production design finding delicate poetry in the dispassionate pursuit of revenge
3.5
Intimate Strangers
Jay Antani
pleasant compelling worth a look
3
Intimate Strangers
Forrest Hartman
One of the most unusual screen romances of 2004
3
Intimate Strangers
Rob Blackwelder
The performances make it worth soldiering past many obvious doubts how hard is it to say You re in the wrong office to find out what happens
2.5
Intimate Strangers
Steven Snyder
A movie of conversations and asides the treasures to be found in the intangible asides and gestures that add depth to the surface words
3
Intimate Strangers
Duane Dudek
A complex portrait emerges of two people without revealing or settling too much of anything
3
Intimate Strangers
Joe Baltake
While other would be Hitchcock imitators limit themselves to seeing only the mayhem or violence in his works Leconte has picked up on the fascinating psychology the subtle moodiness and his obsessive interest in the dark side of people
3.5
Intimate Strangers
Marty Mapes
Compared to Man on the Train Intimate Strangers is a lightweight
2.5
Intimate Strangers
Vince Koehler
The entire story is captivating and has some nice touches of humor
3
Intimate Strangers
Marta Barber
It s a film that teases us with the realm of possibilities and a few really funny scenes
3
Intimate Strangers
Robert W. Butler
A small masterpiece of tonal balance
3
Intimate Strangers
Leah McLaren
Personally I like French movies but this one was a lot to take even for me
2.5
Intimate Strangers
Terry Lawson
You may be surprised to find yourself expecting the worst hoping for the best and enjoying yourself through all of it
4
Intimate Strangers
Laura Kelly
Intimate Strangers may not measure up as Leconte s best work But his always competent helmsmanship has two powerful partners in the male and female lead actors Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Bonnaire
2.5
Intimate Strangers
David Elliott
As it works out its pattern in an airy carpet of confession and omission you may find the film adroitly involving Or simply boring
2.5
Intimate Strangers
Jeff Strickler
This comic drama rises far above the goofball antics that its premise suggests
3
Intimate Strangers
Michael Wilmington
A psychological drama that reminds us how sexy and charged with romance a simple conversation can be
3.5
Intimate Strangers
Jeanne Aufmuth
A shrewdly observed analysis of the female psyche
2.5
Intimate Strangers
Pam Grady
We wish the best for William and however it turns out his is the journey worth following
3
Intimate Strangers
Jami Bernard
This has all the ingredients for a top notch thriller except one a thrill
2
Intimate Strangers
Bob Strauss
A delicious riff on the old Hitchcock notion of transferal and using it to overcome self imposed limitations
3
Intimate Strangers
David Sterritt
Leconte justifies his vaunted reputation by lending freshness and feeling to what could have been a gimmicky tragicomedy
3
Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight
Joshua Tanzer
His performance is beset by disaster from faulty amps to out of tune guitars yet his music emerges clear voiced perfectly on key and spellbinding Undoubtedly this is part of Hendrix s brilliance he mastered chaos and turned it into beauty
3.5
Safer at Home
Randy Myers
The cast is solid but it s the screenplay from Will Wernick and Lia Bozonelis that leads them astray with a story that s both ridiculous and cliched
2
The Guard
Craig D. Lindsey
Much like its protagonist the film appears to enjoy taking the piss out of its audience giving them a cynical yet cheeky neo noir that tweaks the usual conventions and comes up with a story that may be familiar but is told in fresh fashion
4
The Guard
David N. Butterworth
To paraphrase Nigel Terry in The Lion in Winter The Guard is a stinker and it stinks
1.5
The Guard
Eric Melin
John Michael McDonagh is having a lot of fun deconstructing the cop procedural in The Guard because almost nothing goes as planned and everything has a satirical bent It is a very funny black comedy with a stylish palette
3.5
The Guard
Marty Mapes
Gleeson s enigmatic character really smart or really dumb
3
The Guard
Mike Scott
For all of its seeming conventions this surprisingly plot heavy character drama is a wonderfully UNconventional cops and robbers picture
3
The Guard
Duane Dudek
It takes a special skill to make this sort of complex schematic coherent and the attractive performances aside it doesn t always work here
2.5
The Guard
Liam Lacey
Although The Guard is primarily a language romp it s also a terrific showcase for veteran pug faced character actor Brendan Gleeson
3
The Guard
Lisa Kennedy
McDonagh s script is agile darting between the ridiculous the sage and the surprisingly sentimental His love of language and the absurd has hints of the wisecracking Quentin Tarantino But the story is decidedly more rooted in Ireland s loamy turf
3.5
The Guard
Joe Williams
The Guard is violent profane and funny
3
The Guard
John Hartl
Like an Irish version of In the Heat of the Night the profane and frequently hilarious The Guard watches the sparks fly as a smart African American detective teams up with an unapologetically racist County Galway policeman
3
The Guard
Rossiter Drake
It belongs to Gleeson whose thickly accented growl lends a lyrical quality to McDonagh s wordplay in one of the year s funniest and most spirited offerings
3.5
The Guard
Peter Keough
McDonagh s Connacht set cop story would be too clever by half if not for Brendan Gleeson s canny performance
2.5
The Guard
Jake Coyle
In a cinema world so awash in either corporate flatness or high art pretension The Guard is a proud foul mouthed exception
3
The Guard
Nick Schager
McDonagh s direction is smooth but it s his writing that carries the day treating genre elements with both seriousness and subversive humor
3
Impolex
Joseph Jon Lanthier
Impolex ekes out stirring whispers of tender masculine grief
3.5
The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
Rob Humanick
The film is at once enabled and hindered by its utter strangeness an intrinsic quality surely exacerbated in its English language release
2.5
Paint
Federico Furzan
A sometimes witty and sometimes unnatural film that tries to tell a compelling story about struggling painters in the NYC art scene
2.5
The Apollo
Dwight Brown
Rarely has a history lesson been so damn entertaining
3.5
Moonstruck
Leonard Maltin
Moonstruck made me laugh as any good comedy should But this rare and wonderful movie did something more It also made me smile That s because unlike most contemporary comedies Moonstruck isn t a collection of gags It s a picture of genuine humor
4
Moonstruck
Mike Scott
Hinging on the lead performance of Cher who won one of the three Oscars awarded to the film it benefits from its very specific New York setting its consistent sense of humor and its deep sense of romantic realism
3
Moonstruck
Gene Siskel
You will not easily forget this incredibly robust family
4
Moonstruck
Dave Kehr
It isn t great art it s too closely concentrated on immediate emotional effect for that but it is highly sophisticated craftsmanship
3
Moonstruck
Carrie Rickey
Charming if erratic Moonstruck is the unlikely marriage of undershirt in kitchen naturalism and urbane drawing room farce
3
Better Living Through Chemistry
Brad Keefe
It s got some of the comic noir y small town murder plot of To Die For without the payoff It s got some of the male midlife crisis of American Beauty without the nuance
2.5
Better Living Through Chemistry
Robert Levin
The film is so divorced from the way humans actually behave that even the starring presence of Sam Rockwell can t save it
2
Better Living Through Chemistry
Christy Lemire
Better Living Through Chemistry as a whole feels rather superficial and safe
1.5
Better Living Through Chemistry
Tirdad Derakhshani
An ill conceived if mildly amusing comedy about middle class ennui sexual frustration and drug abuse
2
Better Living Through Chemistry
Peter Keough
Maybe writer directors Geoff Moore and David Posamentier were sampling some of the mind numbing products featured in their black comedy which might account for its lack of wit imagination or other cerebral effort
1.5
Better Living Through Chemistry
G. Allen Johnson
Better Living Through Chemistry does have its moments and there are quite a few laughs It tries too hard but at least it s trying
2
Better Living Through Chemistry
Rex Reed
The end result of this stoned cold picnic is both haphazardly successful and somewhat disappointing but it s worth seeing thanks enormously to the tremendous charisma of Sam Rockwell
2.5
Better Living Through Chemistry
Sara Stewart
Every character is a pretty well worn archetype including Michelle Monaghan s uptight exercise obsessed wife
1.5
Better Living Through Chemistry
Chuck Bowen
A sexily chaotic parody of entitlement becomes just another tale of a white dude learning that there are worse things in life than essentially having no problems
2
Masterminds
David N. Butterworth
Not every gag lands but those that do make this broad yet lovable schlub of a comedy worth a 3 99 online stream
2.5
Masterminds
Tina Hassannia
Its editing rhythm and tension building is so off key it makes something as exciting as a vault robbery torturous to watch
1.5
Masterminds
Matt Zoller Seitz
If smart dumb comedies hold a place in your heart you ll like Masterminds
3
Masterminds
Andrew Parker
Masterminds often bears the choppy scars of postproduction tinkering but it remains entertaining for those who like their deadpan with a healthy side of slapstick
2.5
Masterminds
Tirdad Derakhshani
Masterminds is filled with the sort of idiotic bathroom humor that has become standard in big screen comedies but it is enlivened by the surreal slapstick touches that made Napoleon Dynamite so good
2.5
Masterminds
Josh Terry
On its own Masterminds is a decent comedy even if everyone involved has done better work elsewhere But next to all the serious options playing in theaters right now Masterminds may be just the goofy change of pace you need
2.5
Masterminds
Lauren Chval
McKinnon is wasted Wilson is unconvincing as a hick and the whole film takes a very condescending view of people with low incomes
2
Masterminds
Elise Nakhnikian
Jared Hess s film turns out to be a succession of failed jokes punctuated by a few cathartic laughs
2
Masterminds
Katie Walsh
There s a certain subset of the population that may find Zach Galifianakis in a ridiculous hairdo the height of comedy If you are in that segment welcome
2.5
Masterminds
Sara Stewart
I cracked up here and there watching this broad heist comedy but it wasn t laughter I felt great about
2
Masterminds
Soren Andersen
There are some genuinely funny bits but alas far too few
1.5
Masterminds
Dann Gire
Masterminds won t rank as one of history s big budget botches such as Ishtar and Heaven s Gate but the colossal waste of class A comedy talent should qualify as a felony in Tinseltown
1.5
Masterminds
Lawrence Toppman
Writers Chris Bowman Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey start from facts and let their imaginations run wild
2.5
The Novice
Mitchell Beaupre
The Novice is an experiential film that offers up so much meat to chew on practically demanding repeated viewings whenever the viewer is emotionally ready to take the plunge back into this headspace again
3
The Novice
David Gonzalez
Lauren Hadaway apos s debut film The Novice 160 rewards the examination of competitive obssesion with a film that looks at when obsession goes too far in a thrilling character study that mirrors Whiplash apos s Andrew Neiman and 160 Black Swan apos s Nina Sayers 10 10
3.5
The Novice
Lisa Trifone
Hadaway s narrative falls just short of fully flushed out
2.5
The Novice
Leo Brady
What can t be denied is that The Novice is one of the best movies of 2021 and a film that impacted me right in my soul The performance by Isabelle Fuhrman goes to an entirely different level
3.5
The Novice
Christy Lemire
The feature filmmaking debut from writer director co editor Lauren Hadaway is an intimate and powerful sensory experience all around
3.5
The Novice
Mark Hanson
For all of the stylistic verve that Lauren Hadaway brings to this tale of compulsive self improvement the film s protagonist remains a cipher
2.5
Thunderpants
Ian Mantgani
This movie should be shown in prisons so that inmates have a good reason to never return
0.5
Branded
Monica Castillo
Nothing more than a freshman s first term paper for a sociology 101
0.5
Branded
Robert Levin
This movie makes absolutely no sense
1
California Company Town
Andrew Schenker
A social and aesthetic document of promise betrayed
3
The Fury
Bill Chambers
A hangout movie when all s said and done
3.5
The Fury
Eric Henderson
The movie that draws the deepest line in the sand between De Palma apologists and De Palma maniacs
4
Demonlover
David Elliott
The movie seems to cannibalize itself and go stupid
2
Demonlover
Erik Lundegaard
All about modern disconnect hardly an original subject but the film gets style points and in your face points
3
Demonlover
Glenn Lovell
You ll be as transfixed as you are utterly confused
2.5
Demonlover
Peter Hartlaub
Well scripted well acted and occasionally sexy but just isn t all that interesting
2
Demonlover
V.A. Musetto
Under cinematographer Denis Lenoir Demonlover is visually grand and the music by Sonic Youth is a grabber
2.5
Demonlover
Jami Bernard
A visually stylish movie that equates and fuses high stakes corporate negotiations with the video game mentality
3
Demonlover
Bob Strauss
Either too murky or too simplistic a criticism of modern media
2.5
Demonlover
Glenn Kenny
Early on writer director Olivier Assayas latest effort could be mistaken for a hipper than thou thriller But it isn t it s in fact a difficult challenging and troubling art film
4
Demonlover
Rob Blackwelder
The score by art punk band Sonic Youth really captures the essense of the film It s deliberately abrasive rapidly pulsing electronic black noise designed to put the viewer on edge but ultimately signifies nothing
1.5
Demonlover
David Sterritt
While this ambitious epic takes a finely cynical attitude toward the excesses of our media saturated age it never quite jells into a coherent statement
2
Demonlover
Michael Wilmington
Unlike almost every other sexy modern thriller especially most recent studio blockbusters this one gives you a lot to think about
3
Demonlover
Joshua Tanzer
You can spend half an hour thinking the characters have lost their minds followed by 15 minutes thinking the filmmaker has lost his mind followed by a final two minutes that kind of sort of maybe put the pieces together
2.5
Demonlover
Jeremy Heilman
As the thinking person s spy thriller Demonlover delivers Its fierce determination in deconstructing the sexual politics that are so often taken for granted in this sort of film provide more thrills than the average Bond outing
3.5
Academy of the Muses
Carson Lund
It s a shame that the Jos Luis Guern film s verbal qualities far outpace its formal attributes
2.5
Countdown
Peter Sobczynski
An abject failure whose only virtue is its utter forgettability
.5
Countdown
Josh Terry
If you re looking for a few good scares that push the PG 13 boundary without breaking it Countdown has fun with its clever premise
3
Countdown
Zaki Hasan
The one thing you can say about Countdown is that the title is entirely accurate Almost from the moment it starts you re checking your watch waiting for the closing credits to come up
1
Only Yesterday
Brad Wheeler
The animation is marked by a simple sort of elegance the story lucidly and lyrically moves back and forth from 1982 to 1966
3
Only Yesterday
Tom Keogh
Another sumptuous visual feast from the studio full of endless images finely detailed and often lavish
3.5
Only Yesterday
Glenn Kenny
Like Kaguya it functions as a highly sensitive and empathetic consideration of the situation of women in Japanese society but it s also a breathtaking work of art on its own
4
Only Yesterday
Oleg Ivanov
It uses the trappings of the family melodrama to reveal the subtle social constraints that inhibit people particularly women from attaining full self realization
3.5
Fighting Tommy Riley
Elizabeth Weitzman
The sort of slick looking indie that plays well at film festivals this heavy handed boxing drama is really just a flyweight bulked up on cliches and false sentimentality
1.5
Otomo
Jonathan Foreman
You do get a sense of a German society that is still amazingly bureaucratic and authoritarian
2.5
Otomo
Greg Dean Schmitz
I was impressed by the decision to make Otomo a bit of an anti hero seeming aware that in desperate times good people may say or do things outside the norm
3
Special ID
Brian Tallerico
It s impossible to deny that what Special ID does well it does extremely well
2.5
Winter Brothers
Peter Sobczynski
Winter Brothers may not be completely successful when all is said and done but it is certainly a singular film
3
Winter Brothers
Carson Lund
Winter Brothers s deft ability to sustain it for as a long as it does is a sure sign of a filmmaking force to watch
3
Breaking Surface
Lisa Trifone
Breaking Surface manages enough ingenuity even within this fairly predictable format to warrant a look
3
First Match
Wes Greene
The film traffics in the same tired and sentimental clichs that hamper so many sports dramas
2.5
Re: Generation
Tom Keogh
A well meaning but overreaching documentary that strains to make a Theory of Everything argument about power and powerlessness in America Ultimately it fails to convince about much of anything
1.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Leo Brady
The Broken Circle Breakdown never pulls punches when it comes to telling the complex realities of life that exist in the films story
3
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Rania Richardson
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN is a heart wrenching tale and the cinematic equivalent of a twangy country song
3
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Brad Keefe
A devastatingly sad movie that is beautifully constructed and performed
3.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Scott Nash
Raises itself far above its Lifetime Movie of the Week premise
3.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Bruce Ingram
It s the music that really brings Broken Circle to life an excellent collection of old timey country classics and originals that reconnects the broken bits of the story and resonates with its deepest emotions
3.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Rene Rodriguez
The Broken Circle Breakdown manages to pull off a small miracle using joyous music and tenderness to tell a tragic story that moves you but doesn t depress you
3
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Walter V. Addiego
It s the story of a young married couple undone by a family tragedy but the film loses its way at one point turning into a political harangue
2
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Stephanie Merry
Some moments of the movie might leave viewers feeling bereft or gut punched but the sublime sounds along with the sweet and silly scenes of the pair falling in love provide respites from the sorrow
3
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Peter Keough
Wastes its potential for honest emotion with schmaltz cheap shots and clichs
2.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Chris Knight
A simple story of a young couple living in Ghent with a sweet daughter and a love of bluegrass it s almost guaranteed to pluck at your heartstrings like an expert banjo player until your eyes well up in sympathetic vibration
3.5
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Sara Stewart
This Belgian drama is the real deal an alternately wrenching and ecstatic viewing experience adapted from a play by lead actor Johan Heldenbergh
4
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Wes Greene
Felix Van Groeningen s film owes more than a debt to the unwieldy narrative schematics of Susanne Bier s narratives
2
